Welcome to the World of Biblical Prophecy for History and Today

This Blog is intended to help myself and others gain the best understanding of the world around us through exploration of prophetic scripture. The Bible is the text book. Through these studies we will hopefully provide understanding to both believer and unbeliever alike. The way our God and our Savior Jesus distinguish themselves in the spiritual world is through prophetic means. In other words what the Bible teaches us through fullfillment of these prophecies shows us the truth. Let's take some prophetic journeys through history and at the same time learn about the world around us today. Please try and be patient with any typographical errors as I am my own typist and my own research staff. Thanks



Friday, July 23, 2010

The Role Reversals of the Nations Part 7

Matthew 25:31-32

31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations<3588> <1484: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Matthew 24:27-35  Signs of the End of the Age

27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. 32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Matthew 24:42-44

42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

The Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim lands refers to the 20th century mass departure of Jews, primarily of Sephardi and Mizrahi background, from Arab and Islamic countries. The migration started in the late 19th century and peaked following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Between 800,000-1,000,000 Jews left their homes in Arab countries due to persecution and anti-Semitism. Lebanon had been the only Arab country to see a temporal increase in its Jewish population between 1948-1967
 
 
Yemenite Jews En Route to Holy Land

 
The Ship Named Exodus


As we prepare to begin looking at the new roles of the nations we have more prophetic passages to look at regarding God, His chosen people Israel and His chosen land. As we will see God considers His people and His land to be the same. The prophecies we have explored so far are all indicative to the times we are living in today. A time when Israel would be flourishing in the desert. A time when Jerusalem would be rebuilt. A time which we will begin to explore in which the world is trying to decide how God's land should be mapped out. This is as big a mistake with God as the mistreatment of His chosen nation. We are all children of God thanks to the gift of pardon Jesus provided going to the cross. Let's make no mistake about it though Israel is back in their land and the time for the reversals of stature with God are already upon us. As we have explored before the judgments of the OT on the nation of Israel are examples of things which have been. The judgments for the world become the things which shall be and some have already taken place. However God states Israel will not go completely unpunished in the course of events leading to the return of the Lord Jesus. The nation of Israel however is in the promised land to stay. From 1948-1949, the Israeli government secretly airlifted 50,000 Jews from the Yemen and from 1950–1952, 130,000 Jews were airlifted from Iraq. From 1949-1951, 30,000 Jews fled Libya to Israel. In these cases over 90% of the Jewish population opted to leave, despite the necessity of leaving their property behind.

Amos 9:9-15

9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us. 11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: 12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. 13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.

Joel 2:16-32

16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. 17 Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? 18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: 20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost <0314> sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. 21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. 22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. 26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. 28 And it shall come to pass afterward, <0310>, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

We have spotlighted verses 20 and 28 in order to demonstrate again we are dealing with end times prophecy within this passage. We'll place the word study below for those who may not have explored some of the other segments of this study.
 
00310:
310 'achar akh-ar' from 309; properly, the hind part; generally used as an adverb or conjunction, after (in various senses):--after (that, -ward), again, at, away from, back (from, -side), behind, beside, by, follow (after, -ing), forasmuch, from, hereafter, hinder end, + out (over) live, + persecute, posterity, pursuing, remnant, seeing, since, thence(-forth), when, with. see HEBREW for 0309

00314:
314 'acharown akh-ar-one' or (shortened) ;acharon akh-ar-one'; from 309; hinder; generally, late or last; specifically (as facing the east) western:--after (-ward), to come, following, hind(-er, -ermost, -most), last, latter, rereward, ut(ter)most. see HEBREW for 0309

We are looking yet again at another prophecy relating to Jesus' words in the end of the age passages and chapters of scripture. The great gathering of the Jewish people back into their homeland after centuries of persecution and being scattered throughout the earth just as God foretold. As we see this is also telling of the time that the Lord shall pour forth His Glory, His judgment and His wrath upon the nations of the earth. Amen!


1948 Jewish population     Estimated 2001     Estimated 2008
Aden          8,000                                   0                           0
Algeria  140,000                                  0                           0
Bahrain  550-600                               36                         30
Egypt     75,000-80,000              ~100      fewer than 100
Iraq       135-140,000                    7-8           fewer than 100 
Lebanon    5-20,000                     <100        fewer than   40
Lybia       35-38000                            0                           0
Morocco 250-265,000                 5,230    fewer than 7,000
Syria          15-30,000                   ~100        fewer than 300
Tunisia       50-105,000               ~1,000    fewer than 1,500
Yemen       45-50,000        few hundreds               300-330
Totals     758-881,000             <7,300              <9,400 
 
Joel 3

1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations,<01471>, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. 4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head; 5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things: 6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. 7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head: 8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the LORD hath spoken it. 9 Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: 10 Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. 11 Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. 12 Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. 17 So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. 18 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness, for the violence against the children of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion.

The great gathering of the nations to be assembled for what could be called a final earthly showdown of good and evil. As we studied in the NT (new testament) in part 5 there is a specific identification used for the word nations. That word being ethnos. God also has a very distinct messages to the nations. Notice in verse 2 God specifically addresses nations that dealt directly with the Hebrew people in that have scattered them abroad and also and perhaps more importantly for those nations that try to tell God what to do with His land. Here we can find another interesting word study. Below is the NT word Jesus uses to name the nations followed by the OT word used by the Lord given to the prophets. It appears the Hebrew and the Greek are specific in describing the type of nations and people that will fall into this judgment.

