Monthly Archives: January 2018

Israel – A Powerful Witness to the Divine Inspiration of the Bible

Of all the nations that God has prophesied about in the Bible, Israel is mentioned the most often with a vast amount of detail. It’s very exciting to consider the prophecies and the way in which God has brought all of this to pass. This is a modern-day miracle which we are privileged to witness!

Warnings to Israel
As far back as the time of Moses, the nation was warned that if they failed to keep God’s commands, they would receive many curses and be scattered to all ends of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:15, 63-68). Dismayed at the lack of faith he found in Israel, Jesus pronounced, “Behold, your house is forsaken.” (Luke 13:35) After Israel crucified their Messiah, the Gospel began to be preached to the Gentiles and by 70 AD the nation of Israel ceased to exist; they were scattered to the ends of the earth just as Jesus and the prophecies foretold. Jerusalem was taken by the Romans and given the name Aelia Capitolina. Thus began the ‘times of the Gentiles”, as it says in Luke 21:24, “Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

Bible Students were convinced of the Restoration Centuries Ago
However, in the last century, we have witnessed the prophecies of restoration taking place! The prophecies are so clear and detailed that hundreds of years before Israel became a nation, Bible students were able to ascertain the Jews would be restored. I have attached a few examples from the writings of various Bible students in the 1700 and 1800’s who fervently believed that this restoration of the Jews had to occur before Jesus Christ returned to earth! One such Bible student was the famous scientist Isaac Newton, whose religious writings have only been recently released to the public (note that ‘ye’ is ‘the’):

“For they understand not that ye final return of ye Jews captivity & their conquering the nations & setting up a peaceable righteous & flourishing Kingdom at ye day of judgment is this mystery. Did they understand this they would find it in all ye old Prophets who write of ye last times as in ye last chapters of Isaiah where the Prophet conjoyns the new heaven & new earth wth ye ruin of ye wicked nations, the end of weeping & of all troubles, the return of ye Jews captivity & their setting up a flourishing & everlasting Kingdom.”
ISAAC NEWTON on The Mystery of this Restitution of all Things, by Stephen Snobelen.

Another Bible student, John Thomas, wrote in the 1800’s:

“There is, then, a partial and primary restoration of Jews before the manifestation, which is to serve as the…basis, of future operations in the restoration of the rest of the tribes after he has appeared in the kingdom. The pre-adventual colonization of Palestine will be on purely political principles; and the Jewish colonists will return in unbelief of the Messiahship of Jesus, and of the truth as it is in him. They will emigrate thither as agriculturists and traders, in the hope of ultimately establishing their commonwealth, but more immediately of getting rich in silver and gold by commerce with India, and in cattle and goods by their industry at home under the efficient protection of the British power. And this their expectation will not be deceived; for, before Gog invades their country, it is described by the prophet, as “a land of unwalled villages, whose inhabitants are at rest, and dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars not gates: and possessed of silver and gold, cattle and goods, dwelling in the midst of the land.” (Ezek. 38:11,12,13). Now any person acquainted with the present insecure condition of Palestine under the Ottoman dominion must be satisfied from the testimony, that some other power friendly to Israel must then have become paramount over the land, which is able to guarantee protection to the, and to put the surrounding tribes in fear. This is all that is needed, namely, security for life and property, and Palestine would be as eligible for Jewish emigration as the United States have proved for the Gentiles.”
John Thomas in Elpis Israel, page 395.

Where Are These Bible Prophecies?
So where are these amazing Bible prophecies found that led Bible students to fervently believe the Jews would return? Most are scattered throughout the Old Testament books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. Ezekiel 36 to 39 are the most detailed. For example, this is what God says in Ezekiel 36:

“I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. In accordance with their ways and their deeds I judged them. But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came… I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land...You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God… On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will cause the cities to be inhabited, and the waste places shall be rebuilt. And the land that was desolate shall be tilled, instead of being the desolation that it was in the sight of all who passed by. And they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden, and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’”

Not everything in these prophecies has yet been fulfilled. God also speaks of how He will change the Jewish people to believe in Him, trust Him and obey Him. He speaks in Ezekiel 37 of setting a king over them. We are in the middle of the fulfillment of these prophecies and there are lots of exciting things still to happen!

If you want to consider more of the restoration prophecies, have a look at Isaiah 60; Jeremiah 3:17-18; 23:5; 31:8-10; Ezekiel chapters 35-39; Daniel 8:9-15; 12:3,11; Joel 3; Zechariah 12-14.

