Modern. Israel, is, celebrating. Its 70th. Anniversary. And here, to talk about Israel's. 70th, anniversary is, author. Lecturer. Traveler. Tour, guide Doug Hershey welcome, to a prophecy, watcher thank you it's good to be here we're gonna be talking about one of my favorite subjects, today and I know it's one of yours the, fact that Israel is back in the land and big. Things are happening there, tell. Us a little bit about. Your. Life in, Israel as a tour guide and, as a traveler. Well. I've. Been going to Israel for about 20 years. I've, been, connecting, with with the people there for you know for about, as long, and. And. Through. The the time of just being, in the land connecting with friends having dinner you. Know exploring, the land myself putting, the pieces together with the Bible just seeing a lot of the needs in the land and, just. Really you. Know my heart, just continue to be to be pulled in into. The land it's hard not to be when you're there sure and. Doug's put together a book and we're gonna be talking about this book using it rather as a basis, for conversation. About modern Israel, it's called Israel, rising, and it's not like any book you have ever seen before there, are what a hundred. Pictures in this book but. Each picture has a duplicates, and what a great idea to, tell people what you did you, know I found old, photos that were taken between the 1880s, in the 1940s. And went. Back with with. 'le stereo pro photographer to, reshoot, the exact. Same angles, to show how much that the land has responded. Under Israeli, sovereignty and so, there's over a hundred photo, comparisons. From over 25 locations, all over the land you. Know for the first time I opened this book I, had. Not planned on sitting down and looking at it but that's what happened i sat down I started look you cannot turn away yeah, from a book because, if you love to look at. Historic. Pictures which, I do but I who does not, maybe. You've seen historic, pictures of your own city what it was like a hundred years ago and there's, something magical, about looking, at the way things were. Yeah and the way they are, today, but that's especially true of Israel because Israel is. Intimately. Tied, up with. The whole idea of Bible, prophecy, exactly, things prophesied. Exactly. And I'd, like to begin there I'd like to begin in. Ezekiel. Chapter 36. Where. The. People of Israel, are going, to be. Brought. Back to the land in. Stages. And those. Stages are very, well covered in your book by the way thank, you but you know Ezekiel, 36. Starts. This. Way, verse. 1 also son, of man prophesy, to the mountains of Israel say you mountains. Of Israel hear the word of the Lord thus. Saith the Lord God because. The enemy hath said against, you AHA even. The ancient high, places are. Ours, in possession. Boy, does that ever set the stage I mean that's, what, we've been watching now, in, the modern era well and it's a lot of what's been happening in the last 2,000, years from any, time, that the people have been out of the land the. Land has just become a desolation so is. Another. Aspect of what's in the book is eyewitness. Accounts, from Christians. Muslims and Jews for almost every century for the last 2,000, years describing. What it looks like starting. All the way back to with with Josephus, first century writer who's Jewish writing, for the Romans he, talked about during the siege of Jerusalem that.
That. The Romans had cut down trees 11. Miles in every direction from. Jerusalem and and, he talked about if you had if you had seen Jerusalem, before you. Wouldn't recognize it now because you know the the entire region, has just been laid waste and so that that's 2,000, years ago and following. History all the way up to 1948. Just of what. The land looked like what the land experienced, the wars the famines the the. Ongoing. Desolation. That just continued to increase, well. Let's go back to Ezekiel what did Ezekiel, say what happened when, the people started to come back and, and, how does that sort of tie in with what you do on, on an, annual basis. In your Israel trips yeah, well what's, really unique about Ezekiel, 36, is that, God. Has not, even so much speaking to the people but he's speaking to the land it says as you just read speak to the mountains to the valleys to the hills the ravines and. What's. Really significant, about that we think of prophecy, often as spoken. To kings or nations or you know or to people but here he's speaking specifically. To the Land of Israel because dating. Back to Genesis. 15 the land is part of the original covenant and so. He's speaking to the land and saying that when the Jewish people return you'll. Put forth branches, the the, trees, will produce fruit the land will be cultivated, and sown God, specifically, says to the land he says I I will turn towards you and I am for you and the the waste places will be rebuilt the, Forgotten cities will be Rhian habited, I'll multiply man, on beast and again speaking to the land says I'll treat you better than what you were at the first and so. The. Catalyst, of this whole process is, the. Jewish people returning, back to the land returning, back to their inheritance, and, becoming. Reestablished. As the, land becomes their possession, again and, so here we are in. The 70th, year and, all. Of the people the enemies, of Israel who are saying this, this land is ours yeah are now, in. Their umpteenth. Uprising. Right, setting. Tires on fire indeed. Doing, all kinds of mischief and. And. And feeling, in their heart that this place belongs to them Jordan. Still has authority. Over the Temple Mount the. Arab wofe the, Arab trust, still, believes that it will. Own the Temple Mount in perpetuity and. There's. Always a little rumbling, going on between all the factions, over there and particularly. This year the 70th, anniversary because. Our. President, has announced that he wants, to move the American Embassy, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem which. Has caused a little bit of an uprising, a little is, that gonna happen, what do you hear about that. Absolutely. It's gonna happen I think it's really, a brilliant move I mean it was just a few months ago that Mike, Pence was speaking in front of the Knesset and. Saying that by the end of 2019. The. US Embassy was was going to be there and then and, then, it just sort of oh by the way it'll be by May 14th, 1948, for Israel 70th, and so you. Know it's it's. Something that I, think is just simply not only just stating the obvious but stating, what. Anybody, who has a Bible can very easily read for themselves is that Jerusalem has always been the. Jewish capital it's never been a capital, for any other people group or any other nation or anything it's it's always been been.
