1948—Israel’s Birth & the Beginning the End Times

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Services are provided by Vanguard Advisors and registered investment advisor. This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Running with Horses, a podcast devoted to inspire you concerning a relationship with Almighty God that empowers you to accomplish things you never thought possible.

Shirley Weaver wants to take you there. And now here's today's episode. Speaking of the miraculous, the topic of today's podcast is the year 1948 and the rebirth of the Jewish state literally in a single day, an event that was foretold thousands of years prior by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 66 verse 8. Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion once said this, and I quote, anyone who doesn't believe in miracles is not a realist, end quote. The Prime Minister could speak to the miraculous because of the example of his nation's reemergence onto the world scene in this event.

Humanly speaking, it was impossible. But instead, this was a sovereign move of Almighty God. Beginning May 15, 1948, civilization entered the period referred to as the end times. This is not the end of the world as some think. It's actually the end of the age, an end of this current age, which biblically is the church age. But you need understanding of this time, and my understanding is not as a theologian or scholar.

It's really as a student of God's Word. And as a student of His Word, it is clear to me that May 15, 1948 is a pivotal point in the Bible because after 2000 years in exile, something that had been prophesied multiple, multiple, multiple times and well in advance, that being this historical and official reemergence of the nation of Israel as a state. It was the fulfillment of prophecy. And the fulfillment of this one prophecy is understood by most Bible scholars to be the most important prophecy because it sets the stage for all other prophecies about the end times. The Jewish state was born in a single day, just as the prophet Isaiah foretold in Isaiah 66, verse 8, to repeat that reference. And if you're taking notes, there are several others.

There are quite a few, but just to name a few. Amos 9, verses 14 and 15. Jeremiah 30, verse 18.

Isaiah 11, 11 through 12. So this event that occurred approximately 70 years ago from where we presently are in time has been prophesied, clearly pointed to in God's Word. And my reference to Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion concerning this statement about the miraculous is important because in declaring the Jewish independence, something else miraculous happened within minutes.

And that was this. By the way, as an American, I'm completely thankful for this fact. The President of the United States of America at that time, Harry S. Truman, within minutes of the Declaration of Independence by the Prime Minister for the Jewish state, took the international lead with his announcement that the United States of America would align in support of the new Jewish state. His action, believers and historians, have associated with the fact that President Truman had a very deeply-held Christian faith. In my view, I think of 2 Peter, chapter 1, verse 21, which states, no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. I believe President Truman was carried along by the Holy Spirit, prompted by the Father, prompted in His Spirit, confirming to Him God's sovereign hand in the re-establishment of the Jewish state on the world scene, coming into agreement, offering support, and taking an international lead in so doing. I believe the proclamation of the independence of Israel was God's sovereign hand.

I believe the agreement within minutes from the head, the agreement within minutes from the president of the nation, the United States of America, also a sovereign event. And concerning this idea of God's hand in events, His sovereign moving in the lives of men. See, this is what we want, 1 Peter 1, 21. We want to hear from God and then follow the leading of His Spirit, the wording here, to be carried along by the Holy Spirit. Because as we do, we're free of being fearful or thinking that this is something extra biblical, because we've heard Him. We've heard Him clearly. We do hear what other men say.

We do read what they write. But bottom line, most important element here is that you hear, I hear, and we respond according to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. That's really the best part. There's nothing to fear as a result. And you know God's plan is always perfect in every way. Because it always includes abundant life, protection for His people. And another great thing about God's plan, and we read this to be true of His end time plan, He has Satan in His cross hairs. And every attempt of the enemy, Satan, the liar, Lucifer, multiple names in the Bible for this fallen angel. His name is Satan. He is in the cross hairs of almighty God, and His plans have already been judged and are being broken apart and are being removed, even as we speak, but ultimately for sure.

His efforts to break and to harm individuals, nations, literally everything. This is taken into consideration in the end time events, which is the reason for rejoicing on the part of all believers, especially those who are students of God's Word. So our emphasis today, because I believe it's so important, is to be reminded and to discuss and to learn the specifics concerning this event in history and how it affects us, what it means. Eschatology is the study of the end times. Big word. Simple, simple process.

Not hard, but you need to be attentive and you need to be paying attention. It's not something that is just whimsical or that we refer to once in a while. It is important for you to have a grasp of this time and what God's Word says concerning this time. So first question, most obvious question, are we living in the end times?

Obvious answer, yes. Second question, why don't we know more about this time? Simple, short answer, ignorance. Ignorance.

Not an insult at all, but just really give this some consideration. The definition of ignorance is the absence of knowledge. It is the absence of correct instruction. It means the absence of informed facts.

