The 2nd Re-Gathering of Israel

The Diaspora or Dispersion of Israel began in 70AD with the destruction of Jerusalem by General Titus. This event was in fulfillment of prophecy given by Jesus on the Olivet Discourse, a confidential briefing to His inner circle apostles comprising of Peter, Andrew, James and John as recorded in Mathew 24.

This time around, the Jews were scattered across the farthest seas all the way to Russia and all across Europe. Not forgetting that in the events of the Captivity of Israel by the Assyrians and Babylonians, there were already Jews in present day Iraq and Iran and most of them did not return to Jerusalem in the 1st Gathering of Israel but rather tried to assimilate into the culture of the land of the captors.

It was no different in the dispersion of Israel. They tried very hard to assimilate into the way and life of the European nations but somehow they just cannot make it stick. As much as they had wanted to be an Austrian, a Polish, a Russian, etc, their Jewish nature and background just did not allow them to be one of the Europeans. And it was probably God's providence that He was watching them and not let the Jews be lost forever.

In the 2nd Gathering of Israel, it is in fulfillment of a number of passages of Scripture. Amongst the few key ones is Ezekiel 37 of the Vision in the Valley of Dry Bones.



Ezekiel 37

19Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.

 20And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.

 21And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:

 22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.

Somehow, the dried bones gathered sinews and became alive once again. It depicts the nation of Israel being dead yet coming alive once again. For this to happen, the Jews must never lose their identity and somehow, the Promised Land must come back into existence and into their control once again. This is just too impossible from a statistics point of view but it is in God's plan and His prophecy holds true.

It is God who caused the re-gathering of Israel and it is not something man can do. God gave this prophecy over 2,000 years before it happened. So let us trace back how God fulfilled this prophecy and all the prophecies related to Israel.

Read The Middle East Crisis in Biblical Perspective by David Reagan, an excellent overview of this topic.

Allow me to reproduce the relevant parts of his article here.

The Regathering in Unbelief

Regarding the end time regathering in unbelief, God set it in motion in the late 19th Century when He began to raise up prophetic voices among the Jews in Europe, calling them to return to their homeland. God knew the Holocaust was coming, so He called the Jewish people to return to their roots.

The key individual He used to spread this warning message was a Viennese journalist named Theodore Herzl. Like most European Jews, Herzl believed the Jews had been assimilated into European culture and would never again suffer from outbreaks of Anti-Semitism. But in 1894 he went to Paris to cover the trial of a French Army officer named Alfred Dreyfus. This man had been accused of treason, primarily because he was a Jew. When Herzl arrived at the courthouse, he was astonished to see tens of thousands of sophisticated Parisians standing in the streets shouting, "Death to the Jews!"

His eyes were opened to the fact that Jews had not been assimilated and never would be. He responded by writing a pamphlet called "The Jewish State." In it, he called for Jews worldwide to return to their homeland, which at that time was called Palestine. In 1897 he convened the first international Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland. At that conference, he proclaimed his belief that a Jewish state would come into existence within 50 years.

Herzl's vision motivated waves of immigrants to return to Palestine. These waves were dubbed "aliyas" — after the Hebrew word, aliya, which means "to go up." This word was used because the immigrants were viewed as "going up to Jerusalem."

By 1900 there were 40,000 Jews in Palestine. During the years immediately preceding World War II, and during the war itself, many barriers were placed in the way of Jewish immigration, but even so, by the end of the war, the Jewish population had swelled to over 700,000. Today there are over 6 million Jews in Israel who have come — as prophesied — from the four corners of the world (Isaiah 11:12).

The two world wars were the key events that led to the return of the Jews to their homeland, proving once again that God can bring good out of any calamity. World War I prepared the land for the people; World War II prepared the people for the land.

The Impact of World War I

During World War I the Turks sided with the Germans. Their realm, called the Ottoman Empire, included most of the lands of the Middle East, including Palestine. When the Germans lost the war, the Turks did also, and their empire was divided up among the Allied victors. In a secret pact signed in 1916 (called the Sykes-Picot Agreement), the British and French agreed to divide the Middle East between themselves when the war ended. Britain received Palestine while the French were given Syria.

