The Set Time is Come by Joseph H. Hunting

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"THE SET TIME IS COME"

CONTENTS

"THE SET TIME IS COME" THE PERIOD, 1948-56 THE JUNE WAR. 1967 THE LAST GENERATION

FOREWORD In this book I see Israel as God's demonstration people. For 3,500 years God has displayed His power through the fulfilment of His promises to Israel. The nation's observance of the Passover is a memorial to the power of God. The Bible is a record of God's faithfulness to the nation of Israel and the words of Joshua: "There failed not aught of any thing which the Lord hath spoken unto the House of Israel; all came to pass", could equally apply to present time. After nearly 2,000 years the arid wastes are being transformed and modern bustling cities have sprung up where desolation reigned supreme for centuries. The land is being tilled and sown and vast forests reclothe the mountains of Israel according to prophecy. During the first thirty years of Statehood, Israel has had to defend itself four times against Arab nations bent upon the total destruction of the Jewish State. When one tries to take in the enormity of the destruction that has befallen the Arab armies, there is little doubt that God is again demonstrating to the world His might and power through the Nation of Israel. After 2,000 years the words of the Psalmist have taken on fresh meaning for Israel today: "THOU SHALT ARISE AND HAVE MERCY UPON ZION, FOR THE TIME TO FAVOUR HER, YEA, THE SET TIME IS COME." (Psalm 102:13)

Joseph H. Hunting


"THE SET TIME IS COME" The flames of the Holocaust which engulfed European Jewry were barely extinguished when the embers were again fanned into a blaze, and the flames of a jihad, or holy war of extermination, were fanned into another raging inferno which threatened to consume the newly-born State of Israel in 1948. Even as Israel emerged from the iron furnace of Egypt 3,500 years earlier, so their descendants emerged victorious from a twentieth century holocaust that threatened the very existence of the Hebrew people even before the nation came to the birth. Surely, "the time to favour her, yes, the set time has come." (Psalm 102:13). For nineteen centuries God showed anything but mercy and favour to Zion. The Judean hills, once clothed with forests and olive groves, became bare and barren. The Jezreel valley, famous for its vineyards in Bible times, became a vast evil-smelling swamp. Prosperous settlements disappeared. The Negev, which once supported a thriving population with flocks and herds, degenerated into a sandy wilderness, and the very rain became dust as foretold by Moses. For nineteen centuries the sons and daughters of Zion knew nothing of God's mercy and favour either. They were mercilessly persecuted and hounded from country to country until the 'wandering Jew' became a byword for the people whose history and destiny is inseparably linked with the Land and the Book. Mt. Zion, the heart of Jerusalem itself, was a desolation for centuries under the rule of foreign overlords. This city, once "beautiful for situation" and destined to become "the joy of the whole earth", was stripped of its Temple and glorious heritage and became a byword among the nations. The once-desolate and eroded mountains are now being reclothed with forests and are a joy to behold. The set time has come for valleys that were malaria-infested swamps to become like the Garden of Eden for fertility and beauty. The great Negev desert is already "blossoming as the rose" as water from the Galilee brings life to this once-barren wilderness. Israel's wheat production jumped from 90,000 tons in 1966 to 200,000 tons in 1967. Vast mineral deposits are being harvested from the Dead Sea. Just six months after the June war I revisited Jerusalem to find the transformation there had already begun. Gone were the barricades, barbed wire entanglements and machine guns. In their place the Israelis had commenced beautifying the walls of the Holy City with landscape gardening. The accumulation of filth and debris of centuries was being removed and water and sanitation introduced instead. I stood and watched the crowds of Jews who came to pray and worship at the last remaining relic of the ancient Temple, the Wailing Wall. There was no one to molest or humiliate them as had been the practice of foreign overlords for nineteen centuries.


In the length and breadth of Israel the Word of God has been applied to national development. The Bible has assisted in the discovery of the mineral wealth once mined by King Solomon. The development of such places as Beersheba, Ein Gedi, Elath, Ashdod and Ashkelon, plus scores of other Biblical settlements too numerous to mention, fulfil the prophecy: "I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings." (Ezekiel 36:11). Four times in twenty years Israel has had to fight for its very existence. In each instance its enemies were bent upon the annihilation of the State, and with fanatical hatred attacked with far greater numbers of planes, tanks and guns. The magnificent leadership and fighting quality of the Israelis together with the fact that "Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favour her, yea, the set time is come", have ensured the survival of the nation against these odds. In order to see the magnitude and grandeur of the present regathering of Israel in the light of prophecy it will be well to retrace briefly the nation's past dispersions and regatherings. The first dispersion began in the year 721 B.C.E. when Shalmaneser, King of Assyria, besieged Samaria and took the ten northern tribes into captivity. "The Lord was very angry with Israel, and moved them out of His sight. There was none left but the tribe of Judah only. And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until He had cast them away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day." (2 Kings 17:18, 20 – 23). Approximately 120 years later Judah and Benjamin were led into the Babylonian captivity by Nebuchadnezzar. The following tragic account reveals the patience and goodness of God to His people "until there was no remedy": "And the Lord God of their fathers sent unto them by His messengers, rising up betimes, and sending, because He had compassion upon His people and on His dwelling place: But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wroth of the Lord rose against His people, till there was no remedy". (2Chronicles 36:15, 16). Then after the seventy-year captivity in Babylon Cyrus uttered his famous decree authorizing the return of the captives to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Ezra the scribe. Thus, the first regathering commenced. Six centuries later the Romans under Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple. According to Moses' prophecy, the second dispersion would be world-wide. "And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people from the one end of the earth, even unto the other.


