Page 65 - Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible Christianity. Based on the King James Bible

BIBLE

The statistician Peter Stoner, using the principle of shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will
probability, assigns this prophecy a one-in-seventy-five bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and
million chance of fulfillment. The modern city of Sur is put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know
located near the ancient city of Tyre, but Tyre itself has that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 37:4-6).
indeed never been rebuilt. In verses 11-14, Ezekiel states that this vision
Prophecies about Israel pertains to the restoration of Israel to her land and to
The continued existence of Israel is one of history’s her repentance toward God. First the bones are given
sinews and flesh, and next God breaths upon these dead
most amazing stories, and it was prophesied in Scripture bones and they live.
in great detail.
The first part of the prophecy has been fulfilled.
Israel’s history was prophesied by Moses and Israel has been back in her land as a nation since 1948,
recorded in the book of Deuteronomy about 4,000 years but she is there in unbelief and spiritual death. She
ago. God warned that if Israel broke His law she would continues to reject her Messiah, Jesus Christ. She has no
be “plucked from off the land” and scattered “among all temple and priesthood and no true worship.
people, from the one end of the earth even unto the
other” (De. 28:63-64). There the Jews would “find no But she is back in the land just as the Bible
ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the prophesied. In 1800 there were only six thousand Jews
Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing in Palestine, but by 2000 there were over five million
of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in (John Ecob, Amillennialism Weighed and Found Wanting,
doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, Herald of Hope, p. 44-45).
and shalt have none assurance of thy life” (De. During the Great Tribulation God will grant
28:65-66). This is an accurate description of Israel’s repentance unto Israel and will breathe spiritual life into
history from the first century until now. Jerusalem was her and she will live.
destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman armies under Titus The continued existence of Israel is a very great
and then in 135 A.D. Jerusalem was plowed under on miracle and an irrefutable evidence of the divine
the order of Emperor Hadrian in response to the Jewish inspiration of the Bible.
rebellion led by Bar Kochbar. The Jewish people were (5) The Bible’s truthfulness proves that it is the Word
scattered to the ends of the earth and found no rest. of God. Everything the Bible says is true and factual. The
They were hated by the Muslims and hounded and Bible says man is a sinner, and that is not difficult to
persecuted by the Greek Orthodox and the Roman confirm. Just look at the world! The Bible is not a
Catholic Church for a thousand years. Hitler’s regime scientific manual, but it is scientifically accurate, even
tried to destroy them. Giving preference to the Arabs, from its earliest pages. Following are some examples,
England tried to keep them from returning to their land beginning with statements from the pages of Job,
after World War II. They are the object of hatred until probably the oldest book in the Bible and written at
this very day. Most of the world is opposed to Israel and least 3,500 years ago. The late scientist Henry Morris
the reporting in secular publications about the Middle said:
East crisis is generally slanted against her. “These references are modern in perspective, with
But Bible prophecy foretold that Israel would be never a hint of the mythical exaggerations and errors
brought back into her land and that she would remain a characteristic of other ancient writings ... perhaps of
nation even after all of this, and that is exactly what even greater significance is the fact that in a 4000-year-
happened in 1948. Never before in the history of the old book filled with numerous references to natural
world has a race of people been scattered throughout phenomena, there are no scientific mistakes or
the world and persecuted for 2,000 years and then fallacies” (The Remarkable Record of Job).
come back together as a nation with their ancient Job says the earth is hung upon nothing (Job 26:7).
language intact. This is obvious to our modern generation, as we have
Bible prophecy describes the restoration of Israel in seen the actual pictures of the earth hanging in space,
two parts. First, she would return to the land in a but to previous generations it was not obvious and there
position of unbelief. Then she would be converted. The were many commonly-held myths about the earth riding
amazing prophecy in Ezekiel 37:1-14 describes Israel’s on the back of Atlas or a turtle or elephant, etc.
restoration in these two stages. She is described as a Job says the air has weight (“the weight for the winds,”
valley of bones that are resurrected. Job 28:25). It was not until the 17th century that
“Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, Galileo discovered that atmosphere has weight, and the
and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of modern science of aerodynamics is based on this
the LORD. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; scientific fact. Further, the weight of air is important in
Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you and ye

Way of Life Encyclopedia of the Bible & Christianity 65