SEAL 5: ISRAEL'S RESTORATION

"I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE"

Those concordant texts in the Olivet Discourse and the sixth Seal of Revelation continue to require that seal 5 must also occur during the Times of the Gentiles. However, there are three very significant differences between Seal 5 and those previous Seals 1-4.

1. The Living Creatures have suddenly been retired from their duties of administrative oversight. 

2. The souls of people, not horses, are suddenly in view. 
   

The sudden absence of the Living Creatures and abrupt change in the subject of Seal 5 indicate that something must have happened following Seal 4 to cause Israel to once again be front and center. Indeed, the clear demarcations between the Covenant-to-Kingdom period of Seals 1-4, and Israel of Seal 5, allow the following very  important observations to be made.

• The assertion in the previous section that the Living Creatures define the New Testament Covenant-to-Kingdom period is now confirmed with these facts, because that section associated Seal 4 with World Wars I & II, and we know from history that it was World War II that produced that 20th century "exodus" of Jews out of Europe back to the Promised Land, where Israel's rebirth occurred in 1948, just as implied here by the refocus of Seal 5 on Israel.

• The fact that the Living Creatures serve no administrative function in Seal 5 permits us to conclude that the New Testament Covenant-to-Kingdom period must have ended with World War II. 
  
  Moreover, we see why this conclusion is further supported by Israel's Redemptive Timeline, which connected the Old and New Testament Covenant-to-kingdom periods. Biblical scholarship always makes a clear distinction between the Old Testament Covenant-to-Kingdom period of Joshua, Ruth, and Judges, in contrast to the United Kingdom period that immediately followed it under Saul, David, and Solomon. Consequently, those Living Creatures who symbolize the principal Tribes of Israel during that Tribal period, can only be connected with that Covenant-to-Kingdom period, but never to the United Kingdom following it. Therefore, when modern Israel's 1948 rebirth began a period of kingdom restoration patterned after the United Kingdom period originated by Saul and David, as discussed in the previous section on the modern State of Israel from a "Kingdom" perspective, the Living Creatures could no longer be a part of that phase of Israel's End Times restoration.

Now the Times of the Gentiles must continue through this transitory period of Seal 5, as required by those concordant texts in the Olivet Discourse, but the countdown is now apparently to be administered by God Himself, according to a special timetable prepared just for Israel. Surely, the State of Israel from a "Kingdom" perspective showed how Israel's historic timeline from 1948-1995 precisely repeated that Old Testament time pattern originally followed by Saul and David in the setting up of the Davidic kingdom. However, while modern Israel's overall repeating time pattern was revealed in that study, it did not yield any information that could be correlated with specific events in modern Israel's 20th century history.

As we prepare to tackle the problem of explaining Seal 5, let's reflect for a bit on how the Revelation seems to be unfolding so far. We have already discovered that the "24 Elders", "Living Creatures", and "Four Horses" of Seals 1-4 each had connections with Old Testament scriptures where those Revelation symbols were greatly illuminated. The way these Old Testament connections provided detailed answers gives rise to a thought:

In the previous section of this study, an allusion was made to the thought that the book of Revelation seems to be operating like a Biblical "portal" or "search engine" into the subject of the End Times. If true, its symbolism would not be for direct interpretation, but rather for the purpose of linking us to more detailed information elsewhere in the Bible. Thus to John, those 24 Elders, Living Creatures, and Four Horses must have looked literally just as he described them, but their value to us would be as "icons", providing "hyperlinks" to be followed for detailed information contained elsewhere in the Bible. Therefore, by thinking of the Revelation as a "portal", its general chronological order would not be intended for direct interpretation, but only as a Biblical "directory" to facilitate our finding the pertinent backup information located in other parts of the Bible.

Now if this is the proper way to interpret the Revelation, it would be inappropriate to try to figure out the meaning of one of its "icons" directly, because that wouldn't be its purpose. Instead, we would study the overall word picture of the "icon", its relative placement in Revelation, and any key words or phrases it might contain, so that we might insert key words or related terms into the Revelation "key word search engine" (a good concordance), thereby directing us to relevant Bible books or Scriptures pertinent to that "icon".

