Israel is free but the nations have yet to be humbled

The current season between Passover and Pentecost is a time to reflect on the mighty deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt and their journey to Sinai to receive the law. After these incredible events, God then used Moses to lead the Hebrew children to the land promised to Abraham, yet the law delivered at Sinai required that they live uprightly before Him in order to enjoy possession of this land. Failure in this regard would mean divine correction and exile, though God swore to always bring them back to the land no matter how far He scattered them (Deuteronomy 30:1-10).

Now in order to correct their disobedience, God would use surrounding nations to judge and uproot Israel. But the intent of these nations was always evil. They rejoiced over Israel’s calamity, showed no mercy and boasted that their hand had done it. So once the Lord had finished judging Israel, He would always then judge the nations that he had used to correct her (Isaiah 47:1-7; Jeremiah 25:7-14; Jeremiah 50:1-13; Ezekiel 35:12-13; Zechariah 1:15). He even vowed to bring upon them the curses and plagues which He had once brought upon His own people (Deuteronomy 30:7).

For the past 2,000 years, Israel was scattered among nations that oppressed and abused them. Yet we live in a “time of favor” when God is restoring Israel back to her land, and we can now expect Him to judge the nations for their cruelty and excesses towards the Jewish people. Jeremiah 30 indeed promises that God will make a “full end” of all the nations where He had scattered them.

This is even more so in that the nations are trying to force the Jews out of the very heartland of their ancient kingdom in order to make room for a Palestinian state. In this regard, Joel 3:1-3 warns of the severe judgment that will one day come upon the nations for seeking to divide the land.

Interestingly, the Bible draws a clear analogy between this end-time judgment of the nations and the Israelite escape from Egypt. For instance, Jeremiah says the modern-day return of Israel will resemble the Exodus and yet exceed it in magnitude.

“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.” (Jeremiah 16:14-15)

We have seen the incredible return of the Israelites from captivity, but we have yet to see the mighty hand of God truly humbling the nations like He did with Pharaoh.

Now consider that many of the judgments foretold in Revelation closely resemble the plagues which struck Egypt. Of the ten plagues described in the book of Exodus, five are also found in Revelation. This includes hail mingled with fire (Revelation 8:7); the seas and rivers turned to blood (8:8, 16:3-4); locust (9:1-11); loathsome sores like boils (16:2); and darkness (16:10-11);

In addition, the Two Witnesses who show up in Revelation 11 have powers much like Moses (and Elijah) to call down fire from heaven, to stop the rains, to turn water to blood, and “to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.”

Zechariah 14 also speaks of the day when God will gather all nations to Jerusalem for judgment. Though the city sees great destruction, the Lord Himself will appear on the scene and “fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.”

The prophet then describes a miraculous parting of the Mount of Olives that provides a path of escape for the people of Israel (Zechariah 14:4-5). Notice that this prophesied event bears an uncanny resemblance to the parting of the Red Sea.

It is one thing for waters to part to allow a people to flee and then come back together to drown the pursuing enemy. How much greater a wonder to behold will be the parting of a mountain just when the nations are closing in on Jerusalem! Indeed, the modern-day Exodus is far from over and its end will be more awesome than we can imagine.

This Opinion Piece was first featured in the Jerusalem Post, Christian Edition http://www.jpost.com/ChristianInIsrael/Home.aspx