Ariel Ministries: Messianic Bible Studies NUMERICAL INDEX
Continued
Another passage dealing with the same question is Isaiah 11:11-12: And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, that shall remain, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together
the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
In this connection, the fourth view needs to be discussed. This view recognizes that there are two types of regathering prophecies: a regathering in unbelief and a regathering in faith. But then the fourth view goes on to say that one really cannot be sure that the present Jewish State, as it is seen today, is a fulfillment of those prophecies that spoke of the regathering in unbelief. Why not? Because they believe that it is possible to have several regatherings in unbelief before there is the specific one that fulfills the prophecies just discussed. But this passage in Isaiah shows that is exactly what cannot be: there cannot be several regatherings in unbelief from the far corners of the earth. The entire context is Isaiah 11:11-12:6. In this context, he is speaking of the final worldwide regathering in faith in preparation for blessing. Isaiah numbers the final worldwide regathering in faith in preparation for the Messianic Kingdom as the second one. In other words, the last one is the only the second. If the last one is the second one, how many can there be before that? Only one. The first one could not have been the return from Babylon since that was not an international regathering from the four corners of the world, only a migration from one country, Babylonia, to another country, Judea. The Bible does not allow for several worldwide regatherings in unbelief; it allows for one worldwide regathering in unbelief, followed by the last one, the one in faith, which is the second one. This text only permits two worldwide regatherings from the four corners of the earth. Therefore, the present Jewish State is very relevant to Bible prophecy.
So far, passages have been shown that speak of a regathering in unbelief in preparation for judgment as opposed to other passages that speak of a regathering in faith in preparation for blessing. But these passages have not specifically stated that this regathering in unbelief in preparation for judgment will occur before the Tribulation period. However, there are other passages that do pinpoint the regathering in unbelief as occurring before the Tribulation period.
One such passage is Zephaniah 2:1-2: Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation that has no shame; before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you.
In the preceding section of Zephaniah 1:7-18, Zephaniah described some features of a time called the day of Jehovah, or as other translations have it, the day of the Lord. This is the most common Old Testament name for the Tribulation and always describes the Great Tribulation. Then in chapter 2:1-2, Zephaniah speaks of an event that is to occur before the Day of Jehovah begins. In verse 1, the nation of Israel is told to gather together. It is clear from this verse that this is a gathering in unbelief for it is a nation not yet ashamed of her sins.
In verse 2, the word before is used three times in relation to the preceding passage regarding the Tribulation. One of these “befores”
includes before the day of Jehovah itself. So while other texts speak of a regathering in unbelief in preparation for judgment, this passage clearly states that this regathering in unbelief will occur before the Tribulation actually begins.
Another line of evidence concerning the beginning point of the Tribulation period can be mentioned at this point. The Tribulation begins with the signing of the Seven-Year Covenant, not with the Rapture of the Church. This covenant is made between the Antichrist and the leaders of Israel. Therefore, the signing of such a covenant presupposes a Jewish leadership of a Jewish State. Such a Jewish State has to exist before such a covenant is signed. This demands the existence of a Jewish State before the Tribulation.
Thus, 1948 marked another birth pang of the last days. The restoration of the Jewish State is a fulfillment of those prophecies that spoke of a regathering in unbelief in preparation for judgment. It is another event leading up to the Tribulation and so sets the stage for several other pretribulational events.
C. Jerusalem Under Jewish Control The third pretribulation event involves Jewish control of Jerusalem. The fact that the Jewish State had to exist before the Tribulation does not necessarily require the total Jewish control of Jerusalem. After the end of the Israeli War of Independence in 1948-1949, Israeli forces were in control of West Jerusalem, the newer Jewish section. The Old City of Jerusalem, the biblical city, fell into the hands of the Jordanian Legion and was later annexed into the Hasemite kingdom of Jordan. So Jerusalem became a divided city and remained that way for the next nineteen years.
Nevertheless, prophetically speaking, the Old City of Jerusalem had to fall under Jewish control. This can be deduced from the prophecies dealing with the Third Jewish Temple, sometimes known as the Tribulation Temple. There are four passages of Scripture that speak of a specific event in relation to the Tribulation Temple that will occur in the middle of the Tribulation.
The first passage is Daniel 9:27: And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that makes desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate.
The second passage is Matthew 24:15: When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that reads understand).
The third passage is II Thessalonians 2:3-4: let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
And the fourth passage is Revelation 11:1-2: And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and one said, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. And the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not; for it has been given unto the nations: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
All these passages speak of the Third Jewish Temple, namely the Tribulation Temple. The point of all four passages is that the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt and will begin to function again. All of these verses also presuppose Jewish control of the Temple Compound, and that presupposes Jewish control of the Old City of Jerusalem.
While none of these passages spell out a time factor as to when this was to occur, it was clearly fulfilled in the Six Day War and thus became the third birth pang. While the Six Day War itself was never predicted in the Scriptures, what it accomplished certainly was. The Six Day War brought about the fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the Jewish control of the Old City of Jerusalem. This is the third major pretribulational event.
While the first three of these events have already been fulfilled and are now a part of history, the next six pretribulational events are all future.
By Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum
