The Rise of the Ezekiel 38 Nations/Program 1

By: Dr. Jimmy DeYoung; ©2012

In 1948, the modern nation of Israel was re-established after nearly 2,000 years. This appears to fulfill Ezekiel’s prediction made 2,600 years ago that God would bring the Jewish people from the many nations into their own land. Further, God also predicted a coalition of nations that would one day attack Israel, as well as a future Jewish temple at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Introduction

Today on the John Ankerberg Show:

Itzik Dror: This building is a historic building, because Israel was born here. And this was one of the greatest moments in the history of our people.

2600 years ago God promised the Jewish people: This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel.

On May 14, 1948, the Jewish people became a nation when David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel.

Itzik Dror: The ceremony started at 4:00. By 4:32 it was all over; 32 minutes that changed the world.

2600 years ago God also promised the Jewish people, that once they became a nation, a coalition of nations would gather together and come against Israel to try and destroy her. Biblical scholars refer to this battle as the future Ezekiel 38 war. Which nations did God predict would come against Israel in the last days?

Benjamin Netanyahu: The militant Shiites in Iran are openly racing, boasting that they’re racing to develop nuclear weapons with the explicit announced goal of wiping Israel from the face of the earth.

And finally, God promised that in the future the Jewish temple would once again be standing on the most controversial piece of real estate in the world, the temple mount in Jerusalem. What evidence shows that these prophecies are being fulfilled in our day? My guests today include Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, and American journalist Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, who is covering the Middle East. Join us for this special edition of the John Ankerberg show.

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John Ankerberg: Welcome to our program. I’m John Ankerberg. Thanks for joining me. Today I would like to show you the amazing evidence for five clear prophecies that God made to the Jewish people 2600 years ago. Three have been fulfilled in our lifetime, two others are beginning to be fulfilled right in front of our eyes today, and they are going to affect us all. These five prophecies should serve as evidence to any person that the God of the Bible exists, and that we are living close to the last days described in the Bible, and the return of Jesus Christ is near.

Now let me see if I can prove this to you. There are three amazing prophecies God gave to the prophet Ezekiel 2600 years ago about the nation of Israel. I’m sure you remember that as of 64 years ago, there was no Jewish state. The nation of Israel didn’t exist. In fact, 2600 years ago, 600 years before Christ lived, Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Jerusalem, plundered the city and burned the walls and the Jewish temple to the ground. Then he took the Jewish people into captivity in Babylon. And at that time Israel ceased to be an independent nation. After the Jewish people were taken into captivity, God made this promise to them through the prophet Ezekiel.

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Behold, I will gather the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone.” Do you realize that the Jewish people have been gathered to Israel from 108 nations of the world? And then God said, “I will… bring them into their own land.” This is a specific place, the land of Israel.

And finally God said, “I will make them one nation in that land on the mountains of Israel.”

Now there can be no doubt that for 2600 years the Jewish people did not exist as a nation, but on May 14, 1948, Israel once again became a nation when David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the Jewish State of Israel. Now, Dr. Jimmy DeYoung and I traveled to Israel to see Independence Hall, where this prophecy was fulfilled. I want you to watch this.

Ankerberg: Jimmy and I traveled to Tel Aviv to Independence Hall—where it all started when David Ben-Gurion read the Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948, and the modern State of Israel was born. Jimmy, this is a very important building for Israel.

Dr. Jimmy DeYoung: It certainly is. We step off of modern day streets of Tel Aviv back 60 years ago to Independence Hall where it all began; the monument to the fulfillment of prophecy. Notice the prophetic passage there, Isaiah 35:1: “The desert shall bloom and blossom like the rose.” This was the view from David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel’s home. He was able to look at the desert. And then this mural represents the peoples that have been coming from the all over the world, four corners of the earth. Notice Jeremiah 31:8: “I shall gather them in from all over the world,” and then chapter 31 continues to say, “they will come into a land I am going to give them.” And verse 23 of Jeremiah 31 says, I’ll restore their language, a language dead for 2000 years. The Hebrew language restored to the people of Israel. 108 nations of the world, the people have come here. Down here in is Independence Hall, where actually the announcement was made.

