Israel and the End Times

Best-selling author, speaker, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland.

Best-selling author and apologist, Dylan Burrows. Together, bringing you truth. For a new generation, this is TNG Radio. This week has been a big week in the news in terms of what's going on between American and Israeli relations.

I'm sure many people like ourselves were glued to the news Monday and Tuesday. Not only was it the 70th anniversary of the foundation of Israel as a nation, May of 1948, but also this week is newsworthy in the fact that, fulfilling a campaign promise, President Trump moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the city of Jerusalem. But on today's edition of Truth for a New Generation Radio, Alex McFarland here with Dylan Burrows.

We are going to talk about Jerusalem, the 21st century, Bible prophecy, and what things, if any, are meant by goings-on in the Middle East in terms of Bible prophecy today. And Dylan, it's good to be with you, my friend. Welcome back to the program.

Great to be with you, as always, Alex. I've been traveling the country, working on some Truth for a New Generation events that are going to come up in 2018 and 2019. We're working on Murfreesboro, Tennessee, that will be September 14 and 15. I'll be doing a debate at Middle Tennessee State University on Thursday night, September 13. We'll be in the city of Murfreesboro with people like Josh McDowell and J. Warner Wallace and great speakers September 14, 15.

Then October we'll be in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. So as always, please go to the website truthforanewgeneration.com. We've also got a news feed that's going to be implemented on the website and on the TNG app. A lot of good things, but Dylan, as always, our intent is to keep people informed about life, worldview, current events from a biblical perspective. And with that in mind, let me say this. God's Word has a lot to say about the future, and you've been doing a lot of research and writing about Bible prophecy and current events, too, haven't you?

Well, certainly. It's one of the most fascinating areas of the Bible for people who are either unfamiliar with Scripture or who have read it and have questions about what the Bible says regarding the end times, especially the books like Daniel, the books like Revelation, things that have yet to happen. And when we look at this issue of modern Israel, what role does it play in the end times? What role do we see of this celebration this week, in particular the 70th year of the rebirth of Israel as a modern nation? What can we say the Bible addresses regarding this issue? And I think there are some significant things we can say about the modern rebirth of Israel from Scripture, but there are some areas as well we want to be cautious about and not go beyond what Scripture says and try to tie every headline to the news. Exactly. God has given us his word, divine revelation.

It's interesting. The Apostle John in John chapter 1, he looked farther back into eternity past than any other New Testament writer, and by virtue of having written the book of Revelation, John looked farther forward into the future and into eternity farther forward than any other New Testament writer. And in the book of Revelation, in chapter 10, it says, the voice I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which stands on the sea and on the earth. John says, I went to the angel and said to him, give me the little book. And there's this book that has sweetness and bitterness. There's good news.

There's news that's unsettling. And John talks about getting this vision of future events. Now, Dylan, to your point, I think it's worth noting that the Bible addresses all of our human needs, but not necessarily all of our human curiosities.

The Bible tells us everything that we need to know to be saved, to live the Christian life, to grow closer to Christ, to enter into his presence in eternity one day, but the Bible doesn't tell us everything we might necessarily want to know. Jesus will literally return to earth one day. The evil world systems that are arrayed against God, against righteousness, against truth, and ultimately the world systems, businesses, governments, economies, cultures, will one day all be under the control of the Antichrist that will basically say, worship this satanic leader or die.

People will have to take some type of mark. But Dylan, I think this is a fair statement, and I want you to respond. Within the Gospel, within the panorama of Scripture, there is much, much, much clarity. But there's also some mystery, isn't there? And there's some things that we can make sanctified speculation about, but there's some things that we should be cautious before we definitively try to nail down.

Would you agree? Well, certainly, and that's where a lot of disagreement, even among evangelical Christians, comes from. We don't know some of the details, for instance, of what will happen during the tribulation period, but we do know there will be a future tribulation period where there is a person known as the Antichrist who will rule over all those who will remain and do not follow Jesus Christ. And so we see a time in the future where there is Israel living in peace and when there's a ruler who opposes God's people, but we don't know the details of when that's going to happen. Is it going to be 70 years after Israel is a nation again, like some people speculate, or will it be 200 years?

We don't know those details. But what I find fascinating are aspects like what we see in Ezekiel 38, which speaks of a time in the future where surrounding nations will come against Israel and attack. And what I find fascinating are details like the names of the countries that are there. Four of those nations that are listed in Ezekiel 38 are found in modern-day Turkey.

