The world is at a tipping point. As historical events of
biblical proportions are unfolding before our eyes.
Quite possibly the most consequential prophecy yet to
be fulfilled in our day is of a spiritual awakening in Israel
foretold by the prophet Ezekiel thousands of years ago in an
ancient battlefield full of dead man's bones.
It's a gruesome scene that the Lord brought the prophet Ezekiel to
as we read in chapter 37
"The hand of the Lord was upon me.
And carried me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me
down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones.
And caused me to pass by them round about and behold there
were very many in the open valley and lo they were very dry.
And he said unto me son of man can these bones live?
And I answered oh Lord God you know." (Ezekiel 37 1-3)
Indeed an unusual event. First, Ezekiel was a priest and being
near dead bodies or human bones was the ultimate uncleanness.
Second, the multitude of dry bones bear testimony that once
in the past, there was life but the prosperity and strength of
old was reduced to dust in the wind.
Thirdly, the word
translated as valley is a very unusual word in Hebrew
appearing only a few times in the entire Hebrew Bible. The
first time it appears is in Genesis eleven, the tower of
Babel where God sovereignly intervened in human affairs
mixing the languages and scattering them across the
earth into tribes and nations. This new reality of the end of
Genesis 11 led to God's calling to Abraham in Genesis
12 to create from him the nation of Israel as God's tool
to reveal His knowledge and His ways to all the nations.
So this mention of valley hints to us that Israel's spiritual
restoration has significant blessings and consequences to
the entire world.
God is explaining the vision in verse 11.
Son of man these bones are the whole house of Israel.
Behold they say our bones are dried up and our hope is lost.
We are indeed cut off. This dry bones state characterized our
people and the land of Israel for the last 2000 years.
Fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy in chapter 30 our people in
Zion were as small as a pole on top of a mountain. A very well
known Jewish scholar Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman came to Israel
in 1267 and couldn't even find nine other Jews to pray with in
all Jerusalem. He wrote "many are Israel's forsaken places in
great the desecration. The more sacred the place, the greater
the devastation it has suffered. Jerusalem is the most
desolate place of all."
Mark Twain famously wrote. "There was
hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and
the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil had almost
deserted the country. One may ride 10 miles hereabouts
and not see 10 human beings."
Even worse, what wasn't dry and deserted
was a marshy malaria filled swamp. And those escaping
banishment and persecution who came to this land faced
conflict from their neighbours and bands of bandits.
It was a hard life for those first settlers
in an unwelcoming land and many who came with dreams of Alyiah left broken.
Ben Gurion stated that nine out of ten Jewish immigrants left.
Can these bones live?
It's a powerful question that divided the church of old and
unfortunately divides believers even today.
Many throughout the ages
didn't believe it was ever possible. Our people were
scattered to the four corners of the earth as echoed by our
prophets. They were persecuted wherever they went. Various
empires that dominated the land of Israel were all hostile
towards our people. How could these bones ever live?
Much less come together. It's very important to notice that God is
commanding the prophet to prophesy or speak in His name
two separate times. This is significant because for God
create He speaks. The prophet is functioning as God's mouth
as he proclaims God's word.
"So I prophesied as I was
commanded and as I prophesied there was a sound and behold a
rattling and the bone came together bone to its bone." (Ezekiel 37:7)
I'm sure the words of this prophecy must have resonated in the mind
of Nehemiah as he traveled on his mission to rebuild
Jerusalem after the first exile. Our people at the time
were decimated by wars and scattered in exile only to be
sent back to a destroyed country full of peril. What a
hopeless endeavour. Outgunned, outnumbered
and surrounded on every side.
The story of Nehemiah bears striking
resemblance to the plight of our people in 1948. Out of the
ashes of the Holocaust in a decimated land against all odds
in 1948 our nation was born.
As these dry bones came to this dry and weary land the ancient Hebrew language
was resurrected and spoken in Israel again. The reverse of Babel was taking place.
This new wave of immigrants from Europe, the
Middle East and all over the world now unified with one language.
"And I looked and behold there
were sinews on them and flesh had come upon them and skin had
covered them. But there was no spirit in them." (Ezekiel 37:8)
Israel has grown from a barren land of conflict to a thriving nation
leading innovation and technology around the world.
Since 1966, 13 Israelis have been awarded the Nobel Prizes in
various fields including chemistry, economics,
literature and peace. Remember Mark Twain's quote of even the
cactus and olive trees struggling to find root. Today
the Israeli desert has blossomed to life. Our people drained
the swamps and turn them into farms and groves.
