The second siren sounded for two minutes on Remembrance Day, as the nation once again stopped to remember, to mourn the loss of 18,538 soldiers who died in defense of the State of Israel. Though it was somewhat difficult for Israelis to truly remember the vast number who made the ultimate sacrifice, it was all too easy to think of one or more soldiers, friends and love ones, the pain of whose passing has not diminished with the years.

Then, in a minute at the end of the day, the nation shifted from remembering to celebrating what those countless soldiers gave their lives for; that the Jewish people should have a state in their ancient home land. Independence Day in Israel, which follows on the heels of the days of remembering, is a day of barbecues, flag waving and fireworks. This year, for the 49th time, it was once again the same.

How well I remember my 49th birthday, the one before the big "50". For me, much like Israel, it was, and is, a time of still considering that we are "young", relatively speaking. For Israel at 49, some believe that she is suffering a "pre-mid-life crisis", even though maturity is hopefully within reach.

Israel, at 49, is still stuck in a conflict that began at "rebirth", and today's peace process is essentially an attempt to finally end the "War of Independence". You might find it hard to believe that Israel has not for a single day lived within "secure and recognized borders" - in the words of the landmark United Nations Security Council Resolution 242.

For almost 50 years, Israel has lived in a house with temporary walls. Israel has worked diligently to establish permanent borders with Egypt, Jordan, and to some extent Lebanon. But the borders with Syria and the Palestinians, Israel's most implacable and intimate foes, still hang in the balance.

There are two other conflicts that Israel needs to address, which the Arab-Israeli conflict has prevented from happening. These nagging problems in the body politic of Israel, the "status quo" and the country's economic philosophy, must be dealt with before Israel can fully enter a state of maturity.

When I say "status quo" I'm referring to David Ben-Gurion's (Israel's first Prime Minister) supposedly temporary compromise to allow Israel to navigate the conflict between being a secular democracy and a Jewish state. The patch-work quilt that holds the Jewish people together is having its very fabric strained to where it's busting at the seams.

The recently considered "conversion bill", being moved through the Knesset for a final vote, is playing a major role in putting the "strain" on the body politic of Israel. This type of legislation and the on-going battle for the keeping of the sabbath by all the Jewish people, religious and secular, has effectively driven a wedge between the two groups of Jewish people, not only in Israel but all over the world.

The other major conflict that dates back to the days of inception for this new-born state is the battle for the minds of the people and their pocketbooks, as it relates to the national economic philosophy. The country's founders and the realities and aspirations of today's Israel are very far apart, both philosophically and practically.

Founded under a socialistic philosophy, Israel, after 50 years, has not begun a serious debate over the economic direction of the country. The two major parties have basically come to a compromise: lip-service to fundamental reform combined with continuation of a massive government role in the economy.

The conflict over what it means to be "a Jewish state" is waiting patiently until the struggle for existence is resolved. So, too, regarding the conflict between the nation's inherited socialist mindset and its current capitalistic ambitions. Though Israel's mid-life crisis looms, in some ways it cannot come soon enough.  

As I reflect over the last 49 years of the modern-day state of Israel, I find it difficult to remember what the world community had to talk about before the re-birth of the Jewish nation. The focus of the leaders of not only the major nations in our world, but the smallest states as well are watching the events unfolding here in the Middle East.

The greatest example of this is the recent vote in the United Nations to condemn Israel. Only the United States and Micronesia voted on the side of Israel. The greatest and the smallest are joining forces to stand with the Jewish people. Isn't it interesting that the world today has there attention drawn to the little nation with less than 10% of I % of the population of the world.

The ancient Jewish Prophets told us over 2,500 years ago that at the time of the end of this present world situation this is exactly what would happen. The most significant of these prophecies was that there would be a Jewish state again in our world. All the major prophets and most of the minor prophets had forecast that God would bring the dispersed Jews once again into their ancient homeland.

Now for 49 years the world has been witness to the faithfulness of God and the truth of the prophecies that the word of God has proclaimed down through the centuries. Again, the signature of God is upon His word. I stand everyday and am able to touch the reality of God as I have personal contact with God's chosen people, the Jewish people, now living in the land of Israel.

The fact that these prophecies have been fulfilled about the regathering of the Jewish people to the Middle East and the restoration of a Jewish state in this part of the world is evidence that should make all people realize that God is still on His throne and that His will is the be accomplished in the times He said they would come to past.

Even the two major problems facing the Jewish people of Israel, the lack of "secure borders" and the division of the Jewish people that have returned and those that are still in the Diaspora are in actuality, at the least, partial fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.

The Prophets Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Zechariah all prophesied that there would be those who would want to destroy the Jews and do all they could to keep them from having "secure borders", much less the true Biblical borders that God has promised the Jewish people.

The Prophet Ezekiel foretold that there would be another "civil war" between the Jewish people in the last days when he recorded the word he received from the Lord about the two sticks that were to be put in his hand, where they would become one again. That prophecy, Ezekiel 37:15 - 24, is at the point of being fulfilled with the division today between the secular and the religious Jews.

With the 49th birthday now a thing of the past, we look to the "Jubilee Year" and the celebration of the 50th birthday of modern-day Israel. Knowing that the Bible is true in its prophecies of the nation of Israel and the Jewish people, I can predict that 1998 will continue the search for "secure borders" and unity among the Jewish people.

Jimmy DeYoung presently resides in Jerusalem, Israel. During speaking tours in the United States and Europe Jimmy brings with him the latest news and updates from the Middle East with a unique mix of political, biblical and prophetic insight that can't be found in the media today.

After graduating from Tennessee Temple, Jimmy joined with Jack Wyrtzen and Harry Bollback at Word of Life Fellowship in Schroon Lake, NY where he spent the next 12 years in many staff positions including staff evangelist, host of Word of Life Inn, and producer of radio programs heard worldwide.

For 5 years Jimmy was the Vice-President and General Manager of New York City's first Christian radio station, WNYM. During this time he was the producer and host of a daily talk program in the No. #1 media market in America.

Since 1991, Jimmy and his wife Judy have been residing in Jerusalem where they are fully credentialed journalist in the second most populated journalistic city in the world. Arriving there just 3 days prior to the Gulf Crisis, they weathered 39 scud attacks. Jimmy gave live reports nationwide on several networks, during the Gulf Crisis. He remains in the center of what is considered the media "hot spot" of our time, the Middle East.

Jimmy can be seen on the television program, Day of Discovery over a network of 300 television stations in the major markets of America. He is also heard weekly on radio, with reports from the Middle East, on several networks consisting of over 900 radio stations.

Jimmy DeYoung is a noted Prophecy Teacher and Conference Speaker in the United States and Europe and he devotes several months of the year to this conference ministry. As a part of his ministry he has authored and produced several audio and video materials, including his best seller, "Ready to Rebuild" and his brand new 2 hour video, "The Daniel Papers". He continues to expand his ministry with the most up-to-date information on current events and their relationship to prophecy, in his newsletter "Until" and the brand new weekly audio digest, "Prophetic Prospective".

Jimmy had the privilege of receiving his Doctorate from Tennessee Temple University in May of 1996.

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