| Highlights of Dawn | August 1967 |
Israel in the News
THE story of the rebirth of Israel as a nation in 1948 is well known. The Israelites were taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 606 B.C. This Gentile king had besieged Jerusalem and taken away the liberty of the Israelites nineteen years before this, which was in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim reigned as a puppet over Israel for eight years after this, and then Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah king instead of Jehoiakim. Zedekiah reigned eleven years in all; then he was dethroned and, together with the remainder of the Israelites, was taken into captivity.—II Chron. 36:5,11
They were held captive in Babylon for seventy years, and then, under a decree by Cyrus, were permitted to return to their land. They rebuilt Jerusalem and their temple but continued to remain a subject people. At the time of our Lord’s first advent, the Israelites were in bondage to the Roman Empire. Jesus referred to this, and said that they would continue to be trodden down by the Gentiles until “the times of the Gentiles” would be fulfilled.—Luke 21:24
In A.D. 70-73 the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem, and the scattering of the Israelites to the far corners of the earth began. For more than nineteen centuries they were a people without a home, and without a national existence. Events following the first World War finally led to a change in their status; for, as we have noted, in 1948 Israel again became a nation, and, most significantly, a free nation, no longer “trodden down” by the Gentiles. Indeed, in due course, this new nation of Israel became a member of the United Nations. Thus has Jesus’ prophecy been fulfilled.—Luke 21:24
Regathering Foretold
The scattering of the Israelites among the nations of earth was foretold by God’s prophets, as was also their regathering to the land which God promised to their father, Abraham—the land of Canaan. Concerning their regathering, the Lord promised, “I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.”—Amos 9:14,15
From the standpoint of human understanding, one would think that, when the time came for the Lord to fulfill this and similar promises made to his ancient people Israel, it would mean a time of great rejoicing and peace for them; but on the whole this has not thus far been the case. The prophecies point out that, instead, it would mean a great deal of trouble and anxiety for them. On this point we quote another promise of God: “Lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. And these are the words which the Lord spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”—Jer. 30:3-7
The experiences of the Israelites ever since they began to repossess their Promised Land have confirmed the accuracy of this prophecy. They have indeed heard a voice of trembling, “of fear, and not of peace.” When, under a League of Nations mandate, administered by Great Britain, the Israelites began to rebuild their country, the prospects looked bright, but only for a little while. England had made promises to the Arab nations as well as to Israel; so the situation became too difficult to administer the mandate, and finally it was withdrawn and all immigration to the Holy Land was officially halted.
This was shortly before the outbreak of the second World War in 1939. There also came the horrible persecutions of the Jews by Hitler and his henchmen. This aroused the sympathy of the Western world, which took up the Jewish cause as its own. The displaced Jews of Europe began going to Palestine in defiance of the British immigration ban. Finally the British were forced to give up even trying to govern the country, and they turned it over to the United Nations. The UN, in an endeavor to satisfy both Jews and Arabs, partitioned the land, giving part of it to Abraham’s descendants through Isaac—the Jews—and part to his descendants through Ishmael—the Arabs. It was on May 14, 1948, that Ben Gurion read a 979-word pronouncement declaring Israel an independent Jewish State.
More Fear and Trembling
Many long and fearful years elapsed during these developments in the Holy Land, and much bloodshed. Nor has the situation changed since. Israel was ringed by Arab nations whose avowed purpose was to destroy this newborn nation and to take back the land which they considered theirs. Through the years there was a tremendous build-up of armament, and the training of military forces, both by the Arabs and by Israel. There were almost innumerable border raids by one side or the other. There was one war-size clash in 1956, when in a few days Israel defeated Egyptian aggression. There was a constant fear and trembling on the part of this little nation which God was replanting in the Land of Promise.
In the latter part of May and early in June of this year, the condition intensified. The threatenings erupted into a brief war, in which Israel again quickly defeated her Arab enemies. But this has not ended the threat of danger to the nation of Israel. The controversy between the Arabs and the Israelites continues.
With Great Fury
Here is another prophecy of Israel’s regathering. We quote: “As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you: and I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face; like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God. And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.”—Ezek. 20:33-37
There seems no mistaking the meaning of this prophecy that great “fury” would come upon Israel when the time came for the Lord to exercise his providences in regathering them from all the various countries where they had been scattered. And how aptly their present situation is described by the expression “wilderness of the people.” They have indeed been brought into a “wilderness,” which the Lord here compares to the wilderness into which he brought them when they were delivered from Egyptian bondage.
The “wilderness of the people,” into which the Lord has led his people, might suggest that the Israelites today are in much the same position as the remainder of the world, concerning which Jesus foretold that their hearts would be filled with fear as they looked ahead to the things coming upon the earth. (Luke 21:26) All nations are in this “wilderness” together, and all are seeking, but never finding, solutions to the many problems with which they are surrounded. We know, of course, that in his due time the Lord will solve Israel’s problems, as well as the problems of all mankind; but Israel does not yet know this, nor do the Gentile nations know it.
At present, as the Lord points out in this remarkable prophecy, he is causing his people to. “pass under the rod” and preparing them to enter into the “bond of the covenant.” This is evidently a reference to the New Covenant which the Lord has promised to make “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” (Jer. 31:31-34) It is in preparation for making this covenant with his typical people that the Lord has been, with “fury,” gathering them from the four corners of the earth and causing them to pass under his disciplining rod for many years.
