The Middle East - War in Israel and the return of Christ to the earth

Almost twelve years ago, I was Masada in southern Israel. I was listening to the tour guide describe the last stand of the Jews against the Romans in AD73. The Roman empire had besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and mostly captured and enslaved the inhabitants of the land. A few Jewish rebels remained, holed up in the fortress of Masada. The siege eventual overthrow of Masada marks the conclusion of the bloody and violent Roman conquest of the land of Judea.  

The siege of Masada is often revered in modern Israel as "a symbol of Jewish heroism". Some Israeli Defence Forces inductees proclaim their loyalty to the Jewish state on top of Masada. Others take it at the Western Wall, the remnant of the sacred Temple in Jerusalem. The oath taken concludes "Masada shall not fall again."  

The average Israeli today has an unflinching determination to protect their homeland, the place that they were given by God via the promises to Abraham, partially fulfilled in the conquest of Canaan under Joshua. Twice the Jews have been expelled from this land. They do not want there to be a third occurrence.  

But what if there is? What if Masada really will fall again? We have very good reason to believe that this will happen based on Bible prophecy. Recent events have only confirmed that we are moving this way. I will try to outline this for you in as much detail as I can.  

Israel's history

As outlined above, the Jews have been expelled from their land twice previously.   The first of these expulsions happened under the Assyrian and Babylonian conquest of the ten and two tribe kingdoms of Israel and Judah respectively. Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem and carried all its inhabitants captive to Babylon and the surrounding areas, completing the removal of the Jews from their homeland. 

A partial restoration of the Jews to their land occurred under Cyrus and the Jewish population swelled under successive Persian rulers who looked favourably upon the land and its inhabitants, doubtless influenced by such heroic figures as Daniel and Esther. Jerusalem was rebuilt and the nation even gained a small period of independence thanks to the efforts of the Maccabees to throw off the Grecians.  

This independence was short lived. The land and its inhabitants eventually fell under the Roman yoke and as a result of successive rebellions against their rule, the Romans invaded the land and destroyed all in their path. Those that remained were taken into captivity and thus, for a second time, the Jews were expelled from their homeland.   For almost two millennia, the Jews were unwanted and stateless. They wandered the lands of Europe and Asia, settling in some places before being driven out, never properly feeling at home. The Zionist movement which agitated for a return of the Jews to their ancestral homelands gained unstoppable momentum after the atrocities of the Holocaust were revealed and the State of Israel was proclaimed in 1948.  

The Israelis have fought off successive invasions by hostile surrounding states since this date and recaptured Jerusalem in the six day war of 1967. Their instinct is to try and hold onto their land and to provide security and peace for their citizens in the midst of a region where many major players wish for its total and complete destruction. They have lived an uneasy existence for over seventy years with that phrase echoing in the ears of successive generations, "Masada shall not fall again".  

Masada - the land of Israel will fall again

Sadly, they are mistaken in believing this. The Bible foretells a third time that the land of Israel will be overwhelmed by foreign invaders and that this third time will be worse than the previous two and magnitudes worse than anything that has previously happened to the nation. This invasion occurs within the context of the final events of the Kingdom of men and the return of Christ to the earth.  

There's a huge amount to unpack on this topic and there really is not much time. It is highly likely that the events of October 2023 have kicked off this final passage of the history of the kingdom of men. The only question remains how quickly things will unfold.   In future posts, we will explore how the Bible foretells this to come about.  

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