Israel’s 70th Anniversary

Part 1

Dr. Reagan: Greetings in the name of Jesus, our Blessed Hope, and welcome to Christ in Prophecy! I have in the studio with me today two of my colleagues in the ministry. One of course is our Web Minister and Associate Evangelist, Nathan Jones. And the other is our part-time Associate Evangelist, and that’s Tim Moore. Tim is a graduate of the Air Force Academy and is a Colonel in the US Air Force Reserves. He is a pilot instructor for UPS. And he is in his 12th year as a member of the Kentucky State Legislature. Now folks, in his spare time he goes out on weekends and speaks at churches and conferences in behalf of this ministry. Welcome to Christ in Prophecy, Brother.

Tim Moore: Thank you very much, Dave, I am delighted to be here. And of course I’ve got to tell you that it may be my part-time job, but this is my full-time passion, because of all the hats I wear, this is the one that has the most significance to me, and obviously toward eternity.

Dr. Reagan: Well, we know from the feedback that we’re getting that you are doing a great job for us out there in these conferences and meetings, and we just praise God for that.

Tim Moore: Praise Him.

Dr. Reagan: Folks, we are celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the re-establishment of the state of Israel in May of 1948. And I want to interview both Tim and Nathan about that event. Fellas, do you see any spiritual significance to the re-establishment of the state of Israel. Let’s start with you, Tim.

Tim Moore: Well, most certainly I do. I can only imagine, Dave if we had been here 100 years ago talking about this subject of the soon return of Jesus Christ, we would have taken by faith that He was certainly able and willing to come at any moment when the Father says go.

Dr. Reagan: And there were people who did like the Puritans.

Tim Moore: Yes.

Dr. Reagan: And they were laughed at, scoffed at.

Tim Moore: They were laughed at. And of course people dismiss the idea that Israel would come into existence ever again, many of them. But 70 years ago this year the Lord fulfilled all those ancient prophecies and it is like the prophetic time clock just ran into overtime in terms of rushing toward the culmination of human history. So, I think there is tremendous spiritual significance. And I think people today if they were aware of the fulfillment of prophecy before our very eyes they would recognize that.

Dr. Reagan: And every time you take a group to Israel you take them to Independence Hall.

Tim Moore: Every time.

Dr. Reagan: Do you sort of get goosebumps when you go in there?

Tim Moore: Oh, I do. Yes, Sir. Because I think this is the place where prophecy was fulfilled literally in the lifetimes of some of the people that go with me every year.

Dr. Reagan: And the sad thing is that probably 90% or more of all the groups that go to Israel never spend one night in Tel Aviv, and never go to Independence Hall because they don’t see any significance to it.

Tim Moore: No, they think all the significant events happened 2,000 years ago. And clearly the Lord’s ministry was the most significant happening in all of human history. But there are things happening in our very lifetimes that are fulfillments of Bible prophecy.

Dr. Reagan: What about you, Nathan?

Nathan Jones: Well, the major event for me when I started this ministry, joined it about 11 years ago is you took us to Israel to do a TV shoot about the 60th Anniversary. So, it blows my mind that now we are at the 70th Anniversary.

Dr. Reagan: Right.

Nathan Jones: But, when it comes to Israel you really opened my mind on that trip, and Tim I am so glad that you lead these trips is that it makes the Bible come alive. I was there where prophecy was fulfilled. And it is all leading up to something. Take for instance Ezekiel 36 & 37 it is about the re-establishment of Israel coming back from the dead. But then afterwards it is followed by a war the Gog and Magog War where Russia and a coalition of Muslim nations come and attack Israel. God steps in He defeats them, and this is why He does it. Ezekiel 38:23, “Thus I will magnify Myself, and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” The whole purpose of Israel coming back is that the world may know the Lord again.

Tim Moore: Amen.

Dr. Reagan: Well, you know many people and even some very influential Christian leaders take the position that the re-establishment of Israel is just a political event of history. Just an accident of history and has no spiritual significance whatsoever. What do you say to a person like that?

