CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
& LIVING

Was blind, but now I see.

3 : 1 January 2004

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Pastor Harold Brokke

Pastor Harold Brokke and his wife Cathy Brokke have served the Lord Jesus as counselors to countless missionaries all over the world. Harold is a former President of Bethany International, the community that established and ran the renowned Bethany House Publishers. Presently Pastor Brokke serves the Bethany Missionary Church as Senior Pastor Emeritus. Cathy was the Director of Bethany International Missions for many years. Both live in Minneapolis. God has called Harold to minister to people and communities around the world on Bible Prophecy and sanctification through the Message of the Cross. This article is presented to us by Bev Cooley, bev.cooley@bethfel.org.

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Copyright © 2001
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A PROPHETIC WORD CONFIRMED!
As a Lamp That Shines in a Dark Place (2 Peter 1:19)
Pastor Harold Brokke


A great change of mind is going to sweep the Jewish people

Will it begin mainly in Palestine! No! It will be activated among the Jews all over the world. Then on the heels of their recognition of moral failure toward God and His covenant with them, this scattered people will converge on the Holy Land.

Many will first assemble as refugees in Egypt and Assyria. Following this process, as many as 10 to 15 million Jews will fill the land from the Negev to northern Lebanon. They will occupy the east side of the Jordan. Even with those enlarged boundaries there will not be room for them.

Before the full and final return of the Jews to Palestine

Obadiah foretells a crisis in their land. Edom (the Arab world) will afflict Jacob (the Jewish people). This will happen when the Day of the Lord is near. God says to Edom,

For the slaughter and violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aside, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth, and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you too were like one of them. But you should not have gloated over your brother on the day of his misfortune; you should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah on the day of their ruin; you should not have boasted on the day of distress. You should not have entered the gate of My people on the day of his calamity; you should not have looted the goods on the day of his calamity. You should not have stood at the crossings to cut off his fugitives: You should not have handed over his survivors of the day of distress.

"For the day of the Lord is near against all the nations."

Several times the prophets speak about the events that will occur when the Jews repent in the last days. It is important that we listen to what the prophets tell us. They give light to the timing and the extent of that repentance. The reason for this article-the important issue is this: The repentance of the Jews will take place, not in Palestine, but among the nations wherever the Jews are scattered. Let's consider five witnesses.

THE FIRST WITNESS: MOSES

Moses' prediction amazes us. He spoke about Israel's troubles even before they entered Canaan. Moses laid down the terms of God's covenant with them. He showed them why they would be blessed or cursed. He said that God's dealing would finally establish them in righteousness and blessing. Listen to Moses and what he says about Israel's repentance.

When all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse … and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God … then He will gather you again from the people where the Lord your God has scattered you ... and will bring you into the land" (Deut. 30:1-5).

THE SECOND WITNESS: SOLOMON

When Solomon dedicated the glorious temple in Jerusalem he prayed that when Israel faced famine, war, pestilence, they could turn toward the temple and call on the Lord. Solomon asked God to answer these prayers.

The Lord assured them that this agreement would be honored, and said, "I have heard your prayer … which you have made before Me … my eyes and my heart will be there for all time" (1 Kings 9:3). Solomon asked the Lord to hear Israel's cry for deliverance from any foreign land any where in the world. This was his prayer:

If they lay it (their sins) to heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and make supplication to You in the land of their captors, saying, 'We have sinned, and have acted wickedly: if they repent … and pray to You toward their land … then hear from Heaven … giving ear to them when whosoever they call upon You. (1 Kings 8:46-52).

THE THIRD WITNESS: EZEKIEL.

The prophet Ezekiel speaks the most about Israel's future. Here is a glimpse of the subject he deals with:

  1. Israel's present-partial return since 1948 restored the land to productivity (Ez. 36:8).
  2. The opposition of the Arab population is clearly predicted in Ezekiel.
  3. Ez. 35:7-11.
  4. Israel's coming prosperity in the land as a total nation (Ez. 38:8b).
  5. Antichrist's great army invades the Holy Land and is defeated when Christ comes (Ez. 38:14-16).
  6. Messiah's rule begins and the Spirit is poured out upon Israel (Ez. 39:28-29).

Looking over this list we again focus our attention on the third point: The repentance of Israel among the nations and their great return. Ezekiel announces this final return in these words:

When I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered … I will manifest My holiness among you in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord, when I bring you into the land of Israel.

FOURTH WITNESS: ZECHARIAH

Zechariah was one of the captives who returned to Palestine from Babylon. The circumstances that he experienced were used by the Holy Spirit to inspire the prophet to predict the great mass return in the last days.

We may live to see his predictions come true:

I will signal for (Israel) and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as of old. Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember Me. They shall live together with their children. And they shall return. I will also bring them back from the land of Egypt, and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them into the land of Gilead (east of the Jordan) and Lebanon, (north to the river Euphrates) until no more is found for them (Zech. 10:8-10).

FIFTH WITNESS: DAVID

David wrote a Psalm that points out what the Jews will encounter in the coming years. Psalm 106:41-47 acts like a searchlight beamed on that leading up to Israel's full return.

THE INSIGHTS OF PSALM 106:41-47:

God gave them in the hands of the nations, so that those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them, and they were brought into subjections under their power. Many times He delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes, and were brought low through their iniquity. Nevertheless, he regarded their distress when He hard their cry. For their sakes He remembered is covenant, and showed compassion according to the abundance of His mercies. He caused them to be pitied by all those who held them captive. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, that we may give thanks to your Holy Name.

FINAL WORDS ABOUT THIS COMING CRISIS

The present Israeli people in Palestine will soon experience a great crisis and be driven out of the Holy Land. The people will become "fugitives and survivors."

This turmoil will be a launching pad for God to fulfill all His word concerning Jews who live all over the world. They will call on the God of Abraham. They will repent and seek His mercy.

Their prayers for mercy will be heard in synagogues all over the world. When this amazing act of God is done, the Arab-world will lose much of its arrogance and Islamic pride. Then the man called Antichrist will come to Jerusalem and precipitate yet another crisis for the Jews.

Why? Because they need more than a land: they need Jesus as their true Messiah. This man of sin will gather his armies to oppose God's plan. Armageddon will surely come. Then the Lord Jesus will descend in His glory to destroy His enemies and begin His rule. Revelation 11:15 says,

The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever.

THE CHRISTIAN DETECTIVE NOVEL | DEALING WITH THE DEVIL | THE KOREAN CHURCH, HOW IT CAME ABOUT, AND HOW IS IT ABUNDANTLY BLESSED! | GREGORY THE GREAT: THE TENSION BETWEEN ACTION AND CONTEMPLATION | SATAN, THE ADVERSARY | A PROPHETIC WORD CONFIRMED! As a Lamp That Shines in a Dark Place |HOME PAGE | CONTACT EDITOR


Harold Brokke
Professor Emeritus
Bethany College of Missions
6820 Auto Club Road, Suite C
Bloomington, MN 55438, USA
E-mail: harold.brokke@bethfel.org.