Page 56 - Signs of the End

20 THE SIGNS OF THE END

Moslem Arabs, who have always maintained that the state of
Israel should not even exist, can sincerely enforce an
accommodation with Israel.

For those of us who believe the Scriptures, it is also painful
to see Jewish people withdraw from part of the land promised to
the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This appears to be
a serious setback for the restoration of the Jewish people back to
the Promised Land. Our view remains that the only people who
have any Biblical claim to all of Israel are the Jewish people,
regardless of how long Arabs or Moslems have been in
possession of it.

Nevertheless, we are not at all surprised by the present
situation. We have always believed that events on the world
stage move inexorably toward the conditions described in
Ezekiel 37 through 39, in which Israel is gradually restored to the
land as the "Dry Bones," and miraculously survives an
overwhelming military invasion by the forces of Gog and Magog,
paving the way for the scenario of the Tribulation period.

Ezekiel described the end-time situation as the restored Israel
dwelling in "unwalled villages." The prophet was not familiar
with cities that had no walls. Until the discovery of gunpowder,
walls were an important and necessary part of the defense of any
city. But now, walls are not significant and defense is main­
tained by radar, planes and missiles. So Ezekiel's prophecy is
very accurate, and suggests the somewhat exposed nature of the
Israel's military situation today.

In addition, there is in Israel a perception of "safety" as
described in Scripture. From the outside, the Middle East
appears to be an unsafe area of the world, but to the Jewish
people in Israel, it was always the safest place for them to be,
even when the war clouds were the thickest.

Now that there is a peace agreement in place, however shaky
it may be, there is even more reason for the Israelis to perceive
that they are secure and safe. This would be increasingly the
case if the current agreements with the Egyptians and the
Palestinians spread to the neighboring Arab nations of Syria and
Jordan. But that is precisely the situation that is present in the
early stages of Ezekiel's prophecy. Before the invasion, Israel