And if you look at the headlines, as we're speaking today, the Prime Minister of Turkey, Erdogan, is calling all of the Arab nations to unite against Israel. And you see some of these things that are eerily close to what we see in Scripture. So again, we don't have all the details, but we see things moving in the direction that the Bible has predicted for thousands of years.

Indeed, indeed. You know, in earlier centuries, there were atheists like Voltaire and Robert Ingersoll that used to mock the Bible. And they would say, you know, how can the Bible be true? Because it says during the end times, nations will surround Israel, and Israel is so much in Bible prophecy. And yet during the times of the great infidel movement of the 19th century, Israel as a nation had not reconstituted itself. And skeptics would mock that.

Well, that certainly would change. Seventy years ago this May, when Israel was reconstituted as a nation, then President Harry Truman within a day said the United States recognizes the sovereign nation of Israel. And Israel has been our longest friend in the Middle East, the only stable democracy in the Middle East. Frankly, I am thrilled that our president has demonstrated friendship to Israel, because Genesis 12, God told Abraham, I will bless them that bless thee. Let me say this.

The best thing any U.S. president can do for this nation is to be a friend to the people of Israel. And this is fascinating, Alex. We're going to look more at the significance of these events when we come right back at Truth for a New Generation.

Stick with us. Congregation, these apologetics teams we train speak in churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times from a biblical perspective. Like, is there a God?

Is the Bible true? What about gender and moral issues? Call me at 864-977-2008 and we will arrange for the Life Answers team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come.

864-977-2008 and always be ready. If you're a Christian parent, you of course want to instill a biblical view of life in the hearts of your children. If you're a pastor, you want to offer ministry that draws young families to your church. This is Alex McFarland encouraging you to check out my new book and video curriculum, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. Why do bad things happen? I interviewed hundreds of children, ages 5-12, and we address actual questions from actual children, the spiritual issues that are on the minds of your kids.

Did Jesus ever sin? The book and video lessons are great for groups of any size and was produced with the goal of equipping kids to stand strong for Christ in any situation. The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask, the book, study guide and video series.

You'll find it at AFASTORE.net. Welcome back to TNG Radio. Alex McFarland here with Dylan Burrows talking about prophecy, prophecy in the news, and the movement of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Dylan, I guess one of the questions that we get a lot from different listeners is the question of, are we near the return of Christ? When will the rapture be, and are we in the last days?

And in my book, Stand, core truths you must know for an unshakable faith, which is available in Spanish, too, by the way, if you Google it on one of the online book sellers, Stand, we talk about a core truth, a foundational belief of Christianity, one of, in previous generations it would be called one of the fundamentals of the faith, but that's that Christ is going to return. We know definitively that Christ is coming back. What we don't know is when. In fact, the Bible says no man knows the day or the hour. We are not to set a date, but we are to be ready and be faithful. The New Testament says be ready and be faithful.

And that's really the challenge. Let me add to be ready, be faithful, be evangelizing. I mean, Dylan, I like prophecy, and I teach on prophecy, and one of the things that we do in our travels around the country, we often do a three-night study through the entire book of Revelation, which I would love to do that at one of your churches listening if you want to call us at our offices, we can talk about that. But I think some Christians, their zeal for prophecy needs to be coupled also with a zeal to win people to Christ, because that we do definitively know that we are to share the gospel and see souls come to Jesus. Right, there's that stereotype of repent, the day is near with people carrying signs around, and certainly we urge people to turn to Jesus because we do believe Jesus will come back at any moment, but that attitude should drive us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to tell people about Jesus, so they will be there with us. And I think of my life, for example, you know, my father passed away many years before I have, and so as a Christian I can look forward to a time when I will see heaven again in heaven. And that's a comforting thought, and that's why 1 Thessalonians 4 ends with the phrase that we're to encourage one another with these things when we talk about the return of Jesus. And so these are the kind of things we want to encourage people with, that when we talk about the end times and the news, it shouldn't scare us, it should motivate us to live for Jesus and to share his message with others. Exactly.

Let's talk about some of the attributes of the modern world that do seem to play into end time scenarios, because, you know, think about it, people talk about the grid and living off the grid. You know, our iPhones track our every move, and just subtly, incrementally, we have become wed to our iPhones. And let me say, as we all know, with GPS technology, they not only can tell where you are, but where you stopped along the way to get where you are. And let me say, with the online, the speaker devices, where you can basically converse with Alexa or any one of a number of these products, and you can surf Wikipedia, you can ask for, you know, chicken recipes, you can get plans to rebuild a deck, and you can order product off the web. Hey, those things are listening.

