God's Promises Fulfilled

 

“Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment. For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel. And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah.” (Ezekiel 4:4-6 ESV).

 

And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins, and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze (Leviticus 26:18-19 ESV).

 

On this day in 1948, just before the expiry of the British mandate in Palestine, David Ben-Gurion and the Jewish People's Council proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel, precipitating the first Arab-Israeli war. Of course, we know the final outcome of that war. Israel gained its freedom and independence. However, what you may not be aware of is the exact number of years between Israel’s loss of freedom and this date. In 606 BC, Israel was taken into Babylonian captivity for 70 years.  When you add the 2,483 years remaining in this judgment (plus 1 year, because there is no “0” BC or AD), and we arrive at 1948 AD. Our readings today number these years exactly.

 

The end of Israel’s Judgment culminated in the return of the Jews to their Biblical Homeland, and Israel was officially declared and globally recognized as a Nation again for the first time in over 2,500 years! God keeps His promises!

 

This is another means of determining the reliability of Scripture. Just as God declared this period of time as judgment we should not miss the impact of this on other prophecies. We cannot mistake what seems to be a lengthy delay between the resurrection and the promised Second Coming as a mistake. God is keeping his promises in all of these things as well. Knowing this it should call us to vigilance. We must prepare for it as we may very well be the last generation before the coming of Jesus. Perhaps this is not a “business as usual” time in our history. Shall we be like the five prepared virgins with our lamps full, or will we be unprepared like the other five (cf. Matthew 25:1-13)?