In the wake of the atrocities in Israel one of the questions evangelicals are asking is, Are we seeing prophecy being fulfilled? Pastor Greg Laurie attempted to answer that in his sermon this past Sunday.
A California pastor has suggested that the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel which killed more than 1,000 people, including 14 Americans, were predicted by scripture.
Greg Laurie, the head of California megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship, made the claims in a sermon he delivered on Sunday.
‘Interesting how it always comes back to Jerusalem. The Bible predicted, thousands of years ago, that the End Time events would revolve around Jerusalem,’ he said. ‘Not San Francisco. Not Los Angeles. Not Moscow. Not Paris.’
‘But Jerusalem, this tiny little city, in this tiny sliver of land, will play a key role in the events of the last days. It’s the focal point of End Times events,’ he added, quoting Zechariah 12:3, stating: ‘On that day I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock. All the nations will gather against it to try to move it, but they will only hurt themselves.’
I’m not one to engage in end times speculation, but I tend to broadly agree that we are seeing the beginning of birth pangs.
Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
— Matthew 24:4-14
The regathering of Israel was a prophetic fulfillment.
Laurie added that this was a ‘super-sign’ that the ‘prophetic clock ticking is the re-gathering of the nation Israel into their homeland.’
‘On the heels of the Holocaust, who would have ever thought that these Jewish people who lost 6 million of their people to the Nazis would somehow re-gather in their homeland?’ he said.
‘But it happened against all odds. And on May 14, 1948, Israel became a nation. I’m proud to say the United States was the first nation to acknowledge that.’
The prophets and other scriptures anticipated the restoration of Israel thousands of years ago:
The most widely covered restorative theme in the Bible relates to Israel. God declares through the prophet Jeremiah:
“… I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord…” (Jeremiah 29:14, ESV)
Nearly every Hebrew prophet foresaw a time when God would restore the fortunes of the Jewish people following a long period of exile, destitution and suppression.
Indeed, they would return from the all countries where God had scattered them (Jeremiah 32:37). He would plant them back in the land of their fathers (Jeremiah 24:6). They would rebuild the ancient cities (Isaiah 61:4).
They would turn the desert into a blossoming garden (Isaiah 51:3). God would increase them in numbers (Ezekiel 37:26). And most importantly, God would restore His people not only physically but also spiritually (Ezekiel 36:24).
There are detractors from this view of scripture who argue that Israel is a secular state. While that’s true, it’s also true that the Jewish people are being gathered into the land that was theirs from ancient times. Plus, I’m not sure how Israel being a secular country somehow invalidates biblical prophecy. In my view, it only makes the promise of being restored not just physically but spiritually more likely.
In the ensuing decades, many more Jews would arrive. Finally, in 1948 the State of Israel was established. This reminded many of the question posed by Isaiah long ago:
“Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall a land be born in one day? Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?” (Isaiah 66:8 ESV)
In May 1948, the resounding answer was “Yes!” The German theologian Karl Barth later proclaimed: “Now we can read it in the newspapers: God keeps His promises.”
Today, close to half of the world’s Jewish population is residing in Israel, compared to only 0.5% in 1889. They have turned the State of Israel into a hub of technology and innovation. Israel’s ancient cities are not only rebuilt, but they are larger and more beautiful than ever before.
No one can say for sure that what we’re seeing is, in fact, prophecy being fulfilled. But it is interesting that on September 29, 1923 the British Mandate went into effect (making Palestine a political entity for the first time in centuries) thus providing a home for the Jewish people in the region; on October 6, 1973 came the suprise attack of the Arab nations on Yom Kippur; and now, on October 7, 2023 there is the surprise attack by the Arabs in Gaza.
Every 50 years is interesting, but not conclusive. But Israel being reestablished as a nation? Irrefutable.
My advice is to watch developments carefully. Biblical Persia is modern-day Iran, and is predicted to play a major role in the end.
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog [Russia], the chief prince of Meshek and Tubal [region of modern-day Turkey]; prophesy against him and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshek and Tubal. I will turn you around, put hooks in your jaws and bring you out with your whole army—your horses, your horsemen fully armed, and a great horde with large and small shields, all of them brandishing their swords. Persia [Iran], Cush [Sudan] and Put [Libya] will be with them, all with shields and helmets, also Gomer with all its troops, and Beth Togarmah from the far north with all its troops—the many nations with you.
— Ezekiel 38:1-6
Amazing insight. All really good. Sorry i don’t comment always but i always read!!! I would like to share on FB. Is there a way?
Carol thanks so much for reading! I believe you can simply click the “Facebook” button right under the last paragraph and it will post to your FB page. Hopefully that will work! —Dave