I don’t know why so many ‘scholars’ and teachers fight against the idea that God promised that He would bring Israel back to their land and Redeem them there. It’s as if they think that the God we worship is not the same God of the Hebrew Scriptures. It’s mind boggling.
Now, when we talk about the Return of Israel to the Land of Israel, our first stop should always be Ezekiel 36. It’s the clearest description that you could possibly expect.
The Land Of Israel Blessed
Ezekiel 36:1-15 The Land Of Israel Blessed
https://israelsaved.com/ezekiel-36_1-15-the-land-of-israel-blessed/
The chapter starts out this way:
1 Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord:
2 Thus saith the Lord God; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:
God starts out talking about the Land. And, He’s angry that the nations have claimed His land for themselves. God goes on to talk about how the nations made the land desolate. And, indeed they did.
Mark Twain went on a tour of Europe and what he called the Holy Land. His commentary was collected in his book Innocents Abroad. You can read it for free, here:
Innocents Abroad
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3176
And what he had to say about the Land of Israel was terrible:
“…desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds-a silent mournful expanse….A desolation is here that not even imagination can grace with the pomp of life and action….We never saw a human being on the whole route….There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of the worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.” (h/t: Jewish Virtual Library)
The Arabs made the Land of Israel virtually unlivable. They cut down all the trees. And, were constantly dying of malaria. It was made to be a truly terrible place. And, it fit perfectly this verse:
13 Thus saith the Lord God; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations:
And because of that, God says:
14 Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord God.
Then, the Jews began to return. They planted trees. They drained the malaria swamps. They eliminated malaria altogether. They brought jobs which caused Arabs to migrate from Syria and Egypt, into Israel. The Jews brought in modern medicine and education. The land began to flourish, while the Arabs began to envy the prosperity of the Jews.
As the Jews began to be successful through hard work, the Arabs started killing them. That’s when the Jews created communities that were well defended, and they formed a self-defense group called the Haganah. If the Arabs had just left the Jews alone, Israel would not have had the combat experience to defeat the Arab armies that tried to kill her in 1948.
If you measure a person’s Zionism by how much they have benefited Israel, then the biggest Zionists of all are the Arabs. They gave Israel land. They gave Israel unity when they were ready to go to civil war with each other. They gave Israel combat experience that allowed them to utterly destroy all who came against her. And to their credit, the Arabs have started to figure this out.
Do you notice that all of this has been fulfilled?
I spent 15 years in Israel noticing it. I played my own tiny little role in helping Israel prosper. But, Ezekiel 36 isn’t over yet.
Israel Brought Back And Then Redeemed
Ezekiel 36:16-38 Israel Brought Back And Then Redeemed
https://israelsaved.com/ezekiel-36_16-38-israel-brought-back-and-then-redeemed/
This is the part that really gets me when people push back against the Redemption of Israel in their own land. I just had someone who thought very highly of himself do that, claiming that all the ‘Land Promises’ were symbolic.
Wow.
Here’s that part that should blow everyone’s mind:
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
How long a time period is it between verse 24 and 25?
Does it matter?
What’s our hurry?
And frankly, my flesh would prefer that there be a very much longer time between verses 24 and 25, because God promised to destroy our civilization when Israel’s Redemption occurs. Just to give you an idea of what we will be talking about later, here’s this passage that horrifies me:
In Isaiah 30 God says this will happen at the time of the Redemption of Israel:
…In the day of the great slaughter,
When the towers fall.
26 Moreover the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun,
And the light of the sun will be sevenfold,
As the light of seven days,
In the day that the Lord binds up the bruise of His people
And heals the stroke of their wound.
That is a cataclysmic solar event and global earthquake that will destroy everything modern about our civilization. No electricity. No water. No transportation. Cities turned into rubble. Billions die.
How long would it take for our civilization to recover enough so that the Antichrist could turn the lights back on?
A decade? Two decades? A century?
Ask any electrical engineer, any solar plasma physicist or any geologist what that means, that they would tell you what I’m telling you. Or, go to the science section of Ezekiel’s Fire:
https://ezekielsfire.com/03-section-one-the-science.html
There are solar physicists today, tearing their hair out trying to get people to pay attention to this threat. And, it’s right here in the Bible.
The Restoration Of Israel
Ezekiel 20:33-49 The Restoration Of Israel
https://israelsaved.com/ezekiel-20_33-49-the-restoration-of-israel/
Here, our Lord adds more detail about the conditions surrounding the Return of Israel, and I can see that a lot of this has already happened, with more still to come.
33 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:
34 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.
35 And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
36 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.
This goes along with what was said in Zechariah 13, where two thirds of everyone in the Land of Israel will die, and one third will be refined. We will talk about that purification when we get to that subject, but that was about those who were IN the Land already.
God talks about purging the rebels outside the Land of Israel who refuse to obey Him:
38 And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
We have seen this happen, and I think that there is worse to come. But as always, the end is with salvation:
42 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for the which I lifted up mine hand to give it to your fathers.
43 And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed.
44 And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.
Where else have we seen Israel mourning over her sins and her rejection of their Messiah?
Zechariah 12:7-14 When They Consider That Jesus Was Their Savior
Yeah. Right there. Now, we proved that when they Look, that it means consider. Go back to our discussion of Jesus, if you forgot.
This mourning and repentance is exactly what God expects of us, when we recognize Jesus as our Lord and Savior. And, Israel will do the same – which is also proof that they aren’t seeing Jesus, because they wouldn’t be mourning at His Second Coming.