And among these nations thou shalt find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot find rest." (Deuteronomy 28:64, 65). This second dispersion extended over nineteen centuries until the Balfour declaration which authorized the return of the wanderers to their ancient homeland was endorsed by the League of Nations in 1922. The ten tribes as such never returned en masse to their ancient homeland, but remained dispersed among the nations until the present time. The present regathering is made up of members of all the tribes according to the partial fulfilment of the prophecy: "Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, whither they be gone and will gather them on every side, and bring them unto their own land, and I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel: and one king shall be king to them all, and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all." (Ezekiel 37:21, 22). THREE PROPHETIC ASPECTS OF ISRAEL'S RETURN The present return of Israel to the land is by no means complete. The modern State is but a phrase in the total scene envisaged by the prophets. Ezekiel foretold the agricultural development, the restoration of the waste land and the rebuilding of the cities and settlements. (chapter 36). Jeremiah affirms that they shall "return to the land that God gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it". No earthly power is going to dispossess Israel. How true this has been over the past thirty years! Jeremiah's prophecy also highlights "the time of Jacob's trouble", a time described by the prophets as "a time of trouble such as there never was since there was a nation". (Jeremiah 30). Isaiah links the second return of Israel with the climax of the ages, the Messianic reign, when "the knowledge of the glory of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11). EZEKIEL'S PROPHECY OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT "Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, and to the rivers, and to the valleys: Thus saith the Lord God . . . I have lifted up Mine hand; surely the nations which are around about you, they shall bear their shame. But ye, O mountains of Israel, YE SHALL SHOOT FORTH YOUR BRANCHES, and yield your fruit to My people of Israel, for they are at hand to come. For behold, I am for you, and ye shall be tilled and sown." (36:6 - 8). Much of this prophecy has already been fulfilled. The mountains of Israel are already "shooting forth their branches". Vast areas have been afforestated from 200,000,000 seedlings grown in Israel's tree nurseries.


The orange groves from the fertile Sharon plain have yielded record harvests year after year. In 1960, five million cases of oranges were exported. By 1967 this number had increased to 15,000,000 cases. The once desolate hills of Galilee are being tilled and sown. In areas around Chorazin as much as 8,000 tons of rock per acre have been removed to prepare the land for food production. The phenomenal growth of Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem and Beersheba and the rebuilding of scores of Biblical settlements fulfil the prophecy: "The cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded, and I will settle you after you old estates and will do better unto you than at your beginnings". "And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it, and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded, and I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: And I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: And ye shall know that I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 36:10 - 11). THE GREAT TRIBULATION OR TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE JEREMIAH'S PROPHECY "The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord, and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. "And these are the words which the Lord spake concerning Israel, and concerning Judah. For thus saith the the Lord: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask you now and see whether a man doth travail with child. Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? "Alas, for that day is great, so that there is none like it: IT IS EVEN THE TIME OF JACOB'S TROUBLE, but he shall be saved out of it." (Jeremiah 30:1 -7). DANIEL'S PROPHECY The spotlight of Daniel's end-time prophecies highlights "the prince that shall come" who confirms a covenant with many (of the people of Israel) for one week (seven years). After three and a half years he causes the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. The prince identified by Daniel is also called the "man of sin" or "the beast". Daniel then describes the events that will occur during the last three and a half years: " . . . he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and to utterly make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet shall he come to his end, and none shall help him.


"And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book." (11:44 -12:1). It is interesting to note that both Jeremiah and Daniel prophesy of Israel's deliverance out of this terrible time yet to come. CHRIST'S PROPHECY "When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand), then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. Neither let him which is in the field turn back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray that your flight be not in winter nor on the Sabbath day. "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:15 - 22). In the light of such events that will befall them in the end time, well did Amos warn: "Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel." (Amos 4:12). ISAIAH'S PROPHECY OF THE SECOND REGATHERING "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots; And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. And he shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, nor reprove after the hearing of His ears . . . "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox . . . "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again THE SECOND TIME to recover the remnant of His people which shall be left . . ." (Isaiah 11:1 - 11).


Whilst the world situation today is a far cry from the Edenic conditions described by Isaiah, Israel's second regathering has commenced. This fact cannot be denied. Just as surely as the regathering of Israel for the SECOND time is taking place, so will there "come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse", as Isaiah prophesied, and when He comes "they shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE STATE OF ISRAEL Israel has been God's demonstration people ever since He took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. Through them He has demonstrated His faithfulness and power. Men and women during these later centuries have proved God's faithfulness to His promises as did Gideon and Deborah in the time of the Judges, David and Jehosaphat in the time of the Kings, and Ezra and Nehemiah during the restoration after the Babylonian captivity, to mention just a few. In our own time one could also include Theodore Herzl, Chaim Weizmann and David Ben Gurion as among those who have laboured in spite of tremendous odds, to bring Israel to the birth after nineteen centuries homelessness and wandering. The regathering of the exiles was conceived in the mind of Theodore Herzl after great heart-searching following the trial of Captain Dreyfus at the close of the last century. His book THE JEWISH STATE passed on 'the vision splendid' to Weizmann and Ben Gurion. The vision of a Jewish state on the soil of Palestine had an electrifying effect upon these two men who became the modern equivalent of Ezra and Nehemiah. In passing we may note that the following vision by Ezekiel of the resurrection of Israel has also alerted Bible students: "Prophesy and say unto them, thus saith the Lord God: Behold O My people, I WILL OPEN YOUR GRAVES, AND CAUSE YOU TO COME UP OUT OF YOUR GRAVES, AND BRING YOU INTO THE LAND OF ISRAEL." (Ezekiel 37). The greatest miracle of our time has been the resurrection of Israel from 'the graves of the nations" and the return of the exiles from over a hundred countries in the face of insurmountable odds. A REMARKABLE SIMILARITY There is a similarity between the opposition met by the returning exiles 2,500 years ago and that which faced the pioneers of the modern State.