Primarily. Jewish, dating, back to the time of King David you, know I love, and I told you this before we came on today, and. This is the absolute truth one, of my favorite, places in the Bible is psalm 87. And. It says his foundation, is in the holy mountain, so the Lord loveth the gates of Zion more, than all the dwellings, of Jacob and then and then it goes on to talk about the, sort of the contest, over, the gates of Zion on the Temple Mount but, that statement. The. Lord loves the gates of Zion now. This. Is the Lord we're talking about here yeah this is Jehovah this, is. This. Is the, one who created, everything. Including. Man and. For. Him to say I, love. Those gates yeah, more than anything else on planet earth you. Know that's that's amazing it, really focuses. Things down in a particular, way well and it's it's, a FEMA Saul through the Bible Zechariah 8 talks about how I'm jealous for Zion and I'm you're coming back to live with the people you know Isaiah or in, in Psalms it talks about he's chosen Zion, for his habitation, he longs for it he. Makes the promise to to, Solomon, back, at the very dedication, of the temple and says my eyes and my heart will always be, at this location and. So anytime that you're in Jerusalem, and that's something I share with with some of my my, groups through with with. My, company called Ezra adventures we take small group travel and I explained to to. Our small groups that when were there when. We're at the Western law when we're at the Temple Mount when we're in that region this is a specific area where God has promised, that his eyes and his heart will always be there now you, know we, know that God sees, everything and we can connect, with his heart really anywhere in the world but there's a specific, place as you just said the gates of Zion. The. That, he has chosen for his habitation, that when you were there there's a just a very special connection point, that, he's, telling the rest of the world this is where my heart is that you. Know it's it's amazing. Made. A trip to Israel last trip to Israel about, coming up on about three years ago now Wow time, flies and. The. Thing that I noticed, on the last trip as opposed to an earlier trip, was. The, number of foreign, tourists. That you see yes from I mean you can hear any language, on earth that's, right you, stand in one spot and within, about 15 minutes you're going to hear every language that's, that it is possible, to hear people want to go there they want to see something. There's. A I think a sense, that. There's something there that's not anywhere else in Italy in the whole world yeah it's true and and what's amazing talking, about tourism, coming I know that the. Israeli Ministry of Tourism that, that certifies, tour, guides as official. Israeli tour guides they've, been, clamoring for Israel, tour, guides that speak Mandarin, Chinese because of the amount of Chinese that are coming, there's. Been an influx. Of, tourism. Coming from the Far East from Indonesia, Malaysia. The, Koreas. China and. And. A lot of them ironically, are coming from a lot of the underground church that's there because they're reading the Bible, they, don't really have anything else you, know other than other than the just, the scriptures themselves they're there reading the scriptures. And realizing, God, has a heart for this land there's, something unique that's going on and I got to go and, they're, coming from all over as you're talking I've been kind of thumbing through the book and, again on the left side you.
