Leading Israeli rabbis have also argued in recent years Jews should be preparing for the imminent arrival of their Messiah. Some rabbis have also claimed the Messiah’s coming will be preceded by the healing of the breach between Christians and Jews.
To Christians, the coming of Messiah is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Jan Markell, founder of Olive Tree Ministries, host of the radio show “Understanding the Times” and co-author of the book “Trapped in Hitler’s Hell,” says what is truly shocking is how those outside the faith are more focused on eschatology than are Christians.
“Religious Jews are more excited about Messiah’s return than Christians are,” Markell told WND. “Muslims are more anticipatory about their Mahdi’s return than are Christians about Jesus’s return. This shows the deplorable state of the church today that is ‘majoring in minors.’ They have their finance seminars and marriage conferences but have shoved the idea of the Lord’s imminent return not just to the back burner, perhaps to the back yard.”
Markell pointed to various signs of how Jewish leaders are preparing for the arrival of the Messiah and the construction of the Third Temple, including:
“I am not so sure that in my lifetime I will see more than a remnant of Christians this anticipatory for the Lord’s return,” mourned Markell.
As a “pre-Tribulation” believer, Markell believes the rapture could occur at any moment. She calls for both increased attention by Christians to the subject of the end times and dedication to the Jewish state of Israel.
“In my lifetime, the biggest change in the church is the switch of church loyalty from Israel to the Palestinians,” Markell said. “This is called ‘Christian Palestinianism.’ Before the state of Israel was born in 1948, most evangelical churches embraced ‘Christian Zionism.’ They were loyal to the state of Israel even before it was formed.
“Today the religious left and others have swung support away from Israel to an ‘invented people,’ the Palestinians. Yasser Arafat was a superb salesman and sold the world on the idea that the Palestinians had their land stolen. Arafat was an Egyptian and there was no Palestinian people. Yet today much of the world believes the Jews live in ‘occupied territory’ rather than God-given land. This is the biggest change in my lifetime. I cannot believe what I am seeing.
“If the church were functioning properly, this confusion would never have happened, but the church shredded maps of Israel 25 years ago when it decided to be politically correct rather than biblically correct.”
Bill Cloud of Shoreshim Ministries, the author of “Esau Rising: Ancient Adversaries and the War for America’s Soul,” also believes many Jews in Israel recognize something huge is about to happen.
“Several years ago some rabbis got together and declared that Israel had entered into the time of ‘Jacob’s trouble’ – terminology used in Jeremiah 30:7,” Cloud said.
“The point is this: The time leading to the advent of the Messiah is a time of trouble and is also likened unto birth pangs. With the recent development in the U.N. – the U.S. abstaining from the security council vote – and the obvious ‘stab in the back’ Israel received from the Obama administration, I feel that many of them are beginning to realize that there is no one who can save them. They cannot depend on the United Nations, the United States or anyone for that matter.”
Cloud compared President Obama to Esau in his book because he believes Obama concealed his hostile intentions towards Israel with overtures of peace.
“I feel that what many suspected about Obama and his administration is now laid bare for everyone to see,” Cloud said.
However, Cloud said that whatever the preparations the Israelis are making, ultimately, it will require a total change in outlook before they see – and recognize – their Messiah.
Concerning Israel and the coming of the Messiah, it is interesting that the Messiah said that they would see him “no more until you say ‘blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,'” said Cloud.
“Here the Messiah quoted Psalm 118 – the Psalm that was being sung when he entered into Jerusalem in the triumphal entry. What makes this interesting is that the preceding verse in Psalm 118 says, ‘Save now oh Lord.’
“My point: The Messiah was telling Israel that they would not see him again until they realized that he was the only one who could save them. When they begin to cry out to him to ‘save us’ then they would see him again. These recent developments in Israel tell me that many in Israel are arriving at that point. They are no longer looking to men and nations to save them but the Messiah.
“Where Christians around the world are concerned, I believe we need to join with those who are crying out to the Lord to save us. Men and governments will not save us. We must cry out to the only one who saves.”
“I think this fervor, especially in these genuinely prophetic times, shows the expectant attitude that seems to be sweeping the planet,” he said. “People all over the world know that ‘something is getting ready to happen.’ Will it be return of Messiah or the coming of Messiah, or will it be the arrival of Antichrist? Others are asking about the possibility of World War III, a coalition against Israel or the coming of the tribulation period. These, and questions like them, are topics of discussion all over the world, and the technology of today helps to proliferate these discussions and speculations.”
Gallups also says Christians should rejoice in what he sees as one of the most important and historic occurrences in world history – the increasing acceptance of Jesus as Messiah by Jews, including in Israel.
“We know that record numbers of Jews, both in Israel and around the world, are coming to Yeshua/Messiah as Savior and Lord,” Gallups said. “The statistics are clear regarding this fact. Many see this as the prophesied last days’ ingathering of the ‘remnant’ just before the return of Yeshua/Messiah. So, I believe there is a sense that this Messianic fervor in Israel could actually lead to even more salvations unto the real Messiah, Yeshua/Jesus.”