Just as the decree given by Cyrus resulted in the return of a remnant to the Land amidst much travail and opposition, so the Balfour Declaration which authorized the present return was also met with bitter political opposition. In both instances the decrees were temporarily set aside as the result of scheming to frustrate the rebuilding of the Land. And in both instances the returning remnants were victorious over their enemies. Let us turn back the pages of history and read the letter which frustrated the return 2,500 years ago: "Be it known unto the king, that if this city be rebuilded, and the walls set up again, then they will not pay toll, tribute and custom, so shalt thou damage the revenue of the kings. "Then the king sent an answer, Give ye now commandment, and cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment be given from me." (Ezra 4). Finally, Jews in Ezra's time triumphed and the Temple and the Holy City were rebuilt. In 1939 Arab opposition to Jewish immigration used a trump card to put an end to Jews' return to their homeland in an effort to escape from Nazi persecution. War clouds were gathering over Europe and the bulk of Britain's oil supplies came from the Persian Gulf. The Arabs threatened to cut off Britain's oil unless the government clamped down immediately on Jewish immigration to Palestine. The Arabs won the day! Time alone can soften the agony of despair that enveloped European Jewry. Ezekiel's words: "Our hope is lost" had stark reality. The cruel lash of the Egyptian taskmasters, the fires lit by Thomas de Torquemada during the Spanish Inquisition, the pogroms in Russia and nineteen centuries of heartache and hopelessness were the awful prelude to the fate which overtook European Jewry during the Nazi holocaust. Israel's extremities have ever proved God's faithfulness to show His mighty power on their behalf. From the shores of the Red Sea in Pharaoh's time, to Bergen-Belsen, Auschwitz, Dachau, Treblinka and a score of other places came the despairing cry: "Our hope is lost". The Divine intervention that brought about the resurrection of Israel from the fiery furnace of the Nazi holocaust has no equal in our time, for "THE TIME TO FAVOUR HER, YEA, THE SET TIME IS COME." And so in spite of Arab pressure and Nazi persecution the nation of Israel was reborn! THE PERIOD, 1948-56 On May 14th 1948, the British flag was hauled down from the High Commissioner's residence in Jerusalem and the violent Mandate period was over. At


precisely 4.20 pm in Tel Aviv Museum Mr. David Ben Gurion read the historic Declaration of Independence and then announced, "I declare this meeting adjourned. THE STATE OF ISRAEL IS ESTABLISHED." Thus, the era of Israel's homelessness and wandering ended and the time to favour, yes, the set time had come. In spite of the fact that Israel was almost totally defenceless and unprepared to withstand a savage 'jihad' – a holy war of extermination – launched by six neighbouring Arab states, the Jewish occupants of their ancient homeland "stood upon their feet an exceeding great army" in fulfilment of Ezekiel's prophecy and astounded the world by their victory although outnumbered 80 to1. On May 15th Egyptian fighter-bombers straffed and bombed Tel Aviv, whilst armoured units from Egypt, Jordan and Syria supported by troops from Iraq, Iran and Saudi-Arabia poured across the borders. As the days grew into weeks the infant state began to flex its muscles. From a Piper Club aircraft Israel's Air Force came into being. An ancient discarded ice-breaker was salvaged off the sandbanks of Haifa and became Israel's Navy which engaged the Egyptians off Tel Aviv. The Hagana and Irgun united to become the Israel Defence Forces. Finally, after months of bitter fighting, Israel emerged victorious having flung each of the Arab invaders back over her borders. Then tens of thousands turned their faces homeward and Isaiah's prophecy took on new meaning: "I will say, Bring My sons from far: and My daughters from the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 43:6). Thousands came penniless from countries where they were forced to leave behind all their possessions. Ten thousand exiles struggled across the Arabian desert from Yemen to Aden to waiting aircraft. Their only possessions were the precious scrolls of the Torah which they had brought from their synagogues. In their hearts burned the thought that the Messiah had come to deliver them after their 2,500 year long exile. Their ancestors had been carried into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar and their return brought fresh meaning to Jeremiah's prophecy: "For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee. Though I will make a full end of the nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee." (Jeremiah 30:11). The Babylonian empire had come to a full end 2,400 years ago. So had the Medeo-Persian, Greek and Roman empires which followed. Finally when Nazi Germany came to a 'full end', the time to favour, yes, the set time had come. And so on May 15th, the blue Star of David was unfurled as the national emblem of Israel for the first time in nineteen centuries. "IF I FORGET THEE . . ."


