Good News Press - 7
The nation has been reestablished, the land has
been reclaimed, the ancient
language has been revived,
the Jews are back in Jerusalem, and Israel is the focal
point of world politics.
Jesus says in Luke 21:28 that
when these signs begin to
happen, we should
"straighten up and lift up our
heads" because "our redemption is drawing near."
The Key Signs
The most important signs
are the ones that relate to
Israel because God uses the
Jews throughout the Scriptures as His prophetic time
clock. By this I mean that
very often when the Lord is
revealing an important event
that will take place in the
future, He will point to the
Jewish people and state that
when a certain thing happens
to them, the important event
will also occur.
A good example of this principle can be found in Daniel 9
in the famous "Seventy
Weeks of Years" prophecy.
The prophet tells us to watch
for a decree to be issued that
will authorize the rebuilding
of Jerusalem. He then says
that the Messiah will come
sixty-nine weeks of years
(483 years) after that decree
is issued to the Jewish people.
There are two key prophecies which relate the return
of Jesus to events that have
occurred in Jewish history
since 1948. These two events
clearly established the period
in which we are now living as
the season of the Lords's return.
The State of Israel
The first is the reestablishment of the state of
Israel which occurred on May
14, 1948. Jesus singled out
this event as the one that
would signal His soon return. rusalem remained under
Gentile occupation for 1,897
His prophecy is contained in years until June 7, 1967, when
the fig tree parable (Matthew Israel won the city back dur24:32-35) which He present- ing the Six Day War.
ed in His Olivet Discourse.
The day before He delivered The Jewish re-occupation of
this speech, He had put a
the city of Jerusalem is proof
curse on a barren fig tree,
positive that we are living in
causing it to wither (Matthew the season of the Lord's re21:18-19). This was a symbol- turn. Jesus said it would mark
ic prophecy that God would
the end of the Gentile Age.
soon pour out His wrath upon the Jewish people because A Call to Action
of their spiritual barrenness
There is no way to escape
in rejecting His Son.
the conclusion that we are
living on borrowed time. The
The next day Jesus reminded signs of the times are upon
His disciples of the fig tree.
us, and they are shouting for
He said to watch for it to
our attention.
bloom again. In other words,
He said watch for the rebirth Are you ready? If Jesus were
of Israel. He indicated that
to return today, would He be
when the fig tree blooms
your "Blessed Hope" (Titus
again, He would be at the
2:11-14) or would He be your
gates of Heaven, ready to
"Holy Terror" (Revelation
return (Matthew 24:33).
6:12-17)? If you have never
received Him as your Lord
Equally significant, He added and Savior, now is the time
an interesting observation:
to act. Repent of your sins,
"Truly I say to you, this gen- and call upon the name of
eration will not pass away
the Lord that you might be
until all these things take
saved (Acts 2:14-39).
place" (Matthew 24:34).
What generation? The gener- And if you are a Christian,
ation that sees the fig tree
are you living as if Jesus
blossom.
might return any minute?
Have you committed your
We are that generation. The life to hol [