Evangelical Beliefs on
Israel Match Prophetic Doomsday Scenarios
By
“Woe is to me for I have sojourned in Meshech; I dwelt among
the tents of Kedar. For a long time, my soul dwelt with those who hate peace. I
am peace, but when I speak, they are for war.” (Psalms 120:5-7)
A recent survey of Christian Evangelicals has them echoing Jewish
prophecies, associating trouble in Israel and the rest of the Middle East with
End Times.
Brookings Institute, a Washington DC-based think tank, recently released
the results of their survey entitled American
Attitudes Toward the Middle East and Israel.
Among the more noteworthy results of their survey are two findings related to Evangelical Christian beliefs about Israel and the End of Days.
Among the more noteworthy results of their survey are two findings related to Evangelical Christian beliefs about Israel and the End of Days.
- A staggering 73 percent of Evangelical respondents say that world
events would turn against Israel the closer we get to End Times.
- In addition, 79 percent of Evangelicals believe that the unfolding
violence across the Middle East is a sign that the End Times are near.
These two findings are consistent with beliefs based in Biblical
prophecy and rabbinic teachings.
In the Biblical Books of the Prophets, there are two scenarios regarding the War of Gog and
Magog and the
End of Days, one from Ezekiel and one from Zechariah.
In his book The
Ishmaelite Exile, Rabbi Yechiel Weitzman confirms that Ezekiel’s prophecy
is the more pleasant of the two.
Weitzman explains that Ezekiel prophesied that the war of Gog and Magog will be fought outside of Israel. “According to the prophecy of Yechezkel (Ezekiel), the Jewish nation will not be involved at all in the war of Gog, for it will take place only in the mountains of the north,” he writes.
Weitzman explains that Ezekiel prophesied that the war of Gog and Magog will be fought outside of Israel. “According to the prophecy of Yechezkel (Ezekiel), the Jewish nation will not be involved at all in the war of Gog, for it will take place only in the mountains of the north,” he writes.
The darker prophecy comes from Zechariah and describes an End of Days
war fought in Jerusalem:
“And
I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to wage war; and the city shall be
captured, and the houses shall be plundered, and the women shall be ravished,
and half the city shall go forth into exile-and the rest of the people shall
not be cut off from the city.” (Zechariah 14:2)
Islamic terror occurring in Israel and across the Middle East – the
specific violence that Evangelical Christians believe are a marker of the End
of Days as revealed in the survey- was also hinted at by King David in the Book
of Psalms.
“Woe
is to me for I have sojourned in Meshech; I dwelt among the tents of Kedar. For
a long time, my soul dwelt with those who hate peace. I am peace, but when I
speak, they are for war.” (Psalms 120:5-7)
Sometimes, as in the above quote, the Bible refers to Ishmael using the
name Kedar. Literally, Kedar was a son of Yishmael.
“And
these are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their names, according to their
births: the firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, and Kedar and Adbe’el and Mibsam.” (Genesis 25:13)
Much later, troubling times for Israel at the End of Days was predicted
by Rabbi Israel Meir HaKohen Kagan, born in 1839 and popularly known as the
Chofetz Chaim.
The Chofetz Chaim passed away in 1933, before Word War II, the
establishment of the State of Israel and the ascendancy of Islamic terrorism.
Nevertheless, he described the time before the arrival of the Messiah as one in
which the Jewish people will endure difficulties that will occur in incredibly
quick succession.
According to a translation by Weitzman, the Chofetz Chaim stated: “Before the coming of Moshiach (Messiah), Hashem (God) will act in a hurried manner so
wondrous that even all who are wise of heart will be unable to fathom it. The
troubles and persecutions [of the Jewish people] will follow each other so
closely that there will be no space between them. Just as for an expectant
woman who is about to give birth, the closer she comes to the moment of birth,
the more intense her contractions and her pain, and this is the most reliable
indication that the birth is nearing, so too, the wheels of the era will turn
faster at the time of the birth pangs of Moshiach.”
There are those, like the prophet Ezekiel, who believe that it is still
possible for God to bring the redemption with pleasantness and mercy.
At the same time, like the Evangelical Christians surveyed by the Brookings
Institute, the prophecies of Zechariah, King David and the Chofetz Chaim warn
of a darker scenario.
Rabbi Pinchas Winston, international lecture, prolific author and End of Days expert, explained to Breaking Israel News that history certainly seems to be playing out a less merciful end game.
“End-of-Days scenarios have been around since the beginning of days. To
many, Doomsday Sayers have seemed out of touch with reality. However, with the
direction history seems to be going, and quite involuntarily, it seems more
like reality is getting in touch with the Doomsdayers,” he said.
“Even mainstream media has begun mentioning the unmentionable: World War
III, and all of a sudden the End-of-Days scenarios are becoming common culture
for all peoples.”
Are you
struggling with a big decision or wondering how your eternal future will play
out?
Why not
talk to the God of the universe and let Him work in your behalf?
He says, “I
will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with
my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8).
Ask God
to show you what to do. Pray the following prayer:
“Heavenly
Father,
I admit
that I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from you. I now want to turn
away from my past sinful life and begin a new life with you.
Please
forgive me. I now receive your Son, Jesus Christ as my Savior, my Master and my
Lord. I believe and confess that Jesus Christ died for my sins, was buried, and
rose from the dead.
I want to
receive all that Jesus Christ has provided for me as my Savior. Your Word says,
‘Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13).
I believe
and confess that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man
comes unto the Father, but by Him.
Lord
Jesus, I pray and ask You, to come into my heart and be Lord of my life. I
thank you that you have given me eternal life, and according to your Word, I am
born again.
Heavenly
Father, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit that is in me now. I
surrender my life to you. Use me for your glory.
In Jesus
Name. Amen.”
Related Posts:
http://puricarefiles.blogspot.com/2016/05/israels-population-surpasses-85-million.html
“Shall We Gather at the River?”
Dr. Rivkah Lambert Adler is
a Bible and Prophecy Watch reporter on Breaking Israel News. She made aliyah in
2010 from Baltimore, where her husband served as a synagogue rabbi. Rivkah
currently lives in Ma'ale Adumim, just east of Jerusalem. On September 11,
2001, she became passionate about the Land of Israel and the Final Redemption,
about which she has been writing, speaking and teaching ever since. Rivkah also
enjoys writing about women and Judaism and about making aliyah. She has a Ph.D.
from the University of Maryland.
“Shall We Gather at the River?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-pf-Jx19Lc
lyrics
1 Shall we gather at the river,
Where bright angel feet have trod;
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God?
Where bright angel feet have trod;
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God?
Refrain:
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God.
Yes, we'll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God.
2 On the margin of the river,
Washing up its silver spray,
We will walk and worship ever,
All the happy golden day. [Refrain]
Washing up its silver spray,
We will walk and worship ever,
All the happy golden day. [Refrain]
3 Ere we reach the shining river,
Lay we ev'ry burden down;
Grace our spirits will deliver,
And provide a robe and crown. [Refrain]
Lay we ev'ry burden down;
Grace our spirits will deliver,
And provide a robe and crown. [Refrain]
4 Soon we'll reach the shining river,
Soon our pilgrimage will cease;
Soon our happy hearts will quiver
With the melody of peace. [Refrain]
Soon our pilgrimage will cease;
Soon our happy hearts will quiver
With the melody of peace. [Refrain]
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