Critics of the State of Israel and those that belief that the Church has replaced Israel insist that the Jewish State that now exists is an illegitimate state, not the fulfillment of prophecy. After all, they argue, it was founded by mostly atheists, enemies of Christ. The Jews are not believers, therefore they have forfeited their right to the Land and to being God’s People. In addition, many are part of a satanic cabal whose aim is to rule the world. Let’s examine those claims.
Dr James Tour, teaches that there are three basic theories on Israel.
- Replacement Theology: The Church has replaced Israel and inherited the blessings.
- Replacement Theology with a caveat. Israel will be “reconstituted as a believing nation at the start of the Messianic reign” when Jesus / Yeshua has come back to reign at the end of the Tribulation.
- “The nation of Israel, including the current State, is prophesied in the Bible as the first of two and only two worldwide gatherings.” They will see:
- The destruction of the rebuilt Temple
- The destruction of Gog
- Enter into a covenant with the Antichrist
- And will be judged during the Tribulation. This will result in a “national regeneration” and “a spiritual awakening.”
This is James Tour’s position – and it is well supported by scripture.
MODERN ISRAEL PROPHETICALLY LEGIT
The First Return in Unbelief
That will serve as our jumping-off point. The Bible clearly speaks of two world-wide regathering events of God’s People in the Last Days. The first is one, in unbelief, which is where we are now. This is the one for judgement. And the second one will occur at the end of the Tribulation – a gathering for blessing. One prophecy of the return in unbelief can be found in Ezekiel 20:33-35. “As I live,” says the Lord God, “surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. 34 I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. 35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face.” God is calling His people into judgement. Verse 37 drives that point home. “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.”
Ezekiel 22:18-22 continues that theme. “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. 21 Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst. 22 As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out My fury on you.’”
To understand the purpose of such judgement, we’ve got to first grasp that the Tribulation period is primarily abut Israel. In Daniel 9, we understand that the Prophet has been given a vision primarily concerning the Jewish People. God’s purpose seems clearly to be to bring Israel to repentance. Read verses 24 through 27 and you will see they contain prophecies of a rebuilt Temple, a covenant made with the Antichrist and the breaking of that covenant. These are prophecies that cannot be fulfilled without Jews being in the Land. They are specific to Israel. [A SIDE NOTE: In Daniel 9:24, we are told that one of the purposes is “to anoint the Most Holy.” This does not refer to the coming rebuilt Temple that will be defiled by the Antichrist at the mid-point of the Tribulation. John MacArthur as referring to the consecration of “the Holy Place in a temple of the future that will be the center of worship in the millennial kingdom (cf Ezek 40-48”]
Perhaps the key to understanding God’s plan can best be found in Ezekiel 36. Through the Prophet, God recalls the judgement put upon Israel for the shedding of innocent blood and the worship of false gods. Ezekiel 36:22-25 sums up the process. “‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.” First the return. Then the sanctification. Author of Bible Study Simply explains. “In Ezekiel 36:1–15 God promised to restore the land of Israel. Now He promises to restore the people. Without metaphors, God tells Ezekiel plainly: He will gather His people from all nations—a prophecy we now know began in the late 1800s.”[i]
The story continues in Ezekiel 37, with the dry bones rattling together as they are re-assembled and only later given breath. We see now that Israel has come back into the Land, become a nation and yet are still existing in unbelief. Yet the promise of their spiritual restoration remains.
The Second Return in Belief
And now we’ll address those who say that modern Israel is not legitimate because they are an unbelieving and largely godless nation. That’s exactly the way the Bible says it would happen. But yes, there is a time coming when God will call to Jews from around the world to return to the Land. This will occur after the Tribulation. At that time they will come back in a state of belief.
Isaiah 11 gives us a picture of a universal call. “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 who are left…. He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:11, 12) This is the second call from all the Earth, the first being the call of unbelieving Israel.
This is addressed again by the Prophet Ezekiel. “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name—after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 39;25-29) This is not an exhaustive argument. There are other confirming scriptures.
SUMMING UP
The Bible is clear. There are two major regatherings of the Jews in the Last Days. We have witnessed the first. Despite claims to the contrary, modern Israel is a fulfillment of those prophecies. They have returned in unbelief and are awaiting the spiritual breath of life promised in Ezekiel 37.
The nation of Israel has to be in their ancestral homeland to fulfill other prophetic events. The 144,000 witness – 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes testifies to the reality of a Jewish presence. They must be there to sign a covenant with the Antichrist. They must be there to rebuild a Temple which the Antichrist will defile midway through the Tribulation. It all falls together.[ii] [iii]
[i] Carmen Beasley, The Restoration Of Israel: Understanding Ezekiel 36:16–38, Bible Study Simply, viewed March 28, 2026
[ii] One major source for this article: Jason Hensley, Modern Israel is a Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy, The Bible in Context,
viewed March 28, 2026
[iii] Much of this article based on: Dr James Tour, The Modern State of Israel and Biblical Prophecy, February 2025
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