The possible existence of such a subliminal property could open up unforeseen possibilities. For example, it's been stated dogmatically that it's impossible to set dates for the End Times, because there are obviously no dates given in the book of Revelation. However, if the Revelation is really a "portal" into the End Times, and we use its symbols as "hyperlinks", they might refer us to Biblical events, dates, or even timetables, from which the chronology of the End Times could be deciphered. In fact, this could explain how Jesus Christ, the "Word", did not know the timing of His Apocalypse at the time of the Olivet Discourse, but could have learned it with the opening of the seven-sealed Scroll.

Consider the text of Seal 5 in more detail. Here are the prayers of slain martyrs declared righteous, but associated with the old Covenant of Law. They are told that they must rest a little longer, before their appeals for judgement and vengeance upon the living inhabitants of the earth will be answered. Therefore, here are departed saints of Israel, apparently from the time of the Old Covenant, crying imprecatory prayers for judgement to fall upon a post World War II generation of mankind. Is this not extraordinarily strange?

Perhaps we should try inserting a few terms into our "search engine" look-up routine?

The overall abstract word picture suggested by the Seal 5 "icon", along with specific "key words/phrases" it contains, and augmented with our knowledge of its chronological placement in the Revelation, prompts searches for the following terms:

• "Exodus", because Seal 5 should begin with the Jews' exodus back into the Promised Land following World War II.

• "Israel", because the entire word picture of Seal 5 seems to focus on Israel.

• "How long", because we desire to find where in the Bible that term is employed.

• "Prophetic prayers", because the prayers of dead saints to produce God's future response must obviously be prophetic.

• "Imprecatory prayers", because this is the inherit nature of the Seal 5 prayer.

If we should insert these terms into our Revelation "search engine", and click on "GO", which books in the Bible would be identified? Although the book of Exodus might be construed to fit three of the above terms, the only book that uniquely fits all of them is the Psalter, for the following reasons.

• Aside from the Old Testament books of the Law, only the Psalter is subdivided into the sections of Genesis, "Exodus", Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

• The focus of the Psalter is on "Israel" and the Jewish people, being traditionally read in the synagogues, and typically used as their hymn book for worship.

• Although the phrase "how long", as an appeal to God, appears a total of six times in four other prophetic Old Testament books, the Psalter contains that phrase in that context in Psalms 6, 13, 35, 62, 74, 79, 80, 89, 90, and 94. 

• The Psalter not only contains prayers, but many are "prophetic prayers".

• The Psalter is readily acknowledged by all to be the repository for a whole collection of "imprecatory prayers".

Indeed, the product of this type of search is substantiated by Hindson and Kroll's continuing comment.

Consequently, if we have correctly appraised the utility of the book of Revelation as a Biblical "search engine", the Psalter should contain detailed backup material relevant to the period of Seal 5. Let's see if it does. Perhaps, we should not be unduly surprised at the following results, after discovering in Coming Glory that the Old Testament reign of Hezekiah is also intimately linked with the Psalter, on a year-by-year basis.

Since Seal 5 should pertain to activities surrounding the Jews and Israel in the time frame of World War II and thereafter, our study of the Psalter beginning with the "Exodus Psalms" yields the following results:

1. 1942-1944 were the horrific years of the Holocaust ---
   --- so Psalms 42-44, which begin the "Exodus Psalms", portray a time of hopelessness and reproach by the Jews at the hands of their oppressors, depicting a situation similar to that described in the Old Testament book of Exodus when the wicked Pharaoh of Egypt also attempted to destroy the Jews.
   
   

2. 1945 saw the end of World War II, when the Jews were freed from European concentration camps to begin their "exodus" back to the Promised Land. ---
   --- so Psalm 45 is a Messianic Psalm that looks forward to the future celebration of King Messiah when He sets up His Millennial Kingdom (v6,7,9,14).
   
   

3. 1946 was the first full year following World War II when there were no wars on the earth. ---
   --- so Psalm 46 recalls the time when the nations raged (v6), before God made all wars cease (v8-9).
   
   

4. 1947 was the year when the United Nations voted to give the Jews a homeland in Palestine. ---
   --- so Psalm 47 is a praise to God because He is the great King who subdues the nations, and will choose an inheritance (v3-4) for the descendants of Abraham (v9).
   
