70 years of Israel - in the epicenter of Gods plan of salvation

by Daniel Yahav

On May 14, 2018, Israel celebrated the opening of the USA embassy in Jerusalem, exactly 70 years after it’s birth. The prophet Isaiah (66:8) asked: "can a nation be born in one day?!"

Yes! According to God's perfect timing and according to His plan of salvation, which centers around the nation and the land of Israel and Zion/Jerusalem in particular. It was here, in the city of Shalem, (An early name of Jerusalem), that Abraham met Malkizedek, king and priest of God (Gen.14:18). This Malkizedek was an early shadow of Yeshua (Jesus), who is the king of heavenly Jerusalem and our high priest before the thrown of God (Heb.7:1-4).

It was here, on mount Moriya, that Abraham was tested by God as was called to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac, placing him on the wood on the altar (Gen. 22:1-2, 9). Again it was a foreshadow of the time when God the father will sacrifice His beloved son Yeshua, on the wooden altar of the cross.

It was here that king David built an altar to God, and by sacrificing and repenting, God commanded the angel of death to stop slaying the men of Israel (2 Sam. 24:17-19).

It was on this exact place that King Salomon built the Temple of God (2 Chr. 3:1).

God spoke about this place saying that His name, His eyes and His heart will be on this place forever. (1 Kings 9:3). And in Psalms 132:13-14 it is written that God chose this place for His resting place forever.

Later on, the Temple of Ezra and Nehemiah stood in the same place. Only about five kilometers to the south from there, is Bethlehem, the place where Yeshua our Messiah was born. And this is the place where Yeshua sacrificed himself, on Golgotha, right on the west side of the Temple. Here he rose from the dead, overcoming the power of death and Sheol. And from the Mount of Olives, which is right next to the Temple on it's east side, Yeshua ascended up to heaven.

All of this is to say: God has chosen this land, and the nation of Israel, to bring forth His plan of salvation for all mankind!

2017 was an exceptional year. Exactly 150 years earlier, Sir Charles Warren, discovered for the first time the ruins of the City of David. 120 years earlier, in August 1897, was the first Zionist congress in Basel where the foundations of the modern state of Israel were laid. 100 years earlier, November 1917, came out the important Balfour declaration which promised to build in the land of Israel a home for the nation of Israel. 70 years earlier the UN voted to establish the state of Israel. 50 years earlier, in 1967, the city of Jerusalem was united and for the first time in 2’000 years, came back again under the sovereignty of the nation of Israel. And this year, May 2018, we celebrated 70 years to the state of Israel and the opening up of the USA embassy in Jerusalem, recognizing it as our capital.

Is all this just a coincident or is God’s hand behind all these events?!

Indeed God has chosen this nation, and this land and in particular the city of Jerusalem, for the purpose of working out His salvation plan for you and me! I have no doubt that our God is behind all of these events. Yeshua will return to this place as he will land on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:3-5). There will be a Temple built in Zion for the 1000 years of His reign (Ezekiel 40-48), and even in eternity, the city of God will be called Heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22, Revelation 21:9-22:5).

It is therefore no wonder that Jerusalem is in the center of world's attention (Zec.12:1-3). Because God has chosen it for himself, the devil, who from the beginning desired to become as God (Isaiah 14:12-15), wants to hold on to this city through Islam, through the international community of leaders who are represented in the UN (Psalm 2:1-3) and all others who choose to stand against God. The bible reveals to us that eventually the devil will demand to be worshiped as god via antichrist, who will put his image in a temple which will be built before the Lord’s return. (2 Thess.2:4). This temple will exist only for a short time and will be destroyed the latest, during the huge earthquake which will take place as the Lord Yeshua returns on the Mount of Olives to establish his thousand year reign, in Jerusalem.

This conflict over God’s plan of salvation, carried out through Israel – the land and the people, can be clearly seen throughout history, beginning with Pharaoh's command to throw all the baby boys of Israel into the Nile, Haman attempting to destroy the nation at the time of the book of Esther, The Greek empire, inquisition, and on and on, the latest being the holocaust only about 75 years ago. Today, as the nation of Israel is back to it's land, fulfilling the promises given by God through his prophets, no wonder, the enemy is trying everything in order to stop this plan of God. He has raised a new “Hitler” of our age, which is the Iranian regime of the Ayatollahs. They have vowed to destroy Israel no later then 2040. This regime of dictatorship is investing billions of dollars in preparing for this war while their people are suffering much. They have built in Lebanon a huge stock of rockets, 120,000, ready to be fired at Israel when the time comes. They are also trying to build army camps in Syria, so that they can start a war with Israel. Israel has been attacking these army bases and clearly proclaimed that it will not allow Iran to settle in Syria or allow her to get nuclear weapon. At the same time we see Russia holding their army in Syria too. All this is in line with the prophecy of Ezekiel 38 and 39, which deals with the Gog and Magog war. Russia has military agreements with Iran. The Iranian atom reactors were built with Russian assistance and knowledge. During the last weeks also in Turkey there have been major demonstrations against Israel. Their President has called out to build a Muslim military coalition to come against Israel. Our news reported that Iran is in favor of this idea.

Dear brothers and sisters, the situation in the middle east can spiral down to the point were we will see this major historic Gog and Magog war breaking out. We do not know how much more time we have, but we do know that our God, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel, sits on His thrown and His plan will come through! He keeps Israel. He neither slumbers nor sleeps. Our trust is in Him. In the meanwhile, we want to use each day of peace that we still have, to do the work of building the kingdom of God here in Israel. Over the years the Lord has blessed and the small body of Yeshua in Israel has been growing. I believe that all of you, dear friends, who have stood by our side during all these years, through your love, your prayers and support, you have a part in the restoration of Israel, and not just the physical restoration but more importantly, in the spiritual restoration. God has promised to gather the dry bones, give them flesh and legumes, and then, will come the spirit to give them life. The nation of Israel has been gathered in front of our eyes, the state of Israel has been clothed with flesh and legumes. The country has been built and continues to develop, and we are witnessing the beginning of the fulfillment of this last stage, the spirit giving life to the dead in their sin. God is building his body, and that is where we want to invest our efforts.