Ankerberg: Going into Independence Hall, we were met by lecturer Itzik Dror who told us, “This building was a historic building because Israel was born here. It was one of the greatest moments in the history of the Jewish people. As our leaders announced to the world the new state, the modern-day State of Israel.”

Itzik Dror: This is the Hall of Independence. This is where Israel was born 60 years ago. Let me show you the stage where it all happened. You see, this is where Ben-Gurion and his government were sitting. This is his chair. And you can see the microphones and even the gavel that he used to declare independence. At 4:00 pm exactly, Israel was born. Now, it was a Friday and it was very important to start on time because the Shabbat was coming in, and you do not want to desecrate a Shabbat. The Egyptians are about to blitz the city and this is why everything must start and be finished before the Shabbat. So at 4:00 pm exactly; the ceremony begins. Ben-Gurion picked up this gavel and rapped three times on the table, three raps to change, to my opinion, the history of the world and the fate of millions of people. What happened here to my understanding is as if the Jews opened the Bible and added another chapter to it. This is how I see it and how the Jews and people who sat here saw it.

Ankerberg: And you were attacked by what, six different fronts?

Dror: Seven Arab armies participated in different numbers.

Ankerberg: Just a few hours after you did this.

Dror: A few hours after Ben-Gurion actually signed the document of independence, the Egyptians blitzed the city and you have like seven Arab armies in the range of 40 miles from this point.

DeYoung: 40 miles from….

Dror: 40 miles from here. It is all over in a way. British officers wrote home, that’s it; it’s a matter of hours and the Jews will be thrown into the sea. General George Marshall commented,… well, the Secretary of State, he commented, the old man (talking about Ben-Gurion), the old man lost it. He is leading his people into a complete annihilation. It is simply impossible. We are talking about a tiny army.

DeYoung: Now, as I understand it, Ben-Gurion had been encouraged not to make the announcement.

Dror: Well, especially by the Americans.

DeYoung: Yes.

Dror: They could not even start to imagine how it is possible how so few, sticks in their hands, can win this. They have to understand the Jewish army was, well…

Ankerberg: It didn’t exist.

Dror: …a joke. We had two Piper Cubs as an air force, you know. And like 40,000 people sharing 10,000 rifles. The top generals of the Israeli army were people like Yitzhak Rabin. You remember Yitzhak Rabin, the guy that was assassinated, our prime minister…

DeYoung: The former prime minister.

Dror: …in 1990. Very good. And the guy was 23 when he became a top general. So if your top generals are 23, what is the age of your troops? And this was the Jewish army. We faced seven modern Arab armies. And you know what, you can Google it from here to Japan, read all the books in the world, and I know you guys, you know so much, but I cannot provide a clear explanation to how exactly we survived this war.

DeYoung: Except Almighty God watching over his people.

Dror: Well, you know Ben-Gurion said once, if you know the history, the modern history of Israel, if you know the story of Israel and what happened here, and you do not believe in miracles, you are not realistic. Something is wrong with you. And he was not a man of miracles, Ben-Gurion, although he knew the Bible by heart. There are some things that you cannot use the logic to explain, like the war of independence in Israel. The ceremony started at 4:00. By 4:32 it was all over; 32 minutes that changed the world.

Ankerberg: So God has established the nation of Israel just as he foretold, and he has done it in our lifetime. Now these facts are simply amazing. But let’s move on to two other prophecies that are in the process of being fulfilled today. In Ezekiel 38 God warned the Jewish people that once Israel was once again established as a nation, then a coalition of nations will form to try to destroy her. Now Israel has only been a modern nation for 64 years. Does she have any enemies now? The answer is yes.

To Israel’s south is Egypt, where now you have the Islamic Brotherhood that has come to power, and they have stated that they want to destroy the nation of Israel. To Israel’s east is Jordan. Now, most people think Jordan is somewhat friendly to Israel, but there is now an Islamic movement in Jordan that is becoming very, very radical. To the north of Israel you have Syria, led by Bashar al-Assad, and we all know what he is doing to his own people right now. And next to Syria is Lebanon, which is controlled by Hezbollah. In 2006 when Israel invaded Lebanon to stop the rocket attacks, Hezbollah had only 4,000 rockets on the border. Today, Lebanon has 60,000 rockets on the border, aimed at every city in Israel. So, on this tiny piece of real estate, Israel is surrounded by enemies on all three of her borders.

