1. Scott Huckaby www.BibleTract.org God’s Prophetic Clock

2. Today’s Discussion: How Israel is the most important Sign of the Times Various Signs of the Times related to Israel

3. What miracle is represented here? For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. (Malachi 3:6, NKJV) Despite dispersion, the uniqueness of the Jews has been preserved. The Jews not being assimilated into local cultures is historically unprecedented.

4. Why is Israel such an important sign from God? The LORD has proclaimed you to be His special people. (Deuteronomy 26:18, NKJV) The Lord ordained that the Jews would be a special people, unique in all the world… He revealed Himself to us through the Hebrew prophets and Jesus Christ.

5. Why hasn’t the Church replaced Israel in God’s promises? God has made separate promises to Israel and the church. God is not done working through Israel as a nation. Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will turn godlessness away from Jacob. (Romans 11:25-26, NIV)

6. How do we know prophecies about Israel’s restoration to the land have not been fulfilled in history? Their context is related to the coming of the Messiah to set up His kingdom on earth. Categories of Israel restoration prophecies: Their return from Babylon (fulfilled in history) Regathering from all the world in unbelief (being fulfilled) Regathering as believers from all the world (yet to be fulfilled)

7. What category is this prophecy? End Times… re-gathering from multiple nations Unbelief… refers Israel as having profaned the name of the Lord 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went... For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. (Ezekiel 36:22-24, NKJV)

8. How do we know this prophecy has not been fulfilled yet? 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again... and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. (Ezekiel 37:21-25, NKJV) It says that they shall dwell in the land forever.

9. I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God. (Amos 9:14-15, NKJV) It reinforces the idea that this restoration of Israel to the land is a sign of Christ’s return. What is the significance of Israel not being pulled from the land?

10. I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God. (Amos 9:14-15, NKJV) It is not God’s pattern to prematurely end restoration before they turn back to Him. How do we know this re-gathering fulfills prophecy?

11. How do we know this is not about Israel’s restoration from Babylon? 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again... and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. (Ezekiel 37:21-25, NKJV) Restoration from multiple nations David ruling over them

12. What does the reference to no longer being two nations mean? 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again... and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. (Ezekiel 37:21-25, NKJV) There will be no division like in the time of the kings when God restores them.

13. How do we know this has not been fulfilled? They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 37:23, NKJV) It says the nation of Israel will return to being God’s people… future fulfillment.

14. When will Israel as a nation be God’s people again? I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. (Revelation 7:2-4, NIV) During the tribulation when the 144,000 preach that Jesus is Messiah

15. What does it mean that David will rule over Israel? David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. (Ezekiel 37:24, NKJV) During the millennial reign of Christ, resurrected saints will have positions of authority in the Lord’s government.

16. What is significant about what the land of Israel will be called? Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. (Ezekiel 37:12, NKJV) It could have been called Palestine, Galilee, Samaria, or Judah but it is to be known by its biblical name, Israel.

17. God will make the desert bloom and restore the forests when He brings back Israel to the land What else will God restore to Israel? The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon (Isaiah 35:1-2, NIV)

18. Mark Twain visited Israel in the 1860s and reported that Israel was a barren wasteland with no trees in “Innocents Abroad.” Today there are over 400 million trees in Israel and rainfall has increased over 450% since 1900. Israel exports more food than it imports. In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit. (Isaiah 27:6, NIV) How has Israel bloomed and blossomed like a rose?

19. Why has Israel has been able to produce so much food? The days are coming, declares the LORD, when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. (Amos 9:13, NIV) Israel’s advanced irrigation has enabled them to grow several crops a year

20. How has this been fulfilled? Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up!‘ and to the south, 'Do not hold them back. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth (Isaiah 43:5-6, NIV) The order: Mideast (Syria, Iraq, Jordan 1930-1940); Western Europe after WWII; Russia starting in 1988; finally Ethiopia (Operation Solomon, Summer, 1991). Mideast Europe Russia Ethiopia

21. My determination is to gather the nations to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all my fierce anger; all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy. For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language (Zephaniah 3:8-9, NKJV) A pure language that was lost will be restored in the end times… Hebrew is the only lost language that has ever been restored. How has this been fulfilled?

22. What is the trend for languages? There are fewer languages in the world than there once were because many have been consolidated and some have been effectively lost (Latin). Why are there fewer languages? Languages and dialects are consolidating as the world seeks to work together more thus attempting to reverse what happened at the Tower of Babel.

23. How may today’s Hebrew be considered a pure language? During the dispersion of Israel, Hebrew as a spoken language was all but lost except for Biblical scholars.

24. How may today’s Hebrew be considered a pure language? During the dispersion of Israel, Hebrew as a spoken language was all but lost except for Biblical scholars. The Hebrew language had been corrupted with others… Ladino (Hebrew & Spanish); Yiddish (Hebrew & German)

25. How may today’s Hebrew be considered a pure language? During the dispersion of Israel, Hebrew as a spoken language was all but lost except for Biblical scholars. The Hebrew language had been corrupted with others… Ladino (Hebrew & Spanish); Yiddish (Hebrew & German) Eliezer Ben ‑ Yehuda dedicated his life to reviving the pure Hebrew language inventing thousands of new words based on Hebrew root words.

26. How may today’s Hebrew be considered a pure language? During the dispersion of Israel, Hebrew as a spoken language was all but lost except for Biblical scholars. The Hebrew language had been corrupted with others… Ladino (Hebrew & Spanish); Yiddish (Hebrew & German) Eliezer Ben ‑ Yehuda dedicated his life to reviving the pure Hebrew language inventing thousands of new words based on Hebrew root words. Today Hebrew is the language that binds Israelis together despite their coming from different nations.

27. How may today’s Hebrew be considered a pure language? During the dispersion of Israel, Hebrew as a spoken language was all but lost except for Biblical scholars. The Hebrew language had been corrupted with others… Ladino (Hebrew & Spanish); Yiddish (Hebrew & German) Eliezer Ben ‑ Yehuda dedicated his life to reviving the pure Hebrew language inventing thousands of new words based on Hebrew root words. Today Hebrew is the language that binds Israelis together despite their coming from different nations. Israelis can now read original biblical scrolls without translation. (You can’t say the same thing about English, Old English is almost unintelligible to us today.)

28. What foreshadowed this in 1967? They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24, NIV) Israel re-took possession of Jerusalem for the first time since they were dispersed by the Romans in 70 A.D. Since then, Jerusalem has been under the governments of the Romans, Byzentines, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamlukes, Turks, British, and Jordanians.

29. How is Jerusalem still trampled on by the Gentiles? Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matt 24:15-16, NKJV) A mosque is on the temple mount and… the abomination of desolation at the mid-point of the tribulation causes Israel to flee Jerusalem

30. Why is there always something about Jerusalem in the news? It shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. (Zechariah 12:3, NKJV) The peace of Jerusalem stands in the way of world peace Its strategic location near most of the world’s oil

31. How will the end times government of Israel differ from ancient times? And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God. (Zech 12:5, NKJV) Israel will be ruled by a democracy rather than a monarchy. Note: Leaders of Israel during this time will be secular because they refer to the Lord as “their God.”

32. How was this fulfilled on May 14, 1948? Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. (Isaiah 66:7-8, NKJV) Israel was born as a nation in a single day then immediately had travail from war with Arab neighbors. Most nations form following war, with Israel it was the other way around.

33. What will Israel's military power be like in the end times? In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left. (Zechariah 12:6, NKJV) Israeli forces have won against superior forces in ’48, ’56, ’67, ’73, ’81. Today they are the most powerful force in the region and currently the only nation with nuclear weapons.