The light of the Gospel will shine on Israel in the end times.
All through Scripture, the Bible prophesies that in the end times, a remnant of Jewish believers will come to a full acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as the prophesied Messiah and Savior of the Old Testament. The plan of salvation of God involved the Jews initially rejecting their Messiah and coming to a full saving faith as a nation during the final years before the Second Coming of The Lord. This article will explain the reconciliation of the remnant and their supernatural fate in the kingdom of the Antichrist.
The Rejection of Jesus Christ Led To Spiritual Blindness
Today, many devout Jewish people do not worship according to Scripture.
“Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” – Matthew 23:34-39.
In this powerful passage The Lord Jesus Christ rebuked the nation of Israel for their rejection of Him and all of the prophets and men of God who pointed to the coming of the Savior throughout the Old Testament. This was the moment when The Christ should have been received by the twelve tribes. But because of their spiritual rebellion and false religion (promoted by the Pharisees and Sadducees) they “would not” receive the Savior. And not only did they reject The Lord, they demanded He put to death which was carried out by Pontius Pilate.
As a result, the Israelites would be cut off and punished (chiefly by the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem itself which took place in 70AD by the Roman Empire as prophesied by Jesus Christ). In the intervening centuries much of Jewish thought became guided by non-Biblical texts like the Talmud and Zohar. But note that in the very last verse of Matthew 23, Jesus told His Jewish audience that they would not “see” Him again until they said “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” In the midst of the rebuke and judgment was a glimmer of hope – one day Israel would indeed “see” Jesus Christ for who He truly Is: The Son of God and prophesied Messiah of The Old Testament.
The Spiritual Blindness of Israel – Start of The Church Age
The punishment of Israel led to the Lord giving the Gospel to the Gentile Church.
“What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?” – Romans 11:7-12.
The “slumber” and “blindness” of Israel is their collective, national rejection and opposition to the Gospel of Jesus Christ [B&E: Of course individual Jewish believers can and do come to saving faith in Jesus Christ on a regular basis]. However as the Apostle Paul explains, this opened the door for the Church Age – in which God will bring salvation to the Gentile nations. This is the present era we live in.
But in verse 12, Paul also acknowledges that Israel will eventually come to “fulness” – meaning a full understanding of God’s Word and saving faith in the true Messiah. Paul acknowledged this that was all a mystery in ancient times:
“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father’s sakes.” – Romans 11:25-28.
The mystery – now revealed in the Church Age was that Israel (as a nation) would remain in Spiritual blindness until the Church Age was complete. The completion of the Church Age occurs at the Rapture. When God will remove the Church from the Earth and once again turn His Face back to Israel.
Israel In The End Times
Contrary to popular thought, the Bible teaches that Israel – not the Church, is the focus of the end times.
The last fifteen chapters of the book of Ezekiel detail the spiritual awakening and reconciliation of Israel to God during the Great Tribulation and Millennial Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Here are a sample verses that explain the reconciliation of Israel to God in the end times:
God Will Bring Israel Back Into The Promised Land And Appoint The Messiah To Rule Over Them
“And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
“And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing…and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.
“…Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.” – Ezekiel 34:23-31.
God Will Work Spiritual Change In The Hearts Of The Israelites
“Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
“For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” – Ezekiel 36:22-27.
Valley of The Dry Bones – The Jews Will Be Spiritually Alive
Ezekiel’s vision represented the Holy Spirit bringing believing faith and salvation to the remnant of Israel.
In this dramatic illustration, the prophet Ezekiel was shown a vision of a valley full of dried up bones of the dead. And The Lord supernaturally brings flesh and life back into the bones, turning it into a mighty army:
“Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
“Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.”- Ezekiel 37:5-10.
The Twelve Tribes Will No Longer Be Divided
In the Old Testament Judah and Benjamin were separated from the other 10 tribes as a part of a judgment for Israel’s spiritual apostasy. Both the Northern and Southern kingdoms were ultimately conquered by foreign armies. In the end times, the 12 tribes will be reunited:
“And [The Lord] shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord. The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and for all the house of Israel his companions…Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.” – Ezekiel 37:14-16; 19.
Jesus Christ Will Rule Israel In An Eternal Government
Israel will be regathered in the Promised Land during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
“And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
“Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.” – Ezekiel 37:24-28.
During the time of the prophet Ezekiel King David had been dead for approximately 500 years. The “David” spoken of in this passage is the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus in Scripture is called the “Son of David” who will sit on the “throne of David.” And God The Father also called Jesus His “Beloved Son” during the baptism of Christ. David, in Hebrew means “beloved.”
The Gog Magog War
Ezekiel 38 and 39 chronicle the Gog Magog wars – 2 military conflicts in which foreign coalitions try to invade Israel only to be supernaturally conquered by God. The first attack which commences after the opening of the 6th Seal and the Rapture, will coincide with the spiritual awakening of Israel. For more on this see our article: “The Two Wars of Gog Magog – Ezekiel 38 and 39 Explained.”
The Final Deception – The Antichrist
Satan – The Dragon of Revelation 12 – will attempt to destroy the believing remnant in the end times.
Although Israel will corporately come to a Biblical worship of God at the start of the Day of The Lord, the final deception will be that some will be deceived by the Antichrist – the satanically empowered false Messiah who will rule the Earth for the final 3 1/2 years before the Second Coming of Christ. The Bible prophesies that the Antichrist will present himself as a savior to Israel, conquering its hostile neighbors and reinstituting the Mosaic law:
“And one week shall establish the covenant with many: and in the midst of the week my sacrifice and drink-offering shall be taken away: and on the temple shall be the abomination of desolations; and at the end of time an end shall be put to the desolation.” – Daniel 9:27, Brenton’s Septuagint.
