IGT

Jesus and Israel in Prophecy

When they had appointed him a day, there came many to him (Paul, the Apostle) into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not (Acts 28:23-24). Paul used the prophecies to provide supernatural evidence that Jesus was and is the promised Savior of the world; the One who can forgive sins and give eternal life to all who believe and trust in Him. Fulfilled prophecy also provides evidence of the accuracy of the Bible. Future prophecy serves as warning as well as hope that there is a coming Kingdom of God after this world ends.

There were approximately 456 identifiably fulfilled characteristics regarding Jesus’ birth, life, death, deeds, travels, etc. (Messianic Prophecies) in the Old Testament. The dates of these prophecies ranged from hundreds to nearly two thousand years before his birth having been written by various individuals such as Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zachariah and many others. Furthermore, Jesus, as God, can be identified throughout scriptures from Genesis through Revelation. Jesus even pointed that fact out when He once said, You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me… For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me (John 5:39, 46).

There have been several studies, conducted by many credible statisticians, that reveal the completely astounding, mind-blowing improbabilities of Jesus fulfilling only eight of these prophecies in His lifetime. Yet, incredibly, He fulfilled every single one of them – all 456 of them. After Jesus had risen from the grave, while speaking with His disciples, He said that These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me (Luke 24:44). Jesus knew that mankind needed evidence and by no coincidence but by God inspired prophecy we have been given that irrefutable proof in the scriptures of the Bible.

According to these experts, the mathematical probability of fulfilling only eight of those prophecies equates to 1 in 10 to the 17^th power (100,000,000,000,000,000). What, then, would be the kind of number that would equate to the fulfillment of all 456? Only God with His infinite power and wisdom could handle such a statistical nightmare with such ease. Should we honestly expect this to be a difficult task for the One who created the entire universe and everything in it?

God was very gracious in supplying us with a book detailing, well, everything, from creation, the events that led up to the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Actually, the entire history and future of our planet is documented in the Bible playing out like a drama right before our very eyes. As we read this book it becomes quite clear that the present prophetic timeline in which we are now living is the period known as the “End Times” according to the scriptures. If we know already by scriptural evidence that the Bible has been 100 percent completely accurate in describing our past history via thousands of fulfilled prophecies as well as the fulfilled messianic prophecies regarding Jesus, how then could any sane person deliberately dismiss and ignore the remaining 500 or so which pertain directly to our world's future?

Many wonder whether there have been any clearly identifiable prophecies fulfilled in recent history? Yes. The re-gathering of the Jews and the re-establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948 after 2000 years is just one of many. Jesus, Himself, not only foretold of the scattering of the Jews into all of the lands, but of an eventual reunion of the Jewish people and of the Israeli nation at the end of the age. Our own recorded history proves that this long-dispersed people not only kept their identity intact but a series of unprecedented circumstances spanning hundreds of years brought them back together into their original homeland. Never has any other people been that far removed from their homeland for so long, yet was still able to keep their identity. Deep down in their hearts God gave them a yearning for their homeland like no other people group has ever experienced. They were especially called by God from the beginning of time to fulfill His plan and purpose. “Next year in Jerusalem!” they would cry as they never forgot and remembered to keep their Holy days.

Yes, everyday prophecy is being further fulfilled for God’s plan is ongoing and will never cease until all things have come to pass and the end of the ages has finally arrived. God, from the beginning of time, very systematically and deliberately set in motion this miraculous series of billions times infinity of events that will continue to lead to and fulfill every last detail of what He has already expounded in scripture. Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure... (Isaiah 46:9-10).

The following are just a few scriptures that foretell of the rebirth of Israel and of its people:

Jeremiah who lived around 2600 years ago was inspired by God to write, For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people, Israel and Judah, saith the Lord; and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it (Jeremiah 30:3). The phrase “bring again the captivity” is a little confusing to some. It actually means “to cease the captivity” and the wording is used throughout the Old Testament.

Ezekiel, who lived around 2600 years ago, was inspired by God to write, Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land… (Ezekiel 34:11-13).

Moses, who lived around 3400 years ago, was inspired by God to write, And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee, And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers (Deuteronomy 30:1-5).

Isaiah, who lived around 2700 years ago, was inspired by God to write, I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back; bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth, even every one that is called by my name… (Isaiah 43:5-6).