Tim Moore: Well, I clearly think that they are misguided, and have not studied the entirety of Bible prophecy or of scripture itself. I am so glad Nathan mentioned Ezekiel 36 & 37 because even as you go to Ezekiel 36 just before the Valley of Dry Bones the Lord Himself says that He is going to bring Israel back. And of course many of the leaders you are citing will say, “Well, the Jews have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah, at least a great number of them.” But the Lord’s promise is not contingent upon the Jewish people being faithful to Him. Any more than His promises to us are contingent upon me being perfect, even in my walk of faith. I certainly try.

Dr. Reagan: Furthermore, the Hebrew prophets said that in the end times the Jews are going to be regathered in unbelief.

Tim Moore: In unbelief. The Lord said it is not for their sake that He is regathering them. It is for His Name’s sake. That is very clearly stated in Ezekiel 36:32, for His own namesake. And He will fulfill all of His promises and He always does.

Dr. Reagan: Nathan?

Nathan Jones: Well, there’s promises in the Bible that God makes, and He fulfills His promises 100% of the time. I think of Isaiah 66:7-8, “Before she was in labor, she gave birth; before her pain came, she delivered a male child. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things?” In other words Israel would come back and the labor pains would actually happen after the nation was formed. And that is a prophecy that was fulfilled. In 1948 Israel became a nation again, and there has been endless wars to defeat Israel since then.

Dr. Reagan: Yeah, the birth pains began that very day.

Nathan Jones: Yeah, it came afterwards. Ezekiel 37:21-22 another promise that the Jews would be back in the land. I love how you always bring up the fact that Scofield who lived at a time 100 years ago and he read the prophecies about Israel being back and the land. And he is like, “Well, I don’t understand it, but the Bible says it is going to happen. Therefore, Israel will be back in the land again.” Sure enough.

Tim Moore: You know some of the promises themselves were to the land. In Ezekiel going again back to chapter 36 those beginning prophecies in that chapter are to the land itself. That it would be restored in preparation for the people to come back. Of course we know that writers like Mark Twain have traveled to Israel and saw it in its desolate state. But surely it has been restored, as the Lord regathered His people. And once again He said “I’m not doing this for your sake,” declares the Lord God, “let it be known to you, be ashamed and be confounded. I am doing it for My sake.” And He says in chapter 36, verse 36, “Then the nations left round about you will know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places, and planted that which was desolate. I the Lord have spoken and will do.” Again, it is all to bring glory and honor to Himself.

Dr. Reagan: You mentioned the desolation of the land. It was absolutely desolate. It became even more desolate. And really God–that is prophesied by the scriptures, it says that when the Jews go out it will become desolate. When they come back it will be like the Garden of Eden. And I think the reason it became desolate is because God was preserving it for them. Nobody wanted that land.

Tim Moore: No, they did not.

Dr. Reagan: I mean it was really desolate.

Tim Moore: And Mark Twain makes that very clear. There were very few people living in that desolate land just 150 years ago.

Dr. Reagan: Well, other spiritual leaders, Christian leaders take the position that the re-establishment of Israel could not have any spiritual significance because the Church has replaced Israel and God has no purpose left for the Jewish people. How do you respond to that?

Tim Moore: Well, I think Paul would have something to say about that. Paul as you would turn to Romans.

Dr. Reagan: The Apostle Paul?

Tim Moore: The Apostle Paul, yes, Sir. He said, “By no means has the Lord rejected His people.” In other words the solicitude for Israel in Romans chapter 9 Paul says, “That he wished he himself could be accursed for the sake of his brethren in the flesh.” Those who were Jews in that day in age, and down to this very age. And all of Romans chapter 11 talks about the fact that Israel has not been cast away. God has not rejected His people they are awaiting the understanding that will be given to them when the Lord is about to return, and when He does return. But they have not been cast away, by no means.

