Humanity's Choice
World news constantly focuses the spotlight on the seething caldron of animosities, violence and bloodshed that repeatedly erupts in the Middle East.

It reveals an ominous record of antagonism that threatens to plunge the world into the most devastating war known to history. From the terrifying nature of the weapons of destruction today being stockpiled or "improved", it is obvious that a nuclear war could completely destroy civilization, and render the earth uninhabitable.

And the most critical point of impact is the Middle East.

From the time the Jews commenced to return to their ancient homeland at the invitation of the British following the proclamation of the Balfour Declaration in 1917, to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, onwards to the occupation of Jerusalem by the Israelis in 1967, and since then, the Middle East has been in a state of constant international ferment.

These events fulfil Bible prophecy, enlivening the hopes of Bible students. They testify that the world is on the eve of the most dramatic event of all time: the personal, visible return of Christ in power and glory. At the same time, they also warn that the nations are rapidly moving towards World War III - and Armageddon.

And this presents a challenge. We can live in the present with hope or with fear. We can share the glory of Christ at his coming, or the terror of World War III.

Christ set that alternative before his followers. He told them that the last days will reveal "distress of nations with perplexity... men's hearts failing them for fear", but he told his followers that "when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:25-28).

Meanwhile, the world's future is inextricably bound up with the destiny of Israel.

That is obvious whether we heed the Bible or not! It is apparent from a consideration of present events; for they reveal that the future of Israel is a matter of major consequence in national policies. In addition, though Israel is a tiny nation of less than 4 million people, a mere drop in the bucket in comparison with the 4 billion people that make up the population of the globe, its future is of supreme importance in the purpose of God, and the future of humanity.

Israel is more than a Jewish foothold in the Middle East; it is a movement destined to have world shaking consequences, and to influence the future of every living person.

Why Is Israel Tolerated?
Meanwhile, the tiny nation of Israel is a bone of contention in world politics; presenting a problem that the major powers fear to solve. Consider the attitude of Russia. It has not hesitated to attack and invade nations that have stood in its path to world domination, yet it does not do so to Israel. Not yet! When Russia invaded Hungary, and brutally smashed its way through the cities of that unhappy nation, ruthlessly gunning down any who dared oppose it, the Western World protested, but did nothing more! When the Soviet ordered its forces into Afghanistan, callously bombing its towns and citizens without thought to human rights, a vigorous protest was made by the West, but no intervention to save it.

But the Middle East is treated differently. A "peace keeping force" is being mooted for the Sinai as a token of that. And whilst Russia continues to support its allies in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, supplying them with arms, it hesitates to physically intervene against Israel.

Why?

Because statesmen know that whereas invasion elsewhere might be tolerated, for the Soviet to attack Israel will mean war!

That is because of Israel's unique position, and the political importance of the Middle East to the modem world.

But the significant fact to Bible students is that the very conditions existing there today were predicted in the Bible 2500 years ago. Together with their outcome!

Israel Is Unique
Historically and prophetically, Israel is unique.

It is one of the oldest countries in the world - and one of the youngest!

It is the only country to have been reborn out of antiquity revived after a struggle as dramatic as those recorded in the Old Testament.

The Jews are the only people to have been scattered throughout the world, bitterly persecuted by most nations for over 2,000 years, and yet gathered together into a nation once again.

Israel's language (Hebrew) is the only speech to have been resurrected from a dead language to a living, virile, modern tongue.

It is one of the world's smallest nations: a strip of land so narrow that on most maps its name must be printed outside its borders. Yet it possesses more historic and religious sites of significance to the world than any other country.

Compressed into those narrow borders is a microcosm of the whole world, for the average Israeli, or his parent, have migrated from any of seventy different lands.

To live in Israel is like living in a pressure-cooker: it is always under tension; yet the nation continues to expand and develop more rapidly than other, larger countries.

It is a nation where the almost miraculous becomes the normal. When Joshua led the people of Israel into the Promised Land 3500 years ago, he had to battle against "seven nations greater and mightier" than they (Deuteronomy 7:1). When the modem State was formed in 1948, it also had to battle against seven nations "greater and mightier" than Israel at the time: Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, and Lebanon! The invading Arabs were supported by a population of 40,000,000 against 600,000 Jews in the Land. The Arabs were professional soldiers, better armed, and with far greater financial resources than the Israelis. Yet the latter won, and the State was formed.

Against great odds, it did so again in the Suez crisis of 1956, the Six Days War of 1967, the Yom Kippur war of 1973 - in spite of the most sophisticated weapons being supplied its enemies by Soviet Russia.