God also inspired Isaiah to write, Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children (Isaiah 66:8).

On May 14th, 1948, what is regarded as one of the greatest moments in prophetic history was the actual fulfillment of Isaiah 66:8. David Ben-Gurion, the leader of Israel’s National Council, read The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel. It stated: “We, members of the People’s Council, representatives of the Jewish Community of Eretz-Israel . . . by virtue of our natural and historic right and on the strength of the Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly, hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.”

Have nations ever in history just been “declared” a nation, in this case by a UN vote? Just as the scriptures had stated - in one day - “who has ever heard such a thing!” Most remarkably, the scriptures and fulfillment all related to the same subject - Israel and the Jewish people - after two thousand years! Just another statistical improbability that God’s plan defied.

These were just a tiny sample of the thousands of scriptures foretelling events that have already occurred. If the Bible has been proven to be this historically accurate, how then can people dismiss as fiction its prophecies that directly relate to our future? Well, some declare that they are hard to understand? Yet, it seems that the closer we come to the end, the more clear they are actually becoming. Where years ago prophetic scripture seemed to be very allegorical, it is now becoming quite literally best understood using a very literal interpretation. What seemed unclear is now becoming quite clear, which is what we would expect regarding prophetic events as they draw ever near.

What in times past seemed allegorical is now, when read literally, in the light of our advanced technological age, definitely not allegorical at all. Revelation, as well as other scriptures, describes the fulfillment of all prophetic things - the end of the world as we know it. Events in Revelation, which beforetime were hard to understand, can now be explained and understood, even in a scientific manner - when read literally. This is a direct result of our more advanced understanding of science, astronomy, biology, computers, aeronautics, and even sociology and economics having finally caught up with the technology of the Bible.

Can we identify, from day to day, how the Bible’s prophetic events are shaping our current world? Yes. It is very easy to see how our present world’s political and geopolitical alignments of nations and alliances are falling into their prophetic positions. Also, as economies fail and turmoil becomes rampant, computer technology is rapidly becoming available that will help fulfill the economic and world-wide governing of all nations by one governmental authority where any buying and selling can only be accomplished by way of using a specific method of authentication - a Mark if you will. The world and even the United States is, in fact, rapidly moving toward a cashless society. Prophecies concerning current events and trends as well as the future, written in the language perspective of thousands of years ago, and seemingly allegorical in nature because of that time span, are now becoming literal facts given the technological terms of our day and time.

Get curious. Read the Bible. Many enthusiastically watch television documentaries regarding the prophecies of Nostradamus and others which are very unclear, vague, imprecise and inaccurate having a wide-range of interpretations. Yet, when confronted with the preciseness, clarity and accuracy of the Bible, they choose to scoff. Why? Well, the Bible also speaks of holiness in living; of loving your neighbor as yourself; of all being guilty of sin with an outcome of judgment and Hell; and of accepting a Savior named Jesus who died for the sins of all mankind that they may live forever with Him in Heaven. They do not want hear those parts of the Bible. Yet, you cannot have one without the other so they choose to reject it all.

Read God’s Word and let its truth compel you to acknowledge your guilt and accept Jesus as your Savior who freely rewards those who do with Eternal Life. It is quite literally that easy, yet most will continue to reject Him. The problem is, it is really not that easy - from an unsaved person’s perspective. “My lifestyle would need to change!” Unfortunately, it actually comes down to how a person really wants to live. The pleasures of this world are mostly carnal and with carnal things there is a real enjoyment. But are these necessary? For most the answer is a resounding “Yes!” - more than life itself it would seem. The draw of alcohol, sex, drugs, lying, thieving, cursing, and living without any love for God whatsoever is very strong. Yet for this and more they will trade the forgiveness of sins; a relationship with Jesus; and Eternal life itself.

Wake up! Let prophecy and the truth of God’s Word reveal to you the plan of God from the beginning of time until the end of time. Let it show you the path to salvation and of life everlasting with a God that literally laid down His very life to give you a Hope of a future with Him in Heaven - Jesus, the way, the truth, the life. Because, God has loved in such a manner the satan’s world, so that He Gave His Son, the Only Begotten Risen Christ, in order that whoever is Continuously by his choice Committing for the Result and Purpose of Him, should not perish, but definitely should, by his choice, be Continuously Having Eternal Life (John 3:16). [Committing means putting your entire being under the orders of another.]

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