How Israel Fulfils Bible Prophecy

The Bible is full of prophecies about Israel and God’s people, the Jews. These prophecies are significant not just for the Jews, but for every one of us. It is important to start by saying that Christadelphians have no political stance, since we believe that “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men” (Daniel 4:17); our view on Israel is not what we think, but what we believe God’s word, the Bible, says about it.

God sets out his relationship with Israel very clearly in Exodus 19:3-6, which says: “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel… if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people… a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Israel had grown into a nation, having begun with a man called Abraham, to whom God made a promise because of his faith – and Israel, IF they remained faithful, could share in that promise and be a “special treasure” to God. This promise, though, was conditional – Israel could only have a relationship with God if they conducted their lives as he had commanded them.

The flipside of this condition was set forward in Deuteronomy 28:25-68. This is a prophecy of what would happen to Israel if they did not follow God’s commandments, written 3,500 years ago; it is a clear description of Israel and the Jews today. Anti-Semitism is increasing all the time. Verse 65 reads “among those nations you shall find no rest… but there the Lordwill give you a trembling heart... Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life.” It isa clear portrayal of the Holocaust, and the last few verses could easily be a summary of what has happened to the Jews over the last 100 years. 

However, despite the hardship God prophesied they would face, He also gave them hope that the nation of Israel would never be totally destroyed.  Isaiah 43:12 records God saying to Israel, “Therefore you are My witnesses…that I am God.” Israel (as a country and nation) are a witness to the existence of a Creatorsince even their continued survival is a miracle – no other nation in history has been through persecution like the Jews and maintained their national identity as the Jews have. 

In Ezekiel 21, God prophesies the “overturning”of Jerusalem, which happened three times in Israel’s history. The last siege of Jerusalem was in AD70, when the Romans destroyed the Temple and left virtually nothing. As Ezekiel says, there has been no king or priest in Jerusalem since, and he says that there will not be “until he comes whose right it is” (verse 27). This refers to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth. Jerusalem was ruined until about 1897, when the Zionist Congress began to try and find a homeland for the Jews scattered across the world. It wasn’t until the Balfour Declaration in 1917 that the land of Israel was chosen as the best place for a homeland, and Jerusalem placed under the British Mandate. In May 1948 the state of Israel was declared and in 1967 Jerusalem was placed under Jewish control for the first time in nearly 2,000 years.

The miraculous revival of the nation of Israel was all predicted in the Bible. The Lord Jesus tells us in Luke 21:27 that “then they will see the Son of Mancoming in a cloud with power and great glory.Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, becauseyour redemption draws near.”All of the prophecies have been fulfilled – “these things” haven’t just begun to happen, Israel has celebrated 70 years of being a nation already! Jesus Christ is coming back to the earth soon – are you ready for him?