-------

Foreword

On the afternoon of May. 14, 1948 in the Municipal Museum of Tel Aviv, a hastily assembled National Council consisting of thirty-seven Jewish delegates heard David Ben-Gurion read Israel’s Declaration of Independence. The assembled delegates then signed the document, officially proclaiming Israeli statehood.

With the signing of this document a nation which had not existed for 1,900 years, nor had been out from under Gentile rule for 2,100 years, came into existence once again. Word was received before midnight in Israel that President Harry S. Truman of the United States had officially recognized the new government as “the de facto authority of the new State of Israel.” The Soviet Union extended de jure recognition three days later.

Since May 14, 1948 the world has not been the same. The focal point of world attention, in the wake of a mounting explosive situation, has continued rapidly to shift to the Middle East. History at the beginning of the 6,000 years allotted to man, comprising Man’s Day, began in the Middle East. God’s dealings with man during these 6,000 years have centered around the Middle East. We are now coming full circle and drawing very near the time when history during this same period will also end in the Middle East.

As we approach the end of the age unrest among nations continues to intensify. World leaders, although they understand not why, know that maintaining the thin thread separating peace from war lies in controlling the explosive situation in the Middle East.

What is so different about that part of the world? More specifically, What is so different about the nation of Israel and the land of Israel? Israel is the “apple” (lit. “pupil”) of God’s eye (Zech. 2: 8). God looks upon the Gentile nations of the world through the nation of Israel. Israel is God’s “firstborn son” (Ex. 4: 22). The capital of Jewry - the city of Jerusalem - has been placed “in the midst of the nations” (Ezek. 5: 5). Jerusalem is located at the exact geographical centre of the earth. Israel itself has been placed “in the midst of the land” (lit. “on the navel of the earth”) - Ezek. 38: 12. The lifeline of the earth is attached to the land of Israel - a land given to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob in the Abrahamic covenant for an everlasting possession (Gen. 15: 18).

Dark days lie just ahead for Israel, and the darkest of all will be immediately before the “Sun of righteousness” arises with “healing in his wings” (Mal. 4: 1, 2; cf. Matt. 24: 15-31). Israel’s future is based on God’s covenant relationship with this nation. The promises of God in the Abrahamic covenant have undergone NO change as a result of Israel’s failure to keep the Mosaic covenant. Note very carefully: “And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise” (Gal. 3: 17, 18).

The day is coming when God will remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: “... their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” (Ex. 2: 23b, 24; cf. Lev. 26: 32-42). The time will be in Israel’s coming affliction, when the nation cries out to God. The Lord will then come down and deliver His people (Ex. 17, 8; cf. Deut. 30: 1-3; Hosea 5: 15-6: 2).

This book, Israel and the Land, has been designed to provide Christians with a basic framework for understanding the place which Israel occupies in God’s economy, the explosive Middle East situation, and what is about to happen in that part of the world. The bases for our remarks are Biblical history and prophecy.

“About the Time of the End, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the Prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation, in the midst of much clamour and opposition.”

‑ Sir Isaac Newton

* * *

Chapter one

The Death of the Priest

“Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger: that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment. Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction [ransom] for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death. And ye shall take no satisfaction [ransom] for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest:” (Num. 35:11, 12, 31, 32).

The Cities of Refuge

God instructed the children of Israel through Moses to set aside six cities to be cities of refuge. Three of these cities were to be on the east side and three on the west side of Jordan. The three cities on the east side of Jordan were selected by Moses (Deut. 4: 41-43). The three cities on the west side of Jordan were selected by the children of Israel under the leadership of Joshua following their entrance into the land of Canaan (Joshua 20: 1-7).

The cities of refuge were set aside to provide a sanctuary for any man who killed another man through an unpremeditated act. The Divine decree given to Noah and his sons following the Flood required the death of the slayer at the hands of man: “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made he man” (Gen. 9: 6). God’s injunction concerning capital punishment for a capital crime is later given in the Mosaic Economy, but the Biblical origin of this injunction is not Jewish. The command was given to Noah 900 years before it was delivered to the children of Israel through Moses. Thus, our not being under the Mosaic Law today has nothing to do with the validity of capital punishment for a capital crime. The command given to Noah and his sons has never been repealed by God. This command has been binding upon the human race since the Noachian Flood (approx. 2300 B. C.), and is the foundation for all civil government.

Capital punishment was not originally instituted for criminal deterrency or the well-being of society. Capital punishment was instituted because man was made in the image of God. A slayer’s act affects that which is made in the image of God, and for this reason alone the slayer is to be put to death.

Although capital punishment for a capital offence has never been repealed, provision was later made for a man who killed another man unintentionally. This act cannot be classed as accidental slaying, because in the economy of God there are no accidents. “There is nothing fortuitous in a world governed by God” (A. W. Pink). There is a time to be born, and there is a time to die (Eccl. 3: 2). The days of a man are determined, and outside of these he cannot pass (Job 14: 5). It is the Lord Himself Who gives and takes life (1 Sam. 2: 6; Psa. 31: 15; 68: 20).

In Ex. 21: 13 we are told that God delivered the one slain into the hands of the slaver who killed his fellowman unintentionally. Although the slayer was still reckoned to be guilty of a capital crime, a place of refuge was provided - one of the six cities of refuge. The cities of refuge provided safety from the hands of the near kinsman of the person who had been slain.

Any individual who fled to one of the cities of refuge must, at a later date, be returned to the area in which the slaying took place and stand before the congregation in judgment. At least two witnesses were required to testify against the man. If the man were found to be guilty of wilful murder, he would not be granted protection in a city of refuge. The near kinsman could then slay the murderer and not be guilty of blood himself. If the man were found to be guilty of involuntary manslaughter, he would be returned to the safety of the city of refuge to which he had previously fled.

No ransom was provided for the life of a murderer. He was to forfeit his own life (v. 31). However, a ransom was provided for the life of the one who committed involuntary manslaughter. But the ransom could not be used UNTIL the death of the high Priest (vv. 28, 32). The individual had to remain in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest in the camp of Israel. The ransom could then be paid, and he would be free to return to the land of his possession.

Israel the Slayer

Bear mind that all these things happened to the children of Israel for types (1 Cor. 10: 6, 11). In the Old Testament (in the type) it was individual Israelites who found themselves guilty of manslaughter and, thus, in a position where they would either be slain or be granted protection in a city of refuge. Today (in the antitype) it is the entire nation of Israel which finds itself guilty of manslaughter and in a position to either be slain or be granted protection. The nation of Israel is guilty of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The passover lamb was given to Israel, and only Israel could slay this lamb (Ex. 12). Jesus [the ‘Christ’/‘Messiah’] was the Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5: 7) to Whom all the sacrificial lambs in the Old Testament pointed. Only Israel could have slain Jesus, and the Word of God plainly attributes this act to Israel (Acts 2: 23, 36; 3: 15).

If Israel killed Jesus through a wilful, premeditated act, the nation MUST be cut off. No ransom can be provided; nor can the nation be allowed to return to the land of her possession. However, if Jesus was delivered into Israel’s hands and the act was not wilful, premeditated murder - i.e., the act was done through ignorance - then Israel IS to be granted protection, a ransom WILL be provided, and the nation WILL one day be allowed to return to the land of her possession.

The Biblical testimony concerning Israel’s guilt is given by Jesus as he hung upon the Cross, and by Peter following the resurrection and ascension of Christ: “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23: 34a); “Ye men of Israel ... ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead ... And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers” (Acts 3: 12, 14, 15, 17). Jesus was delivered into the hands of Israel (cf. Ex. 21: 13; Acts 2: 23), and Israel is reckoned to have committed this act through ignorance. Israel is thus granted protection, a ransom will be provided, and Israel will be free to return to the land of her possession after the death of the high priest.

Death of the High Priest

The word “ransom” (Num. 35: 31, 32; “satisfaction,” KJV) is a translation of a form of the Hebrew word for “atonement.” The ransom for Israel’s sin has already been paid. Jesus shed His blood to atone for the sins of the world. Although atonement for Israel’s sin has already been made, the nation - presently blinded - cannot avail herself of this atonement nor return to the land of her possession UNTIL the death of the high priest.

In the camp of Israel there was only one high priest at any one time. At the time of the high priest’s death he was succeeded by another from the Aaronic line. The high priestly ministry in the Aaronic line continued in this manner. Jesus is today performing the antitype of this high priestly ministry. Aaron ministered in the Holy of Holies here on earth with blood on behalf of the people. Jesus is presently ministering in the Holy of Holies in heaven with blood on behalf of the people. The Aaronic ministry of our Lord will not continue indefinitely. The termination of this Aaronic ministry will be the end of the Aaronic priesthood, and will be the antitype of the death of the high priest in Num. 35: 28, 32. Jesus will then come forth from the Holy of Holies and exercise the Melchizedekian priesthood. He will then be the great King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Restoration of Israel

A knowledge of these facts will set one straight on the present and future status of Israel. Since May 14, 1948 Israel has existed once again as a recognized, independent nation in the Middle East. Prior to this date one will have to go back in history 2,100 years - to the days of the Maccabees - to find Israel existing as an independent nation out from under Gentile rule.

The question centering around the nation of Israel and Biblical prophecy which many are asking has to do with the restoration of this nation: “Is the restoration of over two million Jews to the land of Israel, forming the present nation of Israel, either the restoration spoken of in the Old Testament (Deut. 30: 3; Isa. 51: 11; Jer. 30: 3; Ezek. 36: 24-28; 37: 1-28), or the beginning of this restoration?” The answer to either part of the question is an unqualified, “NO!” So long as Jesus continues to exercise the Aaronic priesthood in heaven, there will be no atonement for Israel’s sin of crucifying the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, Israel [in fulfilment of a Biblical and prophetical sense] cannot return to the land of her possession during the present time.

Israel is presently unclean through contact with the dead body of her Messiah. Israel cannot avail herself of cleansing from this defilement until the third day - the third thousandth year (cf. Num. 19: 11-19; Hosea 5: 15-6:2; 2 Peter 3: 8). We are presently living during the second day - the second thousandth year. For Israel to return to the land of her possession before Jesus terminates His present high priestly ministry in heaven and comes forth as the great King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek, or before Israel is cleansed from her defilement, or before the third day is to ignore the fact that Israel is the slayer. And this is an established, Biblical fact which cannot be ignored.