Have Pictures here here's a picture taken back in the 1960s same. Spot, taken. In 2016. Yeah here. The, 1960s. Over here. 2016. Do. This through the entire book which. Is a marvelous, idea, by the way how did you come up with that you. Know I've, I've. I've seen a lot of the land change, myself you know and in the last 20 years from the first time I was there he until even so now I mean there's there's parts of Israel that and I'm on I mean Israel on an ongoing regular. Basis throughout the year and and. When. There's a six-month, span where I haven't been in the land there's. Certain parts of the desert that I'm, expecting, to be you know brown. And desolate and now suddenly there's a date. Orchard or there's a new vineyard that's been planted I mean there's places down the in the Negev desert you're driving, through, Brown for, you know a half hour you turn the corner and now suddenly there's 50 acres of a bright green vineyard, that's just been replanted for. The first time in thousands of years I mean the the entire land is beginning to revive. You, know it's, very interesting let's talk about about, that to the the blossoming, of the Land of Israel the. Lead the absolute, world leaders, and you probably know a lot more about this than I do but the world leaders, in. In. Hydroponic. Gardening, for example. Irrigation. Yes, the Israelis, lead it lead the, world hands down hands. Down yeah I mean there's that's one of the miracles, that's happening 15 20 years ago people were expecting, that the next major war in the Middle East would be over water and. And. Right now Israel, is taking. Through. For, desalinization. Plants, they've got three on the Mediterranean, one down by the Red Sea where. They can take seawater, and in. A 30, to 45 minute process they turn it into fresh drinking water and, right, now they are sustaining. Over. 40% of Israel's water demands, just, through those these elements, these salinization, of tape turning sea water into fresh drinking, what do they power it with, some. Of its solar some of its coal I mean it's it's a it. Depends on where. They're at but. But they're expecting, that by 2050. That that'll be up to 70%, of, the water demands and so they're. They're, also making. Plans for a water pipeline to, be, pumping. Fresh water from these desalinization, plants, back to the Sea of Galilee the, Sea of Galilee is, at some, of its lowest water levels that it's it's, ever been which. Has been affecting the water going into the Jordan which print affecting water going into the Dead Sea and so, so. That in itself is just that water technology, not even talking about the the desert farming, and the drip irrigation and, hydroponics, as you were saying but, far and away I mean Israel is a world, leader well, you know I'm, looking again at Ezekiel 36. And. 36. 19 says and I scattered, them among the heathen that, is among the nations and they. Were dispersed through the countries, according, to their way and according to their doings, I judged, them so, here, in verse 19 it talks about the scattering of Israel everybody knows about that I mean anyone, who has done any reading in history it all knows about the Diaspora, sure and then, the, horrors. Of the, Holocaust world, war 2 and so forth and the regather of the Jews I think, everybody knows that story and. You read, it right here in Ezekiel 36, but what I wanted to read was. Down. To verse 24, of Ezekiel. 36 it says for I will take you from among the nations I'll, gather you out of all countries I'll bring you into your own land then. Will. I sprinkle, clean water upon. You, and you shall be clean yeah, and you. Know we're talking about water I mean water you. Know you, know the idea of having a. Land. That is well watered you know and and that seems to be one of the preoccupations, of, Israel, is yeah. And and again talking. About water technology. All of the I, say almost, 90% of, Israel's. Gray water or waste water that the population, produces, is then pumped into. Water. Reclamation plants. Which then purify. Some of that water and then that water goes into agricultural. Purposes, and so further, on in Ezekiel, it mentions a couple different times about God. Continuing. To cause the the grain, and the and the fruit to blossom and and that. And. That he'll remove, the reproach of famine, quite. Quite. Quickly Israel, is becoming not only a world leader in water technologies. But if it never rains again in Israel. They're. Pulling water from the sea there they're, watering the crops the crops are still expanding.
Israel. Is the only nation on earth right now where the deserts are shrinking and not expanding, and a lot of that's due to the due. To the water technologies. That's been produced you. Know for the first time ever and really in the last forty years I mean just you know in our lifetime, these, amazing. Technologies, are completely, changing the entire land and it's it's all right there in Ezekiel 36, and. And I want to continue on this idea of being sprinkled with clean water because that has two meanings you know there is the, physical abundance. Of water that's right but but the idea being sprinkled with water it means to be spiritually, cleansed, as well yes, the. Mikveh out for example and yes and the cleansing. Then. I will sprinkle click, clean water upon you and you should be clean from. All your filthiness from, your idols, and I will cleanse you and new heart will, I give you in a new spirit, well I put within you and I'll take away the stony heart out of your flesh and I, will give you a heart of flesh now. That's. Gonna happen is it happening, now is it visible now what's. Your view of this it, is happening I have friends, that have been living in Israel in the past 40. Years and they talked about in 40 years ago that. The the handful of believers. In Israel were I, mean everybody knew each other because it was just such a small community and now you, know in the last thirty years I mean there's been there's. Little communities, that are popping up all over there's. There's. More. People coming to faith in the last thirty years you know within Israel, within the Jewish community then. Has been for hundreds and hundreds of years you know collectively, in the past and so the the, the remnant. Is being preserved the remnant is growing, and it's. Certainly a sign, of good things to come you. Know I turned. To the New Testament here, and you and I talked about this before we came on today, this, is fascinating because, John. Chapter, 3 talks, about, Jesus. And his midnight meeting with Nicodemus, a very high official, a priest of Israel yes a man of great knowledge, and. The Lord says to him verily, verily I say unto you, except, a man be born of water and the spirit he can't enter into the kingdom of God now. He's talking here about that born-again, experience, experience, but you go back and compare this with Ezekiel 36, and the idea of water and the spirit is.
