2,000 years ago, the Son of God was rejected by the sheep of the house of Israel and crucified outside of Jerusalem. Crouched beneath the spears and arrows of Rome, His followers weren’t hidden away in darkness for very long: Three days later, the stone was rolled away from Jesus’ tomb, and He was raised to life evermore! Now, millions of families from every corner of the globe commemorate the Lord Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection during Eastertide.

For many of us, this season is a special time to reflect on the great price that was paid for our salvation. But did you know that the victory wrought by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit on a Sunday two millennia ago goes together with the End Times?

Consider what we find in Acts 1:9-12:

“And when he [the Lord Jesus] had spoken these things, while they [His apostles] beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, 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. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey.”

As the apostles held their gaze heavenward, two men (probably angels in human form) essentially asked them why they were still looking up! They had already received their marching orders from the Lord Himself (see Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8). We should note that these men in white also echoed what the prophet Zechariah described about half a millennium earlier:

“And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah 14:4; emphasis added).

These Scriptures tell us that Jesus will physically touch down on the Mount of Olives. Clearly, this is a different event than what the Apostle Paul described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 (the classic defining passage of pretribulationism). In that passage, Paul mentioned that Christians would be caught up to meet the Lord Jesus in the air. The men in white, however, spoke of Jesus coming down in the same manner of His ascension. These are two separate events. Nevertheless, I believe the angels’ gentle rebuke to be a fitting reminder for the Church today. Like the apostles, we, too, have our orders from High Command. We can very easily gaze into the past and lose sight of what God expects us to be doing right here, right now.

Jesus, the risen King of kings and Lord of lords, is coming back. First, He’s coming back for believers (i.e., the universal Church). Then, He will return to bring judgment upon a world that has rejected Him in favor of following Satan’s “messiah” (also known as Antichrist). How are we preparing our families for Jesus’ return? Have we told them that Jesus could come back at any moment? By the time you’re reading this, He could’ve already called up His bride, the Church, to heaven. Regardless, these questions should motivate us to move with urgency.

Lastly, I want us to seriously consider the fact that once Jesus returns for Christians, we will have lost our final opportunities to witness to our lost family members and friends. No more chances to talk to them about the gospel. Zero! Therefore, while there’s still time, let’s tell the people around us about our risen Savior! Let’s be prepared to answer some of their basic questions and “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Also, consider inviting someone to your church. You never know how God the Holy Spirit might be working on their heart.

As we make our pilgrimage through this cold, hostile world, may we be encouraged that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Those who are opposed to God, His Word, and His people will not get the final word. Neither Pontious Pilate or Caiaphas got the final word against Jesus during His first coming, and neither will Antichrist get the final word against Jesus during His second coming. Sunday is coming, and the forces of darkness will not prevail. Let’s remember the words of those two enigmatic men in white and capitalize on the time that God has graciously given to us! Happy (early) Easter!

In this article, I hope to highlight this main point: God’s faithfulness to Israel illustrates the hope we have to see His faithfulness to His church.

Baby Boomers will recall the cute little kid from the Little Rascals. He was the one who always observed the gang’s shenanigans from afar, shook his head slowly and solemnly pronounced, “They’ll Never Learn!” I remember him especially because we just celebrated the 2,499th anniversary of the holiday of “Purim.” Purim commemorates the victory that God won over the ancient Persian (Iranian) people who plotted the death of the Jewish people living in their land 2,500 years ago.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. May 14th will mark 77 years since God re-established His people back in their land. Israel has been attacked time and time again, but somehow, by the grace of God, they remain victorious no matter the odds! One reason for this is because God has already promised us that He will never uproot them again!

“I will bring my people Israel back from exile. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the Lord your God” (Amos 9:14-15).

In Israel’s 6 victories in wars over the bloodthirsty Muslims surrounding the modern state of Israel, God has always kept His word to fulfill His promises to His ancient people, even though they still reject His Son, their own Messiah! An important point that anti-Zionists fail to grasp is that God promised to gather them back into the land in unbelief. We see this in Ezekiel 36:24-27 where God says this:

“I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

Notice that the cleansing and spiritual restoration of the Jewish people comes after they have been brought back to their ancient homeland.