But let’s move a little further away from Israel. Everyone knows that the nation of Iran is the number one threat facing Israel today. And there are many reasons why Israel is concerned about Iran building a nuclear bomb. Here are just a few that I heard from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Listen.

Benjamin Netanyahu: The militant Shiites in Iran are openly racing, and boasting that they are racing, to develop nuclear weapons with the explicit announced goal of wiping Israel from the face of the earth, re-establishing the Caliphate (of course under militant Shiite Iranian rule). The Caliphate includes the territories from Iran to Spain, developing long-range ballistic missiles first that are targeted to every European capital and within a decade to reach the eastern coast of the American mainland. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons, everything that we’ve been talking about will pale in comparison. Because the power to extend power, to threaten, to realize the threats, to make good on the threats, will be on a level that we have not seen, nor one that we can readily imagine. It will put the oil reserves of the Gulf under their sway. They could easily bring down governments or fold them into their realm. And, of course, they might make good on their twisted ideas of ending Zionism and extending their realm by other means. So this is threat to the entire world, and it cannot be seen as anything but that.…

Now, you know, if the Middle East turns into a nuclear powder keg, that’s very, very bad. And you really don’t, we really don’t want that happening in our world.

Ankerberg: Now, why is it that no one in the world wants a nuclear power keg in the Middle East? What would happen if Iran does get the bomb and the unthinkable happens, a nuclear exchange with Israel occurs? Anthony Cordesman, an American national security analyst who has also served as a director of intelligence assessment in the office of the US Secretary of Defense, has written, “If Tehran gets the bomb and a clear exchange with Israel occurs, some 16 million to 28 million Iranians would be dead within 21 days, and between 200,000 to 800,000 Israelis would die. Jordan would also suffer severe radiation damage from an Iranian strike on Tel Aviv.” He estimates, it is theoretically possible that the Israeli state, economy and organized society might just survive, but Iran would not survive as an organized society. Further, Cordesman expects that Israel would need to keep a reserve strike capability to ensure no other power can capitalize on the Iranian strike and might target key Arab neighbors such as Syria, Egypt, and the Persian Gulf states. He goes on to say a full-scale Israeli attack on Syria would kill up to 18 million people; recovery would not be possible. At the same time, a Syrian attack on Israel with all of its chemical and biological warfare assets could kill up to 800,000 Israelis. But, he says, Israeli society would still recover.

Then if there’s an Israeli attack on Egypt, Cordesman does not give a death toll here, but believes it would certainly be in the tens of millions. He does say it would mean the end of Egypt as a functioning society. Then Cordesman says we must recognize that the oil wells, refineries and ports along the gulf would also be targets in the event of a mass nuclear response by an Israel convinced that it was being dealt a potentially mortal blow. The resulting nuclear contamination would mean the permanent loss of oil from the Middle East. He sums it up this way. Being contained within the region, such a nuclear exchange might not be Armageddon for the human race; but it would certainly be Armageddon for the global economy and the end of the oil age.

Now, in the next three weeks we will talk more about the enemies that Israel is facing today. Specifically we are going to look at Syria and Egypt in Daniel 11, and then the list of nations in Ezekiel 38, where God tells which nations will come against Israel in the last days. What is happening in those countries today? We are going to tell you next week. But now, I want to move on to an amazing prophecy that has do with the rebuilding of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The prophet Daniel, the Lord Jesus Christ himself, the apostle Paul and the apostle John all taught that during the tribulation a Jewish temple will be standing on the temple mount in Jerusalem. But, as you know, there is not one standing there today. Rather, you have the Muslim Dome of the Rock standing there. When will the Jewish temple be rebuilt? How will it be done if the Dome is still there? What would you say if I told you that there are plans and preparations underway right now to rebuild the temple in our lifetime? I want you to watch this clip.

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Ankerberg: The Bible indicates that the Jewish temple will be rebuilt on the temple mount, after the rapture and during the first part of the seven year tribulation period. Are there any signs this temple is close to being rebuilt today? In our research in Israel, we discovered that the rebuilding of the Jewish temple is not just talk, but an extremely well-organized plan that is being implemented by Jews in Israel today.

