Editors’ Journal

After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.—Ezekiel 38:8

Rather than being a country "brought back from the sword," Israel today is a land dwelling "under the sword." Showered by Hezbollah rockets from the north, Israel has retaliated with lightning strikes to secure a demilitarized zone in southern Lebanon. Deep in controversy over a land for peace process, Prime Minister Rabin has been assassinated. The terrorism of suicide bombers has replaced the riots of the Intifada. Longing for peace, peace seems to always elude them.

Students of Bible prophecy keep their eyes upon Israel, for they recognize that the developments there will carry the omen of God’s kingdom on the earth. The end view is clear. Peace will come, not only to Israel but to an entire world weary of combat and conflict. The intermediate steps between today and that kingdom, however, are not clear.

Earnest Bible scholars collect portions of scriptural prophecy and seek to match them with the unraveling tide of current events. Not all place the pieces together in the same order. The giant jigsaw puzzle of Israel continues to take on more definite shape, yet many pieces need still to be connected before the vision is seen in all its clarity.

The previous issue of THE HERALD examined the rich history of this nation God is pleased to call his "chosen people." This edition takes on the more daunting task of looking into the murky future. Without claiming to hold all the answers, the articles of this issue will examine various features of the prophetic future for Israel and its impact on the entire world.

Israel in Prophecy

The Near Future of Israel seeks to penetrate, through the searchlight of the prophetic word, the mists to what lies immediately ahead. The author deals with details of the final crises, which must be met before Israel can assume a more certain kingdom position.

From the Christian perspective, perhaps the largest hurdle is in comprehending that the Bible clearly points out a future role for Israel as Israel, and not as a new Christian denomination. Yet the New Testament also clearly states that "there is none other name under heaven" by which to obtain salvation than that of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Israel, to this date, is not yet willing to admit that name. The article The Conversion of Israel treats this issue, suggesting the timing and possible manner of such a change of belief from a biblical perspective.

The major conflicts in the Middle East today are over the question of territory—who is to receive what land and upon what basis. This question is considered in This Land is Mine, an article which seeks clues indicating the boundaries of the "promised land."

The short range vision is cloudy, but the long range picture is clearer. The Bible foresees God’s kingdom established in Jerusalem with all nations "flowing unto it" (Isa. 2:2). This is the vision that is treated in the article God’s Witnesses and Servant.

Many of the minor prophets discuss the restoration of Israel. One of these is Zechariah. The verse by verse Bible study in this issue, entitled Jehovah Returns to Zion, examines the eighth chapter of this book.

The following two items deal with the relationship between the Israel of God’s kingdom and their resurrected patriarchs of old. Real Heroes describes the faith of these ancient men while Two Roles in a Future Drama show the cooperative work of both of these groups in the blessing of all mankind.

Finally, the Question Box feature considers a related question based on Isaiah 66:21, which discusses the offices of "priest" and "Levite" in the operation of God’s kingdom.