Meanwhile, the plight of European Jews continued to grow. The more they were
persecuted, the stronger the concept of Zionism grew. In 1917, just before the end of World War
I, the government of Great Britain became gradually committed to the idea of establishing a
Jewish home in Palestine. This policy was revealed in a letter by Arthur James Lord Balfour to
Lord Rothschild. It was the first political recognition of Zionist aims by a major power. It said in
part:
“His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home
for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this
object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and
religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status
enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”69
In 1922 the newly formed League of Nations issued The British Mandate for Palestine.
This document charged Great Britain with the task of administrating the area of Palestine and
Transjordan (land now designated as Israel, The West Bank, The Gaza Strip, and Jordan), “until
such time as they are able to stand alone.”
The Holocaust
One of the worst horrors of World War II was the construction of Nazi death camps and
the destruction of some 6 million Jews. Because of this Holocaust, world sympathy for Jewish
people was awakened. There was a sense everywhere that it would be fair to give these
persecuted people a homeland. Hundreds of thousands of persecuted Jews from Europe and all
over the world fled to the Holy Land.
End of the British Mandate
As Zionism grew and hostilities increased between the Jewish immigrants to Palestine
and Arab Palestinians, the British found themselves increasingly unable to maintain order in the
area. They announced their intention to end the British Mandate as of May 14, 1948.
Rebirth of the Nation of Israel
Some of the following information was given briefly in Chapter 1 – What in the World Is
Happening? At this point a little more detail will help explain the present situation in the Middle
East. From the day of Israel‘s rebirth, to the present day, Zechariah‘s prophecies about the End
Times has been coming to pass:
This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who
lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: 2
“I am
going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be
besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against
her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will
injure themselves…
9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.” – Zechariah 12:1-3, 9
Independence -1948
Ezekiel, chapters 36 and 37, give a most remarkable prophecy of the rebirth of the Nation
of Israel. In great detail, the future plan for Israel was described; bringing back God‘s dispersed
Israelites from all over the world to the mountains of Israel. The prophet saw a vision of a valley
where the dry bones miraculously came together, and then the muscles and the skin were recreated
over the skeleton. This is a picture of the migration of people from the most remote parts
of the world back to their homeland.
Independence Day for Israel was May 14, 1948. On the very first day of their
independence, all of Israel’s neighbors declared war against them. They had to fight them off,
and amazingly, they won this first war with practically no resources. Jordan controlled the “West
Bank”, most of the land on the West side of the Jordan River, and other sections extending
inland, including the western portion of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount area.
Previous residents of the land were invited to stay in Israel if they were willing to become
Israeli citizens. Thousands of Arabs remained and did indeed become citizens of the new nation.
Other Arabs fled Israel and became refugees in neighboring countries and in the areas occupied
by Jordan. The Arab countries would not assimilate them. Thus they continued year after year as
poor, disgruntled people, and enemies of Israel.
One part of Ezekiel‘s prophecy has not yet been fulfilled. The last part of the vision is the
breath of life entering into the re-constituted body (Ezekiel 37:14). The body has been brought
back together, but is not yet spiritually alive. In Israel, most people do not follow the Lord even
in the old way of Judaism. The future fulfillment of this portion of the prophecy will be during
The Tribulation when Israel will once again be spiritually alive. The rapture will probably play a
part in bringing about their awakening.
The Suez Canal War of 1956
This was started by Egypt and her allies, but it resulted in the loss of the whole Sinai
Peninsula and the Suez Canal to Israel. These were later given back.
The PLO – 1964
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was begun in 1964 to represent Palestinians
who felt that they had been unfairly deprived of their land by the establishment of the nation of
Israel. They originally called for the elimination of Israel. Yasser Arafat was their Chairman
from 1969 until his death in 2004. He was succeeded by Mahmoud Abbas.
Fatah, a left-wing nationalist group is the largest political component of the PLO. The
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is the second largest group. It is a Marxist-Leninist
resistance organization. Several other groups representing Palestinian issues are also part of the
PLO.
The United States and Israel considered the PLO a terrorist organization until the Madrid
Conference in 1991. In 1992 the PLO negotiated an agreement in principle with the government
of Israel to occupy and control, under self-rule, portions of the land, including the Gaza Strip and
Jericho with a view to further negotiations in the future. By 1993 it had recognized Israel‘s right
to exist in peace.
The 6-Day War of 1967
On June 5, 1967 Israel responded to an imminent attack by her neighbors: Egypt, Syria,
Jordan and Iraq. This was an amazing war! Israelis destroyed the aircraft of their hostile
neighbors before they even had time to launch them. They even knew which planes of the Arab
nations were decoys, and didn’t bother to bomb them. They took control of the Golan Heights
and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The Sinai Peninsula was also taken.
The Yom Kippur War of 1973
This is the one war they almost lost because even the non-religious Jews observe Yom
Kippur, The Day of Atonement. The nation was unprepared, but The Lord still preserved his
Chosen People.
The Islamic Revolution – Iran 1979
As noted in Chapter 1, these victories were embarrassing to the Islamic nations that
surrounded the new country of Israel. Shiite clerics in Iran resented Israel‘s presence in the
Middle East and evidently desired to rekindle Islamic aspirations to rule the world that had been
stopped by World War I. They overthrew the democratic government of the land, and imposed
Islamic Sharia law. They held Americans hostage there for 444 days, and began to refer to the
U.S. as ―The Great Satan.‖ Since that time, Iran has exported radical Islamic beliefs and the
philosophy of ―jihad‖ (meaning ―struggle‖) that has been responsible for a whole new kind of
conquest that we now call ―terrorism.‖ They have also provided funds and training for terrorists
in many parts of the world.
Wars with Lebanon and Hezbollah – 1982 and 2006
In 1982 Israel invaded southern Lebanon to weaken the forces of the Palestinian Liberation Army
(PLO), which had moved there from Jordan. A new Islamic political and paramilitary group called
Hezbollah (―Party of God‖) grew out of this conflict. They were a guerrilla force at first, but now have
become a large army, and a controlling power in Lebanon. They are considered terrorists by the U.S.,
Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and others; but supported and rearmed by Iran and Syria.
A second war between Israel and Lebanon came in 2006 as the result of numerous rocket attacks
launched into Israel by Hezbollah. This war was not executed as definitively as usual by the Israelis, so
when they left Lebanon, claiming victory, Hezbollah also claimed a victory over Israel.
United Nations personnel were employed to help keep the peace, and UN Security Council
Resolution 1701 called for the disarmament of all militias in Lebanon and the implementation of
the Lebanese cabinet decision of July 26, 2006, which stated that “there shall be no weapons or
authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese state.” This resolution was ignored as
usual, and Hezbollah has been rearmed with better rockets and other weapons by the Syrians and
Iran. Hezbollah has in effect become Iran‘s forward military arm in its aim to destroy Israel.
Tensions are increasing between Israel and Lebanon again in 2010, with many predicting
that this could lead to a third, and greater, war between them. In July of 2010 UN SecretaryGeneral
Ban Ki-moon expressed concern that Israel and the Lebanese terrorist militia Hezbollah
may go to war again in the very near future. 72
Another war in Lebanon could spread to Syria. Israeli forces quickly and effectively
destroyed a nuclear reactor that was being built there in 2007. A future war could involve the
destruction of Damascus, which some prophecy scholars note must one day take place (Isaiah 17,
Jeremiah 49, and Zechariah 9).
