Turning now from the social signs which indicate these as the last days, we look at events political, national and international. We go first to Jesus’ prediction concerning the captivity of his nation Israel, known as the Olivet prophecy, where we read:
“They shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).
Thus we see that Jesus predicted a set time for the duration of the desolation of Jerusalem and for the end of Gentile domination there. Now this termination of the treading down of Jerusalem has happened during the recent conflicts which have raged in the land subsequent upon the threat of the Arab nations round about to drive Israel into the sea. What is significant about this is that, although the occupation once more of their ancient city by Israel is a wonderful sign, it is only the beginning of God’s purpose renewed in His ancient people, and we are to see more great and momentous events concerning this.
We may indeed see that events have already, since the return of the people to the city, moved further still along the road marked out for them. We observe this if we consult Ezekiel ch.36, where God emphasises that His promises made many centuries before cannot be frustrated by the frailty and perverseness of man;
“Say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen (Gentiles), whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name…which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD… when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land” (v.22-24).
Although this has been accomplished in some large measure, it is not complete, and there must be some time elapsing between the events of verse 24 and those of verse 25. For verse 25 speaks of God sprinkling clean water upon them, with the effect that they will walk in God’s statutes, and will keep His judgments. This has not happened to them yet; and Jesus seems clearly to indicate in Matthew 17:11 that the scribes were quite right in supposing that Elijah the prophet would come before the Kingdom was established, for in answer to their question on this issue, he said, “Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things”.
The fact that he adds,”But I say unto you, that Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed” in no way cancels out his first statement that “Elias truly shall first come”. This is one of the many passages of Scripture with a dual fulfilment, and Jesus’ reference to Malachi here is concerned With the restoration (Ma1.3:4,16,17). It is a fact that the moral reformation introduced by John the Baptist before the appearance of our Lord was as essential to the salvation of that generation as will be the reformation introduced by Elijah before his second appearance, to those who hear him.
But let us return to the present signs as they are to be observed in Israel. The recent successes of Israel against her hostile neighbours may well appear both to them, and to us Gentiles who observe them, as due to the prowess of Israel herself; but that is not how the prophet Zechariah interprets it in his 12th chapter. Here in a remarkable passage we are told not only that it is God who performs these acts, but it also distinguishes (in the Hebrew) between the local assailants of Israel and the more distant Gentile nations who come against her. The passage reads:
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people (Heb.’amim’ – tribes) round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burensome stone for all people (Heb.’goyim’): all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered against it (v.2,3).
‘Goyim’, of course, are Gentiles as distinguished from the surrounding nations who are largely of Semitic origin, many of them being descendants of Abraham’s family.
Thorns and Briars
This brings us to an interesting point in our investigation of the signs we are seeking, a point which has its origin in the distant past when Israel first entered the land, and when they received through Moses precise instructions regarding their occupation of the territory promised to Abraham:
“When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures (‘figured stones’ RSV), and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: and ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it…But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them” (Num 33:51-53, 55-56).
This solemn warning was later repeated before the people by Joshua (23:12). They neglected to obey this instruction, as we know from their history: “They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the LORD commanded them: but were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works…which were a snare unto, them” (Ps.106:34). It is always disastrous for men to ignore the clear instruction of the Almighty – a lesson men have not learned in our day.
The case of Saul and the divine instruction regarding the complete destruction of the Amalekites, which he chose to ignore, is a typical demonstration of this point; Israel were only to become conscious of the full implication of this disregard for God’s instruction in the much later days of Esther when Agag the Amalekite planned the extinction of all Jews from the Persian Empire. It is ironic that after thousands of years of dispersion, they returned to their ancient possession, only to find that the pricks and the thorns which they had neglected to remove were still there, and now threatening to unite in an effort to push Israel into the sea.
However, now that the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, the time has arrived when the angels of the Lord are busily removing these obstacles, as predicted by the prophet.Ezekiel where, after pronouncing judgment upon many nations around Israel, God says,
“They shall know that I am the LORD. And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the house of Israel, nor ahy grieving thorn of all that are round about them, that despised them; and they shall know that I am the Lord GOD. Thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall have gathered the house of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them, and they sha11 know that I am the LORD their God” (Ezek.28:24-26).
We suggest then that there can be only one explanation for Israel’s victories in the recent Middle East wars in which she has defeated nations far more powerful than herself, and which have come against her united under the Arab League confederacy with such united human power as to be almost overwhelming. It is the Lord who has been at work through the angels, fighting Israel’s battles as in days of old.
Egypt
Let us briefly review what has taken place in these last few years. From the prophetic point of view, Egypt uhder President Nasser was in the wrong camp.
The 11th chapter of Daniel, predicting events from the days of the division of the Greek World Empire into the four divisions into which it fell on the death of Alexander the Great, concerns itself only with the two divisions, north and south of Israel – naturally so, since the prophet is concerned only with events as they were related to Israel as God’s people. Within that concept, the northern power was that of the Seleucids, and the southern power that of the Ptolemies of Egypt.
As the prophecy proceeds through the various vicissitudes of time down to the last days, this north-south manifestation continues. But somewhat to the consternation of students of prophecy, President Nasser allied his country with Soviet Russia of the North. The Russians built the Aswan Dam, organised the defences of the country, trained the military and more or less assumed control there. However, upon the sudden death of President Nasser, an unexpected successor took over in Egypt – President Sadat, who straight away sent the Russians home, breaking off relations with them; and signing a peace arrangement with Israel, dissociated himself from the Arab League and opened diplomatic affinity with the U.S.A. and with Britain. Since that time regular military exercises have taken place by the American military forces on Egyptian territory. This places Egypt in the correct prophetical situation for the final conflict of the last days.
Jordan
Graham Pearce, in his 1983 edition of “Milestones to the Kingdom”, reports the following which indicates that this enemy is being eliminated from the list of thorns:
“Jordan is coming more definitely into the southern group of countries under the U.S. and Britain. It was reported in October that the U.S. was seeking to equip two Jordanian brigades as a mobile force able to intervene in the Persian Gulf crisis (Daily Telegraph. 15.10.83). Small military teams have been working on a regular basis for several years as part of the ongoing relationship between Jordan and the U.S. (Newsview 25/10/83)”.
From our regular news sources we all know how the P.L.O. has been ejected by Israel first from one base, then from another, and the latest report is their ejection from the Lebanon.
Iran, which was one of the nations committed to push Israel into the sea, has been so busily engaged. in warfare with Iraq that she has been unable to assist the Arab League in their project.
The angels have been very busy in this area of the world of late. The process is still continuing, but has not yet reached the stage indicated in Ezekiel 28:26 of all Israel dwelling safely. Once this situation has been reached, then the events of chapter 38 open. The great northern confederacy comes down on the land when “they shall dwell safely, all of them” (v.8).
In the final article it is proposed to deal with Russia, the Vatican and the end of Gentile times.
The Borders of the Land of Israel