   

5. 1948 was the Jews' declaration of the State of Israel following the division of the Land by the United Nations, and the beginning of their victorious war of independence ---
   --- so Psalm 48 speaks of mount Zion, Jerusalem the city of the great King (v1-2), and a time when the kingdoms of men are assembled in amazement and fear at the miraculous deliverance of its chosen people (the Jews) (v4-6), who are instructed to tell of God's goodness to the generation following (v12-14).

Notice how the content of each numbered Psalm seems to correspond with what happened to the Jews during the formative years of the State of Israel, each Psalm having the same numeric value as the 20th century year when the event took place, e.g. Psalms 42-44 appear to be descriptive of the 1942-1944 Holocaust years, Psalm 45 of Jubilee year 1945 when they were released, etc.

A brief summary of this extraordinary correlation is given in the following chart.

Israel's restorative age since 1948 shows a remarkable correlation between the texts of those Psalms corresponding to their age at various times, and the provisions of the Levitical Law, e.g.

1. 1956 was the occasion of Egypt's second war against the newly formed State of Israel. ---
   --- so Psalm 56 is a prayer for relief from Israel's tormentors who would swallow her up (v1-2), laying in ambush and bent on doing evil (v 5-7).
   
   

2. 1948 + 12 years = 1960
   When Messiah reached the age of 12 years, He evidenced Covenantal awareness as he explained the purpose of His ministry to those around (Luke 2.41-50), therefore when Israel reached the age of 12 years in 1960, ---
   --- Psalm 60 claims all of the remaining portions of the Land of Israel, including the modern-day areas of the West Bank with regions to the east of the Jordan River (v6-7), and the Gaza Strip (v8), even though none of those areas were possessed by Israel in 1960.
   
   

3. 1948 + 13 years = 1961
   When Israel reached the "Bar Mitzvah" age of 13, they were dutifully awarded recognition by the United Nation with a seat at the U.N. Table of Nations. ---
   --- so Psalm 61 is the prayer of a banished ruler whose confidence turns to praise, thanking God that He has given him his inheritance (v5).
   
   

4. 1967 was the year of the "six-day" war when Israel fully reacquired the Land of their original inheritance. ---
   --- so Psalm 67 looks forward prophetically to the coming Millennial Kingdom when fully restored Israel and all the peoples of the earth will praise God.
   
   

5. 1948 + 20 years = 1968
   When Israel reached the age of "manhood", they consolidated their victories attained in the six-day war by renaming the West Bank according to its Biblical names of Judea and Samaria, and declaring Jerusalem to be the eternal and indivisible capital of Israel. --- 
   --- so Psalm 68 is a Messianic Psalm in the form of a song of praise to the ascended God who will ultimately bring salvation to all nations. Here it depicts a victory already completed (v7-9), when kings fled (v12), many were captured (v18), and God humiliated the prideful (v21-23) who delighted in war (v30). 
   
   

6. 1948 + 25 years = 1973
   When Israel arrived at the age of 25 years, they should have become eligible for Levitical service (Numbers 8.24), but they had no Temple for sacrifice, and had not accepted their Messiah as their sin Mediator, therefore they themselves had to be sacrificed during the 1973 Yom Kippur war, when their losses exceeded those of all previous conflicts involving 20th century Israel ---
   --- so Psalm 73, the first of the Leviticus Psalms, initially extols God's goodness to Israel (v1), but the psalmist confides that he thought the righteous remnant seemed to go unrewarded (v3-14) until he came into the presence of God (v16-17) and understood that his reward will ultimately be in glory with the Lord who has everything he desires (v22-25).
   
   

7. 1974 was the year following the Yom Kippur war ---
   --- so Psalm 74 recalls the terrible destruction wrought by Israel's enemies upon her "sanctuary".
   
   

8. 1948 + 30 years = 1978
   When Israel arrived at the age of 30 years, they should have become eligible for Priestly service (Numbers 4.1-3), but they remained unredeemed. However, the famous Qumran "Temple Scroll", containing information for the establishment of Temple worship, was first published in 1978 ---
   --- so Psalm 78 utters a "mystery" to be revealed only to the "generation" that will follow (v1-4,6), giving that future generation an historic discourse to ground them in God's Plan to set up His final Kingdom through the line of David (v67-71). 
   
