Israel and the Middle East are constantly in the news.  As we discussed in last month’s blog about Syria, it is because this is where Jesus will return to the earth.  In that article we discussed how the current conflict shows how the nations of the world are squaring up for that event.

However there is another prophecy about Israel that appears to contradict this.   In Ezekiel 38 we read of a prophecy about a nation that will invade Israel, Gog (which most people think is modern day Russian and her allies.  See the previous Blog about the limitations and hazards of interpreting prophecy).   It states:

“Thus says the Lord God: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme and say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will fall upon the quiet people who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having no bars or gates’,” 

Ezekiel 38:10-11

Now that doesn’t sound like the Israel that we know does it?  When we think of Israel we usually think about the imposing wall between itself and Palestine, or the “iron dome” defence system.  Yet even with (or perhaps because of) these defence schemes, Israel is thriving.  In the last couple of months articles have appeared in lifestyle magazines about Israel’s flourishing economy and tourists industries.

In the November UK edition of Esquire magazine there was an article about Tel Aviv as a tourist resort.  It included the following line:

“Sadly, since the Arab Spring proved no more than an unseasonal heat wave and Egypt, Turkey Libya, Lebanon and Syria have turned, or are turning ugly, Israel is thriving, if wary.”

Esquire, Nov 2013, page 75

In September’s Easyjet magazine (the budget airline’s inflight magazine) there was an article about the entrepreneurial nature of Tel Aviv:

“Not only has the city become an oasis of international hedonism – the Miami of the Med, they say – but it has also, more recently, made a name for itself as an emerging tech powerhouse. Today, there are over 1,000 start-ups in the centre of town alone. Ranging from fashion websites to all manner of app developers, they are proof of a seriously diverse scene that’s tapping into the city’s biggest resource today: a stream of young, switched-on entrepreneurs

http://traveller.easyjet.com/emagazine/1441/september-2013/

The fact that a budget airline now flies from the UK to Tel Aviv, taking holiday makers and city break lovers to the Holy land and that lifestyle magazine are listing the top 10 bars, restaurants and hotels to visit, shows how confident and secure this country now is.  As well as tourism, high tech industries are changing the way Israel is seen on the world’s stage:

“Israel has been dubbed “The Startup Nation” because it has the highest density of startups per capita in the world—one for every 1,844 citizens (or 2.5 times the U.S. rate). More Israeli companies are listed on the NASDAQ than from all European companies combined. Israel ranks third in the world for venture capital availability and second in the world in the availability of qualified scientists and engineers. :

http://www.techrepublic.com/

Even with war raging on its borders, as far as Israel is concerned, it’s “business is usual”.   Maybe not “unwalled” or “secure” in the conventional sense, but Israel is considerably more settled than many of her neighbours.  So if you think that Jesus will not return until there is total peace in the Middle East, then think again.  Jesus can return at any time.  We know he will come like a thief in the night and we know that we should watch, but are you ready to meet him?

To find out more what you should be doing now, visit our “What we Believe” page.

Last week Syria dominated the news agenda with the UK and USA deciding whether they should intervene in the civil war currently raging in that country.  What many people may not realise is that this (and other events in the region) are all part of God’s “end game” before his son, Jesus Christ, returns to the earth to establish his Kingdom.  The Bible gives us clues to events just prior to this return, but because they were written thousands of years ago they do not mention modern day countries.  They do however use symbols and imagery that we can quite easily understand and relate to our world today.

Prophesy Principles

There are many books of the Bible that contain prophecies or predictions about events that would happen in the future.  Some of these prophecies came true shortly after they were given.  Others have yet to be fulfilled.  In this article we are just looking at prophesies about what will happen before the return of Christ.

Now the thing about trying to understand prophecies is that even though they are given by God, mere men interpret them.  So whilst we may think that we understand them, we can never be 100% sure that we have them exactly right.  Saying that, when you look at some Bible prophecies and world events, they do seem to tally remarkably well.  We should also say that to get a better feeling for prophecy you should read the Bible for yourself and we as Christadelphians would encourage you to do that.  (If you struggle with understanding the Bible then click on the resources menu to access some free materials to help you to understand it better).  This article is merely a rough guide to prophecy to help you make sense of what at times appears to be a completely senseless situation in the Middle East.

Kings, Bears and Lions

Various prophesies in the Bible talk about how prior to the return of Jesus there will be a huge war in the Middle East focused around Israel.  This shouldn’t come as a surprise at all to us, as attacks on Israel are frequently reported in the news; but this battle will be the biggest one in the nation’s history.  The two main protagonists in this war will be the King of the North and the King of the South who will meet in Israel. 

And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

 Daniel 11:40

The King of the North – This presumably refers to the nations North of Israel.  These include Syria, Russia and Iran.