Israel Returned And Redeemed
Ezekiel 28:25-26 Israel Returned And Redeemed
https://israelsaved.com/ezekiel-28_25-26-israel-returned-and-redeemed/
This one is short. It also speaks of the Return and Sanctification of Israel, but it adds one more thing that should give everyone pause – if they harbor ill will towards the Jews:
26 And they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about them; and they shall know that I am the Lord their God.
Everyone that despises the Jews will be judged. In fact, we will know what those judgments are, when we get to the part about Ezekiel’s Fire. God will destroy our civilization because of how we treated the Jews.
Let that sink in.
The Dry Bones
Ezekiel 37:1-14 The Dry Bones
https://israelsaved.com/ezekiel-37_1-14-the-dry-bones/
One of the problems with reading commentaries is that some of those authors were reading what the Rabbis say about Ezekiel 37. Judaism claims that there will be another Holocaust and all the Jews will be resurrected and brought to Israel.
That’s stupid. And, I heard a lot of stupid when I lived in Israel, since that’s what the Jews believe. And, it’s a kind of stupid that makes all religious Jews absolutely depressed, expecting to be massacred. No, really.
Now, I lean towards a literal interpretation of what the prophets say, unless it is clearly symbolic. And, this is one of those times when I get to say that this is clearly symbolic of Israel’s Redemption.
Here’s the passage that trips up the Rabbis and those who think that they can learn something from them:
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
13 And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.
What graves are these?
The same graves we were in, before we were saved. Before we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, repenting of our sins and committing ourselves to following Christ.
We were dead.
Now, we are alive.
The same thing will happen to the Jews.
I don’t know why people think that there is any wisdom to be found in the Talmud. Yet, there are foolish pastors and foolish writers of commentaries who think that there is something worthwhile to get from these books of spiritual death.
Permanent Covenant
Jeremiah 33:19-26 Permanent Covenant
https://israelsaved.com/jeremiah-33_19-26-permanent-covenant/
This is probably one of the most powerful responses to those antisemites who claim to be christian. And no, I do not believe that you are saved if you hate the Jews. Sorry, but the Bible already says that He wants all antisemites dead.
Anyway, here’s the cool part:
25 Thus saith the Lord; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;
26 Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
So, as long as the Universe and our solar system exists, then God will cause the Jewish exile to end, and bring them back into their land.
Isaiah 14:1-2 Redemption of Israel
https://israelsaved.com/isaiah-14_1-2-redemption-of-israel/
1 For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
2 And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the Lord for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
[This passage connects with Isaiah 13 and that destruction of Babylon continues in verses 3-11. This also shows how the Christians will join them.]
Isaiah 51:9-16 Zion the People of God
https://israelsaved.com/isaiah-51_9-16-zion-the-people-of-god/
11 Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.
16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
[The Return of Israel and the salvation of her people by the Hand of God.]
Isaiah 52:7-12 Jerusalem Redeemed
https://israelsaved.com/isaiah-52_7-12-jerusalem-redeemed/
7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.
Isaiah 54 The Redemption Of Israel
https://israelsaved.com/isaiah-54-the-redemption-of-israel/
3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.
10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.
11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.
[Verse 10 sounds the great earthquake of Ezekiel’s Fire.]
Isaiah 61:4-7 Israel Rebuilt
https://israelsaved.com/isaiah-61_4-7-israel-rebuilt/
4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.
6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.
Jeremiah 16:14-21 Return Of Israel
https://israelsaved.com/jeremiah-16_14-21-return-of-israel/
14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
15 But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord.
[God will bring them back to the Land of Israel and then He shall save them.]
Jeremiah 31:1-14 Continuation Redemption Of Israel
https://israelsaved.com/jeremiah-31_1-14-continuation-redemption-of-israel/
1 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
7 For thus saith the Lord; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.
9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
11 For the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.
Jeremiah 33:6-13 Jacob Returned
https://israelsaved.com/jeremiah-33_6-13-jacob-returned/
7 And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.
8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.
Hosea 11:8-11 Israel Shall Return With Trembling
https://israelsaved.com/hosea-11_8-11-israel-shall-return-with-trembling/
11 They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the Lord.
Zechariah 1:12-17 Mercy Upon Jerusalem
https://israelsaved.com/zechariah-1_12-17-mercy-upon-jerusalem/
14 So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.
15 And I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little displeased, and they helped forward the affliction.
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.
17 Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
Zechariah 2 The Redemption Of Zion
https://israelsaved.com/zechariah-2-the-redemption-of-zion/
4 And said unto him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein:
5 For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her.
6 Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, saith the Lord: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the Lord.
7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest with the daughter of Babylon.
8 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
9 For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me.
10 Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord.
11 And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee.
12 And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
13 Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.
[God will judge the world for their treatment of the Jews. Also, the Redemption of Israel will cause a great revival among many nations.]
Zechariah 8 The Redemption Of Jerusalem, Judah And Israel
https://israelsaved.com/zechariah-8-the-redemption-of-jerusalem-judah-and-israel/
2 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.
3 Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain.
4 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age.
5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.
6 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country;
8 And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.
11 But now I will not be unto the residue of this people as in the former days, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 For the seed shall be prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things.
13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.
14 For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not:
15 So again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah: fear ye not.
19 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth, shall be to the house of Judah joy and gladness, and cheerful feasts; therefore love the truth and peace.
22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.
23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
Zechariah 10 Judah And Israel Returned And Redeemed
https://israelsaved.com/zechariah-10-judah-and-israel-returned-and-redeemed/
3 Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.
4 Out of him came forth the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.
5 And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their enemies in the mire of the streets in the battle: and they shall fight, because the Lord is with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them.
7 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the Lord.
8 I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.
9 And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.
10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.
11 And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.
12 And I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord.