The scoffers tell us that the miraculous reappearing of Israel as a nation in 1948 has nothing to do with the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. In spite of God’s supernatural protection of the nation through many wars, the naysayers tell us there’s nothing to see here and insist that the church is now the recipient of God’s kingdom promises.
On May 14, 1948, Israel again became a nation “in a day,” which was precisely what the prophet Isaiah predicted would happen (Is. 66:9). However, there are many more reasons to regard today’s Israel as occupying a key role in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.
Its Current State of Unbelief
Some say that the current state of Israel cannot be the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies because of its unbelief and waywardness. However, they fail to recognize that this is precisely how the book of Ezekiel pictured the initial reemergence of the nation (Ezekiel 37:1-14).
The Lord took the prophet to a “valley” that “was full of dry bones.” Later, He told Ezekiel, “These bones are the whole house of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:11). Throughout the passage, there’s a progression from dry skeletal remains to that of resurrected people filled with the Holy Spirit.
The prophet first heard a “rattling of the bones” and watched as they gained the appearance of human beings with flesh covering the previously bare bones, but yet with “no breath in them.” The last stage was “an exceedingly great army” fully alive and invigorated by the Holy Spirit.
What the prophet witnessed in that brief time was the full restoration of Israel, which would take place over many years. What we see today is Israel standing on its feet, but not yet a fully restored nation such as will happen at Jesus’ return to the earth.
The Preoccupation of the World with Jerusalem
Another Old Testament prophet accurately predicted the world’s current fixation on Israel and, in particular, Jerusalem.
“The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: ‘Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it’” (Zechariah 12:2-3).
Do we not see this prophecy playing out in real time today? The nations all around Israel are attacking and threatening to destroy Israel. World powers have become fixated on Jerusalem as they seek to resolve the crisis or join in the battle should the crisis become an all-out war. The U.S. has one-third of its naval forces in the Middle East.
Is it possible that what we see today could lead to the time when “all the nations of the earth will gather against” the tiny nation? This is a certain outcome given the hostility of the world toward Israel and the Jewish people.
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