The purpose for this study is to learn why God chose the children of Israel to be His chosen people, and as such, why He has allowed them to be so mistreated by every other nation on earth.
- From man’s perspective, it appears God has abandoned Israel.
- But the Bible says, God has determined to redeem Israel, and we may be the generation that sees this event come to pass.
In 1948, after being scattered around the world for 2,000 years, God allowed Israel to become an independent nation once again.
- That was the most significant prophetic event of our lifetime.
- Since 1948, over 3-million Jews have returned to Israel.
- Today, there are over 9-million Jews living in Israel.
- Prophetically, we are in the last days of the Philadelphia church age, awaiting the rapture of the Church, which will be followed by the rise of the Antichrist, the establishment of a New World Order, and the seven years of tribulation,
- In Mathew 24, Jesus called the last 3 ½ years – “The Great Tribulation.”
- The tribulation will end with the return of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, with whom we shall reign on this earth for 1,000 years, and in the New Heaven and New Earth forever, world without end.
- The main goal for our Lords’ return is the redemption, regeneration, and restoration of the Israelites as God’s chosen people.
In Revelation 1:19, John was told to write down the things which he had seen, the things that were happening in that day, and the things that would be revealed to him regarding the future.
- After receiving the vision of the seven churches and recording the personal letters Jesus wrote to them, John said he heard a voice like a trumpet telling him to “Come up here!”
- John said he saw a “door standing open between him and heaven,” and he was told to enter the door so he could see the things that would happen in the future.
- Revelation 4:2-3 – John saw the very throne of Heaven with someone sitting on the throne.
- John saw the very glory of God.
- Revelation 4:4 – John saw the twenty-four elders seated on lesser thrones and wearing ‘stephanos’ crowns.
- John saw those believing saints who had overcome the world through their faith in Jesus Christ.
- This confirms that the Church is in heaven before the Tribulation.
- John saw seven lamps representing the seven spirits of God, which are described in Isaiah 11:2.
- The Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel, the Spirit of Might, the Spirit of Knowledge, and the Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.
- Since God has only one Spirit, then each lamp represented one aspect of the One Spirit.
- John saw the Seraphim – fiery angels whose only assignment is to glorify God and to praise Him forever.
- John said, when the living creatures gave glory and honor and thanks unto God, the twenty-four elders fell down and cast their crowns before the throne.
- Revelation 5 – John saw the Lamb open the scrolls with the seven seals.
- That scroll describes the wrath that God will doon pour out on this earth in His judgment against those who refused to receive His Son as their Savior and Lord, and to bring the nation of Israel to repentance.
- The events described in Revelation 4-11 will occur after the rapture of the Church.
The three purposes of the Tribulation:
- To make an end of wickedness –
- Isaiah 13:9 –
- Isaiah 24:19-20 –
- To bring about the worldwide revival –
- To break Israel’s stubborn rejection –
- Daniel 11:36 –
- Daniel 12:7 –
- Leviticus 26:19 –
- Jeremiah 16:14-15 –
Scriptural proof of Israel’s Regeneration:
- Ezekiel 20:33-38 – the prophet parallels God deliverance of the Jews from Egypt with their final regeneration yet to come.
- God brought Israel out of captivity in Egypt:
- To give them the Law of Moses –
- To construct the Tabernacle – God’s House –
- To prepare them for the Promised Land – the Holy Land –
- This compares with the purpose of the Great Tribulation, which is also known as “The Day of the Lord.”
- Ezekiel 22:17-22 –
- Ezekiel 36 – 1-36 –
- There are 18 “I Will’s” in this passage, and when the Day of the Lord comes, the remnant of Israel will cry out unto God to fulfill those 18 things.
- Jeremiah 3:13 –
- Hosea 5:15 –
- The pronoun “I” refers to the Messiah who returned to the Father’s House where He will stay until the Jews confess their sins and cry out unto God for forgiveness.
- “After two days,”- if, as Peter said, a day is as a thousand years, it has been 2,000 years since the Lord returned to the Father’s House.
So, the main reasons for the Lord’s return are:
- To bring the Jewish people to confess and repent of their sins.
- To bring the Jewish people to plead with God the Father for the Redeemer’s return.
Satan knows this, and he knows his future is tied to the return of Jesus, which tells us why he wants to destroy Israel and all those who support her.
- He knows his time will be over when Jesus returns, but he also knows that Jesus won’t be coming back until these two conditions are met.
- If we clearly understand this we can, I believe, see the underlying reasons for the rise in anti-Semitism, whether it is religious or political or just plain prejudice.
- The nearer we are to the Tribulation, the stronger the Anti-Semitism will rise, to the point that, according to Zechariah 13:8, two thirds of the Jewish population will perish in the first half of the tribulation, and during the last half of the tribulation, the antichrist will try to destroy the rest, but Jesus returns and destroys the antichrist and those who followed him.
Zechariah 13:8: “And it shall come to pass in all the land,” says the Lord, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘This is My people’ and each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
