God's Signature  Historically
men have always used some means of authenticating their
authorship of a document or masterpiece. Artisans usually
signed their masterpieces and kings usually sealed their
decrees by pressing their stamps into soft wax or clay.
In today's world we sign documents and letters, and
in the case of papers that require legal status we sign
them in the presence of a notary, whose signature and
seal vouch for their authenticity. This is especially
helpful in those cases where a signatory has handwriting
that is impossible to understand. And that is the interesting
thing about signatures on legal documents - they are
not there to be understood, but rather to be recognized.
God, too, has a signature that He affixes to His work,
and it is vastly different from anything anyone else
might use. God's signature is always the miraculous.
Go back to the beginning and remember that God spoke
the universe into existence. He created the world ex
nihilo, out of nothing. No human can understand this
because we have been taught that energy and matter cannot
be created nor destroyed - it simply changes form (first
law of thermodynamics). Yet, God made everything from
nothing. A miracle.
Many who believe in evolution are atheists and, therefore,
say God had nothing to do with life. They believe there
can be no miraculous signature of a God that does not
exist. Today, an increasing number of scientists are
questioning evolution because they clearly see it falls
flat when held to the light of honest evaluation. Most
of them, however, are not ready to fully discard the
theory because they would be forced to accept the fact
that some great designer made this world, and that great
designer is none other than God. This, they simply cannot
accept, and they are left in their self-made quandary.
They deny the miraculous.
So, the very first time we see God's signature is in
creation. Whether one examines the smallest one-celled
living creature, or the solar system and universe, there
is only one conclusion that can be drawn: this did not
just happen; there had to be a powerful designer involved.
Paul, in Romans 1:18-23, quite simply cut the argument
to its core: no one can be excused for not believing
in God because the creation itself declares His existence.
If a person is mentally able to make simple observations
and draw simple conclusions that person cannot help
but know God exists. The miracle of creation proves
it.
Yet, creation is not the only miracle God has used
down through the millennia as His signature. The ancient
Hebrews saw another one. God, through Moses, led two
million people out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised
Land. They were divinely protected during the Passover,
they crossed the Red Sea on dry land, they were fed
with manna from heaven, their clothes did not wear out
in the desert, they were led by fire and a cloud, etc.
Stephen, in his defense before the Sanhedrin, referred
to this great miracle (Acts 7:36ff). It was an irrefutable
event categorically accepted by the Jewish people. Even
their enemies in Canaan knew the facts of the story
and they became fearful and trembled at their approach
(Joshua 2:8-11). The exodus is still referred to today
by religious Jews as authentication of God's existence
and His relationship with the people.
But, there is yet another miracle that will be referred
to in the not-so-distant future as the by-word for God's
power and presence among His people. Jeremiah 16:14,15
says, Therefore behold, days are coming," declares
the Lord, "when it will no longer be said, 'As
the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out
of the land of Egypt,' but,' As the Lord lives, who
brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north
and from all the countries where He had banished them.'
For I will restore them to their own land which I gave
to their fathers (NASB).
There is absolutely no doubt that we are presently
witnessing the greatest miracle ever concerning God's
dealings with the people of Israel. Never before in
the history of the world has a nation that has been
in the dust bin of history for nearly 1900 years been
raised up and restored to its ancient homeland. But
Israel has. A miracle.
In AD 70 the people of Judea were dispersed around
the world by the Romans who had captured Jerusalem under
the leadership of Pompey in 64 BC. The city of Jerusalem
was destroyed and their Temple was burned. The 134 day
siege came to an end when the entire city was put to
fire. The Jews left in their land after AD 70 built
a few modest structures in Jerusalem, but soon even
those were destroyed. In AD 132 a man named Bar-Cochba
claimed to be the Messiah and led a revolt against the
Romans. This time they destroyed everything, even those
small structures that had be rebuilt since AD 70. At
that time the remaining stones from the Temple complex
were pulled down. Just as Jesus had said, not one stone
would be left upon another. By AD 135 Judea was completely
denationalized. In the minds of all the Gentiles this
was it. The Jewish nation was now only a part of history,
and the Jewish people would soon be assimilated into
host cultures around the world. The thought that God
would work a miracle and bring them back to their ancient
homeland (something clearly taught in the Old Testament)
was hands-down rejected.