No other nation has the deep devotion for its capital city that Israel feels for Jerusalem. Three thousand years ago King David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites, and ever since then the Jewish people have cherished the holy City in a way that is best expressed by the Psalmist: "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion." (Psalm 48:2). "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." (Psalm 50:2). "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things of thee are spoken, O city of God." (Psalm 87:2&3). "For the Lord hath chosen Zion, He hath desired it for His habitation." (Psalm 132:11). "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." (Psalm 137:5&6). Towards the end of 1949 the United Nations decided that the Old City of Jerusalem should be placed under U.N. jurisdiction within the territory of the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan. For 18 years, from 1949 until June 5th 1967, the Holy City, Mount Moriah and the Wailing Wall, the most sacred and holy places of Jews throughout the world, were denied them. Thus, Ezekiel's prophecy came to pass: "The enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession." (Ezekiel 36:2). DESECRATION OF THE HOLY PLACES Between 1949 and 1967 the Jordanians perpetrated a monstrous programme of desecration that matched even the Nazis'. Thirty-four of the thirty-five ancient synagogues which had graced the Holy City for centuries were wantonly destroyed. In spite of a speech given by King Hussein of Jordan on 24th August 1967, in which he claimed: "the right faithfully to guard the holy places that our Arab hands have known how to guard these thousand years and more: the Jordanians used the once beautiful places of Jewish worship as hen-houses and stables, dung heaps filled with garbage and carcasses, or as sites for latrines and sewage channels. Hundreds of ancient scrolls of the Scripture were burned, and the words of Jeremiah took on poignant meaning: "His hand hath the adversary spread over all her magnificent things; for She (Jerusalem) hath seen nations entering into her sanctuary." (Lamentation 1:10). The cemetery on the Mount of Olives was ravaged mercilessly. Tombstones were smashed and used for building material, for paths and in latrines. Graves were ripped open and human bones scattered in all directions. So much for Hussein's "faithfully to guard.."


NASSER'S RISE TO POWER In August 1952 a military coup under the command of Mohammed Naguib dethroned King Farouk. Naguib's term as dictator was short-lived however, and Gamal Abdul Nasser and a group of army officers gained complete control over Egypt. Egypt's collision course with Israel began with Nasser's rise to power. Between 1952 and 1956, Egypt, with one aim in view, to destroy Israel, prepared for the second round with massive purchases of guns, tanks and planes from Soviet bloc countries. Meanwhile 'fedyun' raids into Israel territory wrought destruction in the border agricultural settlements. In 1952 there were 147 victims of terrorist raids. The casualty lists rose alarmingly year by year as the Egyptians stepped up their guerilla warfare. In 1953 there were 162 casualties, 1954, 180, and in 1955, 258 settlers were either seriously maimed or killed. THE SUEZ CRISIS 1956 On July 26th 1956 Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. For some time prior to the nationalization of the Canal, Egypt had denied Israel the right of navigation through the Canal, but now the Great Powers were involved. At the Security Council a resolution was passed on October 13th 1956 which reaffirmed "the freedom of passage through the Suez Canal for ships of all nations without distinction". Egypt, however, totally ignored the U.N. resolution, and at the same time based heavy artillery at Sharm el Sheikh overlooking the Straits of Tiran. In the meanwhile Cairo Radio broadcast: "The day of Israel's destruction approaches. This is our decision, and this is our faith. There shall be no peace on the borders for we demand vengeance, and vengeance means death to Israel." On October 25th 1956 Mr. David Ben Gurion, the then Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Israel gave the order for the mobilization of Israel's reservists. The Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli armed forces was Moshe Dayan, a seasoned fighter who had lost an eye fighting alongside the British in the North African campaign during World War II. Apart from the regular soldiers, sailors and airmen who were aged for the most part between 18 and 20 years, the bulk of Israel's armed services were farmers, shop assistants, clerks, government officials and the like. The Egyptian forces were vastly superior in numbers and weapons. Some three divisions were poised in the Gaza Strip and Sinai desert. The infantry was supported by the latest British and Russian-built tanks and jet fighters and bombers as well as hundreds of armoured vehicles.


