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Her Past, Present, and Future: Understanding the Role of Israel in History (Part 8)

 

Israel’s Future


Israel Plays a Vital Role in Starting the Future Tribulation

     Jesus can return for the church at any time (rapture). But the Tribulation will begin when Israel signs a covenant with the Antichrist.

He will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator (Daniel 9:27).

Israel Will Be the Focus of the Tribulation

     The tribulation period is “a time of trouble for Jacob” (Jeremiah 30:7). Israel is God’s primary concern during the Tribulation since the church will already have been removed.

     (1) The tribulation will be a time of Israel’s persecution (Revelation 12:1-17). (2) The tribulation will be a time of Israel’s cleansing (Ezekiel 20:37-38; Jeremiah 30:11; Zechariah 13:9). (3) The tribulation will be a time of Israel’s service (Revelation 7:3). (4) The tribulation will be a time of Israel’s war (Revelation 16:16; Zechariah 12:3; 14:2).

     During the tribulation, all people will suffer, but God’s focus will be on Israel and His goal will be to bring them to faith in Jesus and restore them to Himself.

Israel Will Initiate the Second Coming of the Messiah

     We know Christ will return at the end of the 7-year period because Israel will call for His return, and He will do so in His mercy (Matthew 23:37-39). What will cause Israel to do this? Zechariah predicted that at the end of the Tribulation the nations will gather in Israel and attack Jerusalem (Zechariah 12:1-9).  The suffering will be so severe and the situation so grave that they will turn to their God for deliverance. God will open their eyes so that

They will look at me whom they pierced. They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and weep bitterly for him as one weeps for a firstborn (Zechariah 12:10).

     They will be cleansed,

On that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the residents of Jerusalem, to wash away sin and impurity (Zechariah 13:1).

     and saved,

And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob (Romans 11:26).

     God will also deliver her from her attackers,

Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. The Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, forming a huge valley, so that half the mountain will move to the north and half to the south. You will flee by my mountain valley, for the valley of the mountains will extend to Azal. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him (Zechariah 14:3-5).

     Israel is the key to the Second Coming.

Israel Will Be the Head of the Nations in the Messianic Kingdom

     The Messianic kingdom that Jesus will establish will bring renovation to the earth as well as universal peace. But it will be special for the Jews. All the Jews will have turned to Jesus as Lord and all who are still scattered will be returned to the land and will fully inhabit the land according to the provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant. The Messiah will reign from the throne of David in Jerusalem and will rule over Israel and all the nations. Israel will be the head of the nations (Deut. 28:13; Isa. 14:1-2; 49:22-23; 60:1-3; 61:4-9; Mic. 7:14-17; Zeph. 3:20). The ancient rabbis were right when they said, “Israel is like a vine: trodden underfoot; but sometime later its wine is placed on the table of a king. So, Israel, at first oppressed, will eventually come to greatness” (Talmud: Nedarim 49b).

 

All Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

 

Copyright © 2020 by Miguel J Gonzalez Th.D.

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