And I think everyone can agree that that is the case. Generally speaking, God's people do not know enough, do not have enough knowledge, enough instruction, have the facts down in a way that they understand what is happening. And also in understanding, you personally are able to vet the things that you hear, prove what is true compared to God's Word.

I may sound like a broken record on this point, and I'm unapologetic about that. It's so important that you understand God's Word concerning end time events, and we're just isolating May of 1948 today in this podcast, but there's so much good news that has covered the last 70 years, and you need to be in on that. You need to realize where we are in the process of time that is unfolding.

So let's go there. Let's just kick around there a little bit, studying just personally for me as a student of the Word. I really don't see another Bible event that has to happen before the rapture or the catching away of the church. So if we're going to understand where we are, we can say that there's been a fulfillment of the things prophesied beginning with the re-emergence of the nation state of Israel and coming up to a point where the next event that I see is the catching away of the church.

So let's look at that a little more understanding for us, and I'm going to look specifically at two prophecies. First of all, Ezekiel 37, and then Revelation chapters 3 and 4. So first of all, Ezekiel 37, which contains the valley of dry bones. We understand that the dry bones in the reference there refers to the nation of Israel, to the Jewish people, and the final restoration of this people back to their land right before the end times begin to unfold. It's written, Ezekiel is in exile in Babylon, and in chapter 37, he is specifically looking to a distant future, to the ultimate restoration of the Jewish people, to their God-given homeland.

Today we are witnessing a progressive fulfillment of this chapter. It's the most significant fulfillment of the Jewish the most important prophecy because it sets the stage for all other prophecy regarding the end times. The next two chapters following Ezekiel 37, which would be chapters 38 and 39, are even more futuristic. They point to a military invasion of Israel by players on the world scene like Russia.

That's not part of our topic today. We're looking at Ezekiel 37, the valley of dry bones, that that is a reference to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel, and that God intended for the Jewish people to be returned from exile and from being scattered across the whole face of the earth and restored to their homeland, something that took place in May of 1948. So that is our first understanding. Secondly, we can look at revelation, and you know just a little setting here, Revelation 2 and 3, those chapters refer to the church age. Refer to the church age. We live in the church age now. We are talking about the closing out or the end of this age, the church age. Again, not the end of the world, the end of the age. And in Revelation 4 is the vision.

John is on Patmos, the island of Patmos. He's in exile for his witness, and he is caught up in the Spirit, and here's the words, come up here, come up here. Revelation 4, this refers, is a type of, I believe, the catching away of the church. So Revelation 2 and 3 again refers to the church age. Revelation 4, the catching away of the church, and then beginning in Revelation 6, for many chapters following, we see the description of the tribulation that will occur once the church is removed from the earth. So to answer where we are today, looking back to May 1948 until now, there is not another Bible event that I can see that has to happen before the rapture or the catching away of the church as we see it and study it in Revelation chapter 4 and other places throughout the word, when believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. It's an event, but it's not the second coming. It's actually the first part of the second coming. It is the rapture of the church, capital C Church, which includes believers who are alive on the earth and believers whose lives have already ended, that would be those who are already dead from an earthly perspective.

They are in the grave, whether that grave is one of ashes, an earthen grave, a watery grave, whatever the case may be. This whole doctrine of the rapture is an important doctrine of the church. Again, it's a part of our eschatology, our study of the end times, and the rapture is so important to understand and to realize God's plan for, although the word rapture doesn't appear in the Bible, actually the Latin rapturo, the Greek harpazzo, harpazzo, and the English word caught up or catching away are the words that we see. We more commonly use the word rapture. Again, it just doesn't appear in the Word of God that way. It is either the Latin rapture or the Latin rapturo, the Greek harpazzo, or the English caught up or catching away, hence our reference to Revelation 4, when the Spirit of God in His encounter with the Apostle John said, come up here, come up here. So that is the voice that He heard, to seize hastily, to snatch away. And another reference would be, again for your note-taking, 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through 18.

So let's keep going here. What should our posture be? And this is, again, simple, but it's so important. Don't miss this.

What should our posture be? 2 Timothy 4, 8. We are to love His appearing. Appearing means manifestation, especially the past or future, Advent of Christ. We love that. We love the coming of the Lord.

We love His first appearing. We love His first coming. We also look for and love His second coming or His second appearing. That's 2 Timothy 4, 8.

And another verse, 2 Timothy 3, 12. Looking for and hasting the coming day of God. Looking for and hasting the coming day of God. And just breaking that verse down, hasting, if you study that word, check the definition, means to speed or study, urge on diligently or earnestly, implies await eagerly. So we're looking for and hasting the coming day of the Lord. We want to await eagerly, speed, diligently, earnestly, urge.

We want to study. That word, hasting, you want to spend some time right there thinking, study that word. And then the next important word, I think, coming day of God, the word day.