On Monday morning, October 30th, Israelis heard the news that their paratroops and armoured brigades had struck deep into the heart of the Sinai Peninsula and were already half way to the Suez Canal. Overnight, army units had occupied Sinai positions of Kuntilla and Nakhl. On the other hand Cairo Radio announced the Egyptian forces "had begun to liquidate Israeli troops". When dawn broke on Tuesday 31st, the Israeli navy had drawn blood. The Egyptian frigate "Ibrahim Awal" had attempted to bombard Haifa, but was swiftly captured by units of the Israel navy. The Israeli airforce also had its first taste of victory in the air when five Egyptian fighters were shot down. Major General Moshe (Moses) Dayan led his troops further into the Sinai Peninsula where another Moses had led the Children of Israel for forty years. On this occasion, however, the modern Moses spent only four days in the wilderness. By Wednesday evening the victory was almost complete. The Israelis had captured close on 6,000 Egyptians, hundreds of tanks, trucks and guns. On Thursday Israeli troops occupied Sharm el Sheikh on the tip of the Sinai Peninsula overlooking the strategic Straits of Tiran. By evening the Israelis were mopping up pockets of resistance, and as the sun set over the Sinai desert the greatest build-up of modern weapons, tanks, guns, aircraft and equipment since World War II was either lying shattered in the desert or had been captured by the Israelis. The four-day Sinai campaign proved to be one of the most brilliantly-executed military exercises in history, and for Israel was certainly the finest campaign fought in Jewish history up to that time. The Egyptians were dumbfounded and the world was astonished. The Israelis were jubilant, especially at their return to Mt. Sinai as a nation for the first time for 3,500 years. Surely these events have special significance in the light of the Divine promise, "Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favour her, yes, the set time is come." THE JUNE WAR, 1967 May 1967 is a month that Israelis won't forget. Syrian terrorists stepped up their murderous attacks on Israeli settlements. Arab radio networks poured out a stream of hatred that equaled Goebbel's anti-Jewish outbursts prior to World War II. In the middle of the month there were signs that Nasser wasn't just bluffing. On May 18th he ordered the U.N. peace-keeping force out of the Gaza Strip and Sharm el Sheikh. On the night of May 22nd he sealed the Straits of Tiran "to ships flying the Israeli flag, and ships carrying strategic goods to Israel". Egyptian troops then occupied Sharm el Sheikh overlooking the Straits.


By the end of the month Israel's friends abandoned her in spite of the fact that Britain, America and the United Nations, including forty maritime nations, had given Israel firm assurances that the Straits of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba would be maintained as an international waterway. On May 30th a ring of steel snapped shut around the borders of Israel. King Hussein flew to Cairo and concluded a defence pact with Nasser. Iraq, Kuwait, Tunis, Sudan, Morocco and Algiers followed suit. Over Cairo radio Nasser boasted, "Our aim is to destroy Israel", and the United Arab Republic was whipped into an hysterical 'jihad'. East and West Pakistan, Indonesia, Russia and Red China then allied themselves on the side of the U.A.R. On June 1st Israel stood alone against the most massive array of enemies that any nation has ever been called upon to face, and the world waited to see the awful spectacle of Israel being thrown to the lions. Israel mobilized veterans of the 1948 and 1956 campaigns together with the boys and girls, the eighteen to twenty year olds, serving in the regular armed services, and braced itself for the coming battle. Early on Monday June 5th, Egyptian guns began an artillery barrage on Israeli settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip. The fuse was now lit, and a conflagration commenced that had no parallel in the history of the Holy Land. Just before 8 am, Brigandier Mordechei Hod, Israel's 39 year old Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, gave the order for his squadrons of Mirage fighters to lift off from Israel's airfields to deliver Egypt a crushing blow. Flying just above the water at sub-sonic speeds they flew below the Egyptian radar screens. Just before they reached their targets they climbed on full power to unleash a rain of sudden destruction on the Egyptian airforce. Ilyushin bombers and Mig fighters were lined up in neat ranks and made perfect targets for the Israeli pilots. Rockets and 30 mm cannon fire destroyed 300 Egyptian aircraft that day. On the return journey airfields in the Sinai desert were attacked. Never before in the history of aerial combat had such a crushing blow been delivered in such a short space of time. At 7.45 am Israeli tanks moved towards the Gaza Strip where the Egyptians had mined the approaches, and had dug pits to shelter their Russian-built T54 and T55 heavy tanks. At 11am the Arab Legion of Jordan began shelling the Israeli sectors of Jerusalem. The Jordanians used heavy mortars and artillery causing considerable damage to property. The Chagall stained glass windows of the Medical Centre at Ain Kerem were damaged. The Museum, University and a hospital were hit. There were no military objectives in Jerusalem.


And so, for the Arabs, the holy war for the liberation of Palestine had begun. Damascus Radio broadcast, "The hour of revenge has struck. The powder keg has exploded, the war of liberation has burst into flames. To arms, Arabs, and forward to the heart of Palestine, our rendezvous is Tel Aviv. To hell with the Zionists." On Tuesday, June 6th, the Israelis advanced with paralyzing speed in the Sinai desert. By mid-day they had wrested Gaza from the Egyptians. War correspondents witnessed amazing scenes. One reported on the incredible speed of the Israeli advance by saying that by comparison, the 1956 campaign appeared to be in slow motion. Another quoted the Biblical text: "Five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall chase ten thousand" as he witnessed thousands of Egyptians fleeing barefoot across the desert in an effort to escape. At El Arish, the Egyptian tanks made a stand, but were knocked out by the accurate gun-fire of the Israeli tank crews. Three hours later Israeli jets were using the El Arish airstrip as a forward base. In the meantime, the war on the Eastern Front against Jordan was mounting in intensity. The Jordanians had had nineteen years to prepare for this assault upon Israel. During that time they had built underground bunkers along the outskirts of the Old City. Slit trenches connected with underground carved out of solid rock made the Jordanian defences well-nigh impregnable. Artillery and heavy mortars plus heavy tanks gave the Jordanians strategic advantage in the battle for Jerusalem. Jordanian guns were placed within 12 miles of Tel Aviv and threatened to cause sever civilian casualties unless silenced. The Old City of Jerusalem was the goal of the Israeli forces and at this point Israel demonstrated its 3,000 year old love for this city. In order that the Holy City would be captured with an absolute minimum of damage the Israelis instructed their fighter aircraft not to bomb or strafe the Jordanian gun emplacements located within the walls of the Old City. Indeed, the Jordanians had heavy mortars located within the grounds of the Mosque of Aksa. As the result of this action holy places sacred to Moslems and Christians emerged unscathed Israeli armoured units supported by paratroop brigades on foot began a two-pronged thrust to cut off Jerusalem from the North, and to encircle the Holy City. Wednesday, June 7th saw the Israelis moving at fantastic speed across the Sinai desert. At 10 am paratroops dropped into Sharm el Sheikh. By 12 noon an Israeli soldier climbed a flag pole and nailed to it the blue and white Star of David. The vital Straits of Tiran were open again. In the meantime the Israel armoured brigades in the Sinai shattered every known record for speed in tank warfare. The roads across the desert became choked with hundreds of tanks, rocket launchers, artillery, aircraft-guns, trucks and burned-out wrecks. The Israelis claimed that they destroyed 400 tanks that day, a feat never before accomplished in tank warfare.


