Why does Israel have to be in the land of Israel at the end times?
Israel must be in the Land because the culmination of prophetic Scripture is directed to that nation and place. The final seven years require Israel present in the land to fulfill prophecy. If all Jews were removed at the rapture, no one would remain to fulfill those prophetic events, and God will not allow His Word to fail.
Les explains that Israel still has its covenant position as the favored nation, though individual Jews today are saved on the same level as Gentiles. Yet in God's great scheme, Israel has to be in the Land of Israel for the culmination of the prophetic Scriptures. He recounts a young Jewish listener who observed that if all Jews were saved, they would leave at the rapture and nobody would be left to fulfill prophecy. Les agreed, saying Israel must be in the Land in the end-time scenario for the final seven years, because all prophecy is directed to that. If Israel were taken off the scene, God's Word would fall apart, and God will not let it happen.