To Be found right here nationally. Speaking for, Israel, is we talk about water and, we talked about, clean. Water in the land and the next thing is the baptism. Yeah and then, after that the filling of the Spirit and. He. Says my to. Read again a new heart well I give you a new spirit, well I put in two, within. You that it says and now I, love. That idea, the comparison. But, between, what's going on here in an Old Testament prophecy, and what what, happened. In New Testament prophecy, yeah at all it all fits together for sure and and as one, of my. Jewish. Believing. Rabbi friends, in Israel he he likes to comment that there's nothing new in the New Testament you know did everything, that Jesus is teaching he's. He's, teaching from the Torah is teaching from the from a Jewish perspective and, so, that. Concept, of God bringing, his people back to the land. Specifically. To to get ready to meet with him is found, all through the Scriptures is that the the most the, most repeated promise, in the scripture is that God will return his people back to the land that he promised, and it's not just simply to bring them back for the sake of bringing them back but he's he's, orchestrating a, meeting you know he's he's planning to come and talk about Zechariah, 8 he's saying he's he's, coming to return he's to, live in Jerusalem he's, gathering his people, he's it's, it's the Garden of Eden all over again he wants to just be with his people from the beginning that's been his heart from the from the very start you've. Also put together a. Calendar, here, it's called Israel, rising. And you. Have worked into a calendar the, same idea, that you have in your book yes, each month, looks. At old Israel, new Israel, and then of course you have the. Jewish calendar as, well as the. The, standard. Yeah, a Gentile, calendar, that we all use yeah and here. I'm looking at April and then I'm turning to May May, 14th. Which. Happens to be the 29th, of a, are mm-hmm. Some, say I are yeah and, the. It's, interesting that, the, the. Anniversary. May. 14th, 1948 is really not the real anniversary. Yeah, well again it depends on the calendar that you go by so again we were talking beforehand, is that the, the Jewish calendar that or the biblical calendar goes, on lunar, cycles so when you're talking about Passover, and Pentecost and, Tabernacles all. Of those are based on a lunar cycle it's the same calendar, that the the, Jewish nation uses, today we, use the Gregorian calendar which, is based on solar cycles, and so, that's why sometimes like Christmas and Hanukkah lineup sometimes they don't but but. The the the fifth of AR, is, was. Nineteen. In 1948. That date, was May 14th and so those. Those, dates were together this, year April. 19th, is when they're celebrating, in Israel which is again. The, fifth of IR and then there'll be another celebration on May 14 so we kind of kind of double-dipping this year for celebration. Into the 70th anniversary of, Israel you know it's funny. You read Psalm 90. Which. Is a psalm of Moses and, it talks about the 70th. Year. 70. Or is, given. By Moses as the years of a man and, and then, if you live beyond that it's through struggle, and hard work and ill health etc. Etc but. He's, not only talking about a man he's talking, about a land I think if. You go back and read Psalm 90 when you get to the to the number 70, it's a it's a very significant. Number it. Is and especially in, regards, to the land when. When. The, people were in captivity in Babylon, it was after seventy years and so there was a clear restoration. Of both, the people in the land and the 70th, year and so again, we were talking beforehand, you know about. 2018. And the things that are coming and the 70th anniversary and, that's, that's what this this calendar, is based on as well it's not a traditional, calendar just going from January, 2 to, January, but, it's the calendar, begins in April and then, goes until May of 2019. Because, that is the full biblical. Year of Israel 70th, anniversary and, so during. Israel's 70th anniversary I believe, you know prophetically, I think there's some really profound things, that we can expect I think we can look for just simply because when, God brought his people back to the land from, from Babylon that after. Seventy years that 70th, year was, a really profound time, of people people, taking root. Of.
