The Bible offers a multitude of specific predictions—some thousands of years in advance—that either have been literally fulfilled or point to a definite future time when they will come true.
October 18, 2023
War in Israel, and particularly the battle for Jerusalem, sends those who know their Bibles to key Bible verses. The re-establishment of Israel in 1948 was a pivotal event in the fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
The prophet Ezekiel, writing over 2,500 years ago, spoke of a future restoration of Israel:
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.” (Ezekiel 37:21)
In 70 AD, Israel was scattered among the nations. The Jews had no homeland for 2,000 years, until 1948, when they became a nation in one day. The prophet Isaiah said:
Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day?
Or shall a nation be born at once? (Isaiah 66:8)
This is what Jesus said of that event:
And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)
Since that time, there has been continual conflict between Muslims and Jews for Jerusalem, and none of the nations know how to handle what is commonly called the ongoing “Middle East crisis.” Look at this prophetic passage from Zechariah, written thousands of years ago, as it addresses the crisis of Jerusalem:
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And 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 12:2-3)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus spoke of wars being a sign of the end of the age:
And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. (Matthew 24:6-7)
All this will climax with the Battle of Armageddon. Revelation 16:16 speaks of the gathering of nations at a place called Armageddon, a term synonymous with a final, cataclysmic battle. Jesus said, “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28).
“Nothing persuades a sinner that he’s in great danger more than the realization that he has broken the moral Law (the Ten Commandments) and is justly on his way to Hell. Bible prophecy shows the hand of God in Scripture because only He knows the future, and He has declared it from the beginning until the end.”
So, what should we do? Firstly, we should make sure that we are right with God by trusting in the Savior. Secondly, we must pray for the peace of Jerusalem and, at the same time, take the gospel to the unsaved.
The Scriptures tells us how the apostle Paul did just that: “So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening” (Acts 28:23).
Notice how the apostle Paul persuaded men concerning Jesus. His approach was twofold. Firstly, he spoke to them out of the Law of Moses. Nothing persuades a sinner that he’s in great danger more than the realization that he has broken the moral Law (the Ten Commandments) and is justly on his way to Hell. Secondly, Paul spoke to them from prophets. Bible prophecy shows the hand of God in Scripture because only He knows the future, and He has declared it from the beginning until the end. An often overlooked sign of the end times is that the gospel will be preached to all nations. Here are the words of Jesus:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)
Let’s do that. With the help of God, let’s use every moment of our time to reach out to the lost.