What Does Israel Have to Do with Biblical Prophecies About the End Times?

This article deals with certain prophecies found in the Bible regarding the end times and Israel's involvement in them. This topic is often discussed today, given the recent conflicts Israel is involved in. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judea. The region of Judea was named after the tribe of Judah, one of the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel. Of course, Jesus died to save all who believe in Him, regardless of their race, but He was first sent to His nation—Israel (Matthew 15:24). Even though most of them did not accept His message, He was born there and lived there for a purpose. Despite the nation of Israel's mistakes and shortcomings toward God, He still reaches out to them, and His desire for them is that one day, they may come to a true knowledge of Him. God fulfills His promises, and if He has promised that He will show them His glory and that one day they will know Him, He will do so. The Bible says that a remnant of Israel will still be saved (Romans 11:1-5). Only those who have believed in Him will be saved. They will be saved by grace, because they have believed in Him as their Savior, and not because they belong by bloodline to the nation of Israel. The Apostle Paul stated that not all descendants of Israel are Israel (Romans 9:6).

If we believers support the people of Israel today, it doesn't mean we're behind their ideas and support their policies (standing back and supporting their ideas and policies), but rather that we believe in God's promises, that one day they will know Him by repenting and accepting Christ. We can see God's hand in their history. We see how, despite the many obstacles and despair they faced, God preserved and protected them. Sometimes even miraculously. He wants to preserve and protect them, not because of who they are, but because He is faithful to His promises; not because they have been faithful or righteous thus far, but because He wants them to repent one day. Therefore, He protects them. This is God's mercy, and those of us who believe in Him today can say that the same is true for us, even if we are not descendants of His people. We are not Israel, but He has shown mercy to us and protected us because He wanted us to come to know Him one day.

There is now a conflict in the land of Israel. There have been constant wars and conflicts since the country was re-established on May 14, 1948. This was an act that many did not believe was possible, and the Bible even speaks of it (Isaiah 11:11, Jeremiah 16:14-15). This was incredible, and its occurrence sparked debates about certain prophecies regarding the end times. Those prophecies were not possible as long as Israel existed as a state. Since it was re-established as a country again, a door has opened for those prophecies to be fulfilled. Many theologians have suggested that the founding of the State of Israel could mark the beginning of the end, as the Bible describes it.

When we discuss the coming of the end times and the fulfillment of prophecies, it's clear that until a prophecy is fulfilled, no one can pinpoint the exact time. From the things happening around us, however, we can see signs that might indicate whether we're near these times. Jesus himself said we must stay awake and be ready, and that no one knows the hour or time of his coming (Matthew 24:36). He left us the parable of the fig tree, which indicates that by seeing the signs happening around us, we can know if His coming is near and be ready (Matthew 24:32-33). God perceives time much differently than we do. He isn't subject to it and is much greater. We, on the other hand, are impatient. That's our nature. When we see a sign that might indicate something, we immediately want the prophecy to be fulfilled or think the end has already arrived. He specifically said it doesn't work that way.

Some people, when they see that nothing happens immediately, start to lose hope and even faith. Jesus speaks of those people like those servants who, when they see that their master is slow in coming, begin to get drunk, live a life of dissoluteness, and treat their other servants badly.

⁴⁵ “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. ⁴⁷ Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. ⁴⁸ But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, ⁵¹ and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 24:45-51, emphasis added)

The fact that this passage states that the servant saw his master was delayed in coming indicates that he was familiar with the prophecies. He was not just any person. He knew that Jesus was coming back, but because he misinterpreted the issue of the end times, he lost faith and stopped watching. The parable tells us that his master came at an hour he did not expect, and he paid the price for his choice not to watch. Here, we are not talking about a single mistake or lack of attention on his part; we are talking about a life choice. We must trust in God and be patient in waiting for Him. Therefore, when we see a sign coming true, we must see that God is faithful and fulfills His word step by step. We must not react in any other way, by being impatient and expecting something to happen immediately.

So, when we discuss prophecies yet to be fulfilled and the end times, it's not the same as when we discuss the rest of the Bible. Even though there are things we still need to understand, we who believe in the Bible can speak about them with complete certainty, because we have a relationship with the Lord and know Him. When we talk about future events, however, it's different. Yes, we can speak with certainty that He will return and that there will be a judgment, but as to exactly how or when it will occur—no. That is, no, because it is not given to us to know (Matthew 24:36), and the Bible also speaks about it. We must and can warn others that it will happen and invite them to prepare, but we cannot tell them exactly how. And this is because it must be accepted by faith.