Israel cannot return to the land until Jesus returns, a nation is born in a day, and the Old Testament saints are raised [at the time of the ‘First Resurrection’ (Rev. 20: 4-6), out] from the dead. Resurrected and living saints will return to the land together. This order is set forth in the Feasts of the Lord recorded in Leviticus, chapter twenty-three.

The first festival, the Passover, has to do with the national conversion of Israel when Jesus returns. Israel has never had her national Passover to which this festival points. Note that the Passover in Exodus, chapter twelve was preceded by nine plagues upon Egypt. The death of the firstborn in connection with the Passover was the tenth plague (Ex. 11: 1). Ten is the number of ordinal completion, signifying all of the plagues. Israel passed through the plagues, and experienced deliverance. Egypt also passed through the plagues, but experienced destruction,

The plagues on Egypt are a type of the Great Tribulation which will come upon the entire world (Egypt always represents the world in Biblical typology). Israel will pass through the Great Tribulation, and experience deliverance. The nations of the world will also pass through the Great Tribulation, but experience destruction.

In the type, Israel left Egypt headed for the promised land only AFTER all ten plagues had been brought upon Egypt. The Passover took place while Israel was still in Egypt. The antitype will be no different. Israel will have her national Passover at the end of the Great Tribulation BEFORE her restoration to the land. Israel will still be dispersed throughout the Gentile World when the events of Isa. 66: 8; Zech. 12: 9, 10; 13: 6; Rev. 1: 7 take place.

The Passover as it will affect Israel and Gentile nations of the world in that day is set forth in Ex. 12. Israel, through her acceptance of Christ, will experience the death of the firstborn via a Substitute - Jesus the Christ. Gentile nations, because of their rejection of Christ, will pay the death penalty for sin themselves (Isa. 63: 1-6; Joel 3: 9-16; Rev. 14: 14-20). Only then will Israel be restored to the land covenanted to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The resurrection of Old Testament saints must also take place before Israel can be restored to the land. Resurrection is referred to in the events of the third festival, the Feast of Firstfruits. This festival sets forth not only the resurrection of Christ and certain others at that time, but also the resurrection of Christians (God’s heavenly people) before the Tribulation, and the resurrection of Israel (God’s earthly people) following the Tribulation.*

[*NOTE. I see no reason to make a distinction here relative to those who will be resurrected out from amongst the dead! A distinction would suggest that the ‘Old Testament saints’ will have a lesser sphere of blessing than ‘Christians’! “For ye are all one man in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise:” (Gal. 3: 28, 29, R.V.).

It should also be kept in mind that ‘Resurrection’ here is literal; and that it is a resurrection of REWARD: the ‘resurrection out from the dead’ (Lit. Gk.) - the resurrection which the Apostle Paul sought to “attain” (Phil. 3: 11). cf. Heb. 11: 35; Luke 14; 14; 20: 35. – Ed.]

The re-gathering of Israel is referred to in the events of the fifth festival, the Feast of Trumpets. God’s heavenly people, the Church, await a trumpet calling them into the heavens; God’s earthly people, Israel, await a trumpet calling them into the land. Note that the Feast of Trumpets cannot be fulfilled for Israel until AFTER the nation has her national passover and resurrection, which, in turn, will not take place until AFTER the Great Tribulation.

The present existence of an Israeli nation in the Middle East cannot be associated in any manner with the prophesied Biblical restoration of this nation. Any attempt to associate the present restoration of Israel with passages of Scripture such as Deut. 30: 3; Jer. 30: 3; Ezek. 37: 1-28 will result in confusion.

What then is Israel doing in the land at the present time? The answer is simply this: A remnant of the nation has gone back in unbelief to set the stage for the fulfilment of end-time Biblical prophecies which will take place immediately before and at the time Israel’s Messiah returns. According to Biblical prophecy, a Jewish nation must exist in the Middle East at the end of this present age. This nation is to be the focal point of God’s dealings with the Gentile nations during the coming Great Tribulation.

Israel is not presently returning to the land never to be uprooted again. The present restoration of Israel is in unbelief BEFORE the death of the high priest. The restoration of Israel when they will never be uprooted again will be in belief AFTER the death of the high priest.

The time of Jacob’s trouble (the Great Tribulation), when Israel will be uprooted once more and for the last time, is yet future. This will be a time of trouble such as this world has never seen, and this time of trouble will centre around the Jewish people, beginning with the present existing nation in the Middle East. In the middle of the Tribulation period, Satan, through the man of sin, will enact his final and most intense campaign to utterly destroy this nation. The sign given to the nation of Israel that this is about to take place is the abomination of desolation standing in the Holy place (Dan. 9: 27; 11: 31; 12: 11; Matt. 24: 15). The man of sin will break his seven-year covenant with Israel after three and one-half years, enter into the Holy of Holies in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, and declare himself to be God (Dan. 9: 27; 2 Thess. 2: 4). The Jews in Judaea have been instructed to flee for their lives when they see this take place (Matt. 24: 16-20). The time of trouble which will follow this event has no parallel in history. It will be a time of trouble “such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Matt. 24: 21b, 22a).

Jerusalem will be destroyed (Dan. 9: 26). A remnant of the Jews in the land will escape to a place prepared by God (Rev. 12: 6). Others will be killed or sold as slaves throughout the Gentile World (Zech. 14: 2; Joel 3: 6, 7). The man of sin will then turn his attention toward the destruction of Jews dispersed throughout the remainder of the world - both the 144,000 Jewish evangelists and unsaved Jews passing through the time of Jacob’s trouble awaiting the return of their Messiah (Rev. 12: 17).

The Jews in the land of Israel are there today in accord with Biblical prophecy, but not in fulfilment of Biblical prophecy relating to the final and complete restoration of Israel to the land. So long as Jesus continues to exercise His present high priestly ministry after the order of Aaron, Israel cannot return. But when Jesus terminates this ministry and comes forth as the great King-Priest after the order of Melchizedek, Israel WILL return. Atonement WILL be provided, a nation WILL be born in a day, Old Testament saints WILL be raised from the dead, and together with the living WILL be brought back into the land of their possession, NEVER to be uprooted again.*

[*That is, for as long as this present earth remains.]

* * *

Chapter two

Can These Bones Live

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about. and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, 0 Lord God, thou knowest:” (Ezek. 37: 1-3).

The Revelation given to Ezekiel showing him the valley of dry bones concerns the coming resurrection of Old Testament saints and their restoration to the land of Israel, accompanied by living Jews re-gathered from the Gentile nations of the world. This chapter does not have to do with the present restoration of a remnant to the land, constituting the existing nation of Israel. Ezekiel, chapter thirty-seven has to do with “the WHOLE house of Israel” (v. 11) - both the dead - [who will be resurrected] - and the living - [remnant who will be saved.] The dead will be raised and together with the living will be restored to the land of Israel, never to be uprooted again (cf. Deut. 30: 1-5; Isa. 11: 10-12; Her. 23: 7, 8; 30: 3; 31: 8, 9; Ezek. 34: 11-14; 36: 24-28; 39: 25-28).

Living Jews - a very small group compared to the number of Old Testament saints from the nation of Israel - cannot by themselves represent the whole house of Israel. Nor do the graves (vv. 12, 13) represent nations. The Hebrew word kever used in this passage is found numerous times throughout the Old Testament - translated “burying place,” “sepulchre,” and “grave” - and refers to the place of the [bodies of the] dead (cf. Gen. 23: 4; 49: 30; 50: 5; Ex. 14: 11; 2 Sam. 2: 32; Ezek. 39: 11).*

[* NOTE. ‘Resurrection of the dead,’ is an expression used in Scripture to indicate the reuniting of both body and soul: the body lies in the ‘grave’; the ‘soul’ descends into the underworld of ‘Hades’: “Because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades;” (Acts 2: 27; cf. Psa. 16: 10): “Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, (King David) that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne; he foreseeing this spake of the RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST, that neither was he (as a disembodied soul in the underworld of the dead) left in Hades, nor did his flesh (lying in Joseph’s tomb) see corruption. This JESUS did God raise up. … For David ascended NOT into the heavens…” (Acts 2: 30-32, 34, R.V.).

David and all other dead saints, are presently in some part of ‘Sheol/Hades’ , awaiting the time of ‘Resurrection’ (Luke 16: 30, 31; Matt. 16: 18; Rev. 6: 9-11)! “I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning,” said Jacob after being deceived into believing Joseph’s body was devoured by a wild animal. “Sheol, the name of the abode of the dead, answering to the Greek Hades, Acts 2: 27.” (Gen. 37: 35b, with R.V. footnote.)]

In the same fashion that New Testament saints who have died in the faith will be raised from the dead and together with living saints will be caught into the heavens, Old Testament saints from the nation of Israel will be raised from the dead and together with living Jews will be re-gathered to the land of Israel. …

Revelation of Events - Past, Future

Ezekiel was transported over twenty-five hundred years forward in time and saw the future resurrection and restoration of Israel take place. The transporting of Ezekiel into a different time period was not a new experience. In Ezekiel, chapter eight God carried Ezekiel back in time to the days before the captivity of the children of Israel. In order that the Israelites might understand God’s righteous judgment - allowing a pagan, Gentile nation to carry them into captivity - Ezekiel was carried back in time to show him the reason for the captivity. Ezekiel was allowed to enter Jerusalem as it existed before the captivity to see for himself the abominations committed by the children of Israel. He could then, first hand, relate to the Israelites in Babylon the reason for God’s present judgment upon them (Ezek. 11: 24, 25, cf. Lev. 26; Deut. 28).

Man is bound by time, but God is not. Man lives in time as it transpires. Man cannot move back in time to the past; nor can he move forward in time to the future. God lives in the eternal present. He can move back in time or forward in time. God can take man and place him at any point of time in the past or future and show him events as they actually transpire.

About nineteen hundred years ago the Apostle John was carried forward in time to a point beyond the time in which we presently live. John was transported into the future Day of the Lord and saw things take place which are still future today. John was commanded to record what he saw and send the scroll to seven Churches (Rev. 1:11). Christians presently have access to this same record - the Book of Revelation.

One thing which assures the events in the Book of Revelation coming to pass is the fact that John, being moved forward in time into the Day of the Lord (1: 10), has already seen these events take place. No change can be made in that which has already taken place. Therefore, when men - both in heaven (chs. 4, 5), and on earth (chs. 6-19) - enter the same time period into which John was transported, they will see the same things which John saw and recorded.

