Lesson 5 of 10
Israel in Prophecy
Israel: The Apple of God's Eye
No nation in history has occupied a place like Israel. It is the only nation called into existence by a direct covenant with God (Genesis 12:1-3). It is the only nation whose borders were defined by divine decree (Genesis 15:18-21). It is the only nation that was scattered across the face of the earth for nearly two thousand years and then regathered to its ancient homeland — exactly as the prophets foretold. Israel is not merely another country; it is the centerpiece of God's redemptive plan for the world.
God declared to Israel through the prophet Zechariah: "He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye" (Zechariah 2:8). Through Jeremiah He promised: "Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night ... If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever" (Jeremiah 31:35-36). As long as the sun and moon endure, Israel endures. God has staked His own faithfulness on the survival of this people.
The history of Israel is the history of God's dealings with the human race. Through Israel came the patriarchs, the law, the prophets, the Scriptures, and ultimately the Messiah Himself — "of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever" (Romans 9:5). The church has not replaced Israel; rather, believing Gentiles have been "graffed in" to the olive tree of God's covenant people (Romans 11:17). God's promises to Israel remain in force, and understanding Israel's prophetic role is essential to understanding the Bible's teaching about the end times.
Paul addressed this directly in Romans 11:1 — "Hath God cast away his people? God forbid." The apostle himself was living proof that God had not abandoned Israel. A remnant of believing Jews exists in every generation, and the fullness of Israel's restoration is yet to come. The student of prophecy who neglects Israel will misunderstand the entire prophetic program.
Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 31:35-37
The Scattering and Regathering Foretold
Moses, in the final chapters of Deuteronomy, prophesied both the scattering and the regathering of Israel with remarkable specificity. If Israel disobeyed God's covenant, He would scatter them "among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other" (Deuteronomy 28:64). They would find no ease among the nations, and their lives would hang in doubt (Deuteronomy 28:65-66). This prophecy was fulfilled first in the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, and then definitively in AD 70, when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and dispersed the Jewish people across the entire Roman Empire.
But the scattering was never intended to be permanent. Deuteronomy 30:3-5 promises: "Then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it."
Isaiah 11:11-12 adds: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people ... And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." Note the phrase "the second time" — the first return from Babylonian captivity under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah was not the final fulfillment. A second, greater regathering was prophesied — one that would draw Jews from the four corners of the earth.
On May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was declared, and the Jewish people began returning to their ancestral homeland from over 100 nations. Jews from Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas have streamed back to the land of Israel in the greatest migration in Jewish history. This is not merely a political event — it is a prophetic event of staggering significance. The fig tree that Jesus spoke of (Matthew 24:32) has put forth its leaves, and the generation that witnesses it is living in the season of fulfillment.
That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
Deuteronomy 30:3-5
Ezekiel's Valley of Dry Bones
One of the most vivid prophetic visions in all of Scripture is found in Ezekiel 37. God set the prophet down in a valley full of dry bones — bones that were "very dry" (Ezekiel 37:2), signifying utter hopelessness and death. God asked, "Son of man, can these bones live?" Ezekiel answered wisely: "O Lord GOD, thou knowest." Then God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones, and as he spoke, the bones came together, sinews and flesh appeared, skin covered them, and breath entered into them. They stood upon their feet, "an exceeding great army" (Ezekiel 37:10).
God Himself provides the interpretation: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts" (Ezekiel 37:11). The vision represents the national resurrection of Israel — a people who were as good as dead, scattered and seemingly destroyed, brought back to life by the sovereign power of God.
The prophecy unfolds in two stages. First, the physical regathering — bones coming together, sinews and flesh appearing. This corresponds to the physical return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, which began in the late nineteenth century with the Zionist movement and culminated in the establishment of the state of Israel. The nation exists again, but in large part without spiritual life — regathered in unbelief, as Ezekiel 36:24-25 indicates: "For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you."
The second stage is the spiritual resurrection — the breath (the Spirit) entering the bodies. This corresponds to the future national conversion of Israel, when the remnant of Israel will look upon Christ "whom they have pierced" (Zechariah 12:10) and turn to Him in repentance and faith. Paul describes this event: "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Romans 11:26). The valley of dry bones has already begun to come together. The breath of the Spirit awaits.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
Ezekiel 37:11-12
Romans 9-11: The Mystery of Israel's Future
Romans chapters 9 through 11 constitute Paul's most extensive treatment of Israel's place in God's plan. These three chapters address the most painful question of the early church: if Jesus is Israel's Messiah, why did the majority of Israel reject Him? Has God's word failed? Has Israel been permanently set aside?
Paul answers with passionate clarity. In Romans 9, he establishes God's sovereign right to choose and to show mercy. God's promises have not failed, because "they are not all Israel, which are of Israel" (Romans 9:6) — there has always been a distinction between ethnic Israel and the believing remnant. In Romans 10, Paul explains that Israel's rejection of Christ was not due to God's failure but to Israel's own unbelief: "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God" (Romans 10:3). Israel stumbled over the stumbling stone — Christ crucified.
But Romans 11 is the capstone. Paul asks, "Hath God cast away his people?" and answers with the strongest possible negative: "God forbid" (Romans 11:1). A believing remnant of Israel exists in every age, just as in Elijah's day God preserved 7,000 who had not bowed to Baal. Israel's rejection is partial and temporary, and it has served a redemptive purpose — through Israel's fall, salvation has come to the Gentiles, provoking Israel to jealousy (Romans 11:11).
Paul reveals a mystery: "Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Romans 11:25-26). The present hardening of Israel is temporary — it will last only until the full number of Gentile believers has been gathered. Then Israel will be saved. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). God is not finished with Israel, and the best chapters of Israel's story are yet to be written.
For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
Romans 11:25-26
Israel's Future Role: Tribulation and Conversion
The prophetic Scriptures describe a future period of intense tribulation for Israel — "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7) — followed by national repentance and glorious restoration. During the seventieth week of Daniel (the seven-year tribulation), the Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel, break it after three and a half years, and desecrate the temple (Daniel 9:27). Jesus warned the Jewish believers of that future day: "Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains" (Matthew 24:16).
Zechariah 13:8-9 reveals that two-thirds of the people in the land will perish during this tribulation, but a remnant of one-third will be refined as silver and gold. This remnant will call upon the name of the Lord, and He will hear them. Zechariah 12:10 describes the climactic moment of Israel's conversion: "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son."
This is one of the most remarkable verses in all of prophecy. God Himself speaks — "they shall look upon me whom they have pierced." The God of Israel and the crucified Messiah are one and the same. When Israel finally recognizes Jesus as their Messiah, the mourning will be deep and national — "as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon" (Zechariah 12:11). A fountain will be opened for sin and uncleanness (Zechariah 13:1), and the nation will be cleansed.
The converted remnant of Israel will then enter the millennial kingdom, where Christ will reign from Jerusalem on the throne of David. The land promises of the Abrahamic covenant will be fully realized — Israel will possess the land from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates (Genesis 15:18). The temple will be rebuilt (Ezekiel 40-48), and the nations will come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts (Zechariah 14:16). Israel, once scattered and persecuted, will become the head of the nations (Deuteronomy 28:13), and through Israel, all the families of the earth will be blessed — just as God promised Abraham four thousand years ago.
And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Zechariah 12:10
Why Israel Matters for Every Believer
The study of Israel in prophecy is not an academic exercise — it is an essential component of Biblical literacy and Christian faithfulness. God's dealings with Israel demonstrate His faithfulness to His covenants, and that faithfulness is the same foundation upon which every believer's salvation rests. If God could abandon His covenant with Israel, He could abandon His covenant with the church. But He cannot and will not, because He is a covenant-keeping God.
Paul warns Gentile believers against arrogance toward Israel: "Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee" (Romans 11:18). The church did not replace Israel — the church was grafted into Israel's olive tree. The covenants, the promises, and the Messiah all belong to Israel first (Romans 9:4-5). Gentile believers are partakers of Israel's blessings, not their replacements.
The regathering of Israel in modern times is one of the most powerful evidences for the truth of the Bible. No other ancient people has survived dispersion among the nations for two millennia and then returned to their ancestral homeland. The Babylonians, Assyrians, Philistines, Moabites, and Edomites are gone. Israel remains — because God promised that Israel would remain. This is not a coincidence. It is prophecy fulfilled before our eyes.
Genesis 12:3 contains a promise and a warning: "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee." History bears witness to the truth of this principle. Nations that have blessed and protected the Jewish people have prospered; nations that have persecuted them have fallen. The believer's posture toward Israel should be one of love, prayer, and gratitude — love for the people through whom salvation came, prayer for their spiritual restoration, and gratitude for the God who keeps every promise He has ever made.
Scripture References
Romans 11:25-26Ezekiel 37:1-14Deuteronomy 30:1-5Jeremiah 31:35-37Zechariah 12:10