“…the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity,
and have compassion on you,
and gather you again from all the nations
where the Lord your God has scattered you.
If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven,
from there the Lord your God will gather you,
and from there he will bring you.”
Deuteronomy 30:3-4
The Jewish people were taken from their land twice. The first time they were conquered by Babylon and brought there in captivity. God had sent them many prophets who pleaded with them to stop rebelling against their God, but they came under the influence of the traditions and observances of the nations around them, and they slipped into increasing sin and rebellion until they came to the point of no return, and the Lord caused them to be taken captive and the city of Jerusalem destroyed.
They remained in Babylon for 70 years, as the Lord had foretold in his Word. At the end of the 70 years, they returned to Israel, to the land of their fathers, rebuilt Jerusalem, and were once again blessed.
The second time they came under the judgment of God they were not taken to a conquering country, but they were scattered across the earth, to every country and to every nation, and there they stayed -not 70 years this time, but they remained scattered for 2,000 years. This second judgment of God came upon them in 70 AD. The Temple was destroyed, Jerusalem was destroyed, and they were dispersed throughout the world. For the 2,000 years that they were gone, the rains stopped in Israel and the land languished. The author Samuel Clemons visited Israel and later he described it:
“…a silent mournful expanse… a desolation…
We never saw a human being on the whole route…
hardly a tree or shrub anywhere.
Even the olive tree and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil,
had almost deserted the country.”
But just as the Lord had foretold these captivities, he also foretold the end of the judgments. When the appointed time came, God called the Jewish people back to the land of their fathers. And they have returned from every country on earth. Today Israel is a thriving country, far more developed and prosperous than the countries around her which have been there all this time. Israel has developed and prospered more in these 69 years than the nations around her have in thousands of years. The nation of Israel is a statement from God. He does the impossible. When they started returning, the south was just desert and the north was malaria-infested swamp-lands. Today the land has blossomed and the earth has become so rich that they export tulips to Holland!
But the Lord has stated that they would be restored in two steps, the first being their physical return, and the second their spiritual restoration. For the most part, the Jews in Israel today are secular. It’s quite odd to see it because you’d think that after their history they’d be on their knees worshiping God. Some do, but for the most part they are secular. The Lord is not about to let anyone share his glory in this undertaking. Their eyes are still blind and no one can take credit for the work of restoration that God himself has done. I remember hearing prime minister Rabin speak at a religious gathering, and he extolled the greatness of the Israeli armed forces. In all his boasting, he never once mentioned God -and I was appalled. Only then did I realize the spiritual emptiness of Israel at this point. And this has been the case with many of the great men in Israel, because God has made it obvious that it is HE who is doing this work of restoration, and he alone, and it’s not because of their goodness, but in honor of the covenant he made with their fathers.
Before the spiritual restoration comes, Israel has yet to go through a terrible time during which they will be brought low, and in their pain they will cry out to God and the Messiah will finally come and finish the work. There will be no question who has performed this great restoration. They will be humbled, and brought to repentance through many tears.
When they realize who the Messiah is, they will be shocked.
“And one shall say unto him, “What are these wounds in your hands?'”
Zechariah 13:6
Imagine their astonishment when they realize that the Messiah is the One who came to them 2,000 years ago, the One they rejected. They will be so astounded that they will go into deep mourning for having rejected him.
“…then they will look on me whom they pierced.
Yes, they will mourn for him as one mourns for his only son,
and grieve for him as one grieves for a firstborn.
In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem…”
Zechariah 12:10-11
If ever I doubted my faith, the story of Israel alone would restore it because it is a miracle story from beginning to end. God foretold all of the above, and it has come to pass exactly as he has said. During the 2,000 year dispersion, the Jewish people were not assimilated into the countries where they were. They have remained a set-apart people all this time, and they have been returning to the land of their fathers exactly as foretold. The language of Israel today is once again Hebrew, their language which was lost to them in their dispersion. How amazing is that! French Jews now speaking Hebrew, Greek Jews now speaking Hebrew, Iraqi Jews now speaking Hebrew! One can only observe it with awe.
As we look at what’s taking place in the world today, we surely can see that all is ready for the final act. We have witnessed the convergence of all the prophesies coming together. We have seen the blood moons all on Biblical feast days, the solar eclipses, CERN which is setting up horrors unimaginable, and the looming Great Tribulation, through which the Jews will be humbled; and the world will come into the most terrible time that it has ever known. It is now ready. We see it with mouths agape and wonder as what was prophesied so long ago is about to begin. As Jesus foretold:
“The sun shall be turned into darkness, (eclipse)
And the moon into blood, (blood moon)
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.”
Joel 2:31
“For then there will be great tribulation,
such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time,
no, nor ever shall be.”
Matthew 24:21
“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars,
and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity,
the sea and the waves roaring,
men’s hearts failing them from fear
and the anticipation of those things which are coming on the earth…”
Luke 21:25-26
If you have not been born again, seek the Lord now while there is yet time. Don’t put it off and think you’ll do it later, there might not be another time. Don’t be fooled by religion. If you’re religious, that won’t save you. You MUST be born again, and the only way that will happen is when you bow yourself before the Lord Jesus Christ in total heart-felt repentance.