Look at that with me. It means literally or figuratively a day, a period defined also by the context in which it appears. So in this context, the reference is to heavens on fire and elements melting.

So very appropriately in the King James, the rendering of this English word day is age or and judgment, age and judgment. So it fits completely in our understanding and our study of the end times, the end of the age. So we're going to position ourselves. We're looking for His appearing. We're not ignorant concerning His appearing. We're not nonchalant or unaware, but rather we love His appearing.

We're looking for it. And we even want to participate in bringing about this thing that is on His heart in a major way. We participate in praying for the sick because we love His promise of healing.

We participate and give ourselves to bringing about deliverance on as many levels as we encounter to bring God's compassion for deliverance because we know that is His heart. He loves that. We love that. He loves, we love. This is the same.

It is the same. That's how we approach this study, this approach to eschatology. And with this understanding, we replace ignorance concerning 1948 that we can learn about, look for and hasten the Lord's plan, which pleases Him. Again, the prophecies in Amos, Jeremiah, Isaiah, confirm that is His heart. And 2 Peter 3, 14, one more thing, looking, we are diligent that we are found in Him. Verse 14 of 2 Peter 3, as we're doing this looking, we're also diligent that we are found in Him, that we are in peace, that we are blameless. So where are you in this time?

What is your posture? After all that said, you are in the Lord. And we say frequently, you have the mind of Christ.

I have the mind of Christ. See, you're in Him thinking like Him, seeing as He sees, hearing from Him, and then moved along by His Holy Spirit. So biblically, what is the next end-time event that we can expect from where we began in 1948? Until today present, we look at Revelation 4, verse 1. Again, the previous two chapters in Revelation have laid out the seven phases of the church, probably overlapping time-wise. And for example, the evangelism in the Church of Philadelphia is unfolding right now. There's an increase of evangelism, an increase in the numbers of those coming to faith in Jesus, coming to acknowledge of Him as Lord and Savior. And then also, the church at Laodicea, known for its apostasy, that there is an increase now. Even in our day, this is an increasing apostasy of falling away. I think that's interesting, of falling away from the church the church at a time when God's plan is for the catching up of the church. Up. You know, the church is going up, and the apostate person is falling down, falling away.

Don't know if you've ever thought about it that way. So the last church mentioned in Revelation 3 is the Laodicean, the lukewarm church. So then the next thing that happens in Revelation 4 is this famous verse, verse 1, come up here.

Otherwise, rapture, come away, the catching away. So as we lay out our understanding here of these end-time events, we want to pray. We want every believer to be knowledgeable.

We want to have an understanding of the times and what we ought to do. We ought to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves. The rendering of the use of serpent there would be that a serpent is knowing when to be still and knowing and knowing when an opportunity is before him, and he does both well.

He both is very still when that is needed, and he knows when the opportunity is prime and therefore should strike. The creature mentioned here is the serpent, but then also the dove, you know, is so peaceful, so confident of God's care and the grace of God. So let's close out the podcast today with this prayer, and it's so important to seal what we believe about what we've heard. Pray with me. Father, we pray today because of the setting in which we find ourselves, things are tough on the world scene.

Over the years they always have been, but there's an increase of wars and rumors of wars. The lawless one, these things produce severe conditions, bad things happening, but we respond instead of being bogged down or pulled down into this low place to Jesus' words, lift up your head for your redemption draws nigh. Lift up your heads for your redemption draws nigh. And as in the case of everything that you do, your mercy endures forever. We just seal our understanding of what we're hearing concerning this time in Bible history that no matter what or where, your mercy endures forever. We know from 1 and 2 Chronicles and the book of Ezra and the book of Psalms and the book of Jeremiah, the mercy of the Lord endures forever, that you are merciful. And 2 Peter 3.9, not willing that any should perish.

You are not willing that any should perish without the saving knowledge and relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you, Father. We express our confidence in you. We thank you for your outpouring in our day, for the supernatural things that we are privileged to witness, and we give you glory. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.

Listen, here it is again. We have the mind of Christ. This is the supernatural element. That means we have the thought life of a king, of the king.

And as Prime Minister Ben-Gurion stated, anyone who doesn't believe in miracles is not a realist. In that same way, you and I are not ignorant or fearful of future events. We love this outpouring of the miraculous. And because we follow Philippians 2, 3 through 5, we let the mind of Christ be in us. We allow it. We have it, and we allow it. And we thank God for it.

We have the mind of Christ. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support this podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media, or leave a rating and review. Don't forget to check out the show notes or visit acleartrumpet.org, where you can subscribe to Shirley's email list. Download the ministry app and purchase your very own copy of Shirley's 365-day devotional, Running with Horses.

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