I mean, they hear. And it's debated now how much these interfaces are tied to government agencies, even foreign agencies. Dylan, wouldn't you say the incredible wiring of the planet, shall we say, is something that could very easily play into an end time scenario where you can't buy or sell without going through the protocols of the Antichrist? And by the way, if you want to read about the Antichrist, 1 John chapter 2 talks about the coming Antichrist, the mindset of the Antichrist, denial of Jesus' deity.

So while we don't know the exact day or the hour, we do know Christ is coming back, and I personally, as a student of Scripture and a student of history and a student of prophecy, I think the world seems more poised for end time scenarios than ever before. Well, certainly there are things that 100 years ago people would have looked at Scripture and thought, how is this even possible? Israel is not a nation now.

It's a nation. But in terms of technology, there were times in the past where people said, how could all the earth know about an event such as the two witnesses in Revelation where they die and are resurrected and taken into heaven, and it says the whole world will see. Well, how will the whole world see? Well, now technology allows that. Anyone with a cell phone around the world could see the same event at the same time, and that's no longer the issue that it once was. So technology makes some of these predictions in Scripture more realistic now than they've ever been in the past. And that's something that we need to consider, is that when we see these types of things happening, we see that it's progressively fulfilling or coming closer to the fulfillment of what Christ said will happen, not farther away from it.

And what that should do is show us a couple of things. One, that Scripture is highly accurate, completely accurate, and second, that we have a compelling reason to live accordingly. So when Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to share the Gospel, to fulfill the Great Commission, these are commands that we don't just read and go, oh, that's a nice story, but this should be something that changes our lives, and that we live in a way where we realize and recognize and respond to the calling of Jesus coming back at any moment. It's been my privilege to go to Israel, and in fact, even now we're planning an Israel trip for the end of 2019.

And stay tuned, because we want to keep you posted. Many of you might want to go with us to Israel. But one of the amazing things is to go to the Temple Mount. And I've been there, and the Western Wall, often called the Wailing Wall, which would have been built during the time of Herod. One of the things about Bible prophecy that has caused a number of people to scratch their head is when in Revelation 11, 1, John is told to measure the temple of God. And so people are asking, when will the temple be rebuilt, or what will be the scenario regarding the third temple? I personally believe that the Jewish temple will be rebuilt. Well, Revelation specifically talks about a future temple in Jerusalem. So if we take the Bible as true, as its predictions becoming fulfilled literally, we have to say yes.

But in what way? That's where the controversy arises. Will it be built near what we see now, as the Muslim mosque that is on the Temple Mount? Will it be in place of it? Will it be during the tribulation period, when something may happen to the current mosque, as some speculate? Those are things that we have to consider.

But yes, there will be a future temple just as the Bible predicts. Exactly. We've got to take a break. Alex McFarland, Dylan Burrows here on this edition of TNG Radio. Inspiration and authority through some of the world's most respected biblical scholars. We have essentially a dual authorship. So it's true to say that Paul wrote Romans. It's equally true to say that God wrote Romans.

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Wherever Christian books are sold. I love how 1 Thessalonians 4, after talking about what most scholars believe is a reference to the rapture, the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with the Lord in the air to meet the Lord, and we'll be with Him forever. And it says, Wherefore comfort one another with these words. The return of Christ is a comfort, even though there will be turbulent times in the periods of history leading up to the return of Christ. And we're back, we're talking about this very monumental week, incredibly biblically significant week, the 70th anniversary of the rebirth of the nation of Israel, and the U.S. Embassy being moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

Let me say this, folks. Be prepared for the academic world to be critical of this. The President will probably be blamed for terrorism, and that this is not good that we've done this, but it is good. Because as we said earlier from Genesis 12-3, this biblical promise that God will bless those who are a blessing to Israel. One of the questions about future events relates to the temple. Two things that I do believe are going to be rebuilt, and in fact are being rebuilt, one is the city of Babylon, and the other is the temple. During the time of Saddam Hussein in the late 80s and early 90s, there were photos in the news about his desire to rebuild the city of Babylon and the hanging gardens of Babylon. And so I think when the Bible talks about Babylon, it's talking about the city of Babylon.

I also think that the temple will be rebuilt. The second Jewish temple was destroyed in 70 AD by a Roman emperor, Titus, and the Muslim Dome of the Rock mosque sits on the temple site now. The Dome of the Rock mosque was built around 690-691.

