Israel regathered
Proclaim it in all the world ... He who scattered Israel will gather them
~ Jeremiah 31:10
There has never been anything to compare with the history of Israel. The Jews are unique. They were scattered to every country in the world and, in our day, they are being regathered to the Promised Land. And (this is remarkable) thousands of years ago the Bible predicted these events.
God warned Israel when He imposed the Law:
“Disobey and I will scatter you.”
Israel did disobey and God did scatter them
This is how it happened:
- ca 1460 BCThe Exodus from Egypt and the giving of the Law
The warnings were followed by promises. God would scatter Israel, but God would regather the people in the future.
Over the following hundreds of years the nation failed to live up to the Law. God sent prophets to warn them but they continued to fail.
- 727 BCThe Assyrians conquered Naphtali and the Israelite tribes east of the Jordan River.
The scattering of the Jewish people began.
- 722 BCThe Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel.
The survivors of the ten tribes of Israel were exiled.
Detail from wall relief in Assyria depicting the siege of Lachish in Judah in 701 BC
Assyria failed to defeat Judah but, about 100 years later, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the First Temple.
- 586 BCThe Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom of Judah
The Jews went into exile.
- 539 BCThe Persians conquered Babylon
They allowed tens of thousands of Jews to return to Israel under Ezra. The Temple was rebuilt in Jerusalem. Most Jews remained in exile in Babylon.
- 70 ADThe Romans destroyed Jerusalem during the First Jewish Revolt
The Second Temple was destroyed. Many Jews fled the land.
Sculptures on the Arch of Titus in Rome depicting the capture of the menorah and other Temple treasures
The arch commemorates the conquest of Jerusalem by the Roman general Titus.
- 135 ADThe Bar Kochba revolt
The Jews rebelled a second time. The Romans desolated Israel. The Jews were banished from Jerusalem. Hardly any remained in the land.
However, God had promised that He would bring the Israelites back to the Promised Land in the future
God is regathering Israel – as He promised
- 1881Pogroms in Russia
Jewish communities in Russia were attacked. It prompted a trickle of migration of Jews from eastern Europe to the Promised Land.
- 1888Start of the First Aliyah
Jews from eastern Europe began to move to the Promised Land in significant numbers. (Aliyah is a Hebrew word that means ‘going up’ and is used to describe Jews returning to the land of Israel.)
- 1895The Dreyfus Affair in France
A scandal involving a Jewish officer in the French army brought out anti-Semitism in Europe. This stirred Theodor Herzl to promote the cause of a Jewish State.
- 1904Start of the Second Aliyah
A second wave of Jews, mainly from Russia and Poland, returned to the Promised Land. Persecutions drove them there.
- 1920Start of the Third Aliyah
A third wave of Jews, mainly from Russia, returned to the land. They came as impoverished refugees.
- 1924-1932Fourth Aliyah
The fourth wave of Jews to return were mainly from Poland.
- 1939-1945World War II – the Holocaust
Six million Jews perished in the Nazi death camps. After the War tens of thousands of Jewish survivors headed for the Holy Land.
- 1948The State of Israel was proclaimed
The State of Israel was proclaimed by David Ben Gurion on 14 May [Isaiah 66:8]
The next day Israel was invaded by five Arab armies. The first Arab-Israeli war began.
Arrival of 120,000 Jewish immigrants, in spite of the war.
- 1948-1952Mass migration of Jews
With the formation of the State, large numbers of Jews migrated to Israel from Europe and Arab countries.
- 1970Start of mass migration of Jews from the USSR
Tens of thousands of Jews took the opportunity to leave but Russia quickly closed the door.
- 1989The collapse of Communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe
The door opened a second time for Jews to leave for Israel. One million made aliyah in the next 10 years. They came as economic refugees.
- 1991The Gulf War
Jewish migrants from around the world continued to arrive even as Iraq launched scud missiles at Israel.
- Israel rescued Jews from Ethiopia
In a 36-hour airlift called ‘Operation Solomon’ 14,300 black Jews from Ethiopia were brought to Israel.
- 1993-2015Israel staggers through an on-again off-again peace process with the Palestinians
While the USA, the EU and the UN press Israel to give up land for a Palestinian state, efforts to reach this peace accord are continuously derailed by hostilities, including waves of suicide bombings. Throughout this time the economy of Israel grows, as does its military, and there is a steady stream of migrants to the land from all the nations of the world.
The miracle is illustrated by the growth in the Jewish population of Israel:
Year Jewish population of Israel 1880 24,000 1914 90,000 1931 174,000 1939 450,000 1948 650,000 1950 1,200,000 1958 1,800,000 1992 4,250,000 2000 5,150,000 2006 5,314,000 2009 5,661,000 2012 5,978,600 2015 6,251,000
Increased anti-Semitism in Europe stirred Theodor Herzl to promote the cause of a Jewish State.
Isaiah 66:8
“Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment? Yet no sooner is Zion in labour than she gives birth to her children.”
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