Israel, Time and Divine Intervention

God is a God of perfect timing and He often shows Himself through the perfect timing of events in the Bible and in dealing with Israel. And God is the same yesterday, today and forever.

In the Bible many important events are perfectly timed. Roughly 2000 years ago, Yeshua died on Passover at the exact time the lambs were slain in the Temple for the sins of mankind. The timing for the fulfillment of the Exodus was perfect and displayed Gods plan of redemption for humanity. Yeshua rose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits, as the first one to rise up. In the same year, on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) came down as tongues of fire on a small group of believers on Mount Zion. It was a supernatural event and it happened on Gods perfect time, the same day that Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai with fire. Incredibly, the New Covenant was signed on the exact same day as the Old Covenant. Forty years later, the Second Temple was destroyed on the exact SAME day as the first Temple (The 9th of Av).

Is it coincidence? Or is there something supernatural happening with our time? 

What are the chances of such miraculous events happening ON THE SAME DAY? When Moses came down from the mountain he saw that the people had sinned and 3000 people were killed. When Peter received the Holy Spirit and spoke on Mount Zion 3000 people were redeemed from their sins. Coincidence? Or God’s perfect timing? There are 12 tribes and 12 apostles. Moses was on Mount Sinai 40 days, the Israelites wandered 40 years, and Yeshua was tested 40 days in the desert. There are 70 elders appointed by Moses, 70 years of captivity in Babylon, 70 disciples sent out my the Messiah. The list goes on. Everything God does is ordered. And when we see His order we become awestruck by the greatness of God.

View from Armageddon (Mount Megiddo). Picture: Esther Havens

As an archaeologist and historian, I believe only God could have planned this all so perfectly. TIME IS IN HIS HANDS and the perfect timing of events shows God’s glory and reveals a magnificent plan He has for mankind. When I think about God’s perfect planning of time I become awestruck by how amazing God is! And the most incredible thing is… He is still doing it today.

The timing of the events in Israel’s modern history reveal the same kind of supernatural pattern as we see in the Bible and shows Gods divine intervention in our modern world and politics. This timing blows our little human minds away! It reveals a divine creator, who has a plan.

Below you will find a list of the dates and events in the history of The State of Israel. These dates by themselves might not mean something, but what are the chances of them ALL happening? I hope you will all take a look at these numbers too and ask yourself: Can this be coincidence ?

Here are some incredible dates concerning Israel.

70 years

Jews were in Babylon. In 586 BC the First Temple was destroyed on the 9th AV on the Hebrew Calender. Jeremiah prophesied that the captivity was to end after 70 years, and it did. The Israelites were released by the Decree of Cyrus to return to Israel and restored to Jerusalem in the year of Jubilee (see below).

0-30/33 AD

Messiah came to earth. He was likely born on Succoth. He died on Passover, rose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits, and the Ruach ha Kodesh came on Shavuot.

70 AD

The Second Temple was destroyed on the same day as the First Temple (9th AV, 5 August) and Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Messiah had prophecied Israel would be scattered among the nations until His second coming (Matthew 24:2, Luke 19:41-144).

400 years

From 1517 to 1917 Jerusalem was occupied by Ottomans. The Ottomans first occupied Jerusalem on 11 December 1517. It was EXACTLY 400 years later ON THE DAY that General Allenby freed Jerusalem. In addition it was the 24th of Kislev (Hanukkah) and there was a prophecy that something great would happen on this day. Plus in Daniel 12:12 it says a blessing will come to Jerusalem in 1335 days. This was fulfilled with the coming of the Messiah, however in 1917 it was also the Islamic year of 1335, and Jerusalem was freed on Hanukkah, ending a 400 year occupation. The timing was seen as a great miracle.

50 years

From the day Allenby freed Jerusalem in 1917 to the 6-Day War in 1967 it was exactly 50 years. Most Rabbi’s think this was also a year of Jubilee (see below). The victory of Israel in the 6-Day war was also seen as a great miracle.

50 years

It was exactly 50 years from the year Theodore Herzl held the 1st Zionist Congress in Basel Switzerland (1897) to 1947 when the United Nations General assembly passed a resolution for the creation of the State of Israel.

70 years

It was exactly 70 years from the year Theodore Herzl held the 1st Zionist Congress in Basel Switzerland to 1967 when Jerusalem was in Jewish hands in the 6-Day War.