The time period into which Ezekiel was transported in chapter thirty-seven covers events immediately before and after the return of Israel’s Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. The valley of dry bones sets forth the condition of the whole house of Israel immediately before the Messiah’s return. Although these bones depict conditions as they have existed since before Ezekiel penned these words, the valley will not be full (v. 1) until the end of the present age. At that time living Jews will be found scattered throughout the Gentile world, and Old Testament saints will be found buried both in the land of Israel and among Gentile nations of the world.

Multitudes of Old Testament saints died and were buried in the land of Israel, but multitudes also died and were buried in Gentile lands before the Exodus from Egypt under Moses and following the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities. These Jews will be removed from their graves, sinews (tendons, nerves, strength) and flesh will come upon them, skin will cover them, and breath will enter into them (vv. 5-14). The resurrected together with the living will then be restored in an undivided kingdom to the land of Israel (vv. 15-28).

Lazarus, Israel - Type, Antitype

The type setting forth the resurrection of Israel in its proper perspective is given in John, chapter eleven. The resurrection of Lazarus is the seventh of eight signs recorded in the Gospel of John. Out of all the signs which Jesus performed, the Holy Spirit moved John to record eight of them in his gospel account. These eight signs are given in order that “ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20: 30, 31).

In the recorded accounts giving the life of Christ while here on earth, three individuals were raised from the dead (Matt. 9: 23-26; Luke 7: 11-15; John 11: 38-44). There is no record of anyone dying in the presence of Christ. Note that the ones crucified with Him died after He had given up His spirit. Lazarus died while Jesus was absent. It is not possible for death to take place in the presence of the One Who said, “I am the resurrection, and the life” (John 11: 25). This truth is set forth in the statement of Martha to Jesus: “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John 11: 21b). The absence of Jesus, allowing Lazarus to die, was for a particular purpose: “... for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (v. 4b). Jesus himself stated:-... “I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe” (v. 15).

The time of the resurrection of Lazarus was after Jesus had been outside the land of Judaea two days, and after Lazarus had lain in the grave four days (vv. 6, 17). At this time Jesus said, “Let us go into Judaea again” (v. 7b). Lazarus was one whom the Lord loved (v. 3b), and the Lord returned to the land of Judaea, after a two-day wait, in order to raise Lazarus from the dead.

The time of the resurrection of Israel will be after Jesus has been outside the land of Judaea two days, and after Israel has lain in the grave four days. Each one of these days is 1,000 years in length (2 Peter 3: 8). The length of Christ’s stay in heaven, out of the land of Judaea, will be two days – 2,000 years. At the termination of this time He will say, “Let us go into Judaea again.” Jesus will return and raise the one whom He loves from the dead. Israel at that time will have been in the grave [and Hades] four days: two days (2,000 years) before Christ under law, and two days (2,000 years) after Christ apart from her Messiah.

Soulical and Spiritual Bodies

The resurrection body of Lazarus was the same soulical body in which he died. Lazarus was raised in a body of flesh, blood, and bones. This is not the type body in which Christ was raised; nor is it the type body in which Christians will be raised. Christ was raised in a spiritual body of flesh and bones – the same body which was placed in the tomb, but without blood. This is the same type body in which Christians will also be raised.

Both soulical and spiritual bodies are bodies of flesh and bone. The difference in the two bodies lies in the life-giving, animating principle of the body. Blood is the life-giving, animating principle of the soulical body; the Holy Spirit is the life-giving, animating principle of the soulical body (cf. Lev. 17: 11; Isa. 53: 12; 1 Cor. 15: 44-50).

Note the contrasting difference between the resurrections of Lazarus and Jesus. The stone covering the tomb of Lazarus was rolled away to let Lazarus out (vv. 28, 39, 41). The stone covering the tomb of Jesus was rolled away to let others in to see that He was already out (Matt. 28: 2-6). Lazarus came forth “bound hand and foot with grave-clothes” (v. 44), but Jesus left His grave-clothes undisturbed in the tomb (Luke 24: 12).

Luke 24: 12 states that Peter “beheld the linen clothes laid [lit. ‘lying’; cf. John 20: 5-7] by themselves.” The linen cloth forming the grave-clothes of Jesus had been wrapped about the body using a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds (John 19: 39). Myrrh is a resinous gum and aloes is a powdered wood. Mixing the two together formed a sticky substance which was spread on the linen cloth as it was wrapped about the body of Jesus in preparation for burial. This complete process formed a covering about the body which hardened with time, similar to a plaster of paris cast today. With the exception of His head, the complete body of Jesus was wrapped in this manner. His body was then laid in the tomb, and a napkin was placed over His head.

When Peter looked into the tomb following the resurrection, he saw the grave-clothes “lying by themselves.” The mixture of Myrrh and aloes had hardened, and the grave-clothes were maintaining the shape and contour of the body apart from the body being inside. The napkin which had been placed over His face had simply collapsed and was found lying in the place where His head had been.

To properly understand and appreciate the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, one must, in turn, have a proper understanding and appreciation of what Peter saw when he gazed upon those empty grave-clothes. The body which Jesus possessed following His resurrection had capabilities which a soulical body does not have. This is the same body which Jesus possesses today, and is a body designed for existence in the heavens rather than [as well as] here on the earth. This is a body capable of transcending natural laws as we know them. Jesus, in His resurrection body, moved through solid objects (Matt. 28: 6; Luke 24: 12; John 20: 19). In this same body Jesus travelled in a manner and to places which a soulical body cannot travel nor go (Acts 1: 9; 1 Peter 3: 19). …

[All those who will be resurrected out from amongst the dead when Christ returns], will be raised in the same manner in which Christ was raised. Their graves will be undisturbed, and their grave-clothes will be left in the graves. The thought often promulgated that cemeteries will look like ploughed fields following the resurrection of Christians is not Biblical. …*

[* NOTE. There is no mention of any RESURRECTION before our Lord returns at the end of the Great Tribulation! There will be a translation of living saints, who “making supplication,” that they “may prevail to escape … and to stand before the Son of man” (Luke 21: 36): only the dead are resurrected.]

Israel Resurrected and Restored

According to Ezek. 37: 10, “... breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” Ezekiel records this exactly as he saw it in the future Day of the Lord when the antitype of the resurrection of Lazarus will be realized. These Jews, an exceeding great army, will stand upon the earth outside the tombs where their bodies presently lie.

The multiplied thousands upon thousands of Jews who died in Egypt will be raised and will stand upon Egyptian soil, victorious over the wrath of the Assyrian king in Egypt (Ex. 1: 8; Isa. 52: 4; Acts 7: 18), and victorious over death itself. The multiplied thousands upon thousands of Jews who died in Babylon will be raised and will stand in the ashes of Babylon following its final destruction (cf. Mal. 4: 1-3), victorious over the wrath of the Babylonian kings - including the last king of Babylon, the man of sin - and victorious over death itself. The multiplied thousands upon thousands of Jews who died in the land of Israel will be raised and will stand upon their feet in the land of Israel once again, victorious over all that has befallen the nation for 4,000 years, and victorious over death itself.

We are today living very near the end of the two days of John 11: 6. The time is near at hand when “he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Heb. 10: 37). Following the removal of the Church, Israel will pass through her greatest time of trouble - the time of “Jacob’s trouble.” Following this time of trouble, Jesus will return to the land of Judaea again (John 11: 7). His feet shall stand in that day on the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem (Zech. 14: 4). The One Who is “the resurrection, and the life” (John 11: 25) will return to raise the one whom He loves from the dead (John 11: 3, 36). The sound of His voice will go forth (John 11: 43), and Israel will come forth from the grave (John 11: 44).

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22: 20b).

* * *

Chapter three

The Death of Ishmael

And these are the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died; and was gathered unto his people (Gen. 25: 17).

Make no mistake about the days in which we live. Current events in the light of Biblical prophecy indicate that God’s time clock for this present age is about to strike midnight (cf. Matt. 25: 6). The two days (2,000 years) allotted for the Church Age are almost over; the six days (6,000 years) allotted to man are about to end: the generation of Jews which will pass through the Great Tribulation and see all the end-time events transpire is in the world today (Matt. 24: 32-34).

Ishmael in Isaac’s Land

On Nov. 19, 1977 a descendant of Ishmael, representing the largest Ishmaelite nation in the world, stepped off his Boeing 707 jet onto Israeli soil at Ben-Gurion Airport, Jerusalem, Israel, and was received in a red-carpet welcome by the descendants of Isaac. On hand at Ben-Gurion Airport to greet Egyptian President Anwar Sadat were such dignitaries as Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, former Prime Ministers Colda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin, and the military heroes of past Arab-Israeli wars, General Moshe Dayan and General Ariel Sharon - present Foreign and Agriculture Ministers respectively.

This historic event captured the attention of the world. All major news networks sent representatives into the area. The jet aircraft carrying Anwar Sadat was filled with reporters. Live television coverage was flashed from Ben-Gurion Airport to points around the world via satellite.

Although the world’s news media was able to capture the importance of the moment, its commentators have been unable to properly assess certain things about the current Middle East situation. There is only one document in existence which gives a completely accurate account of the past history, present condition, and future status of the Middle East, and this document - the Word of God - has been rejected by the world. Thus, the world’s news media is in no position to properly assess events in the Middle East.

The outline of Middle East history, current events, and prophecy has its roots in the Book of Genesis. The present unrest between the Arabs and the Jews in the Middle East can be understood only in the light of the Abrahamic covenant and the unrest between Ishmael and Isaac in Abraham’s tent. The outcome of any peace proposals between the Arabs and the Jews, such as the one underlying Anwar Sadat’s trip to Israel, must be understood in the light of the revealed history of Ishmael and Isaac in Genesis, and in the light of Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel, the Arab nations, and the surrounding non-Semitic, Gentile nations.

The Arab nations in the Middle East can make their overtures toward war or peace, Russia to the North can voice her approval or disapproval, the United States to the West can attempt to exert influence and control over the situation, and the world’s news commentators can surmise all they want, but ONE fact remains: The current world situation, what is about to happen between the Arabs and the Jews, and the parts Russia and the United States will occupy have already been pre-recorded. These things were recorded by Moses and the prophets, and NOTHING can alter that which God has revealed will take place.