   

9. 1948 + 39 years = 1987
   From the time of Israel's 1948 rebirth as a nation, 40 years had to elapse before they could begin to receive their Millennial inheritance, just as Old Testament Israel was forced to spend 40 years in the wilderness before they could begin to receive their inheritance in the Promised Land. Consequently, 1987 should have been the final year before that promise could begin to unfold, as indicated by Daniel's 70th Week ---
   --- so Psalm 87 is a Messianic Psalm that speaks of "Zion", the "City of God", whose dwelling is glorious (v2-3). It speaks of the End Times when the nations are referred to it (v4), when the people of Zion will be "registered and established" (v5-6). 
   
   Such wording has created difficulties for literal interpretation, and caused many commentators to associate Psalm 87 with God's saved remnant through the ages. See how one of the many commentators including Matthew Henry, Clarke, Jamieson, Fausset, Brown, and Barnes, interprets this Psalm as referring, not to the literal city of Jerusalem seated on a literal hill called Zion, but as descriptive of the more grand "edifice" of the Church of Jesus Christ.

It's particularly appropriate that this particular Psalm should occur here in the Psalter, because this location is singularly correct for the final depiction of the Times of the Gentiles and Covenant of Grace, just prior to Psalm 88 which should depict the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week and a totally different kind of situation. Viewed in this way, it would be altogether fitting for the Lord to count and register that saved multitude during the Times of the Gentiles just prior to His officially turning to Israel for the final countdown.

 

Beginning with 1988 and its corresponding Psalm 88, we have arrived at a time coincidence with that timeline developed earlier in the section on Daniel's 70th Week. Accordingly, it should be possible to correlate the Psalter from this point on, with those earlier results.

1. 1948 + 40 years = 1988
   1988 completed 40 years since Israel's 1948 rebirth in the Land, and so should have been the advent of Daniel's 70th Week when the final countdown to the Millennial Kingdom began. As such, it should have begun a time period that will end with God's Judgement against all of the unredeemed in the great and terrible day of the Lord. ---
   --- so Psalm 88 is a cry to God, without apparent hope, for deliverance from death. This Psalm is unique among all the Psalms, being totally negative and without a ray of hope. In ancient times, it was set to music for the purpose of afflicting and upsetting the listener to repent with utter sincerity.
   
   

2. 1989 saw the beginning of a 1335 day period prophesied in (Daniel 12.12), that should have led to the redemption for "Daniel's people" on Pentecost, 1993 of Daniel's 70th Week. It was also the year which saw the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, an atheistic empire that had ruled since World War II over those nations who had hosted death camps during the Holocaust. ---
   --- so Psalm 89 is another Messianic Psalm in which the psalmist gravitates between praises to the Lord (v1-2,5-18), and references to God's promises to David that He would establish his kingdom forever through Messiah (v3-4,19-37). However, the Psalmist then recalls the terrible troubles of the Lord's chosen people in previous years, wondering why the Lord has remained so angry with His people, and why He has not yet fulfilled His covenantal promise given to David (v38-52)?
   
   

3. 1990 was the year when Israel's severe time of testing began, concerning their legitimacy in the Land. First were Iraq's threats to destroy them, prior to their 1990 invasion of Kuwait, then the Gentile nations voiced a mounting insistence that Israel return Jerusalem to international status, and negotiate a Land-for-peace settlement with the Palestinians. ---
   --- so Psalm 90 was penned by Moses as Israel was tested during their wilderness wandering. In this somber prayer, Moses asks God to give permanence to the work of their hands. 
   
   

4. 1991 was the year for two very important events in the final decade of the 20th century. 
   a. It was the year of the Persian Gulf war when Iraq fired missiles into Israel without their retaliation. That war ended after six weeks on Purim, 1991, with Iraq's crushing defeat at the hands of the Coalition Forces.
   b. The Soviet Union's collapse began a few months later on August 22, 1991, following a four-day failed coup attempt by Soviet hardliners. The Union's fate was sealed later on December 1, 1991 when the Ukraine, second most important republic to Russia within that evil empire, overwhelmingly approved the independence referendum. That date was Chislev 24, 1991 in the Levitical calendar, signified in (Haggai 2.20-22) as the date when Gentile kingdoms will be overthrown from within. --- 
   --- so Psalm 91 depicts a time when God's remnant will abide in His "secret place", protected from the devil and his noisome word, while death is all around, as in the days when the plagues came against Egypt (v3-7). Likewise, God promises that His chosen people will be protected from a stroke that He will direct against their enemies (v10).
   