Dr. Reagan: For 2,000 years the Church has taught that. And the majority of churches today including Catholic Church, and Protestant teach that the Church has replaced Israel, and God has no purpose left for the Jewish people. But you are right Romans 9-11 are the three most ignored chapters in the New Testament by Christian preachers over the years. It’s often been written off as a parenthesis of no importance. Well, of course they write it off that because look at Romans chapter 3 for example. “What advantage has the Jews?” Paul asked, “Great in every respect.” And he tells why, and yet the Church has always said none whatsoever. And then you go over to Romans chapter 9 and he talks about that the Lord still has covenants with the Jews, and so forth and so on. And you go over to Romans chapter 11 and he says, “God has not rejected His people has He?” And the Church for 2,000 years has said, “Yes.” And what does he say? “May it never be!”

Tim Moore: No. May every man be a liar, but the Lord will be faithful.

Nathan Jones: You would have to ignore the Old Testament, and that is usually what we see, as Replacement Theology is New Testament focused, not Old Testament. But doesn’t Isaiah 11:11 say, “It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again, the second time.” Now we’ve seen the first time and that is when the Jews went back around 520 BC. But now a second time is prophesied, they return. And if the Church did replace Israel then we have to do the wars that we read about: Psalm 83 War, the Ezekiel 38 & 39 War we just read, the Tribulation Wars that are Israel focused would then have to be on the Church.

Dr. Reagan: Well, I tell you one thing if God has washed His hands of the Jewish people as so many argue we are all in trouble because Jesus Himself said, “I am not going to return to earth until the Jewish people are willing to say, “Baruch haba b’shem Adonia.” Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. So, there is going to be a great remnant of the Jews who are going to be saved. That means God has a purpose for the Jews in the future.

Tim Moore: Yes, He does.

Dr. Reagan: So, well, I wanted to ask you another question and that has to do with something that is going on our college and university campuses today that is very, very unsettling. And that is that a series of films, documentary films have been produced, there’s three that I know of, that are circulating on college and university campuses today. And these particular films are very anti-Semitic and they argue that the college student should give their sympathy and their support to the Palestinians and not to the Jews, because the Jewish people stole the land from the Palestinians. What about it?

Nathan Jones: You see this a lot. There is this Jewish guy who actually goes to Berkley and he’ll stand there one day and he’ll wave a Hamas flag and he’ll say, “Oh, we are just misunderstood.” And the students are like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re right. You’re right.” And then the next day he goes back and he waves a Jewish flag. And the students are, “Ah, you apartheid, you killers.” And stuff like that. They have been fed this nonsense. You can go even to Wikipedia and read about Nakpa Day and it sounds like the Jews just stormed into the land and kicked all these poor Palestinians out and now they are living in refugee camps. But the truth is they were Syrian invaders who when Israel became a nation were on the borders ready to take the land away from Israel. They were shocked that Israel won, and their own people abandoned them there.

Dr. Reagan: Well, furthermore when the Jews began to go back into the land in the 1890’s and the early 1900’s there were very few people there. And if you asked any of them, “What is your identity?” They would have said, “Syrians.” They wouldn’t have said, “Palestinians.” There has never been a Palestinian State. There has never been a Palestinian culture. There has never been a Palestinian language. And yet, these films create the impression that there was some sort of Palestinian state there and the Jews came in and stole it. What they did is they came in and bought the land at exorbitant prices and the Arabs laughed all the way to the bank over these idiot Jews who were buying this land. It was so worthless.

Tim Moore: I think many of the things we’re talking about on college campuses, this included, whether it is the boycott, divest, and sanction movement, is proof positive of a depraved mind. That given all the other thing were witnessing in our culture people are willing, and ready to accept this kind of lie. And that is exactly what it is.

Nathan Jones: That’s true, their anti-Semitism makes them believe the lie. Which the Bible said in the end time they would choose to believe the lie.

Tim Moore: That’s exactly so. You know Satan himself asked in the Garden, “Did God really say?” And so people now, including too many in the Church say, “Did God really say He gave the land to the Jewish people?” “Did God really say that He would protect them?” “Did God really say?”

Nathan Jones: Excellent point, yeah.

Tim Moore: And so, Satan is trying to undermine the very promises of God in the mind of others.