In the Jerusalem sector Israeli paratroop brigades began their assault on the Jordanian defences after a grueling overland drive through the rugged Judaean hills. They stormed the underground bunkers with a ferocity against which the Jordanian forces were no match. The Jerusalem Brigade on the other side of the Old City paused before the Jaffa Gate as the Commander addressed them. "Officers and men – we are about to take the Temple Mount. This is an historic moment. The Jewish people are praying for our victory, and all Israel is waiting for it. I wish you success." At first the Jordanians resisted fiercely. The paratroopers storming the Lion's Gate opposite the Mount of Olives suffered heavy casualties. One of the leading tanks missed the turn and ran right into withering fire from Jordanian guns. Then they were inside the Gate and racing towards the ancient Western Wall of the Temple, the last remained relic of Israel's past glory. Just after noon they reached the Wall amidst unforgettable scenes. Paratroopers, officers and men, broke down and wept whilst the Jordanian snipers kept up rapid fire. Whilst mopping up was still going on in the Old City, the Chief Rabbi of the Israeli Armed Forces, Brigadier Rassi Shlomo Goren arrived at the wall to lead his troops in prayer. A battle-grimed soldier handed the Rabbi a ram's horn that was a relic of Belsen concentration Camp. Then came the moment in history that millions of Jews had yearned for over the centuries. Rabbis Goren, holding the Scroll of the Law in his left hand, raised the ram's horn to his lips and the Shofar sounded at this holy place for the first time in years. Tears fell unashamedly. At 2.46 pm Moshe Dayan, the Defence Minister of Israel, and veteran of the 1956 Sinai campaign, prayed: "We have returned to the most sacred of our shrines never to be parted again." He voiced the thoughts and prayers of 14,000,000 Jews. Meanwhile the powerful Jordanian radio station at Ramallah was broadcasting in English that the Jordanians had won a decisive victory over the Israelis in the fight for Jerusalem. In the middle of the broadcast Israeli troops entered the studios and to the amazement of the listeners a fresh voice announced, "This is Kol Israel, the Voice of Israel, bring you the latest news." As in Sinai and the West Bank, so on the Golan Heights Israel had to face another enemy – this time the Syrians. The morning of June 5th dawned as thousands of mornings had done during the past 19 years in Northern Galilee. For nineteen years thousands of Syrian shells had rained down upon the Jewish settlements from the Syrian heights. For nineteen years gangs of Syrian Saboteurs had harassed the kibbutzim regardless of whom they maimed or killed. More than 6,000 incidents had been reported to the U.N. during those years. During those nineteen years the Syrians had constructed a complex system of gun emplacements on the steep slopes that dominate the Huleh and Jordan Valleys. A week prior to the Six Day War the Syrians cleared all civilians from the border towns for a depth of twenty miles. This twenty mile strip resembled the Maginot Line of World War II.


On June 5th, 1967, the Syrian guns overlooking the Jewish settlements began a murderous barrage upon the settlements of Dan and an air strike at Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. The settlements of Dan, Dafna, Kfar Szold and Tel Katzir had been shelled on numerous occasions previously, but the barrage on this occasion was an all-out attack on the defenceless villages. Three hundred and nineteen houses were destroyed. At kibbutz Gadot 3,000 shells smashed into the homes and buildings. Not a single house was spared. Three cattle pens were destroyed, the chicken run received a direct hit and 24,000 chickens were killed and 900 fruit trees were uprooted. Seven years previously I had visited Tel Dan on the Syrian border and admired the neat and tidy Kibbutz. Above Tel Dan rose the Syrian hills that looked so peaceful in the morning sunshine. Now those hills were an armed camp that menaced the survival of the villages in Northern Galilee. On June 5th the Syrian attack on Israel accounted for twenty-nine women and children killed apart from the destruction to the homes and farms. On June 7th a Syrian infantry brigade attacked kibbutz Dan in an attempt to wipe out the settlement with its farmer inhabitants. The attack was beaten off. Once again the Syrians resorted to artillery fire from the heights. In the Sinai and Jordanian battlefields things were going badly for Egypt and Jordan, and the U.N. called for a cease-fire on June 8th. Within 5 hours the Syrians started shelling the kibbutzim again. At 6 pm on June 8th Israel decided to silence those guns and then began one of the most bloody battles in Israel's 4,000 year history. The Syrian heights were slashed with deep ravines. The crests were fortified with cunningly-placed artillery, and the whole area was heavily mined. The Israelis used light French-built tanks for the first assault on the Heights. The tanks were followed by bull-dozers which cleared a path for buses and furniture vans carrying Israeli infantry. The Syrian guns directed accurate fire upon the Israelis and casualties began to build up. Helicopters delivered men and Mirage fighters attacked the Syrian strongholds. The battle for the Golan Heights lasted 27 hours. General David Elazar, Commanding Officer of the Northern Sector and his men, Neutralized the guns that had rained shells on the Jewish settlements for nineteen years and made it possible at last for the people of Upper Galilee, the Huleh Valley and the Sea of Galilee to breath freely. So on June 11th 1967, the noise of war ceased once again in the Holy Land. The guns and 'hardware' in the Sinai Peninsula would slowly by buried in the desert sand. The farmers in the settlements in Galilee would settle down to rebuild their lives, and a new epoch had begun for Jerusalem. This city had been under the control and overlordship of Gentile nations for almost 2,500 years. Gentile domination of Jerusalem had begun with the destruction of the Holy City by Nebuchadnezzar in the year 586 B.C.E. The Babylonians were followed by the Medes and Persians, by Greece, Syria and Rome, then the Moors, Arabs, Saracens, Crusaders, Turks, British and finally the Jordanians.