   

5. 1992 saw no major upheavals in the world. ---
   --- so Psalm 92 is a Sabbath Psalm for those who strive to enter God's rest.
   
   

6. 1993 saw two events important to Israel.
   a. Pentecost, 1993 completed 1335 days till the time of promised blessing within Daniel's 70th Week Daniel's 70th Week.
   b. On August 30, 1993, Israel endorsed the Palestinian takeover of the West Bank which they had previously occupied during the 1967 six-day war. ---
   --- so Psalm 93 begins with a statement that the Lord is become King (verses 1-2), but then expresses concern that angry men have spewed out their hatred for God who will nevertheless ultimately prevail over them (verses 3-5).
   
   

7. 1994 was the year when the Oslo Peace Accord was finally implemented between Israel and the Palestinians. The Purim, 1994 massacre of Palestinians in Abraham's Mosque by Baruch Goldstein spawned a revival of intifada throughout the occupied territories, causing the United Nations to condemn Israel and declare that their sovereignty over Jerusalem was illegal. This brought about the official signing of the Peace Accord implementation agreement, followed by the initial Palestinian takeovers of Jericho and Gaza. ---
   --- so Psalm 94 is a painful cry to God for vengeance against the enemies of Israel (v2-7) with the question, "Shall the throne of iniquity, which devises evil by law, have fellowship with You?" (v20) The phrase "how long" occurs for the final time in this Psalm (v3), just before Psalm 95 that should correspond to Jubilee year 1995.
   
   

8. 1995 was a Jubilee year and should have marked the completion of the 70th Week for "Daniel's people", ending at the advent of Tabernacles, 1995. However there would still have remained a future redemption for the "Sons of Daniel's people" presently living in the Land. ---
   --- so Psalm 95 is a Psalm of worship to the Lord, the Great God and King, for those who have seen His salvation (v1-2). Then in (v8-11), the Lord becomes the speaker, still warning Israel not to refuse His rest by hardening their hearts, as did those Old Testament Hebrews in the day of temptation in the wilderness.
   
   

9. 1948 + 50 years = 1998 
   This was the first  Jubilee year for the "Sons of Daniel's people", prophetically marking the beginning of a  time period for new starts when modern Israel should be able to receive their eternal inheritance in the Land. However, that inheritance must occur through their acceptance of a new Covenant to be introduced according to the time pattern of David's kingdom which also began in a Jubilee year. Since 1998 was the State of Israel's first Jubilee year after re-entering the Land, it began a second seven-year timeline that should lead to the redemption for the "Sons of Daniel's people". ---
   --- so Psalm 98 proclaims the singing of a "new song" (v1), for He has made known His salvation (v2) and is coming to judge the earth (v9).

We have just established that the State of Israel’s restoration is linked with the Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers Psalms. Moreover, the existence of the two timelines described in Daniel's 70th Week, spanning the years 1988-2006, indicate that their restoration should continue at least through that period. Now a final bit of information can be added to these findings to suggest a third way to estimate a specific end time for that restoration.

The Psalter is divided into a fivefold organization named the Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy Psalms. Although each group of Psalms within this ancient organization is universally acknowledged in translations of the Bible, as each one ascribes to its counterpart in the five books of the Torah, the underlying reason for this organization has never been understood. However, when these divisions of the Psalter are coupled with our findings in Coming Glory concerning "Hezekiah's Timeline", we have a basis for also estimating a time of completion for the State of Israel's redemptive timeline. The potential significance of Old Testament Israel's redemptive history under Hezekiah is evident from the following comparison.