Dr. Reagan: The Palestinians, the United Nations, and the European Union all take the position that there is no historical claim or basis for the Jews to have a claim on that land. No historical claim whatsoever.

Nathan Jones: Hebron. Jerusalem.

Tim Moore: You know you can go to our Bible and over 800 times the name Jerusalem appears. It is throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. And promises are given to the city. Promises are given to the people regarding the city. God has established Jerusalem as the home capital of the Jewish people.

Nathan Jones: You can’t even find Jerusalem in the Koran, right?

Tim Moore: No, it is not there at all. Not at all.

Dr. Reagan: You know the ultimate, the ultimate Anti-Semites try to get around that by saying, “Well, what you’ve to understand is that the Jewish people over there they are not really Jews. They are a mixed race that came from history of people intermarrying and all that. They are not really Jews.” And I always say to them, “Boy, you need to go over there and tell the Arabs that. They would be so, so excited to know that there aren’t any Jews in Israel.”

Nathan Jones: Yeah, wouldn’t they though.

Dr. Reagan: But that is the insanity of this political correctness stuff.

Tim Moore: No, we can go all the way back to Genesis when God promised Abraham that he would give him land that He would show him. And in Deuteronomy chapter 12:8-11 God again, and again promised this land to the Jewish people. And it is their heritage. It has been given to them by God. And we know from Psalms, you can look at Psalm 24, all the world is the Lord’s, and so it is His to give.

Dr. Reagan: You know there are really two covenants that God had, one was the Land Covenant which was everlasting, this is your land everlasting.

Nathan Jones: Deuteronomy 28-30.

Dr. Reagan: But there was another covenant and that was the Use Covenant. The Land Use Covenant. He said, “You know if you’re not faithful to me I am going to put judgments upon you.” And He lists some over 20 judgments in Deuteronomy that He’d put on them. And He said, “The ultimate judgment will be you will be exiled from the land, but you will still own it.” The deed is still theirs. They own it by decree of God. They were exiled because of their disobedience to God, but they still own the land. And they come back and they buy land they already own.

Tim Moore: Well, and we have seen that they have come back in droves. And indeed have possessed the land. And have said, “Never again will they leave.” And I believe that scripture backs that commitment up.

Dr. Reagan: Well, I would say amen to that.

Part 2

Nathan Jones: Welcome back to Christ in Prophecy and our discussion of Israel’s 70th Anniversary. Tim Moore and I are answering questions from Dr. Reagan concerning the spiritual significance of this event. Okay, Dr. Reagan, hit us with another one.

Dr. Reagan: Well, I am just delighted to have you two guys on the hot seat today, you know.

Tim Moore: Good to be here.

Dr. Reagan: Okay, now in the first segment of this program we talked about how at the beginning of the 20th Century it was just unthinkable that Israel would ever exist again, that God would regather these people from the four corners of the earth even though He promised He would. There were very few people who believed that. Now, there were people who did, but very few that He was going to re-establish Israel. Well, now, we’re in a new situation. We are in the situation now where the world is saying there is no hope for Israel. Israel’s days are numbered. And if you look at it from a naturalistic viewpoint you have to agree that that is true because Israel is a tiny little state of only the size of New Jersey. It only has about 7 million Jews. And it is surrounded by 350 million hostile Arabs who are absolutely determined to destroy it. And when the next war breaks out missiles are just going to come in from everywhere. Is there any hope for Israel?

Tim Moore: Well, most certainly. And I appreciate the way you phrased that from a naturalistic viewpoint it would appear, no, there is no hope. It is hopeless because the odds are too long. But it reminds me a story out of 2 Kings chapter 6 when Elisha went with his assistant and was before a city, and the assistant looked out and saw all the gathered armies that were surrounding the city to bring it under siege, and began to lose hope. And he said, “Oh, master, look at all the armies arrayed.” And so Elisha prayed this is in verse 17 it says, “O, Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Now what eyes was he talking about? Not his natural eyes. He can clearly see the enemy arrayed around them. But he was basically asking the Lord to open the eyes of his heart. Open his spiritual eyes. And so we see only dimly at this point, many of us, but the Lord opened that man’s eyes and he saw, “And behold the mount was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” In other words God’s provision of an army of heaven that was there to protect His people. And once again God will protect His people today. That is what we’re going to focus on in an upcoming Battle for Israel Tour.

