A step on the way, not the final destination.

The cry of the captives from Judah recorded in Psalm 137:1, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion”, has echoed down over the 2,500 years since the Babylonian captivity.

Similarly, for every Jewish household around the world at Passover, the heart-cry of “Next year in Jerusalem” expresses the longing and expectation of return to the homeland. It should be no surprise, then, that we at Prophecy Today constantly express our sympathy and support for Israel and affirm the nation’s God-given, historical and legal right to the Land.

Nevertheless, in this article I want to remind readers that the Jewish return to the Land from around the globe is a step along the way, rather than a final destination.

Bringing Balance

We can debate endlessly whether the political movement called Zionism is a work of man or an act of God, and in so doing miss the bigger picture. The bigger picture is of the covenant purposes of God and how he will fulfil these. We have to face up to the reality not only of history, but of what is prophesied for the future.

Though this fallen world is still awaiting redemption, God has nevertheless been working his covenant purposes out throughout history. As part of this, immense events of deep significance have been allowed, each of which open our eyes in some way to the nature and depth of his restorative purposes. For example:

• The Great Flood at the time of Noah
  
• The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
  
• The captivity of Israel by the Assyrians
  
• The captivity of Judah by the Babylonians
  
• The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans
  
• The 2000-year diaspora of the Jews, followed by a multitude of pogroms and persecutions, including
  
• The Holocaust

And, standing alone for its purpose in covenant history –

• The crucifixion of Jesus the Messiah as the atoning sacrifice for sin.

I include this list to argue that we must dig deeper than relatively short-term, political arguments if we are to put the return to Zion (a name for Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel) into true biblical perspective and move towards a balanced understanding of what is happening today.

We can debate endlessly whether the political movement called Zionism is a work of man or an act of God, and in so doing miss the bigger picture.

Fulfilment of Prophecy

At this deeper level of understanding, the Babylonian captivity (the first exile from the Land) and the global diaspora from AD 70 until 1947 (the second exile) are fulfilments of scriptural prophecies and are consequences of the Jews not heeding prophetic warnings.

A pivotal Scripture is Deuteronomy 28, which sets out clearly under the terms of what we now call the ‘Old Covenant’ what will happen to the Jewish people if they obey the Law given through Moses and what will happen if they fail to obey.¹ There are amazing promises of blessing for obedience. Sustained, wilful disobedience has consequences too:

And it shall be, that just as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess. Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other… (Deut 28:63-64)

Many religious Jews know this full well. We do not need to stress to them the responsibility of their calling and heritage, nor the importance of repentance. For example, Rabbi Jacob Berman writes:

Because of the sins of our forefathers, we were driven from our land, the land of Israel. Exile, dispersion and suffering caused many of our people to neglect the study of the holy language [Hebrew], to forget the Torah and to assimilate among the gentiles. But God has promised the eternity of the Jewish people…

Go forth and search for the nations of old; where are they today? They have vanished! Not so the people of Israel who live on forever more. What is the secret of their survival? There is but one answer: The Torah! "And you who cleave unto the Lord your God, you are alive, everyone of you, to this day." (Deuteronomy 4:4) Our sages explained it this way: The children of Israel who clung to God, the Source of Life, have come to possess life everlasting.

If Israel would return to God in true repentance, then will He fulfil unto us His promise which He gave us through the prophets, His servants, to gather in the remaining exiles from the four corners of the earth, to restore us to the land of our inheritance, and bring us the Messiah who will rebuild the Temple and restore Divine Worship on the holy mountain, in Jerusalem.²

It was within God’s purposes for the Jewish people to be scattered over the world, and also that they now be restored.

Similarly, many Jewish Zionists who have returned to Israel in our day know that repentance is called for in terms of 2 Chronicles 7:14, a promise given through Solomon directly to Israel: “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

It is within God's purposes that the Jewish people now be restored to the Land - but the story doesn't end there.A deeper view of covenant history and the prophetic scriptures should open our eyes to this: that not only was it within God’s purposes for the Jewish people to be scattered over the world, but it is also within his purposes that they now be restored – first to the Land, and then, in true repentance and faith, to their Lord. These are the days in which we are privileged to live.

Gentile Observers

The world at large is an observer of Israel and their place in God’s purposes. But it is easy to misunderstand how to respond. Too often the Gentile world has taken the initiative to persecute and punish the Jews. However, despite God allowing his covenant people to be driven into exile, subject to the sadness of the temporary loss of their homeland, they remain the apple of his eye. Therefore, to persecute the Jews is to draw God’s wrath.

The ancient nation of Babylon is typical in this respect. A Gentile nation into which the Tribe of Judah was taken captive, Babylon (also a type of the final anti-Christian world empire prophesied in the Book of Revelation) was subject to God’s punishment. Its empire soon collapsed when Israel’s captivity came to an end.

The role of the Gentile nations is to comfort God’s people, to understand the Bible and to beware of anti-Semitism or any act of unkindness towards Israel. God is the judge of Israel and will also bring judgment on all nations as his covenant purposes reach their climax.

The prophetic song of Moses (Deut 32) foretells what will come upon both Israel and the Gentile nations in the end times. Moses prophesied the falling away of Israel (vv15-18) and her consequent suffering (vv19-27), but also her return to God (vv36-43). He also foretold how the Gentile nations would be judged who took the initiative to inflict suffering on her:

The LORD will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free…Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people. (32:36, 43)

God’s purposes for Israel do not end with Zionism or the return to the ancient Land.

The Song of Moses and the Lamb

God’s purposes for Israel do not end with Zionism or the return to the ancient Land. More suffering is foretold as nations gather in the Middle East to pressurise Israel. These nations will be judged with the judgments like those which befell ancient Egypt, as outlined in the Book of Revelation. In this context, Israel as a whole will finally look upwards, from the earthly Jerusalem, with the Messianic cry, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord” (Matt 23:37-39).

All the struggles of this world will climax with Yeshua’s return to redeem Israel and those who wait in faith for him from the Gentile nations. But woe to those who take it upon themselves to seek to harm God’s covenant people! Gentiles have a much worthier calling: to bless the Jews and to bring them the good news of Yeshua’s all-sufficient sacrifice on the Cross, atoning for their sin.

In this respect, Zionism is really about living out a hope and understanding of Israel’s significance in God’s purposes that goes beyond the restoration of heritage and homeland to the fulfilment of future promise. Let us pray and act accordingly.

Notes

1 The blessing and cursing of Old Covenant applies to those of the nation of Israel who have not entered into the New Covenant by faith in the sacrificial death of Yeshua (Rom 9-11; Gal 3:10-13).

2 Popular Halachah: A Guide to Jewish Living (1985, edited by Avnere Tomaschoff).