Establishing. The communities it's a time when Ezra, is gathering. Everybody making everyone stand in the rain while he's reading the Torah and your hearts are getting reconnected, I mean there's there was a lot of really profound, things that happened in the seventieth year and, a lot, of opposition by, the way when that's right there were people there who said no you're not gonna build you know. There's there's nothing new Under the Sun I mean you the Jewish, people returned to the land and suddenly everybody said you can't build this you can't do that right but it's it's so again, the same thing that's happening today is the same thing that's happened in the biblical narrative it's so it's you, know it's God just using, the biblical pair of paradigm. And the and the parallels, of the scriptures of what's happening in current, events today we're, talking with Doug Hershey and he has put together a book, unlike. Any other book I've ever seen. And this, is one, that that I can truthfully say you won't, put, down you'll, just keep going and then you go back to the beginning go through it again, this. Book witnesses, in, a way then it's words fail, you no pictures worth a thousand words this, has got to be worth fifty, thousand words because, the. Pictures, in here is real, rising, up it's a hundred pairs of pictures right old, comparison. What. Are some of the oldest photos in this book the, oldest, photo ever taken of Jerusalem, is in 1844. And that that photo is in the book as well most. Of them as, the photo, comparisons. Are somewhere, between the 1880s, in the 1940s. And. Again, at that time it's during the the Ottoman Empire or the British Mandate of the the region of Palestine. But. But. It was it was a real joy to find, them and kind of put all those those pieces together just because you. Know you're you're. Literally walking in Bible prophecy you know we often talk about Bible, prophecy of, what's coming this is something that's already happened and. There's it's. More than just then and now book its photographic. Evidence that, Ezekiel's, coming to pass and. By, the way you, have a calendar, that's built on the same premise as the book and it's a biblical calendar, so, you can look up all the significant, biblical dates, and tell. Us a little about this CD, Israel. Rising, CD, it's, this, has the. Ironic blessing, it has, a number, of songs. That people. Should, know about yeah the. Ironic benediction, which is from from, numbers 6, it's also has the the Shema. From. From deuteronomy 6 as well there's also. Songs. That are written by believers, whose railey believers, from the land so it really captures, the the, heart of of, what's. Happening right now talking. About the the, the people being revived a cleansing, that's starting to happen people's, hearts and spirits, being restored to God and so, all of that all, of it fits together, well, Israel. Rising the book we're, offering it to you for a gift of $40, free shipping anywhere in, the United States go. To prophecy, Watchers, click on the online bookstore, and, go down to Israel, rising, and you'll find Doug Hershey's name in there by the way and, you. Can order online, or. Call. The 800 number on your screen by the way free shipping anywhere in the United States the book, $40. Also. The package, we're, offering the Israel, rising, package, the book calendar and the CD, yours, for a gift of, $70, free shipping anywhere in the US and, the. Book if. If, you, react to this book the way I think you will. You're. Gonna say you know everybody. Needs to see this book I'm, gonna order. One. For, my. Uncle Fred. I'm. Gonna order, one for my pastor, well, guess, what we have a family, and friends three pack that we're offering three, of the, book is real rising, you're. At, three copies yours, for a gift of $100, again free shipping anywhere in, the United States and you can see all of these offers on the online bookstore prophecywatchers.com. Click. On that online bookstore, and presto, scroll. Down you'll, find Doug Hershey's name and you can see how. You can obtain these. Books. Calendar. CD, and Doug. I can't, tell you how this, is an exciting conversation I've, really enjoyed it. Great thank you and, Doug we're going to do another program with you because, we, really haven't had time to cover everything I wanted to cover on this one there's so much to talk about oh there is and we'll see you again very soon I'm Gary Stearman, we. Watch, Israel. Because, that's, where prophecy, originates.
It, Originated. In the past it is originating. Now and it, will be originating. In the future Israel, is the middle of everything. So, you keep watching. We. Are. Our. Second. Annual blessed, hope prophecy, forum is not, far, away and here, to talk about it Bob Ulrich the prophecy, Watchers, are coming back to Norman Oklahoma. October. 12th through 14th. 2018. We're gonna be back with 30, of the leading names in Bible prophecy I'm, sure, you recognize many, of the names Gary Stearman Tommy ice la. Mars Oleum David Ragan Jan, Markell, bill Koenig Don, Perkins Andy. Woods Gary Frazier Bill Salus it's. A literally, one, of the biggest one-of-a-kind, prophecy, conferences, in the world today it is Bob in a, year, the year 2018. Which just happens to be prophetically. Important, 30. Speakers, delivering. Over 60, messages, you, can register for this great event at prophecywatchers.com. Or. You. Can call our ministry, toll-free at, 8, 8 8 7. 2 2 0, 0 0 8.
2018-04-21