And now, on June 7th, 1967, Gentile control of Jerusalem ended dramatically with the blast of the Shofar at the Wailing Wall, and a new epoch began not only for Jerusalem, but for the Jewish people. Divided Jerusalem had become united again and Brigadier Vivien Herzog expressed the thoughts of every Israeli with the words: "The clock of history moves on, and we all live with it. For thousands of years generations of Jews will think of us, the small, select band of Jews in the State of Israel who lived through and created this historically-significant moment for the Jewish people". At this point in history the words of king David took on their full meaning: "Jerusalem is builded as a city that it compact (Heb. United) together." (Psalm 122:3). Luke recounts an event which took place at this spot 1,900 years ago. A small group of men were admiring the walls where Rabbi Goren blew the Shofar on June 7th 1967. One of the group said to their leader, "Rabbi, what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the age?" In His reply, the Messiah outlined the next 2,000 years of Israel's history. He foretold the destruction of the Temple and the overthrow of Jerusalem that was to occur forty years later. Then He spoke of the great dispersion when ". . . they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations", and finally He said "JERUSALEM SHALL BE TRODDEN DOWN OF THE GENTILES UNTIL THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES BE FULFILLED." (Luke 21:24). Surely, the liberation of Jerusalem after nearly 2,500 years of bondage under Gentile domination fulfils His prediction. Surely, "the time to favour her, yes, the set time is come." The Messiah also included the present world unrest among the Gentile nations in this prophecy. "Then there shall be distress of nations with perplexity." (Luke 21:25). In recent years there have been a number of crises that have rocked the Gentile world. Not only is "distress of nations" becoming a universal condition among the nations of the world, but it is also "with perplexity". World leaders are at their wits end to find a solution to the violence, international bribery and corruption that is eroding the very foundations of our civilization. Each day brings fresh crises that perplex the Gentile nations and which bring the world nearer to the climax of the ages – the return of Israel's Messiah. THE LAST GENERATION


Just as a literal translation of Psalm 122:3 rendered: "Jerusalem is a city that is unified (or united)" has special meaning for the generation that witnessed the liberation of the Holy City on June 7th, 1967, so a literal translation of Psalm 102:18, rendered: "This shall be written for (or to) the last generation" has special significance for the generation which witnesses the fulfilment of the preceding verses in Psalm 102: "Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set (Heb. Moad, designated or specific) time is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. So the heathen (nations) shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come . . ." (Heb. l'dor aharon. Lt. To, or for, the last generation). I wonder if you realize that in our lifetime we have witnessed more prophecies fulfilled in the land of Israel than in the nineteen centuries since the birth of Jesus Christ. And the prophecy regarding a set, or specific time when God will show mercy to Zion hit me with explosive force during a visit to Israel shortly after the Six Day War in 1967. Indeed, so relevant were the events of that time the secular press of the Western World echoed similar sentiments. Also in our life-time we have witnessed a miracle equal in magnitude to that of the Exodus 3,500 years ago. Jews who survived the pogroms in Russia, the Nazi holocaust in Europe, together with their brethren from more than a hundred countries, returned to their ancient homeland on a scale never before attempted. THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES So that we may fully appreciate the grandeur of Israel's national rebirth ponder Ezekiel's vision: "The hand of the Lord was upon me and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, behold they were very dry. "And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again He said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. "So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied there was a noise; and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then he said unto me, Prophesy unto