The Abrahamic Covenant

The history of the present Middle East situation had its beginning with the call of Abraham almost 4,000 years ago (Gen. 12: 1ff). Abraham was called out of Ur of the Chaldees and instructed to go into the land of Canaan. Once in the land, God established an everlasting covenant with Abraham. This covenant concerned a seed and a land. Abraham was to have a son, and through the progeny of this son God would establish a great nation. This nation was to be the channel through which God would bless all the Gentile nations. This nation was to be established in a tract of land in the Middle East bounded by the Euphrates River on the North, the Nile River on the South, the Mediterranean Sea on the West, and the Persian Gulf on the East. This land was given to Abraham and his seed for an everlasting possession. This is the Abrahamic covenant (cf. Gen. 12: 1-3, 7; 13: 14-17: 13: 18-21; 26: 14; 28: 13-15).

The Abrahamic covenant was established before Abraham possessed a seed to fulfil the promises of God. Following the establishment of this covenant we have the account of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who found herself with no children and beyond the age of childbearing. Sarah, in the energy of the flesh, surmised that if Abraham were to have a seed to fulfil the promises of God, this seed would have to come through someone other than herself. Sarah, thus, said unto Abraham, “Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her.” Abraham harkened to Sarah’s voice, took Hagar, went in unto her, and she conceived and bore Ishmael (Gen. 16: 1ff). The birth of Ishmael marks the point where the present trouble in the Middle East began. Nothing performed in the energy of the flesh is ever acceptable to God, and many times, as is exemplified in the acts of Sarah and Abraham, resulting in the birth of Ishmael through Hagar, will have far-reaching, dire consequences.

In the Genesis account there are thirteen silent years following the birth of Ishmael (Gen. 16: 16 - 17: 1). At the termination of these thirteen years God appeared unto Abraham and revealed that the time had come for God’s promise concerning a seed to be fulfilled. Sarah, who was old and beyond the age of childbearing, was to have a son. God would return unto Sarah “according to the time of life” (Gen. 18: 14; 21: 1, 2), and Sarah would bear Abraham a son in his old age. This son was given the name “Isaac” before he was even conceived, while Sarah was still incapable of bearing children (Gen. 17: 19). Circumstances surrounding the birth of Isaac were of Divine intervention - the opposite of those surrounding the birth of Ishmael. In-so-far as the Abrahamic covenant was concerned, Ishmael was completely rejected (Gen. 17: 18-21).

The entire problem in the Middle East today stems from the fact that Abraham had two sons, and the descendants of both sons lay claim to the promises in the Abrahamic covenant. The Egyptians, Syrians, Jordanians, Palestinians, et al. are descendants of Ishmael. The Israelites are descendants of Isaac. The Jews and Arabs are half brothers. Both Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Menachem Begin of Israel alluded to this fact in speeches before the Israeli Knesset Nov. 20, 1977. Both men traced their common ancestry to Abraham.

The entire framework for peace which Anwar Sadat proposed was built around Israel’s willingness to relinquish certain parts of the land which God gave to Abraham and his seed. Anwar Sadat wants the land “captured” during the 1967 war returned to the Arabs. This land includes the Sinai Peninsula taken from Egypt, the Golan Heights taken from Syria, and the West Bank - including the old city of Jerusalem - taken from Jordan. Anwar Sadat believes this land belongs to the descendants of Abraham through Ishmael.

Menachem Begin, on the other hand, takes a different position toward ownership of the land. His attitude toward the land occupied by Israel is found in his statement that the Israeli people have not “captured” ANY land; they have simply 1iberated land which was already theirs. And he bases his position on the Abrahamic covenant. Menachem Begin believes, in accordance with Scripture, that this land belongs to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac. However, he has expressed his willingness to relinquish part of this land in order to establish peace.

Chronology of Events

The birth of Isaac is found in Genesis, chapter twenty-one. This is the first of five chapters forming an overall type extending from the birth of Christ to His millennial reign. The place which Ishmael occupies in these chapters along with what has been previously revealed about Ishmael in chapters sixteen and seventeen will give us the basic framework for correctly understanding the place which the Arab nations must occupy from the time of their inception until the Kingdom Age. The prophets also give additional information concerning the status of the Arab nations - especially Egypt - both before and during the Kingdom Age.

In the overall type of Gen. 21-25 we find:

1. The birth of Isaac (ch. 21).

2. The offering of Isaac (ch. 22).

3. The death of Sarah (ch. 23).

4. The bride for Isaac (ch. 24).

5. The remarriage of Abraham (ch. 25).

6. The death of Ishmael (ch. 25).

The birth of Isaac typifies the birth of Christ. Divine intervention surrounds the birth of both.

The offering of Isaac typifies the offering of Christ. In Gen. 22 there is a vicarious sacrifice. The ram caught in a thicket died in the place of Isaac. In the antitype there is also a vicarious sacrifice. The Lamb of God, Christ, died in your place and in my place.

The death of Sarah typifies the setting aside of Israel following Calvary. Israel is the wife of Jehovah. And just as Sarah, the wife of Abraham, died following the offering of Abraham’s son, Israel, the wife of Jehovah, was set aside following the offering of God’s Son.

The bride for Isaac typifies the bride presently being called out [from the redeemed family members] for Christ following the setting aside of Israel. Abraham sent his eldest servant into a far country to obtain a bride for Isaac, and God has sent the Holy Spirit into a far country to obtain a bride for Jesus. The journey of Abraham’s servant in the type was successful, as will be the present journey of the Holy Spirit in the antitype.

The remarriage of Abraham typifies the time when God will restore His wife, Israel, to her rightful place on the earth. AFTER the bride has been called out, AFTER “the fulness of the Gentiles be come in,” then “all Israel shall be saved” (Rom. 11: 25, 26).

If one will get the framework of what is taught in Gen. 21-25 straight in his mind and interpret Scripture in the light of this framework, he will have very little trouble in Biblical interpretation throughout the Bible.

The broad outline of Gen. 21-25 has been called to your attention to show the place which Ishmael occupied during the time covered by these chapters. The life of Ishmael spans the entire period. Ishmael died only AFTER the bride had been called out for Isaac, and AFTER Abraham remarried.

Description of the Ishmaelites

What is revealed concerning Ishmael in chapters sixteen and seventeen will characterize the Ishmaelites from the time of their inception about 2,000 B.C. until the time the kingdom is restored to Israel, 4,000 years later. We are presently living during the days typified by chapter twenty-four. Ishmael remains UNCHANGED until after the events typified by the opening verses of chapter twenty-five, i.e., until after the kingdom is restored to Israel. And this will not take place until after the Church Age, and after Israel’s Messiah returns to the earth.

The most revealing description of Ishmael is given by the Lord Himself before he was even born:

“And he shall be as a wild ass among men; his hand shall be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his brethren” (Gen. 16: 12, ASV).

The dwelling place of the wild ass is in the wilderness (Job 39: 5, 6; cf. Gen. 21: 20, 21). This description given to a man would characterize his wild, lawless, nomadic nature. He is further described as an aggressor: “His hand shall be against every man,” and as a result, “everyman’s hand” shall be “against him.” The expression “he shall dwell over against all his brethren” implies not only location but disposition. He will dwell in the presence of his brethren, and he will be hostile toward his brethren. Apparently, the fellow himself as well as his descendants will not be of peaceable disposition. We should say, “he will carry a chip on his shoulder and have his finger on the trigger” (H. C. Leupold).

Anyone who visits an Arab country along the coast of North Africa or in the Middle East and views present and past conditions in the light of Gen. 16: 12 can only marvel at the complete accuracy of this description of the Ishmaelites. They have always been wild, lawless, nomadic, and have never been able to even get along with one another, much less the Israelites in the Middle East, and the Gentile nations of the world.

Arab unity is a myth and has been over the years. Possibly the nearest that the Arab World ever came to uniting was during the Six-Day War of 1967. But Israel shattered that unity in a matter of hours. Israel began a war with the Arab World after the Western World had retired for the night, and won that war before the Western World awakened the following morning. That is how fast things often transpire in the Middle East.

The Arab World today is split down the middle because of Anwar Sadat’s overtures of peace with Israel. King Hassan of Morocco has backed Sadat and stated, “We are presented with an undeniable fact. It is impossible to dream of pushing Israel into the sea.” But most of the Arab countries - including those without a country, the Palestinians - desire to continue trying. This is to be expected. This is their nature, which will remain unchanged throughout the present age.

Conditions in the Middle East

Anwar Sadat’s motives for peace have come under question. Sadat forced the Russians out of Egypt after the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and the Russians halted military aid to Egypt in 1974. The Egyptians, hurt badly in the Yom Kippur War, have been forced to rebuild their arsenal with materiel purchased from countries such as Czechoslovakia, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Italy, and France. Militarily, neither Egypt nor any other Arab country is in a position to fight Israel today. Western observers knowledgeable in Middle East affairs state dogmatically that should an Arab-Israeli war break out in the foreseeable future, “Israel should be able to win in a relatively short period of time.”

This fact may cast some light on the mind of Russia today. Possibly the Russians are through trying to use the Arab nations in their vain efforts to destroy Israel and gain control of the Middle East. If this is the case, the next major move for Russia in that part of the world may very well be direct intervention.

Sadat’s Egypt is in deep trouble today, and a peace settlement with Israel is his only hope to improve conditions:

“The state of no-war-no-peace that has existed since the 1973 Mid-east conflict now threatens Sadat with disaster. Egypt’s armed forces, equipped with aging Soviet weapons for which it cannot get enough spare parts, is deteriorating rapidly - a condition that Egyptian officers are unwilling to accept in the absence of a stable peace. Egypt’s economy is in shambles, and its population (currently 39 million) is growing so fast that the per capita output of food has actually begun to fall. Only sharp cuts in defence spending and massive injections of capital - neither of which will come before peace arrives - can solve the problems. For the sake of his own grip on power, Sadat needs a settlement with Israel more urgently than any other Arab leader.

“These days, Cairo is a sprawling slum, whose population has soared from 2 million people to 9 million since 1952. Its sewers are overflowing, the telephones don’t work, and power failures are frequent. Housing is so scarce that poor people sleep ten to a room, and thousands live in makeshift huts on the roofs of buildings - along with pens of chickens and goats. In the past two months, two apartment houses have collapsed under the weight of their tenants, killing 55 people. Hundreds of thousands of squatters have moved into tombs in the sprawling ‘City of the Dead’ on the outskirts of Cairo, and one cemetery is so overcrowded with living tenants that the government has had to build four schools and a post office to serve it.