The King of the South – This is slightly less obvious.  To the south of Israel there is Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.  When we look at other prophecies it would appear that the King of the South is Israel ally.  Interestingly enough, since the Gulf War in the 1990’s there has been a military presence south of Israel from the UK, US and other countries, all allies with Israel.

Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

Ezekiel 38:13

It is generally considered that Tarshish is the UK, as at the time the prophecy was written Tarshish was a

trading nation from outside of the Mediterranean area.  It also talks about its young lions.  For many years the emblem of Britain has been the lion and can still be seen in sport.  Think of the GB Rugby team (The Lions) or the mascot of Team GB at the 2012 Olympic Games (Pride, the Lion).  So its young lions could refer to countries from the old Empire, the colonies, or English speaking countries e.g. Canada, Australia, India and the USA.

So in summary, it would appear that whatever happens in the Middle East ultimately will involve Israel being invaded from the North, probably by Russia, Iran and it’s allies.  The allies of Israel including Britain and the USA will come to defend her.  You don’t have to look hard to see that this is all very plausible with the tensions between Russia and the USA and Iran and Israel.  The only place in the world where both groups’ military presence rub shoulders is in the Middle East and so it would make sense that this is where any conflict will take place.

The Syrian Crisis

The current crisis in Syria has seen some atrocious attacks and you can understand why the UN and world nations want

to intervene.  Since 2011 the country has been gripped by civil war with much of the fighting taking place in Damascus.  Damascus also features in a Bible prophecy

 

See, Damascus will cease to be a city  and will become a heap of ruins. Her towns will be deserted forever; they will be places for flocks, which will lie down, and no one will make them afraid. The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus;

Isaiah 17:1-3 (NRSV)

 It would appear then that ultimately Damascus will be destroyed.  Whether this is by airstrikes, invasion or occupation we don’t know, but the future for Damascus is not good.

Conclusion 

As we said earlier, interpreting prophecy is a complicated affair; but don’t be surprised if in the future we see:

• More unrest in Syria with the destruction of Damascus
• The enemies of Israel to the North attacking Israel
• The allies of Israel moving in to protect her

We cannot predict the exact timeframe when this will happen; but according to the Bible it will happen.  And then?  Well, again according to the Bible, Jesus Christ will return to the earth to set up his father’s Kingdom.

Some people will think this all sounds far fetched; but as we pointed out earlier, the Bible has an exceptionally good track record of prophesying events that have ultimately come true. (Read Deuteronomy for predictions about the Jews and the land of Israel or Daniel 2 for a prophecy about world events past, present and future.)  World events seem to be indicating that these prophecies are also coming true right before our eyes.    So, are you ready to meet Jesus?

“I have a dream”

On August 28th 1963 Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King Jnr gave his most famous and moving speech which contained the following section:

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Half a century later, some of these things have happened to varying degrees, but not all of them. Many people don’t realise that Martin Luther King was probably drawing on the Bible for inspiration for this speech as these elements feature in proph- ecies about a future world. Martin Luther King’s dream may not have come to fruition, but the Bible is full of dreams which have.

 

“I had a dream”

Another King who had a dream was King Nebuchadnezzar who was King of Babylon (modern day Iraq) in the 6th century BC. We can read the account in the Bible in the Old Testament book of Daniel chapter 2.

He dreamt of an image shaped like a man, made out of different metals, which were ground to dust by a rock. Daniel, a Hebrew who along with the rest of hs people was being held captive by the king, was told by God what this dream meant. The metals represented the Babylonian and subsequent Kingdoms on the earth.

Head of gold = Babylonian Empire

Chest & arms of silver = Medo Persian Empire

Thighs of brass = Greek empire

Leg of iron = Roman Empire

Feet of clay & iron = Strong and weak nations ( Today)

If we look at history, we can see how all these King- doms have come and gone. The rock represents the Kingdom of God which will replace all these Kingdoms. We now live in the time represented

by the feet of iron and clay, meaning that the next Kingdom will be the Kingdom of God. But what is that, and when will it come?

 

“A dream come true…”

In the prophecy books of the Bible we read various accounts of what this Kingdom will be like. It is here we see parallels with Martin Luther King Jnr’s speech.

But everyone shall sit under his vine and under his fig tree, And no one shall make them afraid;

Micah 4:4

The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, Even with joy and singing.

Isaiah 35:1-2

But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

Isaiah 11:4

The judge and King of this Kingdom will be Jesus. The earth will be transformed into one with no death, no poverty and no injustice. Unlike Martin Luther King’s dream, one day soon these Biblical dreams WILL come true. To find out how you can live in this perfect Kingdom, open your Bible and read it. The truth is in there.