01484:
1484 ethnos eth'-nos probably from 1486; a race (as of the same habit), i.e. a tribe; specially, a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually, by implication, pagan):--Gentile, heathen, nation, people. see GREEK for 1486

Here in the OT we have the same identification so there is no confusion about what is going to happen when this time comes. It appears that the nations suffering from unbelief and animosity toward both believers and the nation of Israel will be brought together for a massive defeat at the hands of the Lord.

1471:
1471 gowy go'-ee rarely (shortened) goy go'-ee; apparently from the same root as 1465 (in the sense of massing); a foreign nation; hence, a Gentile; also (figuratively) a troop of animals, or a flight of locusts:--Gentile, heathen, nation, people. see HEBREW for 01465

Let's isolate verses 2 and 3 and see what we find.

2 I will also gather all nations,<01471>, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted <02505> my land. 3 And they have cast <03032> lots <01486> for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink

02505:
2505 chalaq khaw-lak' a primitive root; to be smooth (figuratively); by implication (as smooth stones were used for lots) to apportion or separate:--deal, distribute, divide, flatter, give, (have, im-)part(-ner), take away a portion, receive, separate self, (be) smooth(-er).

3032:
3032 yadad yaw-dad' a primitive root; properly, to handle (compare 3034), i.e. to throw, e.g. lots:--cast. see HEBREW for 03034

01486:
1486 gowral go-rawl' or (shortened) goral go-ral'; from an unused root meaning to be rough (as stone); properly, a pebble, i.e. a lot (small stones being used for that purpose); figuratively, a portion or destiny (as if determined by lot):--lot.

Here we are able to more specifically state that God is addressing the nations of the earth. Sure we can read the verses and easily see what God is declaring. However upon further detail to definitions we can literally see God is stating the nations that not only assigned His land, but also by implication have taken away portions of His intended purposes. This most certainly is the case as we will see in the following maps. First we will look at a couple of maps representative to the Lord's intentions based upon scripture.

Genesis 13:14-18

14 And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. 18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.



This is one of the earliest references to what we know as the nation of Israel.


The Land in the Time of Joshua's Conquests

The Land During the Time of David

The most important area to keep in mind is the area of Jerusalem. As we can clearly see in both the above maps that area is in firm control of the Israelites. There are no disputes or questionable rights to who should have control of the land. The only instruction regarding the entire nation came from God Himself. We briefly explored the facts surrounding essentially what would be a civil war and a divided kingdom in part 4. This was brought about by God. We also have a passage of scripture describing an encounter with an ancient king of a place called Salem and Abraham in Genesis.

Genesis 14:18-20

18 And Melchizedek <04442> king of Salem <08004> brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: 20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Now without going to deep into this at the present time let's explore 2 quick word studies. On epertains to the mysterious individual Abraham meets. The other the first mention of the city of God Jerusalem.

04442:
4442 Malkiy-Tsedeq mal-kee-tseh'-dek from 4428 and 6664; king of right; Malki-Tsedek, an early king in Palestine:--Melchizedek. see HEBREW for 04428 see HEBREW for 06664
 
04428:
4428 melek meh'-lek from 4427; a king:--king, royal. see HEBREW for 04427  

04427:
4427 malak maw-lak' a primitive root; to reign; inceptively, to ascend the throne; causatively, to induct into royalty; hence (by implication) to take counsel:--consult, X indeed, be (make, set a, set up) king, be (make) queen, (begin to, make to) reign(-ing), rule, X surely.

06664:
6664 tsedeq tseh'-dek from 6663; the right (natural, moral or legal); also (abstractly) equity or (figuratively) prosperity:--X even, (X that which is altogether) just(-ice), ((un-))right(-eous) (cause, -ly, - ness). see HEBREW for 06663

06663:
6663 tsadaq tsaw-dak' a primitive root; to be (causatively, make) right (in a moral or forensic sense):--cleanse, clear self, (be, do) just(-ice, -ify, -ify self), (be turn to) righteous(-ness).

One of the more common translations of the word Melchizedek is "my king of righteousness." Their encounter is much more than passing by in the desert. Notice they share bread and wine and tithes in what we could call the first recorded communion service in the Bible.

08004:
8004 Shalem shaw-lame' the same as 8003; peaceful; Shalem, an early name of Jerusalem:--Salem. see HEBREW for 08003
 
08003:
8003 shalem shaw-lame' from 7999; complete (literally or figuratively); especially friendly:--full, just, made ready, peaceable, perfect(-ed), quiet, Shalem (by mistake for a name), whole. see HEBREW for 07999
 
07999:
7999 shalam shaw-lam' a primitive root; to be safe (in mind, body or estate); figuratively, to be (causatively, make) completed; by implication, to be friendly; by extension, to reciprocate (in various applications):--make amends, (make an) end, finish, full, give again, make good, (re-)pay (again), (make) (to) (be at) peace(-able), that is perfect, perform, (make) prosper(-ous), recompense, render, requite, make restitution, restore, reward, X surely.
 
So we have a communion service between Abraham and a mysterious king of righteousness from what would become the city of Jerusalem. The chosen city of God. We explored in part 6 an agreement between the 2 representatives for the Jewish and Arab parties involved in the establishment of the Jewish homeland. Chaim Weizmann and King Faisal brought forth an agreement which would eventually fail. In this agreement Chaim Weizmann put forth the following map of the territory Israel wanted to claim.
 
 
Map showing the boundaries of the Jewish state proposed by Zionists at the Paris Conference, superimposed on modern boundaries

We can begin to close out this section of study with a map of what the UN (United Nations) decided that the Jewish people could have. Before looking at this particular map study the similarities of what the Zionist Congress put forth compared to the established biblical boundaries we looked at above.
 
 
You Can Click to Enlarge


Joel 3:2-4
 
1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. 3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. 4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;
 
Romans 15:3
 
3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
 
 
 
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