That study of Israel's redemptive history under Hezekiah revealed that specific psalms in the Psalter books of Leviticus and Numbers traced the highlights of Hezekiah's reign to its end in 695 BC. Of course, the Exodus psalms played no role in the Hezekiah redemptive timeline, because the Hebrews were already in the Promised Land, unlike the situation in the 20th century when they had to return to it following World War II. However, that 34-year span of time covered by the Leviticus and Numbers psalms indicated that the Lord's redemptive plan for Israel during Hezekiah's reign ended with the Psalter book of Numbers. 

Moreover, we have in this Old Testament Hezekiah redemptive timeline for ancient Israel a pattern that now seems to be repeating itself with the redemptive timeline for the State of Israel, as they also have been following a similar year-by-year linkage with the Psalter, just as did ancient Israel during the reign of Hezekiah. Accordingly, if this pattern continues till its completion, it should also end with the Numbers psalms, just as did the Hezekiah redemptive timeline. This redemptive pattern for the State of Israel suggests that its prophetic history is unfolding as follows:

1. The "Exodus Psalms", patterned after the Old Testament book of Exodus, which focuses on Israel's Exodus out Egypt, begin with Psalm 42. But 1942 was the year when 20th century Jews came into their time of greatest persecution during the Holocaust, just prior to their "exodus" out of the Gentile nations back into the Promised Land. 
   
   

2. The "Leviticus Psalms", patterned after the Old Testament book of Leviticus, which focuses on Israel's worship, begin with Psalm 73. But 1973 was the year when 20th century Israel reached the age of 25 years and would have become eligible for Levitical service, had they adopted an appropriate sacrificial system according to the Levitical law.
   
   

3. The "Numbers Psalms", patterned after the Old Testament book of Numbers, which focuses on Israel's time of testing and trial in the wilderness sojourn, begin with Psalm 90. But 1990 was the year when the status of Jerusalem and 20th century Israel's fundamental legitimacy in the Land began to come into the most severe question by the Gentile nations.
   
   

4. The "Deuteronomy Psalms", patterned after the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, which was penned at the conclusion of Israel's wilderness sojourn just before receiving their inheritance, begin with Psalm 107. Therefore a conclusion of the State of Israel's redemptive timeline in 2007 accords with the evidence of the Hezekiah redemptive timeline.

We were already aware that parts of the Psalter are prophetic, but until now, were unaware just how prophetic they really are. 

• When the specific set of Psalms corresponding to the State of Israel's formative years are correlated individually with the principal events that occurred in each of those formative years, it is discovered that the text of those Psalms read as though they are describing that actual 20th century historic period on a year-by-year basis. 

• In addition, when the State of Israel's age from their "birth" in 1948 is related to its corresponding Psalm on the same numerical basis, it is found that the nation was seemingly treated as a person who was subject to the requirements of the Old Testament Levitical Law.

• Psalms 87 and 88 appear to mark a time of dramatic transition for the State of Israel, indicative of the advent of Daniel's 70th Week.

• Finally, it is discovered that the specific Psalter divisions for the "Exodus", "Leviticus", "Numbers", and Deuteronomy Psalms correlate with major periods of history for the Jewish people, starting with the Holocaust in 1942, continuing through the Leviticus Psalms to the present Numbers period of extended testing that began in 1990, and ending with the start of the Deuteronomy Psalms, matching the 2007 year as the anticipated occasion for the advent of the Millennial Kingdom. .

Thus incredible as it may seem, that 3000 year old Psalter appears not only to have accurately depicted all of the major events and milestones that occurred during Hezekiah's Old Testament redemptive reign, prophetically positioned in Isaiah between judgement and grace; but also now appears to be depicting another transition between judgement and grace, this time for modern-day Jews since 1942!

Furthermore, it provides three other indispensable benefits to augment earlier portions of "The Prophets Speak".

1. It seems to allow an answer to the question: "How could Jesus Christ, the "Word", have learned the precise timing for the End Times when He opened that seven-sealed Revelation Scroll, upon returning to the right-hand of the Father?"

2. It is consistent with the Davidic kingdom pattern detected earlier for the State of Israel, as well as those seven-year timelines developed in the earlier section on Daniel's 70th Week.

3. It seems to provide revealing insight into God's perspective about everything that has been going on in the world since 1942, as those things relate to God's Chosen People.