Israel’s Return
The Zionist movement had already begun prior to World War I. Re-establishment efforts were already in the
works as early as 1871. In 1881 the modern Zionist resettlement began in
earnest, at that time there were about 25,000 Jews living in that entire
area. The Zionist idea as stated in “The
Basle Programme” was adopted by the first Zionist Congress called by Theodor
Herzl in 1897. It sought to reclaim the
land of Palestine for the Jewish people.
By the start of World War I, the number of Jews had grown to 80,000.
The movement gained momentum during World War I when British Foreign
Secretary Arthur J. Balfour instituted the Balfour Declaration on November 2,
1917, in which he stated: “His Majesty’s Government views with favor the
establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people…” This
declaration was well received by the Jews but not by the Arabs in the region,
which resulted in not much coming from it.
In 1939, towards the beginning of World War II, the British government
issued the conditions for establishing an independent Arab state in
Palestine. By that time, almost half a
million Jews were in the country. Jewish immigration was restricted and only
with Arab consent could further immigration continue.
During World War II, resulting from the deaths of over 6 million Jews at
the hands of the Nazis, sympathy for the Jews grew worldwide and the feeling
became widespread that Israel should have a homeland to which its refugees
could come and establish themselves. In 1945 the Arab League was formed for the
express purpose of opposing any further Jewish expansion. After World War II, Palestine was turned over
to the United Nations by the British government and under the direction of this
organization, a partition of was recommended, Palestine would be divided, being
home to a Jewish state and an Arab state.
By 1948 there were already 650,000 Jews living there.
Israel
Established
Israel proclaimed itself an independent state within the boundaries set
up by the United Nations when the British withdrew control on May 14,
1948. Before the day was even over, six
nations, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, attacked Israel
and war had broken out. A series of
truces began; the first was on June 11, 1948 which was followed by a renewal of
hostilities which ended in the final truce on July 17, 1948. Although Israel had just established itself,
not only were they victorious, but in the process, they expanded their
boundaries and gained territory. On
January 7, 1949, a general armistice was arranged in which Israel could retain
the additional land they had secured during the war. Israel itself was admitted to the United
Nations. In the years that followed no adequate solution was found in attempts
towards permanent peace. The Arab
nations refused to recognize Israel and denied it the right of existence.
Since then, Israel has made incredible progress. Even though it is surrounded by enemies,
Israel rests in its security of superior weaponry and an effective military
apparatus. Of great importance is the absolute fact that for the first time since
A.D. 70, Israel has been recognized as a political state and is independent,
self-ruled, and self-sustaining.
There is no question that the restoration of the Jewish people to its ancient
land and its establishment as a political government is almost without parallel
in the history of the world. Never have
an ancient people, scattered for so long, been able to return to their ancient
land and re-establish themselves with such success and such progress as
witnessed in the new state of Israel.
The
Prophetic Significance of the Re-established State
The prophetic significance of the re-established State is without
question bound up with the increased importance of the Middle East in global
affairs. Palestine, Israel’s homeland is
in the hub of three major continents, a strategic location heavily involved in
the economic life of the world. Any
country desiring to dominate the world will need to conquer the land of
Palestine for a number of reasons: first, the Middle East is a channel of world
commerce; second, it possesses immense reserves of oil which are quite
substantial. As current world events
testify to, the Middle East will inevitably be engulfed in any future world
conflict. From a biblical standpoint, the Middle East remains a center of
significant interest; it is and will continue to be the world stage according
to Bible prophecy.
As previously mentioned, in A.D. 70 the land of Israel, along with the
Jewish temple, was destroyed by the Roman army. Since then, the Jews have been
scattered all over the world. In Deuteronomy 22:64-66, this worldwide
scattering of the Jewish people was prophesied and, as well, has been literally
fulfilled.
Then the Lord will scatter
you among all peoples from one end of the earth to the other, and there
you will worship other gods, of wood and stone, which neither you nor your
ancestors have known. You will find no peace among those nations, and
there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot. There
the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a
despondent spirit. Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be in
dread night and day, never certain of survival.
In the teaching of Ezekiel 37:1-14, the Valley of the dry bones, Ezekiel
gives is a beautiful picture of the national return, restoration, and
regeneration of the whole house of Israel.
The hand of the Lord was on
me, and he brought me out by his Spirit and set me down in the middle
of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them. There were
a great many of them on the surface of the valley, and they were very
dry. Then he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I replied, “Lord God, only you
know.”
He said to me, “Prophesy concerning
these bones and say to them: Dry bones, hear the word of
the Lord! This is what the Lord God says to these bones: I
will cause breath to enter you, and you will live. I will put tendons on
you, make flesh grow on you, and cover you with skin. I will put breath in you
so that you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
So I prophesied as I had been
commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the
bones came together, bone to bone. As I looked, tendons appeared on them,
flesh grew, and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. He
said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man. Say to it: This
is what the Lord God says: Breath, come from the four winds and
breathe into these slain so that they may live!” So I
prophesied as he commanded me; the breath entered them, and they came to
life and stood on their feet, a vast army.
Then he said to me, “Son of man, these
bones are the whole house of Israel. Look how they say, ‘Our bones are
dried up, and our hope has perished; we are cut off.’ Therefore,
prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I am going
to open your graves and bring you up from them, my people, and lead you
into the land of Israel. You will know that I am the Lord, my people,
when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit
in you, and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then
you will know that I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do
it. This is the declaration of the Lord.’”
Today, over 30% of the approximately 14,000,000
Jews in the world are back in Israel. That percentage is expected to double by
2030.
Before many of the end times events can
take place, Israel must be back in the land. Now that the Jewish state has been
re-established and Jews are back in the land, prophecies such as Daniel 9:27
can be fulfilled. In this prophecy, the Antichrist makes a covenant with Israel
for the rebuilding of the Jewish temple, which must be in existence during the
seven-year tribulation period spoken of in Matthew 24:15-21. Scripture tells us
that during that 70th week of prophecy, the Antichrist will break
his covenant with Israel and will begin to persecute the Jews. This will set
the scene for the spiritual restoration of Israel. None of this could take
place without the re-establishment of the Jewish state. In fact, the seven-year
tribulation cannot start until Israel is back in the land and can make peace
with the Antichrist. With the re-establishment of the Jewish state, the stage
is set.
All
Scripture quotations, unless indicated, are taken from The Christian Standard
Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.
Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of
Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Copyright
© 2020 by Miguel J Gonzalez Th.D.
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