Is This The Straw That Breaks The Camel’s Back? :: By Jim Towers

Knowing what I know from having studied the Bible earnestly for over forty years, world events are creating a sense of urgency that can’t be denied. In the past, most prophecy was hit and miss, but today it’s becoming clearer and clearer that something big is afoot. Something very big.

In the early hours of July 31, while we slept, Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ top political leader, in Tehran in retaliation for the killing of several Israelis, mostly children, over the weekend. The Israelis are deadly serious about the unprovoked slaughter that he, as leader of Hamas, was carrying out.

Haniyah was a Hamas negotiator and led its operations from exile in Qatar. Through 10 months of war, he was the group’s negotiator on the global stage, tasked with brokering a deal acceptable to the group in exchange for pausing fighting and releasing scores of Israeli hostages. But he was really a backstabbing tyrant. Israeli airstrikes had already killed three of his sons and four of his grandchildren in a bombing of their compound in Lebanon, and two NATO warships were already on their way to Lebanon after the first assault on Israel by Hamas after this happened. This latest event could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, ushering in all-out war. If ever there was a time calling for repentance from all parties involved, this is it.

It was 1:11 in the morning, and a sense of urgency swept over me after finding out about this event. Being a people person, I just had to let others know. I jumped out of bed as the images – like a stained glass mosaic – came together in my mind. Big pieces first, then smaller and smaller pieces were fitting into place. My well-paying hobby of making original stained-glass mosaics between acting jobs was kicking in. The potential of all-out war couldn’t be denied.

Other pieces of various shades and colors began to fit in place surrounding the big picture.

Southern California and Texas were experiencing earthquakes, with California wildfires on top of that. Texas is having unpreceded earthquakes in places that shouldn’t be having them, by the hundreds – hmm – another Biblical prophecy.

There is yet another piece of the puzzle. Another indicator of the truth of the Bible (among many) is that the love of many would grow cold and that children would hate and disrespect their parents, and so it is today. I could go on and on with up-to-the-minute already fulfilled prophecy.

Is the book of Revelation beginning to come alive with prophetic warnings, or am I delusional? It seems that so many prophecies are coming to pass that it’s impossible to ignore them anymore. And unless I miss my guess, war will break out soon, with the Anti-Christ waiting in the wings for his cue to enter the world stage. Before, I always assumed that he walked among us surreptitiously, but now it is showtime on the world stage. Drum roll, please.

My mind begins to wander; the lights dim on the stage – you can hear a pin drop after the drum roll. This worldwide operetta has been performed before with evil leading men and leading ladies but never with such worldwide effect and acclaim. It is a war that will set the stage (not unlike “Le Misérables,” the musical film about the French Revolution in which hundreds of people died).

Sick. That’s the best that can be said about the immoral people who participated in the evil spectacle of the French Olympic ceremonies. Nothing seems to be beyond the scope of these rampant over-the-top psychopaths.

Pardon the interruption; I’m talking about the show put on at the start of the World Olympics I used to love to watch. But reflecting on the way the world is going – with no end in sight – is terrifying for many.

Still, though, it seems that people take delight in provoking our Benevolent Creator to wrath with no thought of retribution. It’s not like we haven’t seen this play out before, namely in Rio de Janeiro and during Mardi Gras in Louisiana, but these events were thought of as fun – just making fun at the Devil and such. But to portray our Savior’s Last Supper in such a vile way is way beyond the pale. The organizers even had the audacity to have a hologram (so it is said – since I’ve lost all interest in what the world has to say about anything) of a being riding a white horse into battle hoisting a sword – yet another figure in the Book of Revelation, signifying the Anti-Christ in war regalia. Seeing this, God must be fuming and ready to destroy his agitators, but he doesn’t. In the love He has for sinners, He wants to save as many as possible.

The audience is on pins and needles waiting with bated breath for the biggest show in the world to begin. We know the players but are a bit surprised by some who have been kept hidden under wraps for centuries, awaiting their debut. Will we know them behind their stage makeup or demeanor? Hmm, that voice sounds familiar.

Ta-da! – but wait; that can’t be who I thought. He’s just too nice to be in that role (but competent actors can slip in and out of character at a moment’s notice, don’t you know?)

This benevolent and charismatic man will step into this role unannounced – a surprise to the audience. His retinue is made up of slippery, slimy characters whom I choose not to name for fear of retribution.

The war happens with much carnage, but this man will broker a peace deal for Muslims and Jews that lasts for three and a half years, after which he will assert his megalomanic power and true intentions – to rule the world – claiming that he is God in the flesh – imitating our Savior, Jesus of Nazareth. During this war, the Dome of the Rock will probably be destroyed, and the Third Temple will be rebuilt. All is ready for that to happen – the red heifer included. The utensils and garments for the priests are ready with the secret scarlet dye for the robes, having been recently discovered by archeologists in Israel.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Ark of the Covenant isn’t finally found or revealed by people who already know, and I wonder if Aaron’s budding staff is still budding. I, for one, would also like to see the manna, to say nothing of the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God on them. Wow! What an exciting time to be alive.

There are so many indicators that we are the generation to experience the rapture that there is hardly room for doubt. So repent, and let’s get ready to fly!

YBIC

Jim Towers

You can write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com or visit me at www.dropzonedelta.com My book Visions, Miracles, Peace, and Power can be ordered on Amazon Books and Kindle. You can also find me on my newly restructured website www.propheticsignsandwonders.com, which now features videos of worldwide events taking place in the present time, as well as proof of God’s existence and the reality of Biblical places, and Moses himself.