In November 1917 the British announced that they intended to create a homeland for the Jews within the territory of Palestine that had been allotted to them. At that time Palestine consisted of all of modern day Israel and Jordan — an area of 45,000 square miles.

Jews worldwide were elated over the Balfour Declaration. But the ink was hardly dry before the British government changed its mind. To placate Arab animosity, they decided in 1922 to give two-thirds of Palestine to the Arabs, creating a Palestinian state called Transjordan.

Jewish leaders were terribly disappointed by this decision, and many felt betrayed by the British. But they still looked forward to establishing a Jewish state within the part of Palestine that was left — a sliver of land only 10,000 square miles in size, smaller than Lake Michigan or the state of New Jersey.

The Impact of World War II

Even after God had miraculously produced a homeland for the Jews out of the horrors of World War I, the Jewish people did not return in great numbers. Most felt comfortable in Europe and simply could not believe the rising chorus of prophetic voices who warned of an approaching time of widespread persecution.

World War II produced the Holocaust which, in turn, provided the motivation for the Jews to return home. They came out of the war saying, "Never again! Never again! Never again will we live under a Hitler. We are going to have our own land, our own government, our own state." This feeling produced a flood of refugees.

In November of 1947 (50 years after Herzl's proclamation), Jews worldwide were elated when the United Nations voted to allow the establishment of a Jewish state. But they were severely disappointed when the United Nations decided at the same time to divide the remaining portion of Palestine once again. Half was apportioned to the Jews for the creation of a Jewish state. The other half was assigned to the Arabs for the establishment of a second Palestinian state.

Despite their disappointment, the Jews accepted the UN resolution and proceeded to declare the existence of their new state on May 14, 1948. The Arabs rejected the UN vote and declared war on Israel.

The plan provided for the establishment of two states, one for the Jews, the other for the Arabs. The Jewish state was to consist of the Galilee, the Mediterranean coastal plain, and the Negev Desert. The Arab state was made up mainly of the heartland of ancient Israel (Samaria and Judea). The Arab state also included the Gaza Strip and a portion of the Galilee.

 Remember this date, May 14, 1948, the birth of the nation of Israel in one day after 1,878 years scattered all over the world. In 1900, there were 40,000 Jews in that area. In 1948, there were 700,000. Today, there are 6,000,000 Jews living in Israel. The re-gathering of Israel has been the fulfillment of Scripture.

Isaiah 11

  10And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

 11And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.

 12And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

The ensign or flag of the nation of Israel shall be a root of Jesse who is David. Notice the flag of Israel which is designed as a prayer shawl with the Star of David in the center of the ensign.

Notice the fulfillment of prophecy to bring the Jews who were left in Assyria, Egypt and Shinar (Iraq) and the islands of the sea (the ends of the earth, the furthermost places). God has brought together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Plane loads of Jews have been brought back to Israel since 1948.

Amos 9

14And 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.

 15And 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.

The Jews came back to Israel in 1948 to which they had to rebuild the waste cities and inhabit them. The land of Israel at the time was a barren wilderness which nobody wanted. Yet they are planting vineyards and making wine and growing fruits. Israel produces the Shiraz variety of wine and is the biggest exporter of citrus fruits to the European Union.

Isaiah 66

 7Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.

 8Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.

The nation of Israel was born in one day. Nobody has heard such a thing but yet God can. He preserved the people and prepared the land for them to become a nation once again.

However, the prophecy continues that the nation of Israel was born before child birth pains. Immediately after their Independence, the very next day saw the beginning of an unending series of wars upon Israel and they have had no peace until today.

They are the very epicenter of the world and is the boiling pot where the world's biggest issues will brew.

ZEC 12: 2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth are gathered together against it.

This prophecy is clearly fulfilled as we can now understand the Middle East crisis from God's perspective. This is not a human plan but a divine plan that God is staging for the end days.

Remember, God is in full control over all the world and His end time prophecies will come to pass to be fulfilled. He is God and He shows us the end from the beginning.