In 1948, 5 Islamic nations attacked Israel from 3 different directions on the day after the fledgling state declared independence. Wikipedia says this about that war:

“In May, Egyptian generals told their government that the invasion would be “a parade without any risks” and Tel Aviv would be taken ‘in two weeks.’ Egypt, Iraq, and Syria all possessed air forces, Egypt and Syria had tanks, and all had some modern artillery. Initially, the Haganah (Israeli forces) had no heavy machine guns, artillery, armoured vehicles, anti-tank or anti-aircraft weapons, or military aircraft or tanks. The four Arab armies that invaded on May 15 were far stronger than the Haganah formations they initially encountered.”

Vastly outnumbered and with just 3 planes, the Jewish state held off hundreds of enemy planes and tanks and claimed the victory with the help of their ancient God!

In 1956, Egyptian Prime Minister Nasser blockaded the Straits of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba. According to International Law, this was an act of war. Israel attacked the Egyptian forces and gained temporary possession of the entire Sinai Peninsula, as well as taking thousands of prisoners.

In 1967, Syria began shelling Israeli towns in northern Israel, and Egypt massed its forces in the Sinai Peninsula, dismissing the UN peacekeeping forces. Jordan allied with Egypt and ignored Israeli peace overtures. Israel was about to be attacked by three nations from three directions, so they launched a pre-emptive attack. And in just 6 days, they had regained the West Bank and Jerusalem from Jordan and were at the outskirts of Cairo! Even the secular Jews of Israel could see the hand of God in the phenomenal success of the IDF!

In 1973, Egypt and Syria surprised Israel with an attack on Judaism’s most holy holiday, Yom Kippur. This war lasted about a month and ended with the encirclement of Egypt’s 3rd army and Israeli forces deep in Syrian territory!

I will skip over the first and second wars in Lebanon, but I think you see the pattern. The Jewish people are in the land to stay because God is faithful! The current war started by the slaughter of 1,200 innocents by Hamas is no exception. It has resulted in enemy deaths 25 times the number of Jewish deaths! Hamas is nearly destroyed, as is Hezbollah in the north!

Fast-forward to 2025. The modern-day Persians (Iranians) are within weeks of building an arsenal of at least 6 nuclear bombs with which they plan to exterminate the Jews. Haven’t they read the Book of Esther? Their ancestors tried to do the same thing and were defeated by the hand of Israel’s God. Haven’t they studied the history of Israel since 1948? The lessons of history seem forever lost on the enemies of God!

Possibly within the next month (or week?) Yahweh will once again use Israel to bring about a terrible judgment upon the enemies of His people. Bible students and Middle-Eastern historians will be shaking their heads and exclaiming once again, “They’ll never learn!”

Here is what we have learned from the pages of history:

God is faithful to His promises even when His people are living in sin and unbelief! But why should this surprise us? The Lord has already told us this in 2 Tim. 2:13.

“If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.”

In the history of modern-day Israel, we can see this truth demonstrated over and over again. As a Jewish believer in Yeshua, the Messiah, it thrills me on two counts. The first is the obvious reality that God still has future plans for His Jewish people. They have not been “replaced” by the Gentile church. In the passage quoted from Ezekiel above, we can certainly see that verse 24 has already been literally fulfilled. Logically, it follows that verses 25-27 will be literally fulfilled as well!

The second reason for my excitement is this: Just as God has kept His promises to sinful Israel, His “first-born son” (Ex. 4:22), He will also keep His promises to His adopted son (the Church) who also still struggles with sin! If God would cancel His promises to Israel on the basis of their unfaithfulness, we ourselves would have no guarantee of avoiding the cancellation of His promises on the basis of our unfaithfulness! But God is not a promise-breaker! Praise the Lord!!

So brothers and sisters, if you are struggling with sin and heavy-laden, be greatly encouraged! The history of modern-day Israel shows us clearly that God keeps His promises even to the unfaithful. It has to be so because He cannot deny His integrity and faithfulness. Lift up your heads and give Him thanks! And someday soon, possibly this Spring, when you hear of the destruction of Iran’s evil purposes, rejoice that the God of Israel holds you in His hand and His heart as well!

(is53@att.net)