Sorry . . . Jesus Is Not Coming At Any Moment! : Part 4

Copyright 1994 - 2009 Endtime Prophecy Net

Published On : January 23, 2008

Last Updated : January 23, 2008

Isaiah 66:8, Israel Has Existed For 4,000 Years, Political
Maneuverings To Create Modern State Of Israel, Jews Lost The
Kingdom Due To Their Rejection Of Christ, A Link Between The
Prophecy Of Isaiah And Christ's "Another Nation" Prophecy?,
Hollow Temple Worship During Isaiah's Time, Prophesied Birth
Of Jesus, Jesus' Birth And Ascension In Revelation, Birth Of
Christian Nation, Jesus Is Firstfruits Of The Resurrection,
Nicodemus And Necessity Of Spiritual Birth, Spiritual Temple
And A Holy Nation, Kingdom Passes From Unbelieving Jews To
Peter And First Century Christian Church, RCC Pope Doctrine,
Jesus Is The Rock And Not Peter, Birth Of The New Nation,
Christ's Resurrection, An Earthquake And Centurion's Remark,
Surprise And Astonishment - Isaiah's Prophecy Is Fulfilled,
Spiritual Christian Nation Born "In One Day" And "At Once",
God Will Complete The Full Number Of Resurrected Souls



In part three, I shared the following verse with you from the
Book of Isaiah. This verse has been widely used by pro-Israel
American preachers and the Jews themselves, to try to justify
and add legitimacy to, the political "creation" of the nation
of Israel on May 14, 1948:

"Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things?
Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall
a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she
brought forth her children."
Isaiah 66:8, KJV

We have already seen that the prophecies which have been
used to explain the return of the Jews to the land of Israel
since the twentieth century, have, in my view, been grossly
misinterpreted. Is it possible that the meaning of the above
verse has also been distorted in order to support a wayward
doctrine? Again, I suspect that it has.

To begin, I do not believe that the nation of Israel can be
born in our modern times, "in one day", or "at once", due to
the fact that, according to the Biblical record, Israel has
in fact existed for over four thousand years. As I explained
before, it began with the birth of Jacob and his twelve sons.
While it's true that Israel has been repeatedly attacked and
dominated many times during this lengthy period of time, and
even temporarily lost its national identity at times, such
as when the Roman Empire renamed it Palestine, nevertheless,
the Jewish nation, whether scattered, or bound together into
one cohesive form, has existed; and I am sure that many Jews
will know exactly what I mean by this. Nationhood isn't just
a matter of being at one physical place at the same time. It
is also a matter of personal identity, tradition and belief.

Furthermore, in the real sense of the word, the nation state
that we know as Israel today did NOT become a nation "in one
day", or even "at once", as the prophecy states. It may have
been declared a nation to the world on a particular day, just
as the foreign colonial powers created and carved out quite a
few nations in decades past; particularly in the Middle East
and Asia, with just the stroke of their pen; but in reality,
the 1948 announcement by the World Jewish Congress was the
result of political maneuverings which had been going on for
literally decades. In short, this event did not occur "in one
day", or "at once"; therefore, I am not fully convinced that
it really meets the requirements of the prophecy. Isaiah's
prophecy is describing something truly unique which creates
astonishment for the observer of the event.

Concerning the events of 1948, I again suggest that you read
the "The Seven Heads" series, and/or conduct online research
of your own regarding the British Mandate, Europe's attitude
toward the Jews during that time period, as well as the 1917
Balfour Declaration. You'll learn that the Europeans wanted
the Jews to leave Europe; and thus, they had to politically
create a place for them to go. The atrocities committed by
Hitler only strengthened the resolve of the European powers
to achieve their goal, and they may have acted partially out
of guilt. But the point I wish to emphasize here is that the
process to carve out a home for the Jews did not occur "in
one day", or "at once"; it took decades to complete; and to
my knowledge, such a slow development would not result in
surprise or astonishment, as the prophecy seems to indicate.
European politicians were fully aware of what was happening,
as were the other major world powers of the day.

Another reason why I have difficulty accepting the argument
that the verse in Isaiah is a prophecy regarding the "birth"
of Israel in May of 1948, is because, as I explained in part
three, Jesus very clearly stated that the Jews had forfeited
their rights to the Kingdom, due to their unbelief. In fact,
you may recall that the Lord very specifically said that it
would be given to ANOTHER nation; and that is the key which
will help us to unlock this mystery. The Lord said:

". . . Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which
the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the
corner: this is the LordÕs doing, and it is marvellous in
our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall
be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the
fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall
be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind
him to powder."
Matthew 21:42b-44, KJV

So here we have Jesus clearly stating that another nation is
going to be given the Kingdom; and we also have Isaiah saying
that a nation will be born "in a day", and "at once". He also
conveys the idea that the birth of this nation will come as
a surprise. Thus he writes "Who hath heard such a thing? who
hath seen such things?". This attitude cannot possibly refer
to the 1948 declaration; because as we have already seen, it
was no mystery that the Europeans had been working on plans
to create a homeland for the Jews for decades. Is it possible
that what Isaiah is saying, and what Jesus is saying, are in
some way related. I suspect as much. So who is this nation?

To better understand what Isaiah is talking about, and to put
the verse in its proper context, all we have to do is to read
some of the previous verses in that chapter. Once we do that,
we discover that just as God was sick and tired of the Jews,
and their hypocritical, dead temple worship during the First
Century, (as we discussed earlier), He was equally tired of
the Jews and their hollow temple worship during Isaiah's time
as well. This was some one hundred and fifty years before the
Babylonian invasions, and even before the Assyrian invasions.
Isaiah was in fact sent to warn the Israelites of the coming
chastisement by the hand of the Assyrians. At any rate, the
beginning of the chapter clearly reveals God's attitude:

"Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth
is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me?
and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath
mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the
LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor
and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that
killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a
lamb, as if he cut off a dogÕs neck; he that offereth an
oblation, as if he offered swineÕs blood; he that burneth
incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen
their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their
abominations. I also will choose their delusions, and will
bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did
answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil
before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not."
Isaiah 66:1-4, KJV

So, as you can plainly see, the Lord was utterly fed up with
their false spirituality, and even with their temple, which
King Solomon had built centuries earlier. The Jews had become
totally absorbed in their traditions. They were going through
the motion of being holy and righteous, but they had lost the
Spirit. How much this sounds like so many modern churches in
America. As a result, God decided to do something new. After
expressing His anger with the Jews, in the seventh and eighth
verses He tells us exactly what He is going to do about it:

"Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain
came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such
a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made
to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at
once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her
children."
Isaiah 66:7-8, KJV

In these verses, "Zion" refers to Jerusalem, or in a larger
sense, to Israel as a whole. If we just read verse eight by
itself, we can be tricked into believing that it is talking
about Israel becoming a nation on May 14, 1948; which is what
some of these preachers, (and certain Jews), want us to see.
However, if we take the time to read verses seven and eight
together, as we really should, suddenly, the verses takes on
an entirely new, and wonderful, meaning.

In short, the Lord seems to be saying that because the Jews
have become so sidetracked in a spiritual sense, and are only
interested in their temple worship and their vain traditions,
(just as Jesus would tell them centuries later), He is going
to do something new. We are informed that a man child will be
born; in other words, a son. Isaiah appears to be describing
a very unique, miraculous birth. Notice that he says that the
child will be born before the woman travails, and before her
pain comes. In other words, it sounds as if this woman will
give birth without experiencing labor pains. Are you starting
to grasp what is actually being said here? Do you understand
what this prophecy is really all about? It is much more than
the concocted "birth" of Israel in 1948.


Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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