Perilous
Times
How God Is Preparing Israel for the Return of Christ
John Claeys
Belief in God is on the rise in Israel. More than 80 percent of
Israeli Jews believe in God, as discovered from a survey by the
Guttman-Avi Chai foundation. This same survey also found that over
70 percent of Israeli Jews accept the Biblical principle that the
Jewish people have been "chosen" by God for a specific prophetic
destiny. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they want
increased biblical studies in Israeli schools.
Moreover, statistics provided by Google showed Israelis search for
Jesus more than 25,000 times per month. They do so, not by the
name "Jesus," but by the Hebrew equivalent, "Yeshua," which makes
this fact even more fascinating. For it shows they are not looking
for the American Jesus; instead, they are searching for the Hebrew
Jesus.
This spiritual interest among Israeli Jews is unprecedented. Since
the Jewish nation achieved its modern statehood in 1948, it has
never demonstrated such attraction to belief in God or the pursuit
of information in the Hebrew Jesus.
Along with this spiritual phenomenon, there has been another
interesting movement of Jesus in Israel. They have progressed
toward political conservativism. While this second movement is not
as compelling as the first, political surveys have shown a
significant evolution to the political right for Israeli Jews over
the past ten years.
Putting these fascinating developments together, while comparing
them to end-times Bible prophecy, we can see God preparing Israel
for the return of Christ in an exciting way. I have shown in my
book, Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock--What
Does the Bible Say?, that Jewish groups in Israel have been
preparing for the rebuilding of the end-times Jewish temple, which
will be rebuilt in connection with the coming seven-year treaty
with Israel. (See Daniel 9:27, which, connected to the context of
verses 24-26, presents a seven-year ["one week," or, literally,
one "seven"—seven years in context] treaty ["covenant"]. Since the
breaking of this treaty in the middle of the seven-year period
will halt "sacrifice and offering," the temple is connected to it.
After all, Jews cannot have "sacrifice and offering" without the
temple.) Interestingly, the future Jewish temple connects
intricately with the above observations of what God is doing in
Israel.
The rebuilding of the temple will not be an isolated event.
Instead, the Jewish temple is connected to the law of Moses,
introduced in the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures). That this
temple will be rebuilt (see also Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians
2:3-4; etc. for the presence of this temple in the future)
demonstrates that Israel will reinstate the law of Moses as a
nationwide observance. In connection with Daniel 9:27, this
reintroduction will be initiated at the beginning of the final
seven years leading to the return of Christ to the earth. This
enables us to see why Jesus, in providing exhortation for Jewish
believers living in that final seven-year era in Matthew 24, would
refer to the temple ("holy place" in verse 15) and the Sabbath
(verse 20) as central concepts. Without the law of Moses guiding
Israel, the referral to those concepts would make no sense;
however, with the reinstitution of the Mosaic law, they make all
the sense in the world.
Previously, it was very difficult to see how Israel, as a secular
state since 1948, would rebuild a temple. However, with the
significant progression of Israeli Jews toward political
conservatism and greater spiritual interest, the "how" of
rebuilding the temple now comes into view.
The political shift has set up a determined, nationalistic spirit
that will make Israeli leadership a strong negotiating force in
the coming treaty. The spiritual movement, with a powerful
interest in rebuilding the temple, lays the foundation for the
reinstitution of the Mosaic law. Add to that, a prime minister
whose growing interest in the Bible has been well documented from
quotes and speeches, and we can now see how God will bring this to
pass.
Many Jews believe that with the rebuilding of the temple, the
Messiah will come to Israel. Hence, we can see the connection
between the interest in Yeshua and the temple.
But God has a far grander purpose in creating a spiritual interest
among Israeli Jews at this time. After all, it will be during this
era that all Israel will be saved (cf. Rom. 11:26), as Israeli
Jews will come to believe that Jesus is the Christ. As a result,
the nation as a whole will come into fellowship with God, which
will bring Jesus Christ back to the earth (cf. Acts 3:19-21; also
see Zechariah chapters 12-14)—in fact, back to Israel (cf.
Zechariah 14:4).
Since God will utilize the final seven years leading to the return
of Christ (the era initiated by the end-times treaty) to bring
Israeli Jews to faith in Jesus Christ, it appears that this
interest in both Yeshua and the temple is declaring that this
seven-year era is not far off. In fact, it may be much closer than
we think! Thus, it appears that God is preparing Israel for the
final seven years leading to the return of Christ.
By the way, the Bible shows us that all believers in Christ will
removed to be taken into the air to be with Jesus on the very day
the seven-year treaty goes into effect. Based on this—and the
closeness of that blessed event—we need to keep looking up!
[John Claeys serves as Executive Director of John Claeys
Ministries through writing, speaking, and radio ministries and is
the author of Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time
Clock—What Does the Bible Say?, a riveting look of the events
leading up to the return of Christ.