Gentile Nations Gathered
Further details concerning the time of Israel’s gathering are pointed out to us by the Lord through the Prophet Joel. We quote: “Behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.”—Joel 3:1,2
The gathering of “all nations” is described more in detail later in the chapter. Verses 9 to 11 read, “Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen [Gentiles], and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord.”
This is clearly a warlike gathering of the Gentile nations, which has taken place in our generation, and is continuing. The importance of this item of the prophecy is that it is shown to take place “in those days, and in that time,” when the Lord is regathering Israel from her captivity among the nations. How accurately both aspects of this prophecy are being fulfilled!
Another identifying point in this prophecy is its reference to the division of the Promised Land. They have “parted my land,” the Lord declares. We have already noted this detail in connection with Israel’s experiences in repossessing the Land of Promise. And here the Lord informs us that he is not satisfied with this arrangement and that he has a controversy with the nations concerning it.
Just what form this controversy will take as its details unfold we do not know. However, we are assured that eventually the entire Promised Land will be in possession of the Israelites, for this is God’s promise to them through their father, Abraham. God’s purposes unfold slowly at times, and as students of his Word of prophecy we should wait to see what the details will be rather than speculate and probably be wrong.
“Jacob’s Trouble”
In the prophecy of Jeremiah 30:3-7, previously quoted, the travail of the Israelites in connection with their restoration to the land is described as “Jacob’s trouble.” (vs. 7) Most students of prophecy apply this expression to the final climax of the tempestuous experiences of the returning captives, when the Lord will intervene to rescue them from the destroying armies of their enemies. Through the Prophet Zechariah the Lord said, “I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.”—Zech. 14:2,3
What seems to be another reference to this same climax of trouble is found in the prophecy of Ezekiel. Chapter 38 tells of a mighty force from the north, under the leadership of a symbolic character called “Gog,” which moves against restored Israel. In verses 9 to 12, God’s message to Gog is: “Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee. … It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: And thou shalt say, ‘I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates.’ To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.” (See RSV and Moffatt)
This could indicate that there will yet be a negotiated peace settlement between Israel and her enemies, and that she will feel a sense of security just prior to the time she is attacked by Gog and his forces. Only the fulfilment of this prophecy will reveal the details of what it implies. The fact is, however, that there will be a final attack upon the Israelites who have been regathered from the nations, and that while, to begin with, the situation will look hopeless for them, the Lord will intervene and their enemies will be scattered. We quote: “It shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; so that the fishes of the sea, and fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God: and every man’s sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”—vss. 18-23
Manifestly much of this language is symbolic, but it unmistakably gives the thought that when this mighty horde attacks the Israelites, the Lord will intervene to save his people, although Zechariah 14:2,3 indicates that this will not occur until after his ancient people have suffered a severe setback and the situation becomes hopeless apart from the Lord’s help. It will be then that the Lord will fight for his people as he did in the ancient past, and they will be delivered.
The exact manner in which divine intervention will take place is not important for us to know now. What the prophecy does make plain is that the nations involved will recognize what has occurred, and that as a result their eyes will be opened to behold the glory and power of the Lord. This will include the Israelites themselves, for we read, “So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen [Gentiles] shall know that I am the Lord, the holy One in Israel.”—Ezek. 39:7
Thus Israel will be saved out of “Jacob’s trouble. The fact that the Israelites themselves, as well as their Gentile enemies, will have their eyes opened by the experience, to recognize the glory of the Lord, would indicate that at this point the authority of Messiah’s kingdom will become manifest throughout the earth. It will be then that the Lord will say to the raging nations, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen [Gentiles], I will be exalted in the earth.”—Ps. 48:10
Referring to the regathered Israelites, the Lord says, “When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations; then shall they know that I am the Lord their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my Spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God.”—Ezek. 39:27-29
Thus will be marked the beginning of messianic kingdom blessings. It will probably be at about this juncture that the prophets and other worthy ones of ancient times will be awakened from the sleep of death, and will be made “princes in all the earth.” (Ps. 45:16) These will be the human representatives of the divine Christ. (Matt. 8:11; Luke 13:28; Heb. 11:39,40) When Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the Ancient Worthies have been resurrected and shall appear among the regathered Israelites, their superior mental powers will speedily distinguish them from others. Their perfect minds will quickly grasp present-day knowledge and inventions. They will be outstanding in many ways, as was the man Christ Jesus, of whom the people wondered concerning his knowledge of literary matters, “having never learned.”—John 7:15
Israel’s long-cherished hopes of the kingdom will meantime be reviving among those who, from respect for the promises, shall have regathered to Palestine. When to these the Ancient Worthies shall declare their resurrection and the form of righteous government to be established, the plan will undoubtedly be promptly recognized as of the Lord; and when they shall learn that the real kingdom over them is the spiritual, and that Jesus the crucified is the King, and when mentally, with the eye of faith, they shall look upon him whom they pierced—then “they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem.” And God “will pour upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications.”—Zech. 12:10,11
The divine power of the spiritual phase of the kingdom, operating through its human representatives, will extend the influence of Messiah’s kingdom to the uttermost parts of the earth, establishing peace between God and men, and this will be naturally followed by peace among men—and not only peace, but health and life as well. And the life-giving blessings of the kingdom will extend into the grave, awakening those who have died—all who have died, whether by sickness, by accident, or on the battlefield, whether of Israel or of other parts of the world.
The events of Israel in the news today are indications that this glorious climax of the divine plan for all Israel and for all the peoples of earth is drawing near. Let us be glad for the happy outcome which is promised!