the wind, prophesy son of man, and say unto the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may live. "So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath came unto them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet an exceeding great army. Then said he unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel." (Ezekiel 37:1 – 11). On May 14th 1948 Ezekiel's vision became a reality as David Ben Gurion proclaimed the independence of the State of Israel. "By virtue of the natural and historic right of the Jewish people, and of the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations we hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish State of Israel to be called Medinat Yisrael, the State of Israel". And the Vice-President of America, Walter F. Mondale paying tribute to Israel's thirtieth anniversary said: "Israel is a new nation, but it is the fulfilment of an ago-old dream. No one who has witnessed the struggle to found this nation, no one who has seen your courage through four bitter wars, no one who visits a kibbutz . . . and feels the commitment within the Israeli people to this land, can ever doubt – Israel will live for ever." So saying, David Ben Gurion and Walter Mondale described the miracle Ezekiel prophesied 2,500 years ago: " . . . And they lived and stood upon their feet an exceeding great army. Then said he unto me, Son of man, THESE BONES ARE THE WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL." Israel's history can be traced back 4,000 years. Never a great nation numerically, they outlived their enemies and their survival defies natural explanation and logic. God Himself guides the destiny of Israel as it is written: "For I am with thee, saith the Lord to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee . . . ", and, "For Zion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth." (Jeremiah 30:11; Isaiah 62:1). THREE ASPECTS OF ZION The Bible refers to Zion in three ways. Firstly, Jerusalem is identified as Zion, for it is written: "The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God". Also, "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the Great King." (Psalm 87:2 – 3, 48:1 –2). Next, the land of Israel is referred to as Zion, for Isaiah says: "For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places: and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord.


Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody." (51:3). Thirdly, the Lord Himself identifies the Jewish people as Zion, with these majestic words: "I am the Lord thy God that divided the sea, whose waves thereof roared: The Lord of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people." (51:15 - 16). The modern Israeli can no longer be identified as the persecuted and wandering Jew as in previous decades. He has a labour of love to build up the land that God has given him and has a new-found dignity and strength, for it is written: "Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd doth his flock." (Jeremiah 31:10). "I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited and the wastes shall be builded . . . Yea I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel, and they shall possess you, and you shall be their inheritance." (Ezekiel 36:10 – 12). The City, the Land and the People are united in a Divinely ordained unity. Yet twice in Israel's chequered history this unity has been shattered on the ninth day of Av in the Jewish calendar. It was on the anniversary of Jerusalem's previous destruction by Nebuchadnezzar that the Roman armies surrounded the Holy City and the prophecy made by the Messiah was fulfilled to the letter: "If you had only known, at least in this your day, the things that belong to your peace; but now they are hid from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you when your enemies shall cast a trench about you, and compass you round, and keep you in on every side, and shall lay you even with the ground, and your children within you. And they shall not leave in you one stone upon another, because ye knew not the time of your visitation . . . And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 19:42 - 44; 21:24). And so the links that bound Zion together were shattered. Jerusalem was bathed in Jewish blood and utterly destroyed. The Land became a desolation and the People were scattered like chaff before a mighty wind to the ends of the earth. JERUSALEM'S JUBILEE Historians have said that World War I prepared the Land for the People, whilst World War II prepared the People for the Land. In 1917 the Allied armies under General Allenby swept across Palestine and liberated Jerusalem from the Turks who had ruled the Holy Land for four hundred years.


The capture of Jerusalem was accompanied by two unusual events. Firstly, the Holy City was captured by the Allies without a single shot being fired in its defence. And secondly, on the previous day for the first time in Jerusalem's history Allied aircraft flew over the City. If coming events cast their shadow before, the following prophecy by Isaiah is highlighted by the amazing victory which could well have foreshadowed the total deliverance by the Lord at His return. "As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. Defending also he will deliver it, and passing over, he will preserve it." (31:5). Although Jerusalem was liberated from the Turks in 1917, the Holy City remained under the control of non-Jewish governments for a further fifty years. Under the Law of Moses the fiftieth years was known as the year of Jubilee, or the Year of Release. During that year all slaves and servants were set at liberty, and property was returned to its original owner. Fifty years after General Allenby liberated Palestine from the Turks the Israelis themselves captured Jerusalem in June 1967, ending 2,500 years of almost continual Gentile control of the Holy City and Jerusalem celebrated its Jubilee with total liberation. During the years which followed 1967 the growth of Jerusalem has been phenomenal. In less than ten years it has outstripped Tel Aviv as Israel's largest city, and in November 1977 was the focal point for the world's largest telecast to that time when world coverage was given by satellite transmission of President Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem. ARCHAELOLOGY IN ISRAEL If there is anything to show that the time to favour Zion has come it is the Israelis' love for the stones that tell of Israel's past glory. Archaeology has been described as Israel's national pastime – nowhere else in the world is research into a nation's past carried on with more zeal. Nowhere else in the world are stones more loved, kissed and caressed than those of the Western Wall. These massive stones were once part of the Temple retained wall, and are Israel's only link with the past glory of Jerusalem. The Israelis' preoccupation with the stones of the Land was graphically foretold by the Psalmist: "Thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof." In order to accurately calculate the time in relation to God's prophetic programme we must watch the nation of Israel. Prophecies already fulfilled in our life-span make a fascinating study but there is yet the great climax when the hands of the prophetic clock will point to midnight, and time as we know it will end. This climax will be the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in power and great glory, for it is written: "When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory." (Psalm 102:16).


Our generation has been privileged to witness the transformation of the Land, of the People, and of the Holy City exactly as prophesied: "Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion, for the time to favour her, yea, the set time is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favour the dust thereof. So the nations shall fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory. When the Lord shall build up Zion he shall appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. THIS SHALL BE WRITTEN FOR THE LAST GENERATION."

Documents

The Set Time is Come by Joseph H. Hunting