Speaking of milk and honey, our dairy industry produces the highest
amount of milk per animal in the world and 40% more honey
per beehive than the global average. Israel is a world
leader in agricultural technology and a major exporter
of fresh produce to Europe and the nations. From death to
abundant life. This story is unparalleled. There is only one
logical conclusion we can draw. As Elie Wiesel famously said
"in Jewish history there are no coincidences." It wasn't
strategy or well crafted plans. It was the providence of God.
You could say Israel has flesh on its bones. But is
this the completed hope we've been waiting for? No! Bones and
flesh miraculously came together, but this prophecy
took a pause so God could emphasize this crucial step.
A tipping point more significant than 1948 is yet to come. As
the story continues.
"He also said to me prophesy to the spirit prophesy son of
man and say to the Spirit thus says the Lord God. Come from
the four winds oh Spirit and breathe on these slain that they may live.
So I prophesied as He commanded me.
And Spirit came into them and they lived and stood upon their feet
an exceedingly great army." (Ezekiel 37:9-10)
The wording of God breathing His Spirit
into Israel is set to draw our attention to the usage
of the same words in Genesis 2 when God breathed life into
Adam and Eve. Israel's restoration is an event of
creational proportions for all the earth. God continues to
explain this parable to Ezekiel as he commends him to proclaim.
"Thus says the Lord God, behold
O my people. I will open your graves and cause you to come up
from your graves and bring you into the land of Israel.
Then ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves,
O my people, and brought you up from your graves,
I will put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land:
then you shall know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, says the Lord." (Ezekiel 37:12-14)
This is the moment we are at today.
We believe we are at the tipping point of history.
The dry bones have come together
and a spiritual awakening is coming up. The pause in
Ezekiel's prophecy is no accident. God wanted Ezekiel
and us to see the stages of his plan of redemption.
That the flesh and bone would come first and then the Spirit of God, the
breath of life will follow.
When the state of Israel was formed in 1948
there were over 850,000 Jews living here.
Of them less than 30 were Jewish believers in Yeshua.
In the 73 years that have passed God has brought our numbers to over 30,000
Messianic believers living in Israel today.
But this estimate is only the tip of the iceberg. Under the water there is an
unprecedented awakening taking place today.
Only 15 years ago most Israelis would never have heard
the name of Yeshua and much less the Gospel.
Our Messiah was the best kept secret of the Jewish people.
"Was" is the key word here, because the secret is being shouted from the rooftops.
In the last seven years the gospel films and testimonies we produced in
Hebrew alone were viewed over 40 million times. We are seeing
an unparalleled awakening like never before as daily we
connect with underground seekers that have been binge-watching
the Gospel and reach out to our team to know more about Yeshua.
To put those 40 million views in context
with less than 10 million Hebrew speakers in the world,
that's four times the global population of Hebrew speakers
watching those gospel films.
Some who had abandoned their Jewish faith for atheism
have come back to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
by discovering the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua.
Many of these new Israeli believers only contact us in private.
Coming from ultra orthodox communities.
The number of underground believers is impossible for us to
measure. But the momentum of our ministry is accelerating as
we approach this tipping point in history. Facilitating this
move of God is the passion that leads our Bible College today
as we equip the next generation of Jewish and Arab believers
and ministry leaders.
As we look to our history of the
return from the Babylonian exile reflecting on the
ministry of Ezra and Nehemiah. The key reform that great awakening
was training Israelis from all tribes to be equipped to teach
and explain the Torah to the returned exiles. This is the
heart of our Bible College. And the beautiful fruit of this
ministry is that in Yeshua we see both Jewish and Arab
believers brought together as one in Messiah.
But this awakening won't stop here in Israel. Remember the valley "Bikah"
this passage may have been on the mind of the apostle Paul as
he wrote Romans 11:12 "If the fall of them be the riches of the
world and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles
how much more the fullness."
How do you want your history to be defined?
In the past, many in a church built entire theological
stances around their current view of the world instead on
the Word of God. Only a century ago, it seemed impossible for
the Jewish people to return to Israel. Seeing with their own
eyes, many wrote us off as a lost cause, replaced and forgotten.
Ezekiel didn't reply with his human vision but
relied on God, "oh Lord you know".
Throughout the dark ages of history there's always been a remnant
who believed in God's promises. Will you be one who sees with eyes of faith in
God's promises yet to come? Will you be one who stands with
us in prayer and faith that His Spirit will be
poured out in these days?
Take your stand of faith today. Become One for Israel
in prayer and support not just for Israel's physical
return to the land but for the Spirit of God to awaken our
people in this day! An awakening that will resound
through the nations for the glory of God!