There is more than Jewish brains and muscles in this success. It was predicted by God and recorded in the Bible. Therefore, in Israel the world witnesses a modem miracle. The nation is here to stay, for its destiny is clearly marked out in Bible prophecy. Israel's revival is the great sign of Christ's return. As we shall show, it is also a prelude to Armageddon.

Apart from the Bible and the purpose of God, the existence of Israel in the modem world would be an anachronism: it just should not exist!

Why Israel Exists
Israel exists because God made a promise to Abraham, the progenitor of the Jewish people, and a man of great faith.

That promise forms part of the gospel. Paul declared (Galatians 3:8): "God preached before the gospel unto Abraham. . ." Hence, long before the first advent of the Lord, the gospel had been preached in the form of promises to the fathers of the Jewish race. Accordingly, Paul again wrote: "Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers" (Romans 15:8).

And the Lord Jesus taught a truth that must be an embarrassment to those religionists who claim that God has no future for the Jews as a people, for he told one who was in that category:

"Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22).

Now among the promises made to Abraham was "I will make of thee a great nation" (Genesis 12:2). As a reward for his faith and obedience, God invited Abraham to survey the whole of the Middle East, declaring: "for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. . . Walk through the land, in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee" (Genesis 13:14-17).

This must relate to the future, for at present the facts are: (1) Israel is not a great nation; and (2) Abraham does not dwell in the land! A change in the status of the former, and the resurrection of the latter, are required before the promises can be fulfilled.

Can we be sure of such a future? Undoubtedly! God has not only given His word to Abraham, but supplied a witness verifying it, and guaranteeing what He has promised. The Jewish people constitute that witness, for God declared of Israel: "Ye are My witnesses that I am God" (Isaiah 43:12).

The Jewish people witness to the truth of God's Word because their very preservation as a people throughout the ages, and the current revival of the nation in the Holy Land are clearly God-designed and God-directed. Note the evidence proclaimed through Ezekiel the prophet:

"Say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for Mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned, whither ye went. And I will sanctify My great name, which was profaned among the nations.... and they shall know that I am the Lord... for I will take you from among the nations, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land" (Ezekiel 36:22-24).

In that declaration, God stated that though the people of Israel would prove false to the trust imposed in them by Him, He would honor the word that He made to Abraham by restoring Israel as a nation in their ancient territory. The revival of Israel today is proof positive that His word can be relied upon.

This was the theme of Apostolic preaching. When the Lord was about to ascend into heaven, his Apostles asked him: "Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom unto Israel?" and he replied that it was "not for them to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath in His own power" (Acts 1:6-7).

He did not deny that the Kingdom would be given again to Israel, merely that the time was not then ripe!

Shortly afterwards he ascended into heaven. And as he did so, two angels addressed the Apostles with these thrilling words:

"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

The personal, visible return of Christ to reign on earth, and the restoration of Israel as proclaimed by the prophets, became the great theme of Apostolic preaching: basic doctrines upon which first century Christianity was established. So Peter preached:

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And He shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive UNTIL THE TIMES OF RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:19-21).

The revival of Israel in the land today is preliminary to the restoration of those things spoken of by the prophets.

God's Purpose In Israel
When God brought the people out of Egypt, and entered into covenant relation with them at Sinai on the basis of His law, he constituted the Jewish people as "a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). God Himself, was their heavenly King (judges 8:23), and they were His subjects. When kings on earth were appointed to reign on His behalf, they did so as His vice-regents under His direction. They are described in the Bible as being seated on "the throne of the Lord as king" (1 Chronicles 29:23). Therefore, of Solomon, the son of the illustrious king David, it is narrated:

"The Lord hath chosen Solomon... to sit upon THE THRONE OF THE KINGDOM OF THE LORD over Israel" (1 Chronicles 28:5).

But because the people were stubborn in their refusal to heed God's word, the enemies of Israel were permitted to gain the ascendancy over them, the nation was broken up, and they were scattered throughout the earth. The people had been warned:

"The Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other ... and among them nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest; but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind; and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life . . ." (Deuteronomy 28:64-66). This prediction has had the most awful and literal fulfillment. The history of Israel for the past 2000 years is a record of persecution and suffering. Even today, widespread hatred of the Jews is evident throughout the world, dramatized in the way in which Arab terrorists and others wage unremitting warfare upon them. During the German oppression as directed by Hitler, some 5,800,000 Jews perished in the concentration camps of Germany. The Jews had turned their backs on God 1900 years ago, had demanded the crucifixion of His son declaring, "His blood be on us and on our children," and had so denied themselves the help that God could and would have given them had they turned to Him in truth.