Israel as Proof of God's Existence: Regathering

The fifth prophecy I would point to is the one that states that the Jewish people will one day be regathered from their worldwide dispersion back to their homeland.

This is one of the most prolific prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures, repeated over and over again. For example, consider the words of Isaiah which were written 700 years before the time of Jesus:

Isaiah 11:11-12

    11) Then it will happen on that day that the Lord
    Will again recover the second time with His hand
    The remnant of His people, who will remain,
    From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath,
    And from the islands of the sea.

    12) And He will lift up a standard for the nations
    And assemble the banished ones of Israel,
    And will gather the dispersed of Judah
    From the four corners of the earth.

This great regathering began 2,600 years later in the 1890s. It was sparked by a booklet which was written by Theodor Herzl. He advocated that the time had come for the Jewish people to return to their homeland.

The booklet captured the imagination of Jews worldwide, and they began to return to their homeland, which was then called Palestine. At that time there were only 40,000 Jews in the land.

The gradual return became an overwhelming surge after World War II, and today over 6 million Jews have returned to their homeland.

Once again, we have a precise prophecy with a precise fulfillment.

And Jeremiah emphasizes this fulfillment in a startling statement:

Jeremiah 16:14-15

    14) "Therefore behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when it will no longer be said, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,'

    15) but, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.' For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers."

This is an incredible statement. Jeremiah is saying here that one day the Jewish people will look back on the history of their nation and will conclude that the greatest miracle in their history was their regathering from the four corners of the world — a miracle greater than their deliverance from Egyptian captivity!

In the eighth segment of our study of how Israel proves the existence of God, we'll look at the fulfilled prophecies that concern the reoccupation of Jerusalem by the Jews. LambLion