50 years

From the 6-Day War to 6 December 2017 it was exactly 50 years, and it was likely the year of Jubilee.

70 years and 7 days

From November 29, 1947, when the UN voted for a Jewish State (and an Arab state) to 2017 President Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Jewish Capital on the December 6 2017 it was 70 years and 7 days.

100 years  (minus 5 days)

From Allenby in 1917 to the day Trump recognized Jerusalem in 2017
it was EXACTLY 100 years minus 5 days.

120 years

 It was 120 years between the year Theodore Herzl held the 1st Zionist Congress in Basel Switzerland to 2017 when President Trump recognized Jerusalem as Jewish capital and moved the US embassy.

50 + 50 years

From 1917 when the Balfour declaration was signed by the British enabling Jews to return to Israel to the 6-Day War and the restoration of Jerusalem it was EXACTLY 50 years. It was another 50 years to 2017 when Jerusalem was recognized.

40 years

On 14 May 1948 Israel declared state of Independence and exactly on its 40th birthday on the 14th May 1988 the 1st Messianic Jewish conference was held in Jerusalem.

70 years

Trump moved the embassy to Jerusalem on the 70th anniversary of Israel on the exact day (14th May 1948).

IT WAS ALSO the 40th day of the Omer counting and Ascension day

and likely the year of Jubilee.

120 days

From Israel’s 70th birthday May 14 2018 to September 10th the Feast of Trumpets 2018 it was exactly 120 days!

2017-2018

This was a great year of restoration for Israel by a great miracle Jerusalem was recognized on God’s perfect time, the US embassy was moved, finances to UNRWA cut, and a large budget given to Israel by America. It was very likely a year of Jubilee.

The above dates speak for themselves. There are simply too many patterns for it to be coincidence. These dates reveal divine intervention and show that God is very real and is keeping His promises to Israel.

What is a Jubilee year?
In the Bible a Shmita year is the seventh year. It is a year of rest and restoration for the country. It is compared to the Sabbath of years. The Smita is the seventh year of rest. A Jubilee year is 7 Smita years (so 7 x 7) plus 1, in total 50 years. The Fiftieth year is the Jubilee year. According to Leviticus 25:10 we are to hallow the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty! A year in which all things were to be restored to its owners, a year of redemption. The counting of the Jubilee years starts from Yom Kippur, the Biblical feast of Atonement, usually at the beginning of the fall and lasts for a whole year (Lev. 25:29). Jubilee years are counted from the beginning of creation, just like the Hebrew calender. Our Gregorian calender is later and counts from the birth of Christ. In 2017-2018 we were in the Hebrew year of 5778/5779. The original counting of the Jubilee years have been lost and there are many speculations about which Jubilee year we are living in. There are some rabbi’s who think the Jubilee was in 2015 and many others who think that 1917, 1967, and 2017 were jubilee years.

Here are more interesting figures:

• Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. It was rebirthed as a nation in 1948. In 2018 it was Israel’s 70th anniversary. Counting back, it was exactly 1948 years from the time Titus began the siege in Jerusalem to 2018! This is NO coincidence.

View from Massada, Picture Esther Havens

• If 1967 was a year of Jubilee. In the year of the Jubilee the 6-day war was fought and Jerusalem restored. In the year of Jubilee the Shofar-ramshoorn is to be blown and this was done for the first time from the Temple Mount. The man who blew the shofar (Rabbi Shlomo Goren) in 1967 was born in 1917 and 50 years old

• Trump is compared to Cyrus who let the Jews go back after year captivity in Babylon. We know that his election was a great miracle and happened unexpectedly. Trumps election was a surprise victory! Nobody expected it. Only at the very end everything changed. If Hillary would have won, Jerusalem would not have been recognized. On his inauguration day Trump turned 70 years, 7 months and 7 days. Because God placed him in this position Jerusalem was restored on the right time. Trump is the 45th president of the US. Isaiah 45 prophecy is about Cyrus.                                                      

• Deuteronomy 30:5 says: “And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the lands which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt posses it.” This is one of the main scriptures mentioning the return of the Jewish people to Israel. In 1948 this scripture was fulfilled when Israel became a nation. On the Hebrew Calender it was the year 5708. Deuteronomy 30:5 is the 5708th vers in the Bible. Incredible timing.

