Israel in Two Centuries

By Jim Combs, D.Min., Litt.D.
Provost of Louisiana Baptist University and Theological Seminary, Shreveport, Louisiana

The restoration of Israel, leading to a golden age of blessing, is a prominent theme in Scripture. No passage more graphically illustrates the process than Ezekiel 37.

This vision of the dry bones as the “whole house of Israel” has five stages:

The dry bones are scattered around, verse 2
The bones come together, develop connective tissues and are covered with flesh, verses 7-8
The wind blows breath into these bodies, verses 9-10
The restoration is also a spiritual one, verses 24-28
David, actually Jesus Christ, the “root and offspring of David” will reign over the nation: Revelation 22.16

Setting no dates for specific fulfillments, but surveying the trend of Israel’s resurgence in the 19th and 20th centuries, it appears this divine program of restoration is in progress. The following are highlights of these two centuries:

1814	Presbyterian pastor John MacDonald in Albany, New York began to preach on Bible prophecy and Israel’s restoration, sparing an interest in the literalist interpretation of Old Testament prophecies about Israel.
1878	W.E. Blackstone’s book, Jesus is Coming was published, predicting and encouraging the return of Jews in fulfillment of the prophecy.
1881 – 1900	The first Aliya, meaning ascent, occurred and consisted of some 30,000 Jews under persecution in Russia moving to Palestine.
1897	The First Zionist Congress, convened in Basel, Switzerland, adopted Zionism as a program and stated, “The aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine by public law.”
1904 – 1914	The Second Aliya resulted in 32,000 persecuted Russian Jews moving to Palestine.
1917	The Balfour Declaration read in part, “His majesty’s government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for Jewish people.”
1924 – 1939	The Third Aliya when 78,000 Polish Jews moved to Palestine.
1933 – 1939	The Fourth Aliya when 230,000 Jews escaped from persecution in Germany and central Europe.
1940 – 1948	The Fifth Aliya when 95,000 Jews escaped from central Europe. Many Jews remained in Europe and more than six million were killed during the holocaust led by Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany.
1948	The Jewish Agency in what would become the new nation of Israel proclaimed nation status. On May 14, 1948, the United States President Harry Truman’s administration made this announcement, “The United States recognizes the provisional government as the de-facto authority of the New State of Israel.”
1967	The Six Day War, precipitated by an Arab invasion, results in Israel capturing Jerusalem and the West Bank.
1973	Another attack by Arabs was repulsed with Israeli victories.
1978 – 2000	Egypt recognizes Israel; the Arab-Palestinian resistance movement begins; negotiations, agreements and tensions continue.

It seems during these two centuries, the dry bones have come together to form a living nation, the most powerful small nation on earth, with just more than five million people, but there awaits the complete spiritual awakening when true life enters them, as prophesied here and in Joel 2.28,29.