And the land became desolate. As late
as 1867 the land was a virtual disaster. Mark Twain
visited the land in that year and wrote that it was
a "...desolate country, whose soil is rich enough,
but is given over wholly to weeds...A desolation is
here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp
of life and action." He further said that the country
"...sits in sackcloth and ashes. Over it broods
a spell of a curse that has withered its fields and
fettered its energies." He said the land was desolate
and, though important to poetry and tradition, it was
simply useless. 1
In the late 1800s God began to move in the hearts of
certain leaders in Europe about having a homeland for
the wandering Jew. Zionism was born in those days, and
under the leadership of such men as Theodor Herzl it
slowly began to spread. A God-ordained longing was conceived
in the hearts of many Jewish people to have a homeland
of their own; specifically, to have their own land again.
Persecution in Europe against the Jews woke some of
them up to their need, but most were still determined
to stay among the Gentiles.
The events of World War 1 were used by God to make
a place ready for His people in their own homeland.
The events of World War 2 were used by God to prepare
His people for a land of their own. Only after the devastation
of Nazism were the Jews finally ready to admit there
was only one people they could trust with their lives
- fellow Jews, and there was only place they could go
where they could seek peace, nationhood and the right
to defend themselves - Israel. God placed a supernatural
longing in their hearts for their ancient homeland.
The area was not claimed as sovereign territory by the
surrounding Arab nations. Said another way, it was not
within the borders of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, etc. The
Arabs living there did not call themselves Palestinians
because there was no such thing as a state of Palestine.
They mostly referred to themselves as Syrians living
outside the borders of Syria. The League of Nations
and the United Nations both understood the situation
and assigned the place as a homeland for the Jews. And
the trouble began.
It all came to a head on May 14, 1948.
After the British Commissioner left the area that day
(not before leaving most of the British military hardware
in the hands of the Arabs), at 4:00PM the modern State
of Israel was declared. Part of the declaration reads:
"...we...are here assembled on the day of the termination
of the British Mandate over Eretz-Israel and, by virtue
of our national and historic right and on the strength
of the Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly
hereby declare the establishment of a Jewish state in
Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel."
2 A miracle
in no uncertain terms! And note the final sentence of
the declaration: "The State of Israel will be open
for Jewish immigration and for the ingathering of the
exiles." This is exactly what God said would happen,
almost down to the very words used in the declaration!
And this is the great miracle: that God resurrected
a nation that was seen as lifeless by the world, and
not only did He resurrect that nation, but He brought
them to their ancient homeland, as He said He would.
Remember the words of God to Ezekiel in chapter 37.
"Thus says the Lord God to these bones, 'Behold,
I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to
life. And I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow
back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in
you that you may come alive; and you will know that
I am the Lord'" (Ezekiel 37:5,6 NASB). And
lest someone wonder if God was talking about the nation
of Israel, Then He said to me, "Son of man,
these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold,
they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope has
perished. We are completely cut off.' "Therefore
prophesy, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God,"
Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come
up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring
you into the land of Israel (37:11,12 NASB emphasis
mine).
God's signature is no longer the exodus; it is now
the return! And it is going on today. The government
of Israel is taking in and making room for tens of thousands
of Jews from all over the world every year. Many say
they immigrated to Israel because of what they call
a sense of longing in their hearts for their ancient
homeland. It is as if they cannot fully explain it;
they just know they wanted to go "home". Of
course we know why. God Himself has placed that longing
in their hearts. It is all part of His great plan. One
day in the not-too-distant future they will ...look
upon Me whom they Pierced; and they will mourn for Him,
as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly
over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born
(Zechariah 12:10). God said, They will call on My
name, and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are
My people', and they will say, 'The Lord is my God'"
(Zechariah 13:9). The fact that the Jewish nation
has been reestablished does not fit into the theological
thinking of most people in the world. But that does
not matter. What matters is that He is doing this great
miracle. Many attempt to deny what is happening, but
it cannot be logically denied; it can only be believed.
The promise is sealed and signed by God's own hand.
It is not up for debate and it is not something that
that can be spiritualized in some contorted way and
applied to the church. It is the fulfillment of God's
promises to a people very special to Him and very instrumental
in His plan for the ages. It is His signature. And though
many cannot understand it, there should be no question
that everyone should be able to recognize it. DLM
End Notes:
- Mark Twain, The Innocents Abroad
(New York, 1966), pp 351, 375, 401, 441 ...back
- John Phillips, Exploring the
World of the Jew (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers,
revised 1993), pp 145-6, "The Declaration of
the Establishment of the State of Israel" ...back
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