Belief in God is on the rise in Israel. More than 80 percent of Israeli Jews believe in God, as discovered from a survey by the Guttman-Avi Chai foundation. This same survey also found that over 70 percent of Israeli Jews accept the Biblical principle that the Jewish people have been "chosen" by God for a specific prophetic destiny. Seventy-one percent of respondents said they want increased biblical studies in Israeli schools.
Moreover, statistics provided by Google showed Israelis search for Jesus more than 25,000 times per month. They do so, not by the name "Jesus," but by the Hebrew equivalent, "Yeshua," which makes this fact even more fascinating. For it shows they are not looking for the American Jesus; instead, they are searching for the Hebrew Jesus.
This spiritual interest among Israeli Jews is unprecedented. Since the Jewish nation achieved its modern statehood in 1948, it has never demonstrated such attraction to belief in God or the pursuit of information in the Hebrew Jesus.
Along with this spiritual phenomenon, there has been another interesting movement of Jesus in Israel. They have progressed toward political conservativism. While this second movement is not as compelling as the first, political surveys have shown a significant evolution to the political right for Israeli Jews over the past ten years.
Putting these fascinating developments together, while comparing them to end-times Bible prophecy, we can see God preparing Israel for the return of Christ in an exciting way. I have shown in my book, Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock--What Does the Bible Say?, that Jewish groups in Israel have been preparing for the rebuilding of the end-times Jewish temple, which will be rebuilt in connection with the coming seven-year treaty with Israel. (See Daniel 9:27, which, connected to the context of verses 24-26, presents a seven-year ["one week," or, literally, one "seven"—seven years in context] treaty ["covenant"]. Since the breaking of this treaty in the middle of the seven-year period will halt "sacrifice and offering," the temple is connected to it. After all, Jews cannot have "sacrifice and offering" without the temple.) Interestingly, the future Jewish temple connects intricately with the above observations of what God is doing in Israel.
The rebuilding of the temple will not be an isolated event. Instead, the Jewish temple is connected to the law of Moses, introduced in the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures). That this temple will be rebuilt (see also Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; etc. for the presence of this temple in the future) demonstrates that Israel will reinstate the law of Moses as a nationwide observance. In connection with Daniel 9:27, this reintroduction will be initiated at the beginning of the final seven years leading to the return of Christ to the earth. This enables us to see why Jesus, in providing exhortation for Jewish believers living in that final seven-year era in Matthew 24, would refer to the temple ("holy place" in verse 15) and the Sabbath (verse 20) as central concepts. Without the law of Moses guiding Israel, the referral to those concepts would make no sense; however, with the reinstitution of the Mosaic law, they make all the sense in the world.
Previously, it was very difficult to see how Israel, as a secular state since 1948, would rebuild a temple. However, with the significant progression of Israeli Jews toward political conservatism and greater spiritual interest, the "how" of rebuilding the temple now comes into view.
The political shift has set up a determined, nationalistic spirit that will make Israeli leadership a strong negotiating force in the coming treaty. The spiritual movement, with a powerful interest in rebuilding the temple, lays the foundation for the reinstitution of the Mosaic law. Add to that, a prime minister whose growing interest in the Bible has been well documented from quotes and speeches, and we can now see how God will bring this to pass.
Many Jews believe that with the rebuilding of the temple, the Messiah will come to Israel. Hence, we can see the connection between the interest in Yeshua and the temple.
But God has a far grander purpose in creating a spiritual interest among Israeli Jews at this time. After all, it will be during this era that all Israel will be saved (cf. Rom. 11:26), as Israeli Jews will come to believe that Jesus is the Christ. As a result, the nation as a whole will come into fellowship with God, which will bring Jesus Christ back to the earth (cf. Acts 3:19-21; also see Zechariah chapters 12-14)—in fact, back to Israel (cf. Zechariah 14:4).
Since God will utilize the final seven years leading to the return of Christ (the era initiated by the end-times treaty) to bring Israeli Jews to faith in Jesus Christ, it appears that this interest in both Yeshua and the temple is declaring that this seven-year era is not far off. In fact, it may be much closer than we think! Thus, it appears that God is preparing Israel for the final seven years leading to the return of Christ.
By the way, the Bible shows us that all believers in Christ will removed to be taken into the air to be with Jesus on the very day the seven-year treaty goes into effect. Based on this—and the closeness of that blessed event—we need to keep looking up!
by John Claeys
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