Israel in the Landscape of Biblical Prophecy

Israel in the Prophetic Landscape

I. The Original Promises to Abraham:

1. Gen. 15: Abrahamic Covenant: Promises. Unconditional: 3. Things: Land, Linage, Lord.

2. That began a Satanic attack:
–Who gets the land?
–Will the linage survive? Jews. Destroyed?
–Lord: Is the Lord from Isaac/Jews, or change the story make it from Ishmale?

3. The promised land becomes a central theme of the Bible.
–Gen. 16, Abraham and Sarah lapsed in faith. God promised a child through Sarah. (Gen. 16:12)
–14 years later: Sarah has a son named Isaac.

4. Problem: One father, two mothers, two sons: One covenant. Which son gets covenant?

5. Genesis 22: God calls Abraham to sacrifice his son. Mt. Moriah.
Isaac becomes a pointer to Jesus. On that place: Jerusalem.

II. Jesus: Prophesied Israel’s destruction. (Matthew 24)
Matthew 24:1-22

ILLU: March A.D. 70 Jews rebelled against Rome. Romans surrounded Jerusalem. Titus three legions on Mount of Olives. 70k Romans!/ Christians fled by roof top!
1. Romans allowed people in celebrate Passover, Not leave. Dwindled food. May, Titus broke down the wall with a ram.

2. Temple destroyed August. Burned temple = overlaid gold melted away, dripped into the rocks, and the soldiers dug up the rocks to get to the gold.
3. 1,100,000 people killed in the siege, 97k captured, enslaved. City destoryed.

4. Jewish Historian Josephus: “Men and women, old and young, insurgents and priests, those who fought and those who entreated mercy, were hewn down in indiscriminate carnage. The number of the slain exceeded that of the slayers. The legionaries had to clamber over heaps of dead to carry on the work of extermination.”

DESOLATIN: Brought an end to Israel state/ended Judaism practiced religion in Jerusalem. Exiled Jews all over the earth. Once more Jews in Brooklyn than in Jerusalem!

III. Revelation: Prophesied Israel’s protection.
Revelation 12:1-17
• Joseph’s dream: (Gen. 37:9)
• Out of Israel, and for Israel first, comes Messiah.
• This is a painful period for Israel: Cry out? Painful time in history. They are an occupied people. The Romans are crushing down on them. Jews referred to: “The Birth Pains Of The Messiah.”
• Red Dragon. (Revelation 12:3-4) 7 heads/10 horns/7crowns: Swept 1/3 stars to earth. (Angels fall)
• Stands waiting woman birth. (Revelation 12:4) So he can devour the baby. (War Jesus life)
• Woman gives birth. (Revelation 12:5) Male child, rule nations iron rod. Caught up throne.
• The woman goes into the desert: (Revelation 12:6) Keener: “Revelation seems to employ this figure to tell us about the kind of time rather than the length of time, emphasizing primarily that it is tribulation.”
• War in heaven: (Revelation 12:7-9) Michael/angels cast Satan down.
• Satan goes after Israel. (Revelation 12:13-16)
• The desert is the earth. Israel is cast out into the earth, away from her homeland.
• Satan pours lies out against the woman. (Revelation 12:15-16) The earth swallowing the river is a symbol of a nation on the earth pressing back against the lies of Satan against the Jews.

IV. Ezekiel: Prophesied Israel’s Return to the Land.
Ezekiel 36-37

Ezekiel 36: 
1. He preaches to the mountains. 36:1-7. Short: He is speaking to the LAND.

2. Promise: The land itself will be abundant again. 36:8 Promises:

3. Response to the nations:

4. God tells them: He is about to act on Behalf of His name/not for them! v.22-
24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. (Promise to return to the land) … 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. (Holy Spirit) And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my pple/I be your God.

5. New listing of promises:
–Forgiveness from uncleanness. v.29.
–Grain not famine. v.29 “I will summon the grain and make it abundant…” v.29.
–Cities be inhabited. v.33.
–Cleanse them from iniquities. v.33. (Forgive)
–They will say: This land that was desolate become like Garden Eden. v.35
–I will increase the people like a flock. v.37. (True! Jews everywhere)

6. God says: When I bless you: You will remember you don’t deserve it!
Ezekiel 36:32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord God; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.

Ezekiel 37:
Prophesied in 36, Visualized in 37. = Now we have a living Israel.

1. Ezekiel taken to a valley: Full dry bones. God and Ezekiel walk around the dry bones. God: Can these bones live? Ezekiel: You know! / God: Prophecy over the bones, say:
37:4 O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

2. Ezekiel preaches to the dry bones: Hears them coming together!
37:7 there was a sound, and behold, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

3. Explanation:
11 Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

4. Sticks: 37:15-23
–For Judah. –For Joseph. “The stick of Ephraim.”
Bring them together: One in your hand.
Mean: He is about bring nation under one head again.

5. How? By David: 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They

V. Some Things That We Anticipate:
1. The nations surrounding Israel. Specifically from the north.
2. A great Revival among the Jewish people. (Romans 11)

Romans 11:1-32

VI. An order of events:

1. The destruction of Israel. (Abomination: Jerusalem destroyed. Israel cease)  This is fulfilled in A.D. 70.

2. Israel will be scattered into the nations. 
(Christians will survive)
As if carried by a great Eagle.

3. Birth pains begin: Wars, Famines, Earthquakes. Tribulation.  This is the nature of the earth and human history untilt he Coming of Christ.

4. God will give the Jews the lands of the Gentiles. Settle into the earth.

5. Revelation 12: Dragon will try purue Israel into wilderness. Too scattered.
–He turn his attention to Christians.
–He will bring lies and slander against Jews.
–He will cause earth hate Jews. (Holocost)

6. Ezekiel: Promise, Like Dray bones: Israel will live again.
–Happened 1948.

7. Paul:
–God has allowed Israel to harden their hearts.
–Even now there is a “remnant.” (Think movements like Messianic.)
–Expect God to bring them back very quickly.

8. These things all build toward the final events: Second Coming. Parousia.

……………
Questions for reflection:
1. In the last days, Satan blinds unbelievers so they will reject the Gospel. What are some ways or tactics the devil uses to blind the world? (“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel.” 2 Cor. 4:4)
2. What are some ways that God’s promises to the Jews should encourage Gentiles?
3. Do you think God has a right to give land to a specific people group, or is the land up for grabs?
4. Is it possible for a nation to behave badly politically, and yet maintain God’s election? (Romans 11:29)
5. How are Ezekiel 36-37 an encouragement to us today?
6. In Revelation 12, the Dragon not only attacks Israel (the woman) but also the Church. What are some ways that the Dragon attacks Israel and the Church? How do we overcome the dragon?
7. Paul warned Christians not to become arrogant regarding the Jews. (he says, “wise” in our own eyes.) How might Christians be tempted toward arrogance? (Romans 11:25)