DeYoung: This is the Jewish Quarter. We were in the Arab Quarter; this is another of the four Quarters, this is the Jewish Quarter. I want you to notice treasures of the temple here. This is the location where Rabbi Yisrael Ariel and Rabbi Chaim Richman and all of their staff are putting together the implements that they’re going to use in the next temple that will stand on the temple mount. Now they have, for example, the harps. And we’ll see in the harp factory how Micah and Shoshanna Harrari build the harps. But they have all the items they need, the mizrak, which is the pitcher shaped item made out of pure gold and pure silver, they put the sacrificial blood in. All of the items there and the garments that have been made, everything in preparation for the erection of the temple itself.

Ankerberg: Yeah, I want folks that are listening to us right now to realize that you’re seeing a prime example in back of us of the messianic expectation right here in the old city in Jerusalem, where you have Jews that have come from around the world. You’ve got folks that are right here for the priesthood. Not only are they studying for the priesthood, but they are actually making the utensils that they plan to use in the temple.

DeYoung: If he should come at any moment, they want to have everything ready so when the temple is up they’ll be able to go in.

Ankerberg: Yeah, and I can’t say it enough. The fact is, this is happening in our lifetime while we are living. We’re seeing this!

DeYoung: That’s thrilling! Let’s go along.

Ankerberg: Jimmy, it’s fascinating to realize the Jewish people not only have plans to rebuild the temple, but they are doing the detailed work in putting the implements together, right now for that temple.

DeYoung: And they’re doing it all to the pattern dictated by the word of God, John. These people have prepared the implements. For example, the mizrak, which is a pitcher-shaped item made out of pure gold and pure silver—they put the sacrificial blood in the mizrak; they have the table of showbread made, it’s in storage; the altar of incense, its ready to be placed in the holy place; and the altar itself, they have that all figured out and how to go about building that. They even have the menorah. This is one of the most recent implements made, the menorah, which is on display, overlooking the Western Wall Plaza, ready to go up into the temple. All the implements are being made. But I remember talking to Rabbi Kahane, when I met him there in his yeshiva, and he told me about the priests studying the priestly duties, I asked him about the harps that King David called for. He told me about Micah and Shoshani Harrari, and their harp factory.

Ankerberg: Approximately how many of these harps have you made in the back room back here?

Micah Harrari: Well, we have been doing this since about 1984 and we’ve made, you know, maybe 3,000 or 4000.

Ankerberg: 3,000 harps.

Micah: Now we make them slower. We have less people out here in the country so we make about three a month.

Ankerberg: Your quality is fantastic.

Micah: Thank you. well, we want to build… we build our harps as if King David ordered them; if he said that we need harps for the temple, and this is what we’re doing.

DeYoung: Micah, do you believe that this is something that God has given you and Shoshanna to do for the times in which we’re living?

Micah: Yeah. These are the end days. And it says that we will return to the land at the end of days, and that everybody should bring something that was lost. So we returned harp-making to the land. And, as we know, the harp is the national instrument of Israel. And it has been silent for thousands of years when we went into exile and hung our harps upon the willows. But we return now and we have built a beautiful land. And the harps have… God called a harp-maker to make harps, I guess, in the holy land. And we came and started to make them. And we are making them; we are making them for the next temple. This is really our focus. And when King David shows up again, we’ll give him the place. We will just go to work for him.

Ankerberg: Now I believe if you are a Christian, all five of these prophecies should serve as a great encouragement to you that Christ could come at any time to take us to heaven in the rapture. But if you have not put your trust in Christ to save you from your sins; these prophetic events stand as a warning to you that time is running out for you to accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation. It’s time to act today. Are you willing today to ask Jesus to come into your life as your Savior? If so, would you pray with me and say, Dear Jesus, I admit I’m a sinner and I have sinned and broken your laws. I believe you are the Son of God who came into this world to die on the cross, and you paid for my sins. Right now, I am putting all of my trust in you to save me and to cleanse me of my sins and to give me the gift of eternal life. Please show me how to follow you as my Lord. Give me the strength to do so. I trust you, and I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

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