“Life in the countryside isn’t much better. Visiting Talbant Abshish, a hamlet 30 miles north of Cairo, I felt as though I had stepped back into another century. The narrow dirt streets were matted with chicken feathers and dung, the mud-walled houses buzzed with flies and out in the fields, blindfolded water buffalo plodded in mindless circles to turn the creaking waterwheels of an irrigation system that dates from the days of the Pharaohs” (“Promises, Promises,” Newsweek, Nov. 28, 1977).

Reflections on Days Ahead

Another war with Israel would be disastrous for Egypt. The Egyptians cannot hope to win, and the end result would only be another blow to Egypt’s staggering economy and rapidly deteriorating standard of living. Anwar Sadat’s only hope for improving conditions in Egypt is to establish a peaceful relationship with Israel and stop the fighting. But, one problem which neither Anwar Sadat nor any other leader in the Middle East has alluded to lies in the path: The nature of the Ishmaelites MUST remain unchanged, in accordance with Gen. 16: 12, throughout the present age. Anwar Sadat, the leader of the largest Ishmaelite nation in the world, is trying to establish millennial verities BEFORE the time, and this CANNOT be done.

According to Isa. 19: 23-25 a highway will one day exist extending from Egypt through Israel to Assyria. These three countries will form a triumvirate in the Middle East. But this is millennial in its scope, and there can be no highway or lasting peace between these countries before that time.

It is interesting to note that before Anwar Sadat went to Israel, he travelled to Syria - the country presently occupying that part of the ancient Assyrian Kingdom immediately north of Israel - and sought to enlist the aid of Syrian President Hafez Assad in his move toward peace with Israel. Anwar Sadat sought the aid of Syria above all the other Arab nations, but Syrian leaders rejected his plea and condemned his action. Sadat sought to establish millennial conditions between Syria, Israel, and Egypt, but such cannot exist today. The day is coming when Syria, Israel, and Egypt will dwell in peace together, but that day lies in the scope of Genesis, chapter twenty-five, not in the scope of Genesis, chapter twenty-four.

Anwar Sadat’s motives for going to Israel are really of little consequence. NO lasting peace can exist between the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael during the present age. The Scripture is clear on this point. Also prophecies concerning judgments which will befall Egypt in the latter days indicate that Egypt’s attitude toward Israel at the end of this age will probably be more hostile than that of any other Arab nation.

The last days will witness Egyptian hostility toward Israel of such a nature that Egypt ill be singled out of all the Arab nations to undergo certain judgements. During the coming Tribulation period the Nile River will be “dried up,” and the land of Egypt will be made “utterly waste and desolate” (Isa. 19: 5-9; Ezek. 29: 1-10; 30: 12). During the Kingdom Age the land of Egypt will lie desolate for the first “forty years.” Neither man nor beast will be allowed to pass through the land during this time. After forty years the land will be restored and inhabited, but throughout the millennium Egypt will be the “basest of the kingdoms” (Ezek. 29: 11-15). The reason for this is because of the “violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land” (Joel 3: 19).

When Anwar Sadat returned from Israel three million Arabs lined the route from the airport to Cairo and hailed their president as “Man of Peace.” Individuals throughout the world bestowed upon him the same title. But this cannot be. He is an Ishmaelite, and the time has not arrived for Ishmael to die. A temporary peace, perhaps, but no more.

The Coming Holocaust

In his present dealings with Israel, Anwar Sadat is a forerunner of the coming man of sin. He too will seek to bring about peace in the Middle East by going to Israel. He will establish a seven-year covenant with Israel (Dan. 9: 27). He will divide the land, establish boundaries to the satisfaction of both Arab and Jewish interests (Dan. 11: 39; Joel 3: 2). He will succeed in effecting a temporary peace in the war-torn Middle East.

When this man appears on the scene, the Middle East situation will be very much like it is today. This is another clear indication that the present efforts of Egyptian and Israeli leaders can produce little in the way of lasting peace. Conditions may stabilize for a short time, but such a stability can never last. When the man of sin appears, conditions in the Middle East will be so unstable that they will appear insoluble. But he will effect pace in that area.

Some have undoubtedly entertained the thought that the seven-year covenant with Israel may evolve out of the Cairo-Jerusalem talks or a Geneva conference, and Anwar Sadat may, in the end, turn out to be the man of sin. It is possible that the covenant to be established with Israel may evolve out of a Geneva conference or some other future conference, but Anwar Sadat does not fit the Biblical description of the man of sin. Suffice it to say that the man of sin will be a Jew who comes out of Assyria (Syria), not an Ishmaelite from Egypt. He will arise out of the country forming the northern sector of the ancient Babylonian Kingdom following its four-way division after Alexander the Great died in 323 B.C. This country was Syria, which lies north of Israel (Dan. 8: 8ff). Furthermore, the man of sin cannot be identified today (2 Thess. 2: 8). In all probability he is in the world at the present time, but he will not be revealed until after [part of]* the Church has been removed from the sphere of activity and God resumes His national dealings with Israel.

[* Luke 21: 34-36.]

Both the Arabs and the Jews are today desperately searching for some means to bring about peace in the Middle East. They know that the continuous state of war which has existed since 1948 has adversely affected all the Middle East countries involved, and something must be done soon to change the situation.

Well, something is going to be done, and from all indications it will be done soon. A man will appear on the scene with the solution for peace in the Middle East. He is going to have the solution for a division of the land - the major contention today - which will satisfy all concerned. He is going to establish a seven-year covenant with Israel, and peace will come to the Middle East. This time of peace will last three and one-half years. This man will then break his covenant with Israel, turn upon Israel, and for three and one-half more years will seek to accomplish what Satan and those under his direction have attempted for the past 4,000 years - the complete destruction of Abraham’s seed through Isaac.

Between the years 1939-1945 Adolf Hitler directed the mass murder of six million Jews in Europe. The man of sin will direct the mass murder of twice that many in half the time. The atrocities committed against Jews in Europe during World War II intensified the World Zionist Movement, and a Jewish nation was reborn less than three years after the termination of that war. Yad Vashem (transliterated Hebrew words from Isa. 56: 5, “a place and a name”), a memorial to the six million who died in the Holocaust has been built in Jerusalem, and the Israelites in the land today have two words which they sound forth to the entire six million: “We Live!”

The nation of Israel is presently in existence to provide a national homeland for any Jew in the world, and to prevent anything like the Holocaust from ever happening again. But the Prophets have stated that Israel in her national homeland will be uprooted once again, and something like the Holocaust of World War II - but far worse - will also happen again.

Israel is in the land today awaiting the man of sin. Adolf Hitler was only a forerunner of this man. And just as Adolf Hitler came to his end, this man will also come to his end. And just as the Jews survived the past Holocaust, they will also survive the future Holocaust. The nation of Israel cannot be destroyed. The Jews throughout history have always emerged from the furnace, while their persecutors suffered destruction themselves (Dan. 3: 19, 22, 25; cf. Ex. 3: 2-8; 12: 29, 30; 14: 30). One more furnace remains - the most terrible of all - and then the long-awaited Messianic Era.

Just as a Jewish nation was reborn in the Middle East following the past Holocaust, the nation will be reborn following the future Holocaust (Isa. 66: 8). There will THEN be the long-awaited, true peace which individuals in the Middle East are now vainly seeking to effect.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee”

(Psa. 122: 6).

* * *

Chapter Four

The Great Mistake

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for [lit. will judge them on account of] my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land (Joel 3: 1, 2).

“According to the Bible, the greatest mistake the nations have ever made was the partitioning of Palestine between the Israelis and the Arabs. The experience in the tent of Abraham four thousand years ago should have served as a warning example, that this is not the solution to the problem” (M. R. DeHaan).

In the eyes of the Arab nations and of many non-Semitic, Gentile nations there are two major problems in the Middle East today:

1. The fact that the descendants of Isaac are present.

2. The fact that the descendants of Isaac are occupying certain land in that area.

However, the Bible turns this whole thing around and teaches that the problem exists, not because of the presence of the descendants of Isaac who occupy land in that area, but because of the presence of the descendants of Ishmael and their contention for the right to occupy this same land.

The Land in the Covenant

Four thousand years ago God made a covenant with Abraham. The terms of this covenant were unconditional. The duration of this covenant was everlasting. The recipient of this covenant was the seed of Abraham (cf Gen. 12: 1-3, 7; 13: 14-17; 15: 18-21; 26: 3, 4; 28: 13-15).

“In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates” (Gen. 15: 18).

The problem in the Middle East today stems from the fact that Abraham had two sons - Ishmael and Isaac - and the descendants of both sons lay claim to the promises God made in the covenant with Abraham. The strife which has existed for 4,000 years in the Middle East between the descendants of Ishmael (the present-day Arabs) and the descendants of Isaac (the present-day Jews) is a family matter between half brothers, and it involves a piece of real estate.

However, this is not just another piece of real estate. This is the land extending from the Nile River north to the Euphrates River, and from the Mediterranean Sea east to the Persian Gulf. This land is situated in the heart of the entire Middle East, and is the most valuable piece of real estate on the face of the earth.

Not only does this land contain incalculable wealth in chemical and mineral deposits and petroleum reserves, but this land is situated at the exact geographical centre of the earth (Ezek. 38: 12). All roads lead to Jerusalem, not Rome (Ezek. 5: 5; Zech. 14: 16, 17). This is a land which day after day for years has remained in the limelight. Turn to the national news on television, and what do you see? Pick up a local newspaper, and what do you read? One of the hottest items in the news today continues to be the strife between the Arabs and the Jews relative to possession of the land in the Abrahamic covenant.

This is a land which God calls “my laud,” and this is a land which is not to be divided between half brothers. One of two reasons given in Joel 3: 2 for the judgment of Gentile nations at the return of Christ is because they “parted my land.”

During the next few years Russia is going to experience first hand, before the eyes of the entire world, what happens to a nation which tampers with God’s land housing God’s people. When Russia moves down against Israel in an attempt to gain possession of Israel’s land, Russia is literally going to be wiped out of existence. And the present armament race, stockpiles of nuclear weapons, etc., will have nothing to do with it. This Russian move against Israel will be the last straw. God states that when this happens, “my fury shall come up in my face” (Ezek. 38: 18). The last chapter in Russian history has already been written. This chapter was written 2,500 years ago, and current events are about to merge into that time covered by this final chapter.

