Q&A: Is the Return of Israel to Her Land an Act of God or Man?

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=168 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="129a11c3.png"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to the Heart4God Website!"><U><B><IMG SRC="4b55a500.png" border=0 width="90" height="80" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin"><U><B>Writings by Date</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id212.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Writings of Joseph Herrin Organized "><U><B>Writings by Topic</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.heart4god.ws/Audio/index.htm"><U><B>Audio Files</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id690.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Videos"><U><B>Videos</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id323.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Writings of Others"><U><B>Other Authors</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id324.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id339.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions and Answers"><U><B>Q&A</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id328.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Heart4God Email List"><U><B>Heart4God E-mail List</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.parablesblog.blogspot.com"><U><B>Parables Blog</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id306.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="File Downloads"><U><B><IMG SRC="2b264140.png" border=0 width="100" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <div> <B>Q&A: Is the Return of Israel to Her Land an Act of God or Man?</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="c2827160.png" border=0 width="807" height="22" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Joseph,<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Please accept my apologies, friend, in my long absence in writing; I have been less faithful than I ought. However, after your recent writings, I was moved to suggest a few ideas for your consideration:<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> 1. Perhaps the modern state of Israel is not the long-prophesied return spoken of in Ezekiel, et al. The Old Testament prophecies of Israel's return say that when God has gathered them from the nations, they will have everlasting joy and peace, and no one shall make them afraid, and the nations round about will know that God is God. This is clearly not the case in the present situation. The event will be the clear work of God, not through machinations, Balfour declarations, UN resolutions, or any other earthly thing, so that all nations will know that He is God and that no flesh may have cause to glory in His presence.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> 2. If present-day Israel is not the prophesied return, then perhaps it would be more correct to call the nation "Jacob" (supplanter) as it is a mostly secular state that has "supplanted" the Esau-state (Trans-Jordan) that existed before it. Israel is in a sense "man writ large" in that they seek to get by on their own merit, and Jews are known to excel above all others in any field they enter. They military exploits and powerful allies make them rely on the strength of their own arm, rather than trusting in the might of their God, who many in the nation out-right reject. They have yet to face an encounter as Jacob with God in which He touches their strength and it is withered, from which they proceed with a limp, but with everlasting praise to their God on their lips.</div> <bR> <div> Dear J.,</div> <bR> <div> Since all of your other statements seem to build on this your first point, I will focus in here. My understanding is that this will truly occur, but that it is not necessarily something that happens instantly when Israel begins to return to the land. There are many Scriptures that speak of Israel returning to the land and after the return that she is faced with a great onslaught and many difficult days that precede the fulfillment of the Scripture that you have referenced. I give the following for examples: </div> <bR> <div> Zechariah 12:2-3</div> <div> "Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. <I><B>And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it."</B></I></div> <bR> <div> Revelation 16:13-19<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs;  <I><B>for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. </B></I>("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.")  <I><B>And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.</B></I><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT>Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, "It is done." And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath. </div> <bR> <div> Notice the repetition in Zechariah and in Revelation of the mentioning of all the nations of the world being gathered agasint Jerusalem. Zechariah's prophecy preceded the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, but it is doubtful that this is what he referred to, for it was not the nations of the world, but Rome alone that destroyed Jerusalem at that time. John's writing in Revelation is also considered to have been written after the destruction of Jerusalem and he repeats the same scenario of all the nations being gathered against Jerusalem. This places this event in the future. </div> <bR> <div> In order for these Scriptures to be fulfilled, Israel will have to be restored to her land, but not yet experiencing the peace that is referred to in Ezekiel. Only after she undergoes her final trials and purging will she enter into the peace that has been prophesied for her. </div> <bR> <div> As far as God not using natural means such as those you mentioned; The Balfour Declaration, UN resolutions, and so forth to accomplish that which He prophesied many years ago, we should not let what seem to be natural events discredit the hand of God being present. The Scriptures tell us that God holds the heart of the king in His hand, and He turns it any way He desires. Yet there is even greater evidence we could present in this matter. </div> <div> It was prophesied that Judah and Jerusalem would be sold into captivity to Babylon for 70 years, but that at the end of 70 years Yahweh would bring His people back. </div> <bR> <div> Jeremiah 29:10<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Georgia" > </FONT></div> <div> For thus says Yahweh, "When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place."</div> <bR> <div> Notice here that it says that Yahweh will bring Judah and Jerusalem back. It is a work He takes credit for. But how did He accomplish it? He put it in the heart of the rulers of Babylon to release the Jews and send them back. A decree was issued by Cyrus, and before him by Artaxerxes, to release all the Jews and allow them to return to Jerusalem. It is no less a work of God because edicts and declarations were made, and there is a very clear parallel between this event recorded in Scripture, and what we have witnessed in recent days. </div> <bR> <div> Consider the fact that Judah and Jerusalem had been dispersed throughout Babylon and all her provinces, and that Yahweh led the government leaders of Babylon to issue a declaration for her return. Observe then how all of Israel in modern days had been dispersed throughout the entire world, and it was the United Nations, the world governmental body that issued the resolution giving a portion of her inheritance back to her and allowing Jews throughout the world to return. If Yahweh declared that He was behind the return to Jerusalem recorded in Jeremiah and elsewhere, and He used the natural agency of human government to accomplish this, then we can also understand that His hand was behind this most unusual action of the United Nations, for her actions before and after this event have shown that she is no friend of Israel or the Jewish people. </div> <bR> <div> I offer these things for you to ponder, and look forward to earing back from you. </div> <bR> <div> May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days, </div> <bR> <div> Joseph</div> <bR> <div> E-mail: </div> <div> website: <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Georgia" ><A HREF="http://heart4god.ws" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://heart4god.ws"><U><U>http://heart4god.ws</U></U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>