And here's what happened in 638 AD. The Caliph Omar, an Islamic leader, rode into Jerusalem on a white camel, and the city of Jerusalem at that point in 638 had been conquered by Muslim armies. The Caliph went to the temple mount, bent down in prayer to Allah. Muslim legend says that Muhammad dreamed he flew from Mecca to Jerusalem. In reality, Muhammad probably was never in Jerusalem.

But the Caliph Omar bends down and prays to Allah, the God of Islam. And the temple area was really consecrated for Islam at that point. And the Caliph claimed the temple mountain for Allah, and there was an observer there, a political prisoner at the time, Saphronius, who wept and said this is the abomination spoken by Daniel.

Now the mosque that bears Omar's name was completed in 691. And the Muslims have really controlled the temple area since 638. So Dylan, the question becomes, how will the nation of Israel be a temple with a mosque in the way? I remember, and I'm a little older than you, but I remember around 88-89, there were several Jewish zealots that tried to go up on the temple mount and kill a lamb, and the blood of a sacrificial lamb spilled on the temple mount as if to reinstigate the sacrificial period, and there was quickly an altercation, and Yasser Arafat said in the news at that time that if the Jewish people tried to begin rebuilding a temple, every Muslim in the world would fight, quote, till the last drop of blood. If there were ever an attempt to tear down that mosque and rebuild a temple, the repercussions internationally would be severe, would they not? Yes, it's been called the most controversial piece of real estate in the world for a reason. We see so much conflict over that location that to see that happen would just be unthinkable to many people.

That's why people have come up with other alternative theories of how this could happen. Some think that some disaster will take place in the future that would destroy this mosque, perhaps in fulfillment of some of the prophecies of the tribulation, where it would take place during the tribulation period. Others think that it could actually happen in an area near where the mosque is, so the both could be alongside one another in the same way. And what's interesting is even today there's an organization called the Temple Institute in Israel that if you were to look up the information about them, you would be fascinated because not only the plans for the temple have been designed, but all of the sacrificial system, the clothing that the priests wear, the database with all the names of the different people to serve in the temple, and all of the items that they use in the temple sacrifices are already in development or have been developed, and it could happen very quickly. So for us to say, oh, that's never going to happen, well, if you look at the information, it could happen. It would take a move of God, which the Bible does predict could take place there, but it could happen. So it's not the impossibility that some people have made it out to be. Exactly, exactly, when I was in Israel about two years ago, we visited the Temple Institute and saw some of the priestly garments, and to say that these things have been recreated meticulously is an understatement.

I mean, let me say they are entirely serious about this. We don't know what God is going to do, what political machinations or what circumstances and earthquake to tear down the existing mosque, because the mosque is over the rock, where very strong tradition says Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, and they're on Mount Moriah, and of course the temple is built over that and over the mountains of Moriah, so much of the old city. But I looked in the door, as a non-Muslim I was not allowed in the mosque, but I looked and you can see this rock jutting up, and that's where Abraham offered Isaac. And in the thorns was caught a ram. Now it's been said that there on the mountain of Moriah, God provided a thorn-crowned lamb for Abraham.

On this mountain range, the mountains of Moriah, where Christ will return, there was another thorn-crowned lamb wasn't there, Dylan. Yes, and that's such a good way to wrap up our program today to refer people back to why this is so important. It all points to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament, who came and died and rose again, ascended to heaven, and promises to return again someday. Now friends, if you're listening and you've never made that decision to follow Jesus, please do so today. We are not guaranteed tomorrow, but we are given this opportunity at this moment to believe in Him. And for those of us who have believed, this should be a powerful reminder that God has a mission for us, a plan for us, that we are not here by accident, we are not here just for ourselves, but we are here to make a difference.

We hope you'll continue to do so. Join us next time here at Truth for a New Generation. Truth for a New Generation, in association with Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries, exists to equip Christians with a biblical world view through conferences and camps. For information about upcoming events, visit truthforanewgeneration.com, or give us a call at 877-YES-GOD-1. That's 877-YES-GOD and the number 1. TNG radio is made possible by the friends of Alex McFarland Evangelistic Ministries, P.O. Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, 27313. That's P.O. Box 485, Pleasant Garden, North Carolina, 27313. Or give online at alexmcfarland.com or truthforanewgeneration.com. Thanks for listening and join us again next time as we bring you more truth for a new generation on TNG radio.