The nations of the world would do well to take a lesson from Biblical history and prophecy. God will not countenance tampering with “my land.” It is written across the pages of Scripture time after time: Hands off! Hands off! This is God’s land, and He gave this land to the seed of Abraham for an everlasting possession (Psa. 105: 6-15). Any attempt to dislodge the people from the land or the land from the people will result in the Judgment of God.

Ownership of the Land

Two things concerning current events and Scripture about which there can be no question are:

1. The correct identity of Abraham’s seed possessing the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant, and, thus, the title deed to the land in the covenant.

2. The true ownership of land presently in question between Arab and Jewish interests - the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the old city of Jerusalem.

Scripture is clear that the Abrahamic covenant was made with the descendants of Abraham through Isaac, not the descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. Ishmael was to be cast out and have no inheritance in the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 17: 7, 20, 21; 21: 9, 13). When this was revealed to Abraham, he sought to change God’s mind concerning the entire matter. Before Isaac was even born, Abraham cried out to God, “0 that Ishmael might live before thee” (Gen. 17: 18)! But Ishmael was rejected. “The gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Rom. 11: 29). God will not change His min in matters of this nature.

Scripture is also clear that the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the old city of Jerusalem are included in the land grant given to Isaac and his descendants. Since occupying this land during the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel has built and continues to build settlements in the occupied areas (as of Jan. 1, 1978, ninety-six of these settlements were in existence). The thousands of Israeli citizens who live in these settlements fully expect to stay where they are - in Israeli settlements, in Israeli land, under an Israeli flag.

Anwar Sadat stated that Israeli citizens being allowed to continue living in occupied land is not a negotiable issue. They must move out of the land and return to pre-1967 borders. No country in the world will back Israel concerning these settlements in the Sinai, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Gola Heights. Even the president of the United States has stated on several occasions, “Israeli settlements on occupied territory are illegal.”

The fact of the matter is that the Israelis have occupied land - or in the words of Menachem Begin, “liberated land” - which was already theirs, during a war which they did not start. Israel has a dual right to this land: a Biblical right, and the right of conquest. One will have a difficult time trying to prove that it is illegal for Israel to build settlements in these areas. One will have an equally difficult time trying to justify Israeli withdrawal from this land.

Solution for Middle East Peace

The solution for problems concerning the land in the Middle East is found, not in man’s wisdom, but in Scripture alone. God’s solution is found in the Book of Genesis, and although conditions surrounding this solution will not be brought to pass until the [Millennial] Kingdom Age itself, man would do well to take a lesson from the tent of Abraham.

There was peace in the tent of Abraham so long as Ishmael was in the tent alone. But Ishmael was not the heir. When Isaac, the heir, appeared in the tent, the trouble began. God’s solution to the problem was NOT partitioning the tent, giving part to Isaac and part to Ishmael. God’s solution was to put Ishmael outside the tent; he didn’t belong inside. Peace returned to the tent of Abraham ONLY after Ishmael was put out and recognized the fact that he had no inheritance in the tent.

The parallel situation to Ishmael and Isaac in Abraham’s tent has existed during modern times since May 14, 1948. In history Ishmael was in the tent first. Then Isaac was born and the trouble began. During modern times the Ishmaelites were in the land when a nation composed of the descendants of Isaac was reborn right in their midst. Immediately the trouble began, and it has continued to this day. It is the age-old story of the tent of Abraham all over again.

For years the United Nations sought to be the great mediator in the Middle East. The inevitable conflict which resulted from the May 14, 1948 Israeli Declaration of Independence became the major topic of concern for the United Nations. The United Nations, in an effort to produce peace in the Middle East, suggested a compromise, and partitioned the land, giving part to the descendants of Isaac and part to the descendants of Ishmael. But no peace prevailed.

During the years since 1948 the United Nations has sought to contain the situation by the deployment of U.N. Emergency Forces to patrol border areas. Although the United Nations possessed good intentions from a humanistic view-point, actions taken have been contrary to Scripture, and the end result has been that not one day of peace has existed in the Middle East since May 14, 1948.

Thirty years of negotiations through the United Nations concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict have produced nothing. Now we see more direct approaches being taken by Middle East leaders, in the Middle East itself, bypassing the United Nations. One reason for this, aside from the fact that thirty years of U.N. action has produced nothing, is because Russia is a member of the United Nations. Russia is one of the great end-time enemies, not only of the Jews, but also the Arabs. Russia’s interest in the Arab World since the mid-1950s has been purely for self-advancement. Russia wants the land between the Nile and the Euphrates for herself. All interests exhibited by this nation on behalf of the Arabs to regain land occupied by the Jews have been strictly superficial. Exactly what Russia would do in the Arab World should she ever realize her ambition and gain control in the Middle East will never be known. This will never happen; it is not in the script.

The United States, especially during the terms of the past three presidents, has been projected into the role of “peacemaker” in the Middle East. Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Nixon and Ford Administrations did all within his power to establish peace between the Arabs and the Jews. His successor, present Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in the Carter Administration, is continuing endeavours to establish Middle East peace. Because of the present more direct negotiations, President Carter himself is beginning to take a more active role than his predecessors. But, all present Middle East peace negotiations still involve the same proposal suggested by Abraham 4,000 years ago, a proposal which God rejected.

The tent of Abraham was not to be partitioned between Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael was to be put out of the tent. The promises in the Abrahamic covenant pertained to Isaac and his descendants through Jacob alone. Ishmael and his descendants had no part in these promises. However, in spite of this, the cry of the Gentile nations of the world - including the United States - for the past thirty years has, in essence, been the same as the cry of Abraham 4,000 years ago: “0 that Ishmael might live before thee!”

The present endeavours of President Sadat of Egypt and President Carter of the United States in Middle East peace negotiations are doomed to failure. Not only is the present solution for peace in the Middle East - partitioning the land in the Abrahamic covenant, giving part to the descendants of Isaac and part to the descendants of Ishmael - unworkable, but it is also, according to Scripture, the worst of all possible solutions.

Not only will the Gentile nations of the world be judged for dividing this land, but this is also a specific act for which the man of sin will come under judgment. We read in Dan. 11: 39 that he “shall divide the land for gain.” Immediately after this statement we read about trouble which arises between the man of sin and Arabic nations: “And at the time of the end [the end of the Tribulation] shall the king of the south [King of Egypt] push at him: and the king of the north [King of Syria] shall come against him like a whirlwind ...” (v. 40a). Trouble continues until the very end when he takes the ultimate step of defiance by aligning himself in an open confrontation against the “Kings of kings, and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19: 16-19). He then comes to his end with no one to help him (Dan. 11: 45), and is cast alive into the lake of fire (Rev. 19: 20).

A Christian Perspective

What about the Christian? What attitude is he to take and what course of action is he to follow concerning problems in the Middle East? Some have taken Sarah’s action along with her statement in Gen. 21: 10, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac,” to be a type of a similar position which the Church should take today. However, the Church occupying a role of this nature during the present time is to be questioned. Certain Christian leaders have bordered on this position during recent months by banding together and running full-page ads in the New York Times, defending Israel’s right to occupy all land within her present borders. At least one of these men has taken a more militant stand in these ads by denouncing the Palestinians as “Descendants of Esau ... claiming Jacob’s land.”

Several things concerning the present Middle East situation must be kept in mind:

1. Israel in the land today is the result of the Zionist Movement. Zionism is man’s efforts to usher in the Messianic Era by creating a Jewish homeland and helping God to re-establish Israel in the Middle East. However, God is not going to allow this to happen. The Jews presently in the land are going to be uprooted once again, and one of three things will happen to all of them: (a) They will be killed, (b) sold as slaves throughout the Gentile World, (c) or be allowed to escape to a place of safety where they will remain for the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation. When Jesus returns to the earth, the nation of Israel in the land of Israel under her own governmental system, flag, armed forces, etc., as we know it today will not exist. A return to conditions anticipated by the plight of the Jews in Europe during the years 1939-1945 will mark the scene once again.

2. Israel today occupies only a small fraction of the land in the Abrahamic covenant. Israel has never occupied all this land, and will not until her Messiah returns, and He Himself establishes the nation in the land, never to be uprooted again.

Some years ago a Jew in Palestine was asked, “How much land are the Israeli people eventually going to get?” His reply was, “All of it.” When asked how much all of it consisted of, he replied, “From the Nile River to the Euphrates River, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.” When asked how he knew this, he replied, “Because the prophets have said we’re going to get all of it.”

It is true that the Israeli people are going to get “all of it.” The land between the Nile and the Euphrates belongs to them, and they will one day possess it. The prophets are clear on this matter. The prophets are also clear on another matter: Israel will not come into possession of this land through the present Zionist Movement, nor through any endeavours of well-meaning Christians or Christian organizations. The present restoration of a remnant to the land is not the beginning of the final restoration. The present Zionist Movement will not culminate in the complete restoration of Israel within the boundaries of all the land in the Abrahamic covenant. The darkest day in Israeli history lies just ahead, and Scripture always places the restoration of Israel AFTER this time never before.

According to the Bible, the Arabs are going to dwell in the land covenanted to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob until Israel’s Messiah returns to the earth, and He Himself establishes the descendants of Isaac in the land, and excludes the descendants of Ishmael from the land. This land includes far more than the land presently occupied by Israel. Bear in mind that the land in the Abrahamic covenant extends from the Nile to the Euphrates. This land includes a large section of Egypt - including Cairo itself on the east bank of the Nile - all of Jordan and Lebanon, most of Syria, part of Iraq, and other land south and east of these points. The Jews own all of this land, and they will one day possess every square foot of it.

What then is the correct position for Christians to take relative to Israel, the Arabs, Zionism, etc.? Any position taken by Christians at any time in any matter should always be within a Biblical framework. In the Middle East situation, recognize the fact that God has allowed a remnant to return under the present Zionist Movement. This remnant will involve God’s focal point for His dealings with not only Israel, but also the Gentile nations of the world at the end of this age. A remnant has been re-established in the Middle East for certain specific purposes. Among these specific purposes are:

1. Completing the full 70 Weeks determined upon the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem (Dan. 9: 24-27).

2. Bringing about the destruction of Russia and her allies in the land of Israel (Ezek. 38, 39).

3. Bringing the man of sin into a position of world power, followed by the destruction of his kingdom, which will be the final form of the kingdom of Satan on this earth (Rev. 13-19).