If you are at all in doubt that God still has a purpose with the Jewish people, then read through Romans 11, especially verses 25 to 28:

“Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins. As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.”

What we have seen happen with the nation of Israel in 1948 and 1967, and even the pending battle for Jerusalem today (Zechariah 14) is all a modern-day miracle God has given to demonstrate His Word is living and powerful, even in 2018!

Also check out THOMAS NEWTON in 1754 in Dissertations on the Prophecies Which Have Remarkably Been Fulfillled, Volume 2, page 77. Google Books.

For more on this topic, see these excellent You Tube videos:

The MOST important video about Israel you’ll ever see.
By thelandofisrael.

Six Days of Miracles by World Mizrachi

Is the Bible Inspired by God?

How can we prove the Bible is Inspired by God?
When people go in search of real, factual Truth, they need to first ensure that their sources are reliable. The Bible makes claims in many places that it is a message revealed from God above. For instance:

“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14-17 ESV)

“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20-21 ASV)

Either these claims are true, or they aren’t. The whole book stands or falls together. It is either a true revelation from God to man, or a very clever deception by human beings. There are several convincing proofs that the Bible is indeed a message given directly from God – health regulations, consistency, archaeological evidence, fulfilled prophecy, and so much more.

Health Regulations
Health regulations in the Bible are based on knowledge far in advance of scientific discoveries of the times. One has only to read through the Law of Moses in the Old Testament (Exodus to Deuteronomy) to discover that at the very beginning God, the Creator of our world, understood what was best for humans to avoid disease and illness. The extensive use of water to cleanse, the avoidance of close contact with those who had sicknesses, isolation of the diseased, the regulations against eating “unclean” animals prone to parasites, and so much more, was not even properly understood by doctors in the 1800’s, yet the Law of Moses had it right thousands of years ago!

* See this article on Disease and the Law of Moses by Dr. Stephen Palmer

Consistent Message
The Bible was written over a period of about 3000-4000 years, with many different messengers receiving God’s word and carefully recording it. The message, the theme, the symbols, the hope, and the lessons are all consistent from beginning to end. Such consistency would be very difficult, if not impossible for human beings to get right over such a long period of time.

Archaeology
We could look into the numerous ways in which archaeology proves the historical aspects of the Bible stories and characters, or the way in which the geographical accounts have helped people discover ancient cities and sites that had been ‘lost’

* See this excellent You Tube message from world-renowned Archaelogist Leen Ritmeyer
* And a helpful You Tube video Incredible – The Silent & Exciting Witness of Bible Archaeology by Stephen Whitehouse.

Psychological Help
We could consider the powerful message of good overcoming evil, the character building and the true psychological understanding of human nature. So many of the helpful sayings, and idioms of today are based upon Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, or the Psalm and Proverbs.

Fulfilled Prophecy
However, prophecy alone proves the author of the Bible to be Divine. Old Testament prophecies, given 2000 to 3000 years ago, have been remarkably accurate and detailed. In Ezekiel 26-28 we find a prophecy about the ancient nation of Tyre, detailing both the invasion by Babylon which destroyed the old city of Tyre on the mainland (Ezekiel 26:1-11), and also the later invasion of Alexander the Great (Ezekiel 26:3-4, 12-18). Read the detail and examine the historical accounts – and you will be amazed. The same applies to the prophecy in Ezekiel 29 of Egypt, and Babylon in Isaiah 13, about which God says, “it will never be inhabited or lived in for all generations.” Although Saddam Hussein tried to restore Babylon, God’s Word proved true and his attempts were thwarted; Babylon is still in ruins today. Daniel 2 accurately predicts the four successive major Empires of the world, while still in the time period of the first. The visions Daniel had in chapters 7 and 8 give details of these Empires that are amazingly accurate and could not just be someone’s ‘lucky guesses’.

*See this informative You Tube presentation on The Biblical Prophecy about Tyre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K24uwdc-ato

* And this article A Prophecy about Babylon Confirms the Accuracy of the Bible by Beyond Today

Bible Prophecy About Israel
Exceeding all the prophecies about other nations, the details given concerning the Jewish people, their scattering, regathering and what is in store for the future, are amply recorded in many books of the Bible. This is such an extensive proof of the inspiration of Scripture, that we will examine this one aspect alone in the next blog. 3000 years ago in Ezekiel 39 God said that His dealings with the Jewish people will show the world that He is God. “And the nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they dealt so treacherously with me that I hid my face from them and gave them into the hand of their adversaries…, when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands… Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land.”