Q. My minister says there are lots of prophecies about Israel that have come true. But, he couldn’t remember where. Do you know of any? Where are they in the Bible? What books do you recommend?
Answer:
I sympathize with your minister! Not all of us have photographic memories. There are many prophecies about Israel. So here is a just a sampling:
Restoration of the Nation
Ancient Israel would be scattered worldwide and then be regathered into a nation once again. “I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel…I will plant them in their own land never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them” (Amos 9:14-15, Ezekiel 37:21-22).
Ridiculed & Taunted
Israel became a byword, a proverb (Deut. 28:37, Psalm 44:14) – “Thou shalt become a …proverb and a byword among all nations.” Nations still refer to Jews as “wandering Jews” and other racial slurs.
Jews to Return to their Land
Jews would return to their own promised land from other nations: “I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land (Ezekiel 34:13). After the horrors of the Holocaust, this literally occurred.
Reborn in a Day
Israel would be reborn in one, literal day: “Shall a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once?” (Isaiah 66:7-8). While this has never occurred with other ancient peoples, it happened to Israel on May 14, 1948.
Israel’s Ancient Language Revived
No other culture has brought back for daily use its ancient language – not Egyptian, Sumerian, etc. Yet, Israel revived Hebrew for common use as immigrants returned to the Promised Land. “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure language…to serve Him with one accord” (Zephaniah 3:9).
World Exporter of Fruits & Flowers
Israel has become the third largest exporter of fruits and flowers in the world. Isaiah 27:6 prophesied that “Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots and fill the whole world with fruit.” Having invented drip-tube irrigation methods, Israel literally fulfilled this prophecy.
Supernatural Protection
God said He would watch over Israel. “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away. Say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock” (Jeremiah 31:10).
A Strong Military
Israel would have a disproportionately strong army. “Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you” (Leviticus 26:3, 7-8).
Disaster for Those who Divide Israel
God promised to judge those nations who divide Israel (as nations are doing today). “I will gather all the nations…Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and they have divided up my land” (Joel 3:2).
Jerusalem will be World News-Focus
“In that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All the peoples who lift it shall be cut in pieces, though all the nations of the earth be gathered against it” (Zechariah 12:3).
Nuclear Waste Clean-Up Crew?
Is it possible that the ancient prophet Ezekiel was describing a nuclear waste clean-up crew who is commissioned to work after a terrible battle?
“For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them…They will set apart men to travel through the land regularly burying those who were passing through, even those left on the surface of the ground…to cleanse the land. When these travel…and anyone sees a human bone, then he shall set a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it…” (Ezekiel 39:11-16).
Travelers will not even touch these bones. Does this speak of radiation contamination taken care of by a special task force? Just think – the above passage from Ezekiel was written around 592 B.C., hundreds of years before Christ. How could he have known?
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For further study we suggest you read some of the following prophecy books regarding past and future events in Israel.
References:
Ankerberg, John and Dillon Burroughs. 2007. Middle East meltdown. Eugene, OR: Harvest House.
Hitchcock, Mark. 2006. Iran: The coming crisis. Sisters, OR: Multnomah.
Jeffrey, Grant. 2006. The next world war. Colorado Spring: Waterbrook.
Rhodes, Ron. 2008. Northern storm rising. Eugene, OR: Harvest House.
Walvoord, John F. 1962. Israel in prophecy. Great Rapids, MI: Zondervan.