4. Bringing all the Gentile nations into the Middle East to be judged (Joel 3: 2; Rev. 16: 13-15).

In short, God’s purpose in the entire matter is bringing to naught the present kingdom of Satan, and establishing the rightful King, the Lord Jesus Christ, upon the “holy hill of Zion” (Psa. 2: 1-6).

When God finishes with His present purposes for the existence of an Israeli nation in the Middle East, He will then allow the last King of Babylon, the man of sin, to come in and uproot the nation. The Lord Himself will then restore Israel when He returns to the earth.

What is the Christian to do today? Simply this: Bide your time. The Lord is still in control; He knows exactly what He is doing, and He is not in a hurry. He moves the nations of the world into certain positions like pieces on a chessboard. When He gets them all in position, THEN the prophecies recorded page after page from Genesis through Revelation will begin to be rapidly fulfilled. And the end result will not be a stalemate, as presently exists in the Middle East, but a checkmate.

What can we do? “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem …” (Psa. 122: 6). “And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isa. 62: 7). The Christian can accomplish far more through prayer than all other avenues combined.

“Surely I come quickly. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22: 20).

* * *

Chapter Five

The Holocaust

And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out ... unto a land flowing with milk and honey ... (Ex. 3: 7, 8).

No other nation in history has suffered like the Jews. From the brickyards in Egypt during Moses’ day to the anti-Semitism in Russia today, Israel stands alone as a people persecuted by the nations. The history of Israel spans 3,500 years. during this time Israel was placed in the land, disobeyed God, fell under God’s chastisement, and, according to Scripture, the Gentile nations of the world have helped forward this chastisement. Gentile nations have risen, attained a certain power, and crumbled - many because of their ill-treatment of Israel. The epitaph on the tombstones of Gentile nations throughout the world reads: “Risen and fallen in accordance with their treatment of Israel.”

In Zech. 1: 9-15 the Gentile nations are pictured as being at rest during the time Israel is in captivity. According to verse fifteen the Lord is displeased with the Gentile nations because they helped forward God’s affliction on His people. God states, “I was but a little displeased [with Israel], and they [the Gentiles] helped forward the affliction.” Israel is God’s son, and the scene set forth in this passage is that of the Father chastening His son because of disobedience, with outsiders (Gentiles) stepping in and taking it upon themselves to help God chasten His son. God’s purpose for the chastening was to bring about correction, but the Gentile purpose involved destruction.

The entire picture is very similar to a father today who cuts a switch off a tree and begins to chasten his disobedient son. While the father is chastening his son to bring about correction, the neighbours look over, see what is happening, pick up sticks and clubs, and involve themselves in the chastening by trying to beat the child to death.

This is exactly the way Gentile nations have intervened in God’s treatment of Israel down through the years. Israel fell under the chastening hand of the Father, and the Gentile nations of the world stepped in and intensified the affliction. Russia will be among the last of the nations which will come against God’s son with “clubs,” etc. (Ezek. 39: 9), seeking to help forward the affliction.

The Past Holocaust

During the latter days of Gentile affliction on Israel we have what is called the “Holocaust.” This is the period of the Nazi persecution of Jews between the years 1939-1945. Six million Jews were put to death in Europe during this time. Approximately two-thirds of the six million were put to death in extermination camps (Auschwitz, Belzec, Treblinka, et al.), located mainly in Poland. The means of extermination in these camps was gassing, followed by the crematoriums. The other one-third were killed by various other methods - medical experiments, slave labour, mass executions by firing squads, etc.

Battle-hardened American soldiers were visibly shaken when they marched into Germany and Poland in 1945, liberated survivors in the death camps, and viewed the gas chambers and crematoriums. The war crimes trials in Nuremberg followed, and, even though most of the German records surrounding activities in these death camps had been destroyed, atrocities committed by the Third Reich began to come out. But it was really not until 1961 that the plight of the Jews in the Holocaust was fully documented for the entire world to witness.

Adolf Eichmann

At the termination of World War II many Nazi war criminals escaped and fled to other countries. Down through the years since 1945 certain Jews have devoted their lives to finding these individuals and bringing them to justice. In 1960 the most sought-after war criminal of all, Adolf Eichmann, was tracked down and captured in Argentina. A message was sent to Israel stating, “We have captured the Beast.” Adolf Eichmann was placed on board an Israeli plane, flown directly to Tel Aviv, and imprisoned awaiting trial.

Adolf Eichmann was the man Hitler had placed in charge of Jewish extermination throughout Europe. He, under Hitler, was the man directly responsible for the death of 6,000,000 Jews. His trial, which began in April of 1961 and lasted over four months, was unique in many ways:

1. Israel was not a nation at the time the crimes were committed.

2. This was the first time in modern history that the Jews had an opportunity to bring an oppressor to justice.

3. It was the first time that a single man had ever been brought to trial on charges involving the murder of millions of people.

The underlying purpose behind the Eichmann trial was not to punish one man for the death of 6,000,000 Jews. This could not be done. This trial was held for the express purpose of fully documenting what had taken place in the European Jewish community during the years 1939-1945.

“The trial offered a unique opportunity to put on record all the events of the Jewish tragedy, and to do this, we had to present the extent of the Holocaust - the almost successful attempt to destroy an entire nation of people. This was possible because Eichmann, as head of the department in charge of the ‘final solution’ of the Jews, was deeply responsible for all the atrocities. He was later described in a statement submitted by the defence and given by a Dutch lawyer, Van Thollingen-Dolls, as ‘the highest chief in the complex of Jewish affairs for the whole of Europe’” (Gideon Hausner, Attorney General of Israel).

Atrocities brought to light and documented at the Eichmann trial were derived mainly from survivors of the death camps. German records at the Gestapo headquarters containing the files outlining Eichmann’s movements throughout his reign of terror had been destroyed near the war’s end. Some written evidence in various government offices in European countries where Eichmann had been active remained, but the truth concerning what took place in Europe during the final year of the Third Reich was told by the survivors themselves.

One camp in Poland - BeIzec - had no known survivors. 600,000 Jews had been put to death in this camp. Nevertheless, events at BeIzec became a part of the Eichmann trial. A hygiene officer in the SS - Dr. Kurt Gerstein - was shocked by what he saw in the camp when he was ordered to supply poison gas during the early 1940s. Dr. Gerstein, before committing suicide in a Paris prison after the war, gave accounts of activities at BeIzec to both Swedish and American diplomats. His testimony was documented and later used as evidence in the Eichmann trial.

After the complete story was made known, Eichmann received the death sentence. An appeal to a higher court was immediately introduced by Eichmann’s lawyer. Two months later the Supreme Court of Israel, under the direction of Itzhak Olshan, rendered its decision: “It is clear that the idea of the ‘final solution’ was not his own, but the Fuhrer’s. Yet that idea could never have assumed so Satanic and infernal an expression - in the blood of millions of tortured and martyred Jews - but for the thorough planning, the zeal, the fanatical enthusiasm and the insatiable bloodthirstiness of the appellant and those who did his bidding.”

His final appeal to the president of Israel was also rejected, and he was executed in Ramleh prison May 31, 1962. His body was cremated and the ashes were scattered on the Mediterranean Sea.

Adolf Eichmann himself never denied, during the long months of his trial, that 6,000,000 Jews had died in Europe. Many who have little regard for Israel today deny this fact. But the evidence is in, and the Holocaust has been fully documented. The Encyclopaedia Judaica devotes 240,000 words, contributed by 109 writers and editors to the subject. The Keter Publishing House in Jerusalem has condensed much of this material into about 50,000 words published in a 214-page book entitled Holocaust, a book readily available in the United States.

The Interim

At the termination of the Eichmann trial, Jews from around the world, along with innumerable Gentiles, promised that the full story would be preserved for oncoming generations in order that nothing of this nature would ever happen again. An Israeli nation presently exists in the Middle East for this same purpose. During World War II the Jews in Europe had no place to go. The Holocaust was upon them, and no country in the world would take them in. Ships filled with European Jews were turned away from ports on both sides of the Atlantic in both hemispheres and forced to return to Europe. But things are different today. A Jew anywhere in the world is welcome in Israel. A Jew can become an Israeli citizen today simply by the “Law of Return,” and the “Citizenship Law” - legislation enacted in 1950 and 1952 which enables any Jew to become a citizen as soon as he sets foot on Israeli soil.

However, it has not always been this way; nor will it always be this way. We’re living in a unique time; it is a lull between two Storms - two Holocausts - and the second Holocaust will be far worse than the first. The time in which we live is very similar to being in the eye of a hurricane. The tremendous winds on one side cause widespread destruction, then the eye moves across, things are relatively calm for awhile, and we can view the destruction. Some who have experienced the eve of a hurricane have been misled into a false sense of security. Believing the storm was over at this point, they departed from their p1ace of safety and perished when the other side of the storm moved in. The second part of the storm is just as intense as the first part, with the winds moving in the opposite direction. In the case of the coming Holocaust on the other side of the “eye,” it will be much more intense.

Peop1e believe that the persecution of Jews in Europe during World War II is something which could never happen again. But the prophets have stated otherwise. Not only will it happen again, but the next Holocaust to engulf Israel will be Satan’s final and most intense attempt to destroy this nation. The Gentile nations, under the leadership of Satan, are going to help forward the affliction on God’s son, Israel, until God steps in and judges these same nations. And, according to Scripture, this affliction will reach its most intense state immediately before this judgment.

Exodus - A Prophecy

During the days of Moses 3,500 years ago we find the birth of a nation in the land of Egypt. he Book of Exodus, which records this birth, constitutes an overall type of what is about to happen immediately before and after the time yet future when this same nation will be “born at once” (Isa. 66: 8). This book sets forth in chronological order events which will take place both during and after the corning Holocaust.

Exodus begins with the Israelites under bondage to the Assyrian in the land of Egypt. The revelation in this book moves through ten plagues brought upon Egypt, climaxed by the death of the firstborn. The Israelites - under the blood of the passover lamb - were led out of Egypt, taken to the Sinai Peninsula, and there the old covenant was made with Israel. The book terminates with Israel removed from Egypt, placed under the old covenant, and God Himself dwelling in their midst in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. This is the point where the Theocratic Kingdom in the Old Testament began - God Himself dwelling in the midst of His people, governing these same people under the old covenant.

