Monday was a monumental day for Israel, one that our kids will read about in their history books. On May 14, 2018 – exactly 70 years after Israel became a sovereign nation again – Jerusalem was recognized by the United States as the capital of Israel.

Fulfilling a promise he made during the 2016 Presidential Campaign, Donald Trump moved the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He explained his reasoning last December: “Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem is first a recognition of reality. A reality many, many years in the making. Jerusalem is indisputably, the capital of Israel. A capital chosen by a sovereign nation as the seat of its government.”

Israel is the only nation in the world that has its capital and seat of government in one city (Jerusalem), yet the UN General Assembly has refused to recognize and nations have been afraid to place their embassies. With the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem, that is finally changing. On May 16, Guatemala followed suit and moved their embassy to Jerusalem as well. “This is the beginning of something extraordinary,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The prophet Zechariah spoke of a day when the LORD “will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace” (Zech. 12:10). Although this promise awaits the second coming and millennial reign of Messiah, it is safe to say we are likely seeing God move the pieces on his prophetic chess board to prepare for the return of Christ. It is no accident that after 2,000 years of scattering, the Jews are finally returning to their homeland and the nation is being re-assembled.

Barry Horner is right when he says, “While there cannot be absolute certainty with regard to eschatological fulfillment in the present, the contemporary state of Israel, and especially its possession of Jerusalem, suggests a high degree of probability that eschatological fulfillment is in process before our very eyes” (Future Israel, p. 59).

Come, Lord Jesus!