The regathering of Israel to the Promised Land is the most frequently prophesied event in the Old Testament.
Yes, more than predictions about the birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. (Deuteronomy 30:5, NASB1995).
Several years ago when I visited Israel, I noticed that many of the highway signs were in Hebrew, English… and Russian! About a third of the population of Israel is now Russian-speaking, and the recent crisis in Ukraine has brought thousands more Jews to Israel.
The return of the Jews to Israel has been prophesied several times in the Old Testament including…
Behold, I am bringing them from the north country, and I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth (Jeremiah 31:8).
One of the most incredible facts of history, happening with no other people, land, or nation, is Israel – destroyed and dispersed in 70 A.D. but created anew in 1948.
Douglas Cobb writes in his book, And Then the End Will Come…
Jews have emigrated to modern Israel from more than seventy countries. They have literally been gathered “again from all the nations,” even “the most distant land under the heavens.” More than three million Jewish people have left their homes and emigrated to Israel since 1948 – so many that, in many countries, there are now few if any Jews remaining. Today, about 6.8 million Jews, or more than 46% percent of the world’s Jewish population, live in Israel.
The Bible says that the land in Israel, prior to the Jews returning, would be wasteland, but that flowers would bloom when they returned.
The desolate land will be cultivated instead of being a desolation in the sight of everyone who passes by. They will say, ‘This desolate land has become like the garden of Eden (Ezekial 36:34-35).
On my most recent trip to Israel, my wife and I stayed in a hotel in Tel Aviv and took morning walks along the Mediterranean. We walked through a field of flowers and I took the photo below while thinking about Ezekial 36…
I have mentioned in previous blogs that I went to a seminary that taught the prophecies in the Old Testament about the restoration of Israel were metaphorical descriptions of the Church.
Since the restoration of Israel, we have witnessed dozens of prophecies literally, not figuratively, fulfilled!
Jesus said…
When you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away (Matthew 24:33-25).
Consider the sign of Israel restored, as Jesus says His return will be within one generation after this sign (and other signs) have been fulfilled. One generation is 70 years. It’s been 74 years or one generation.
Soon!
I also wrote about the “sign” of the gospel preached to the ends of the earth in Interruption #717. And for more information, read my book of Revelation Interruptions in #280, #281, #295, #307, #316, #333, #343, #364, #380, #395, #406, #432, #433, #559, #566, #597, #666, #701 and #702.