In the end times, “the covenant” – which is the Mosaic law, will be reinstituted. Thus there will be temple sacrifices and proper Levitical worship. But in the middle of this final 7 years, the Antichrist will reveal his true agenda: to proclaim himself god and establish a global satanic empire (bringing and end to the “sacrifice and drink-offering). At this time, he will seek to persecute the believing Jewish remnant:
“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads…and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.” – Revelation 12:1-3; 5-6.
The woman of Revelation 12 is Israel and the Antichrist will seek to persecute and destroy all Jewish believers. The Antichrist will proclaim himself god, demand worship under penalty of death and set up an image of himself in the temple of god (the “abomination of desolation” of Daniel 9 and quoted by The Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 24). However, the believing Israelite remnant will be supernaturally protected for 1,260 days – the precise duration of the reign of the Antichrist before the Second Coming.
The final step in Israel’s reconciliation is the faith in the true Christ – Jesus:
“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” – Zechariah 12:10-11.
The believing Israelite nation will “look upon” Jesus and realize that the same Jesus who was “pierced” on the cross 2,000 years ago, who was rejected and scorned by Israel – is the true Messiah. And the “mourning” will be their repentance and salvation through faith in Christ.
During this time in the Great Tribulation, only 1/3 of the Jewish nation will come to a full understanding and belief in Jesus Christ as the Messiah:
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.” – Zechariah 13:7-9.
The Millennium – All Israel Is Saved
All believers – Jew and Gentile will be united in Jesus Christ.
Ezekiel chapters 40-49 all focus on the construction and administration of the temple during the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ. After the Great Tribulation, the Antichrist and Armageddon, the temple will be rededicated to God and Jesus Christ will reign over earth for 1,000 years. During this time, the promises of Israel to dwell in the Promised Land forever will be fulfilled:
“For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.” – Isaiah 62:1-3.
“And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses. And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.” – Zechariah 14:8-11.
The Church and Israel will be grafted into one Branch – The Lord Jesus Christ, ruling and reining with the Savior. If you are a Christian know that Jewish people can be saved today. Share the Gospel with those of the Jewish faith and the many wonderful prophecies of their corporate, ultimate reconciliation to the Messiah.
“However as the Apostle Paul explains, this opened the door for the Church Age – in which God will bring salvation to the Gentile nations. This is the present era we live in.”
While I agree with most everything written here, my single question is; if it took the Apostle Paul to explain, when did the “church age” begin?
Scripture never mentions a church age. But the Lord of hosts (Messiah) formed His assembly aka “church” at Sinai on the day of Pentecost and then renewed it on the day of Pentecost in Acts by writing the holy Torah upon their hearts and indwelling them with His Spirit. Acts 7:38 ~ “This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us:”
“Bizarre” for you to suggest that scripture never mentions the church age, wow. I don’t know at whose feet you sit under for teaching, but that is OUT there, THAT’S for sure.
I say Cherry picking scriptures. How about the role Is real is playing in the modern world? The destruction of any that stand in the way of the zion empire.
Does God condone genocide?
I believe this whole scenario is being contrived, scripture is being played, prophecy is being forced…
Is real is not a Christian nation, they are unlikely to repent any time soon, not while they are plying at global hegemony, with the backing of the evil empire Amurica, the land of the plumed serpent.
The founding of Israel is via Satanic influence, so who is their father?
In Zechariah 12:2-3 God says: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah [the Jews inhabiting the land of Israel] and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”
In Zechariah 12:9 He adds, “It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”
Very well stated.
A word study of “covenant” in Dan 9 will reveal the OT authors never used “covenant” as a “treaty” between God’s people and heathens. Covenant ALWAYS referred to God’s relationship with his people. Dan9 is being misinterpretted grossly by prophecy buffs.
If We can accept modern history is fake, a playbook, since at least Napolean, we see who the real players are. Those who’s name must not be spoken, “ye are of your father the devil”.
I agree with Al above, the zion agenda is not a Christian one.
I don’t know how Yahweh is going to repatriate His people, out of what They have become.
Is world Jewry, Zionism, even/ are His people or is this all a stage.
Atrocities have been committed and perpetuated against the enemy of Zion which have been mirror imaged and regurgitated to the world as genocide etc.
What is the narrative which cannot be challenged, that nobody dare speak aloud?
This singular event unfortunately is only a narrative, there is scant evidence these atrocities were deliberately committed, and there is no voice in defence to be heard.
Revisionist history is blocked, there are names and labels on any dissent, anti semetic is a sin.
Now the same scenario is being played out over East. Russia is the new Germany, The Ukraine stands in for Poland, wit NATO to back it up, world opinion is propagandised, the truth is lost.
Exactly the same as Germany back then.
If you read history from the few sources which sneak through, it’s obvious who the protagonists are.
I just watched a film about General Patton, He was disgusted with the treatment of Germans after the war, how many million were kept in open air prisons, and starved to death under USA control, and who was the USA, the Zionist league which started the whole thing.
Such was the level of hate, they crushed Germany, civilians et al, this was the true holocaust.
Getting around to my point, If you accept the above world history, (and I’m sure there’s many who refuse);
I want to know how Hitler and WW2 Germany play out in revelations? If we have been force fed a narrative from the winners, how are we to interpret history into bible prophecy? Hitler, little horn, cut off?