Dr. Reagan: It always reminds me of one of my favorite cartoons that shows all the leaders of the world on a tug of war with a rope. They are all on one end, and Netanyahu by himself is on the other end with no hope. But, God’s got His finger on the end of the rope.

Tim Moore: If we could open our eyes spiritually we would realize that the odds are indeed very stacked against all the enemies of Israel because God is against all of them.

Dr. Reagan: Nathan, does Israel have any hope?

Nathan Jones: It has to because if Israel doesn’t have hope then we Gentiles don’t have hope either, because the Millennial Kingdom is founded on the hope of Israel becoming the prime nation of the world. Not the Church, but Israel. Take for instance Isaiah 2:2-4, “Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house, Jerusalem, shall be established as the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills.” And it talks about the nations flowing, and the Jews blessing the world. And there other verses where it talks about that ten people will grab the hold of the sleeve of a Jew and say, “Take us to Jerusalem because that is where the Messiah is, we want to see Him.” The Millennial Kingdom the reign of Christ on this earth is dependent upon the Jewish people being the prime nation of the world, they have to survive.

Tim Moore: Yes.

Dr. Reagan: Well, you know it says in Zechariah chapter 12 that in the end times that Judah is going to be like a firepot among pieces of wood, and that they will consume the surrounding peoples, and will once again reside in Jerusalem. And we’ve seen that in war after war, after war, where it appeared Israel had no hope. But you know the thing that is interesting about Israel it is one of the smallest countries in the world but yet it is always rated in the top ten military powers in the world. And probably in the effective use of military number one. But the thing that is interesting about the Israelis is they are probably the most morally driven army in the world. They could destroy Gaza Strip tomorrow, completely obliterate it. They have always operated with restraint. And yet, even with restraint the world condemns then. Whereas their enemies are hiding in hospitals. Hiding in houses. Putting woman and children out. And doing all kinds of atrocities. It is always Israel that is condemned.

Nathan Jones: Which shows Israel has a place in God’s heart because what other nation does the entire world hate and want destroyed? I mean we are not upset at North Korea putting people in basically concentration camps. No, we are upset with Israel, every time they build an apartment complex. That is not rational. That is not right. It is clearly a spiritual issue.

Dr. Reagan: That is a good point. Because you look around the world today and you see all these menacing powers Iran, and North Korea and all of them, and all the problems in the world. And what does the United Nations obsess on? The building of apartments in Israel.

Tim Moore: There are agencies of the United Nations who spend most of their time focused on Israel, and passing resolutions condemning Israel. I mean that seems to be their primary function. And yet it is a Satanic or spiritual issues as we’ve said. And that is clear from history throughout the last, not only 100 years, but 2,000 years.

Dr. Reagan: This last passage I just read from in Zechariah 12 also says that in the end times that Israel will be like David against Goliath in terms of their power. And that is a miracle of God that such a little nation has so much power.

Tim Moore: And you wonder why would God pick such a little nation? But Paul himself wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:26, “For consider your calling, brethren, that not many of you were wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised things God has chosen.” Now, I’m not saying Israel is any of those things in an eternal sense, but God has indeed chosen the weak, to lift it up. And in this case He has chosen Israel and it is His choice and we honor that.

Dr. Reagan: Okay, we’ve got a lot of Christian watching who perhaps have never had any teaching about Israel. Why should a Christian be concerned about what is going on in Israel today?

Tim Moore: That is a good question. Because everything that is promised to Israel will come to pass. And if it does not then the promises made to us are on shaky ground as well. In other words the same God who has promised all sorts of blessings to flow into our lives, and into the Church, and into history as it comes to a full culmination. The same God has made promises to Israel. So, He is either true to Israel, or He is not true to any of His promises.

