God is a God of time. He says in the Bible: “But when the fullness of time had come...” (Gal. 4:4 ESV)
God has times and seasons for everything. Sometimes he doesn't tell us when things are going to happen, but in other cases he speaks through his Word, or he draws pictures through the events of history.
God's plans are closely connected to Israel. By looking at Israel we can see where we are in God's timetable. Very clear sign of the times is the restoration of Israel. Let’s first look at what has happened with Israel until 2017.
500 years 1517 Jerusalem under Ottoman rule, the beginning of reformation in the church
120 years 1897 The First Zionist congress, beginning of Israel's re-establishment
100 years 1917 Jerusalem under the British rule
50 years 1967 East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria under Israeli rule
0 years 2017 The great sign in the constellation Virgo 23.9.2017 (Revelation 12)
It is clear that only the Almighty God can do this. Three years ago it was not clear what this countdown was for, but today in Israel at least one big change is obvious.
Before the Six-Day War in 1967 the Israeli government had made a clear decision that, no matter what would happen, Israel would not take over Samaria and Judea. However, during the Six-Day War Israeli troops noticed that the Jordanian army had fled from Judea and Samaria and left it deserted.
After the Six-Day War Israel tried to give most of Judea and Samaria back to the Jordanian rule, but Jordan did not want it. The road called Alon road (according to ex-minister Alon) is still a reminder of those days.
Next, Israel tried to get rid of Judea and Samaria by inviting Yasser Arafat to take it under his rule. Israel brought Arafat to the land in 1994. During the Camp David negotiations in 2000 the Prime Minister of Israel offered to Arafat Gaza, almost whole of East Jerusalem and up to 90% of Judea and Samaria. Arafat refused to accept the offer.
God has clearly given Judea and Samaria to Israel, and even Israel herself has not been able to prevent God's plan for this to happen.
The attitude towards Judea and Samaria began to shift in Israel in summer 2016. A clear landmark was President Rivlin's visit to Shiloh in Samaria on the 6th of June 2016. It was exactly the date when the year of Jubilee began, the 50th anniversary of Judea and Samaria coming under the Israeli rule.
Below is a short video of President Rivlin's visit to Shiloh:
Since President Rivlin's visit in Shiloh, the atmosphere in Israel changed quickly concerning Judea and Samaria. In the following year, 2017, Israel published a stamp celebrating the re-settling of Judea and Samaria.
After that things have gone fast forward. In 2019 the Israeli newspapers started to write that if someone would have said such things about Judea and Samaria two or three years ago, as what they say now, they would have been considered crazy.
The main discussion in Israel today is only about the time and order of annexing Judea and Samaria to Israel.
How is this shift possible in Israel after 50 years of trying to get rid of Judea and Samaria? God makes it clear that he controls the times and the seasons.
Today it is not anymore difficult to believe that the whole land of Israel will be united again, as the Bible promises. The Bible doesn't tell exactly when and how this will happen, but one thing is for sure: God will fulfill everything that he has promised in the Bible. He will reunite the whole land of Israel.
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