In yet another act of aggression towards Jews and Israel, Al-Aqsa imam and Supreme Muslim Council Head Sheikh Ekrima Sa’id Sabri has threatened that there will be war if President Elect Donald Trump moves the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Located in the Old City of Jerusalem, Al-Aqsa mosque is the third holiest site in Islam. The mosque is located in the larger compound know as the Temple Mount, which is the holiest site in Judaism. For this reason, the site has been a point of conflict for Jews and Muslims, who have continued to debate its ownership for nearly 2,000 years.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly promised that he would move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, a move that is highly contested. Israel’s enemies respond to strength, and it is an act of strength to declare and recognize Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the Jewish people while proving that the United States is in charge, which is why under a Donald Trump presidency, the embassy will likely be moved to Jerusalem.
Moving the embassy to Jerusalem is strongly opposed by Muslims who claim the holy city as their own.
“Moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem is a statement and a declaration of war against Arabs and Muslims,” said Sabri in a sermon.
According to Sabri, Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem is equivalent to declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Sabri responded by urging Muslims in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem to take action.
“We are used to saying Al-Aqsa is in danger, but now the danger is real! Recently, the occupation has added an additional hour for Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, without the agreement of the Waqf. This decision will add to the number of hours we are being attacked, and allow additional attackers on the Temple Mount.”
In September, 2016, Trump met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Trump Tower. During the meeting, it was reported that Trump told Netanyahu, “a Trump administration would finally accept the long-standing Congressional mandate to recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.”
According to Maor Tzemach’s translation of the Arab news site Palestine Information Center, in his sermon on Friday, Sabri said “moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to occupied Jerusalem is a statement and a declaration of war against Arabs and Muslims.”
Tzemach is chairman of the ‘Lach Yerushalayim’ organization, which seeks to apply Israeli sovereignty in all parts of Jerusalem.
In Sabri’s opinion, Trump’s decision to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem is a equivalent to declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Sabri also called on all Muslims in Judea, Samaria, and Jerusalem to act, saying, “We are used to saying Al-Aqsa is in danger, but now the danger is real! Recently, the occupation has added an additional hour for Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, without the agreement of the Waqf. This decision will add to the number of hours we are being attacked, and allow additional attackers on the Temple Mount.”
Citing a biblical warning of divine judgment on nations that try to partition the land God gave to the Jewish people, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) on Thursday voted against a bipartisan measure supportive of Israel, because it contained favorable references to a “two-state solution.”
“I can’t vote for the resolution when we are advocating what Joel 3 say will bring judgment down upon our nation for trying to partition Israel,” Gohmert said on the floor of the House of Representatives.
In a 342-80 vote, the House passed a non-binding measure disapproving of last month’s U.N. Security Council resolution, which condemned Israeli presence in territory – including the holiest site in Judaism – claimed by the Palestinians for a future independent state. The Obama administration’s decision to abstain and allow resolution 2334 to pass has drawn strong criticism from supporters of Israel.
Thursday’s House resolution, H.Res.11, won strong bipartisan support, but Gohmert was one of four Republicans to vote against it.
Explaining his decision to oppose the measure, Gohmert noted that it contained four references of support for the “two-state solution” – a widely-held but not universally accepted view that peace in the Middle East can only come on the basis of an independent Palestinian state alongside an Israel that has ceded “land for peace.”
Gohmert said a two-state solution would mean Israel relinquishing Hebron, which he said was the capital of the kingdom of Israel for seven years before King David moved his seat to Jerusalem some 3,000 years ago (as recorded in 2 Samuel 5.)
“Hebron is in what was the ‘Promised Land.’ David ruled from there for the first seven years he was king over Israel. Hebron is part of the two-state solution, going to the Palestinians,” he said.
“How do the Palestinians deserve the land that was given [to the Jews] as the ‘Promised Land’ 1,600 years before Mohammed even existed?” Gohmert asked.
“I can’t vote for the resolution when we are advocating what Joel 3 say will bring judgment down upon our nation for trying to partition Israel,” he said. “Can’t do it.”
The Old Testament chapter cited by Gohmert prophesies that, after God has brought back His exiled people to their land He will judge all nations for scattering them and for dividing His land.
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said on the House floor he wished there had been an opportunity for a debate on the issue.
“I’d like to have had a debate on the one-state solution versus the two-state solution, because I believe that the two-state solution has run its course and we need to pack up our tools and ship those off to the side and start all over again with a new look.”
King introduced a resolution of his own that rejects the two-state solution which, he said, “has failed to result in a secure environment for either Israel, a free country, or the Palestinians, who are led by Islamists and autocrats.”
King said his resolution encourages Israel to pursue “its own course in direct negotiations with the Palestinians, instead of Washington dictating terms upon Jerusalem.”
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