• Prophecy of Rabbi Judah ben Samuel. There is an interesting prophecy from a top Talmudic scholar from Germany. In 1217 he prophecied that the Ottoman turks would rule over Jerusalem for 8 jubilees: 400 years. 300 years later the Ottomans took control of Jerusalem and indeed there was a 400 year occupation. The Rabbi also prophecied that in 9th jubilee: Jerusalem would become a no mans land (it was between 1917 till 1967). He said that in the 10th jubilee Jerusalem would be controlled by Israel: 1967-1917, and then the Messianic end times would begin. That would start at the close of YOM KIPPUR 19/21 September 2018.

• The meaning of the number 70 and the times of the gentiles fulfilled. In 2017 Jerusalem was recognized as part of Israel, and it was on Israel 70th anniversary in what was likely a year of Jubilee. According to Luke: “And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24 NKJV).  Interestingly, in Hebrew the number 70 is the number of the nations and is connected with Jerusalem (70 years of captivity in Babylon; AD 70 Jerusalem was destroyed).  There were 7 x 70 years (490 years) determined upon Jerusalem for its transgression. It represents “perfection and closure”. According to the Talmud the Bible was originally taught in 70 languages. Was the end of the time of the gentiles fulfilled in 2017/18? And is it now the time of Israel? It is possible….

Why is it important to you?
Looking at these supernatural events and dates shows Gods prophecies are coming true in our time and should give us extreme faith and hope that God is real and cares for us. When I think about the miracles God is doing for Israel right now, it shows that the Bible is alive right now and it is hard for me to imagine that there are still people who do not understand Gods plan for Israel. When we see how amazing the God of Israel is, faith rises. We know all the prophecies in the Bible are coming true and Yeshua (Jesus) is coming back. There is hope in this world, for God is busy right now saving it. According to many scholars (based on Mastthew 24) three things must happen before Yeshua returns: Israel becoming a nation, Jerusalem as capital of Israel, and the gospel goes to all nations. These three things are happening in our time! God is a God of order and perfect timing and He shows this especially in His dealing with Israel. It is truly wonderful to see God at work. God has not changed, and is keeping His promises. Many think that Gods prophetic clock is attached to Israel. This means that when you want to see what God is doing right now and the timing of the coming of the Messiah, you should look at the fig tree… Israel. 

Some people might say that it is not fair that God choses Israel. It might seem that way, but the truth is just the opposite. You might not like Trump, or Netanyahu. But the Bible never says God uses perfect people. It says He uses imperfect people… because we all live by His GRACE. It says we will be saved by grace, not by our works. All people God used in the Bible were imperfect (ie. David, Salomon, Josiah, Cyrus). God uses imperfect people to show His grace for mankind… so that HE WILL BE GLORIFIED and NOT man. We can never glorify Trump for the incredible things he did, because his imperfection is too obvious! And that is the way it is supposed to be. In this way, we can glorify GOD for using him and working through an imperfect person to do great things. This should give us hope, for if God can use Trump, than He can also use you! God did mighty things for Israel in the past years. These are all things which need to happen on the way to the coming of the Messiah. This should give you great hope.

God’s promises to Israel show that He is always faithful because He made a covenant with them, not because they are perfect. God never chose them because they were perfect. God choses the imperfect people and the least of the nations so that He can show His grace. We are all saved by Grace. Each person individually and Israel. It is through our imperfection that God can reveal Himself and we can give Him glory, not Israel and not people. God didn’t choose Israel to be unfair to other nations. He chose them so the others can be saved. According to Romans 11 the gospel has gone into all the world because of their unbelief. So don’t get prideful against Israel and the Jews. Romans 11:25, 26 says that when the fullness of the gentiles has come in ALL ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED.  Perhaps we are NOW living in that time. The fact that God is keeping His promises to Israel should give every person extreem hope that he will also keep His promises to you and that Yeshua is coming back soon.

View of Western Wall of Temple Mount. Picture: Esther Havens

“I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. 19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. 20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:
21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

26 And so all Israel shall be saved”

Romans 11:11, 12, 18. 19, 20, 21, 25.

Foto’s from Esther Havens photography. All rights reserved.

With thanks to Maoz Israel Ministries for supplying some of the dates above.

This is a publication of: PLANT HOPE ISRAEL Ministries

Plant Hope Israel Ministries wants to plant seeds of hope in the hearts of men by showing them that the God of Israel is REAL, Yeshua is alive, build a bridge between Israel and the church, discover the roots of our faith together and go forth in the power of Holy Spirit.