Do you want to know what is about to happen to both Israel and the Gentile nations of the world? God has not left His people in darkness concerning what He is about to do. It is man who has ignored this revelation, producing a self-imposed darkness, not God Who has failed to provide the revelation. It is evident that very few Christians have any appreciation whatsoever for the vast amount of unfulfilled prophecy found in Scripture. A large part of Genesis falls into this category. ALL of Exodus has to do with events yet future. This book is actual history fraught with types and meanings. The future time interval which God revealed to Moses, recorded in the Book of Exodus, is the same as that which God revealed to the Apostle John, recorded in the Book of Revelation.

The plight of the Jews in the last days, the long-awaited deliverance of Israel, and the restoration of the kingdom to Israel are told through forty chapters in the Book of Exodus. God has devoted one entire book of Moses, along with large segments of the remaining four books, to provide His people with details concerning events which are yet future, even during the days in which we presently live. Christians who ignore this revelation do so to their own peril.

There are two great deliverances of tie Israelites in Scripture. One deliverance is past, the other is future. The first deliverance was under Moses, the second will be under the One greater than Moses, the Lord Jesus Christ. When God states that He will “bring again the captivity” of His people (Jer. 30: 3, 18), or “set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people” (Isa. 11: 11). He is not alluding to a prior deliverance from the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities under Zerubbabel. This restoration was only partial, as is the present restoration of the Israelites to the land. There is only one restoration in all history which was complete and can be placed alongside, by way of parallel, the restoration which is about to take place. However, we are not left to any devices or imagination of our own to figure this out. Scripture reveals this for us. Read very carefully Jer. 16: 14, 15; 23: 7, 8.

The past restoration constitutes an overall type of the future restoration. Moses is a type of Christ, and Egypt is always a type of the world in Scripture. The deliverance from Egypt under Moses is a type of the future deliverance from a worldwide dispersion under Jesus the Christ. Events on both sides of the actual deliverance from Egypt revealed in the Book of Exodus complete the overall type and provide us with a detailed explanation concerning what is about to happen in the antitype. The type has been set, and the antitype must follow the type in exact detail.

The Coming Holocaust

The Book of Exodus begins with Israel in Egypt under Assyrian bondage. The Assyrians had come down, conquered Egypt, and were at this time controlling the country. The “new king” (Ex. 1: 8) who arose over Egypt and knew not Joseph was an Assyrian, not an Egyptian (Isa. 52: 4). In Stephen’s address before the religious leaders in Israel almost 1,700 years later (Acts 7: 1ff), attention was called to this fact. In reiterating the history of Israel from the days of Abraham, Stephen called attention to their bondage in Egypt under “another king … which knew not Joseph” (v. 18). The word “another” is a translation of the Greek word heteros (The Septuagint also uses this same word in Ex. 1: 8). This word means “another kind” of king, and has reference to a different dynasty. An Egyptian dynasty previously had been in power. But the Asyrians came in, took over the government, and a new dynasty of a different nationality came into existence.

This is the reason the governing power in Egypt looked upon the Israelites as “more and mightier than we” (Ex. 1: 9). This statement would not be true if all Egypt were in view. “We” in this verse has to do with the Assyrians living in Egypt and controlling the affairs of state.

During the coming Tribulation the Israelites are going to find themselves scattered throughout the world under bondage to a Gentile governmental system controlled by the “Assyrian.” The coming man of sin will be an Assyrian (Isa. 10: 5, 12, 24-27; Micah 5: 5, 6). The future Assyrian will deal with the Israelites just like his counterpart in Egypt during the days of Moses. He will “afflict” them. Just as the Israelites during the past affliction cried out to God for deliverance, they will cry out to the same God for deliverance during the future affliction. And just as God came down during the past affliction and delivered His people, He will come down during the future affliction and deliver His people (cf. Ex. 1: 11; 3: 7, 8; Deut. 30: 1-3; Hosea 5: 15 - 6: 2).

The manner in which God delivered His people the first time is the same manner in which He will deliver them the second time - bringing to naught Gentile world power, and personally leading them out. The ten plagues brought upon the Assyrian Kingdom in Egypt set forth in type what is about to happen to the Assyrian Kingdom covering the entire world under the man of sin. “Ten” is the number of ordinal completion. This number has to do with all God’s judgments upon the Assyrian Kingdom - both past and future - prior to leading His people out.

The Assyrian Kingdom in history was left in shambles at the termination of the plagues. Judgment upon this kingdom was completed immediately after the Israelites were led out of Egypt. At this time the Assyrian and his armed forces were overthrown in the Red Sea.

This same thing will happen to the Assyrian Kingdom yet future. The plagues brought upon the world during the Great Tribulation will leave his kingdom in shambles. Note especially Rev. 16: 1ff. Also, note that in the type the destruction of the Assyrian and his armed forces in the Red Sea took place after the plagues were brought upon Egypt and after the Israelites were delivered from Egypt. It will be after the Great Tribulation that the man of sin and his armies will be overthrown. This will take place after the return of Christ to the earth and after the deliverance of Israel from a worldwide dispersion.

An interesting fact we derive from the type concerning the time of Israel’s deliverance is this: In the type Israel was delivered from Egypt immediately before the Assyrian and his armed forces were overthrown. It will be the same in the antitype. Israel will be delivered from a worldwide dispersion immediately before Jesus treads the winepress (Isa. 63: 1-5; Rev. 19: 17-21).

The Feasts of the Lord

The Passover took place before Israel was delivered from Egypt (Ex. 12-14). The Passover is the first of seven Feasts of the Lord given in Lev. 23: lff. These festivals outline in chronological order a sequence of events about to transpire in the camp of Israel, and are all unfulfilled in-so-far as Israel is concerned. Israel’s national Passover in the antitype of Exodus, chapter twelve is yet future, as are events in the other six festivals. Events surrounding the Passover must occur first, and this Feast of the Lord will not be fulfilled until the end of the Tribulation.

Very briefly, events surrounding the Feasts of the Lord are:

1. Passover: This festival has to do with the national conversion of Israel, when the nation looks upon the Pierced One. The Lamb has already died, the blood has been shed (Ex. 12: 6), but Israel has not applied the blood (Ex. 12: 7).

Note in the type that the Passover took place while Israel was still in Egypt. In the antitype it will take place while Israel is still scattered throughout the Gentile World.

2. Unleavened Bread: This festival has, to do with the removal of sin from the house after the Passover. Of what sin is Israel guilty? Israel is guilty of the sin of crucifying her Messiah. Israel is presently unclean through contact with the dead body of God’s [only begotten] Son, and will remain unclean for two days (2,000 years). After two days, on the third day, Israel is going to acknowledge her sin in the presence of the very One Whom she crucified. Israel will then put this sin out of the house.

3. Firstfruits: This festival has to do with resurrection. Christ was raised from the dead on this day, and Old Testament saints will be raised from the dead, fulfilling this festival. The firstfruits of the resurrection of Old Testament saints took place after Christ was raised (Matt. 27: 52, 53). The main harvest will follow.

4. Pentecost: Note what began to take place on the day of Pentecost, 30 A.D. (Acts 2: 1ff). Joel’s prophecy began to be fulfilled, and this prophecy would have been completely fulfilled had Israel done what Peter told the Jews to do in Acts 2: 38 - national repentance, followed by national baptism. However, Israel did not, the nation was subsequently set aside for an age, and any fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy has also been set aside with Israel for an age. Joel’s prophecy cannot be fulfilled today, even in part. But it will be fulfilled immediately after the resurrection of Old Testament saints.

5. Trumpets: This festival has to do with the re-gathering of Israel. Christians await a trumpet calling them into the heavens before the Tribulation; Israel awaits a trumpet calling the nation back into the land after the Tribulation.

Note the order of events thus far: The national conversion of Israel (Passover), Israel’s acknowledgement of her sin (Unleavened Bread), the resurrection of Old Testament saints (Firstfruits), and the [Holy] Spirit of God being poured out on all flesh (Pentecost). All these events will take place before the re-gathering of Israel (Trumpets). These events, including those set forth in the Feast of Trumpets, will also take place before the treading of the winepress.

6. Atonement: This festival has to do with a cleansing from sin for a people already under the blood of the Passover Lamb. Activities on this day have to do with blood on the mercy seat and confession of sin. Atonement is to be provided for Israel’s sin of crucifying her Messiah. Note the order in Ezek. 36: 24, 25 - a re-gathering before cleansing from sin. The water in Ezek. 36: 25 will contain the ashes of the red heifer (cf. Num. 19: 9-12).

7. Tabemacles: This is the last of the festivals and has to do with a time of rest at the termination of the previous Feasts of the Lord. This points forward to the time of rest in the coming [Millennial] age after the termination of events surrounding the first Feasts of the Lord.

Following the return of Christ at the end of the Great Tribulation there will be a 75-day period between the end of Daniel’s 70^th Week and the beginning of the millennium (Dan. 12: 11-13). It appears evident that the events set forth in the first six Feasts of the Lord, leading up to events in the terminal festival, the Feast of Tabernacles, will transpire during this time.

Events Following the Exodus

Following the Exodus from Egypt the Israelites were led into the Sinai Desert. There God established the old covenant with Israel.

When God reaches out to deliver His people a second time He will bring them into the “wilderness of the people.” They will probably be brought to the same place in the Sinai where they were brought following the first deliverance. There God will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. He will also judge His people at this time, purging out the “rebels” and “transgressors,” as aforetime, before allowing the people to enter into the land of Israel (Jer. 31: 31-34; Ezek. 20: 34-38).

The latter part of the Book of Exodus is taken up with instructions concerning the priesthood and tabernacle. Moses is the one who built the tabernacle. He built it exactly like God told him, according to the pattern of an existing tabernacle in heaven. When Moses finished all the work, the Glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, and the book terminates with a Theocratic Kingdom in existence in the camp of Israel.

When the One Who is greater than Moses returns to the earth, He will build the temple of the Lord (Zech. 6: 11-13). When He finished all the work, the Glory of the Lord will be restored to Israel, and there will once again be a Theocratic Kingdom in existence in the camp of Israel.

Two days await Israel - the darkest day in Jewish history (the coming Holocaust), followed by the brightest day (the Messianic Era). God’s affliction of His son must be completed; Gentile activity in helping forward this affliction must also be completed. THEN, shall “the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings” (Malachi 4: 2). The NATION will be restored, the GLORY will be restored, the KINGDOM will be restored, and God’s complete purpose for calling this nation into existence will be realized.