What Does the Bible Say about the State of Israel?
The Bible has a lot to say about Israel! In fact, most of Bible prophecy revolves around the state of Israel. The Bible clearly prophesied that Abraham’s descendants through Isaac and Jacob would inherit the Land, the Jewish people would be temporarily scattered from the Land among the nations, and that God would one day regather them back to the Land of Israel because of His faithfulness. The Bible also contains future prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled concerning the Land of Israel. Let us examine all of these prophecies.
First, God promised the Land of Israel as an eternal possession to Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob. Genesis 17:8 says, “And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” This promise was part of a unilateral, unconditional covenant, meaning its fulfillment depended solely upon God’s faithfulness, not on Israel’s.
Second, the Bible predicted the fact the people of Israel would be dispersed from the Land and scattered throughout the world because of disobedience. Moses warned the Jewish people that God would scatter them if they did not obey (Leviticus 26:27–39; Deuteronomy 28:64–68). The prophet Ezekiel likewise foretold Israel’s scattering because of disobedience: “I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. … I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 22:15–16). This scattering took place historically with the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles in the 8th and 6th centuries BCE, respectively.
After Israel was released from Babylonian captivity, many Jewish people returned to the Land of Israel, only to be scattered again by Rome years later. During Rome’s attack on Israel, the soldiers destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. Yeshua (Hebrew for “Jesus”) predicted this destruction and the scattering of the Jewish people once again. Mark 13:1–2 says, “And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.’”
Jesus also said in Luke 21:20, 24, “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” Sadly, this is exactly what happened.
But God, in His mercy, has begun the great work of bringing the Jewish people back to their land! The prophet Ezekiel, writing between 593 and 571 BCE, prophesied that the Lord would one day bring the Jewish people back to the Land He gave them to honor the covenant He made with Abraham: “Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land” (Ezekiel 36:22, 24). God is bringing the Jewish people back to the Land of Israel because of His faithfulness, and it is happening before our very eyes! Although there have always been Jewish people in the Land, since the 1880s, more Jewish people have returned to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob than was previously thought possible. It is, quite simply, a miracle. Israel’s prophesied return has been right here, in the Bible, the whole time!
Yet Israel still does not live in peace. Yeshua said its peace will not come “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). When will this time come to completion?
The Hebrew prophets foretold of a future time when the Messiah will reign from David’s throne in Jerusalem, when Gentiles will no longer trample upon the city, and the Jewish people will finally dwell in safety in all of the Land God promised them (cf. Isaiah 2:1–4; Ezekiel 37:15–28; Psalm 72; Revelation 20:1–6). The Messiah’s return will usher in that time. The prophet Zechariah wrote, “And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child” (Zechariah 12:9–10). We believe the God who spoke these words is the same one who was pierced: Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel who was pierced for our sins. When He returns, God’s plans for Israel’s peace will finally find their fulfillment.
But why wait? Call out to him today and recognize that he died for your sins and is able to forgive your sins right now. You will never regret choosing to believe in Yeshua as your Messiah and Redeemer!