Dr. Reagan: Nathan, why should Christian be concerned?

Nathan Jones: Well, Tim covered the spiritual. Let’s cover the practical. The Jewish people produce more PhD’s, more Noble Prize winners, more scientist, more doctors, we wouldn’t have the microchip, we wouldn’t have the artists, we wouldn’t have the technologies that we have today. The Jewish people bless the world in their attempt to try to prove that they have a right to exist. And can you imagine then no longer being in fallen bodies but in our spiritual bodies one day that kind of ability God has given them. They will truly bless the world during the Millennial Kingdom.

Dr. Reagan: Well, another reason that I would give why Christians should be concerned about what is going on in Israel today is because Israel is the focus of end time Bible prophecy. It says the Jews are going to be regathered, the state is going to be re-established, their land is going to be reclaimed. They are going to revive their language. They are going to become a great military power. They are going to reoccupy Jerusalem. They are going to be the focus of world politics. And all of that has come true. And what is that a sign of? That we are living in the season of the Lord’s return. That is one reason we all ought to be excited about what is going on in Israel today.

Nathan Jones: Jesus is coming back.

Tim Moore: I’m always excited when people come with me and they become aware. They may of lived even throughout the period of time that Israel has been existence since 1948, but it really hadn’t resonated in their heart. And when they go and they see with their own eyes what God is doing in their very lifetimes. They come home shouting. And as you would say, Dave, jumping the pews with excitement and joy over the soon return of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Reagan: Well, you know there is a prophecy in the book of Jeremiah, two times it is given verbatim. And that prophecy is that when it is all over and done with, and God has accomplished all His purpose in history, the Jews will look back on their history and they will no longer swear by the God who delivered them from Egyptian captivity, but by the God who regathered them from the four corners of the earth. That means they are going to consider their regathering in the 20th Century, and today to be a greater miracle than their deliverance from Egyptian captivity.

Tim Moore: Exactly right.

Dr. Reagan: And yet the average Christian has no concept of that even being a miracle of God.

Tim Moore: And if they are going to be that excited about the regathering, certainly we who understand scripture in both the Old Testament and the New and the fullness of awareness that God has given us through Jesus Christ we should be excited already.

Dr. Reagan: Another point I’d like to make too is you’ve been reading a lot from Ezekiel. And that is that Ezekiel makes it clear that when that final battle comes when Russia comes down with all of its Muslim allies against Israel, it is not Israel that is going to triumph, it is God is going to triumph. He is going to supernaturally destroy those armies on the mountains of Israel. And it says He’s going to do it through turning them against each other, but He is going to do it through natural phenomenon like earthquakes, and all. And I happen to believe that those earthquakes are going to result in the Dome of the Rock collapsing and making way for the building of the Temple.

Part 3

Nathan Jones: Welcome back to Christ in Prophecy and our discussion of Israel’s 70th anniversary. Now, as part of our celebration of that event, we are taking a pilgrimage group to Israel in mid-October of this year, and Tim will be leading it. So, Tim tell our viewers about how they can get on that tour.

Tim Moore: Well, Nathan, this fall we are going to be taking a pilgrimage on October 13th thru the 24th. We are going to spend two nights in Tel Aviv where, among other things, we will visit Independence Hall where David Ben-Gurion read the Declaration of Independence in 1948. We will spend two nights in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee where we will explore the towns all in that region where Jesus focused His ministry. And then the final five nights will be in Jerusalem. And during that time we’ll go for a day out exploring Qumran and Masada at the Dead Sea, and all the other sites in that vicinity. We will also be spending other days exploring the Old and New Jerusalem. And we will conclude our visit with a communion service at the Garden Tomb.

Dr. Reagan: And folks, you can find out even more details about this wonderful pilgrimage by calling our office or checking our website. Well, that’s our program for this week. I hope it has been a blessing to you, and I hope, the Lord willing, you will be back with us next week. Until then, this is Dave Reagan speaking for Lamb & Lion Ministries, saying, “Look up, be watchful, for our Redemption is drawing near.”

End of Program