Returning to the topic of Israel, we can say that it is one of the indicators of the prophecies regarding the times. Why? Because it was the country mentioned most in end-times prophecies.

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.” (Luke 21:20)

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” (Matthew 24:15-16)

These two passages are from Luke 21 and Matthew 24, both of which speak of what must happen in the future and about the end times. Why do we think they occur in the future? Because they speak of the second coming of Christ. Of course, someone might say that some of the prophecies have already been fulfilled and even say that everything has already been fulfilled, but the mention of Christ's second coming (Matthew 24:30, Luke 21:27) always leads us to think that some of the things in these chapters have yet to happen. People who believe that the prophecies about the end described in the Bible have already been fulfilled are called preterists. They are still believers, but they hold this particular opinion about the prophecies. On the one hand, they might be right that some of the things described in the book of Revelation have already been partially fulfilled.

I repeat, when we speak of prophecies and future events, we cannot say with certainty exactly how and when things will happen, and therefore it is better to rely on the Scriptures and meditate on what they say. Let's see how these two passages relate to Israel. The first speaks of Jerusalem, and the second of the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. Many people interpret this as something abominable in the sight of God, placed in the holy place, the temple, and believe it refers to Solomon's temple, which was destroyed and for which there is a plan to rebuild.

Let's say, for example, that instead of Israel, God had chosen another nation as His own, and the same things were said about that nation regarding the prophecies and the end times. Let's imagine that His nation was Sweden, the Czech Republic, Romania, or some other country. Yes, in Jesus' time, almost all nations were involved in wars. This isn't quite the case today. The most constant conflicts are in the Middle East, where Israel is also found. If the end time prophecies concerned any other nation that had experienced wars in the past but is now at peace, we might be a little doubtful and think that perhaps they couldn't come true, but in this case, it's Israel, which is always in the midst of trouble. This means that, even if current conflicts aren't directly related to the end, a place that is usually hot and frequently embroiled in conflict may experience similar issues in the future. Israel is always involved in some conflict situation, and here I am not saying who might be right in these wars and who isn't, but I am simply stating what the word of God wants to tell us.

As we said, if these words about the end times were spoken of any other nation, we might doubt it, but they are spoken of Israel. How could Jesus have known this all that time ago? And I'm not saying that the current conflict this country is in is the exact one we find in Matthew 24; I'm just saying that if there is a conflict today, it could lead to other conflicts as well. Yes, Jerusalem has been surrounded several times in the past, but the rest of the prophecies were not fulfilled at that time. Also referring to Matthew 24:15-16, where it mentions “the abomination of desolation,” which was also spoken by the prophet Daniel on God's behalf, we can see another aspect of how the prophecies are unfolding.

It speaks of "the abomination of desolation” standing in the holy place. This suggests that something detestable in God's sight and causing desolation will be placed in a holy place, corresponding to something holy, which is what should be placed there. This is interpreted by some as something that will be placed in God's temple and is said to have to do with the Antichrist himself, who will exalt himself; others say it could be something else. In any case, if this prophecy refers to God's temple in Jerusalem, it will require a temple, because the old one was demolished by the Romans in 70 AD. It is said that plans are in place to rebuild it, however.

Some time ago, it was almost impossible for this prophecy to be fulfilled because even the country of Israel didn't exist until 1948, when it was officially refounded. We see that today, this prophecy no longer seems as impossible as it once did. I repeat, when it comes to prophecies about the end and events that haven't yet occurred, we cannot say exactly how things will unfold. However, there are facts that cannot be ignored, and based on these, we can draw certain conclusions and see if the times are approaching. These facts are like the leaves of the fig tree that Jesus spoke of in the Gospels. When we see the branches of the fig tree becoming tender and putting out leaves, summer is near. At the same time, when we see certain signs coming true, His coming is near. Of course, He sees time differently, and we don't know the exact time that must pass before the time is fulfilled. What may seem like a long time to us may not be so long to Him, and we can consider that some of the events in the book of Revelation have already been fulfilled. It may also be that several years must pass for everything to be fulfilled. The problem is that we don't know exactly where in the book we are. Therefore, we must be ready and watchful, as Matthew 24:42 tells us:

“ Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.”