 

The Coming Transformation of Israel :: By Paul J. Scharf

There will be a great spiritual transformation of Israel before Christ’s final return.

Those before us in Dispensational Theology developed the scriptural conviction that the people of Israel will one day be saved as a nation in their Promised Land. Dispensationalists taught this boldly—as was the case when The Friends of Israel was born in 1938, even before the modern State of Israel existed.

But this clear biblical teaching has fallen on hard times, and many are conflicted.

Some reason that modern Israel simply cannot be the people that God promises to bring back to the land because the nation is largely unbelieving. They see its current presence in the Middle East as entirely inconsequential.

Such thinking misses the mark entirely. Israel’s return to its land is an event unparalleled in all history. The idea that the nation’s restoration is utterly unrelated to the biblical predictions regarding Israel’s future seems to strain credulity.

I agree with prophecy scholar Dr. Thomas Ice’s statement:Modern Israel is prophetically significant and is fulfilling Bible prophecy.[i]

Yet, Israel today remains largely in unbelief! How can this possibly be the result of God’s work?

A Two-Phased Return

Just like numerous prophetic events, Israel’s return takes place in two distinct phases. Ice explains:

readers of God’s Word need to be careful to distinguish which verses are being fulfilled in our day and which references await future fulfillment. In short, there will be two end-time regatherings: One before the tribulation and one after the tribulation.[ii]

Ezekiel 36 and 37 clearly demonstrate this reality. Both chapters speak of both aspects of Israel’s return and restoration. Utilizing a writing style common in the Hebrew Scriptures, chapter 36 gives us the broad overview, then chapter 37 retells the story, providing additional details for emphasis.

Ezekiel 36:24 promises that God will bring the people of Israel “from among the nations … out of all countries.” The Jewish people’s return from the Babylonian/Medo-Persian captivity that commenced under King Cyrus of Persia in 539 BC (Ezra 1:1–4) does not fully encompass this prophecy. Something far greater will happen as the world approaches the end times.

In Ezekiel 36:25–38, we see that the people of Israel will be spiritually transformed once they come back “into [their] own land” (v. 24). The land itself also will be physically transformed and will one day “become like the garden of Eden” (v. 35).

The key is understanding that this transformation takes place with the people in the land. Astute Bible students know that Israel must be back in the land, constituted as an unbelieving nation, to submit to a covenant with the Antichrist (Daniel 9:27). That covenant will mark the beginning of the Tribulation. Even at the midpoint of the Tribulation, Jerusalem will still be “spiritually … called Sodom and Egypt” (Revelation 11:8).

Ezekiel 37—the well-known dry bones passage—reemphasizes this pattern, showing that Israel will be regenerated spiritually only after returning to its land. It is there that the lifeless bones of the people of Israel will come alive again (vv. 1–21). Then, finally, the whole nation and land will be transformed (vv. 22–28), which will involve the permanent reunification of all 12 tribes (v. 22), a political revival (vv. 24–25), and a spiritual renewal in which the land will house God’s “sanctuary … forevermore” (v. 26).

Zephaniah 2:1–2 teaches explicitly that God will “gather” the “undesirable nation,” which will take place “before the LORD’S fierce anger comes upon” them. This is the chastening of the Tribulation, the purpose being to bring Israel to repentance and to receive its king (Zechariah 12:10). Only then can there be a final, spiritual regathering in preparation for His Kingdom (Matthew 24:31).

The Great End-Time Revival

How will such wonders unfold during the days of the Tribulation? The people of Israel must return to their land as an unbelieving nation. God will confront them and draw them to their Messiah through the gospel ministry of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:3) and their 144,000 disciples who will be sealed from “all the tribes of the children of Israel” (7:4). Together, these end-time ministers will help bring the salvation of a countless multitude of Gentiles (vv. 9–17), as well as “all Israel” (Romans 11:26; cf. Zechariah 13:8–9).

God has long been bringing the Jewish people back to their ancient homeland. Many return in unbelief, but God will bring them to faith and spiritual life in the land before their ultimate return to receive all the blessings He has promised them in the coming Kingdom. We must proclaim these biblical realities with certainty and conviction.

As Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum writes,

When the Bible speaks of a worldwide regathering of the Jewish people, it speaks of two distinct events. … First, there is to be a worldwide regathering in unbelief in preparation for judgment—specifically, the judgment of the tribulation. That is to be followed by a second worldwide regathering in faith in preparation for blessing—specifically, the blessing of the Messianic kingdom. … Once it is recognized that the Bible speaks of two such regatherings, it is easy to see how the present State of Israel fits into prophecy.[iii]

Believers who firmly grasp Israel’s coming transformation will be reinforced in the hope “that He who has begun a good work in [us] will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

May God help us clearly comprehend His revealed plan for Israel in the future and for us who trust Him today.

Used by permission of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry.
***

Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Columbus, WI, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.

[i] Thomas D. Ice; “Is Modern Israel Fulfilling Bible Prophecy?”; Liberty University; May 2009; https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1023&context=pretrib_arch; Internet; accessed 7 July 2024; p. 2.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Arnold Fruchtenbaum, The Footsteps of the Messiah: A Study of the Sequence of Prophetic Events, 6th ed. (San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries, 2023), p. 104.