You know, I’ve wondered if Jews are still being punished today a bit myself. People just hate Jews for whatever reason, and they’ve hated Jews all through the ages (as far as I’m aware. I’m definitely not a history expert!). The way people treat Jews does kind of sound like the end curses of Deuteronomy 28:
“(64) And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. (65) And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the soleof thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: (66) And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:”
However, the nation of Israel being created again is part of something else, I would say. There are prophecies about the end times made by OT prophets that make me think that Israel becoming a nation again could be a sign that the end is neigh. These are my personal interpretations of scripture; feel free to disagree.
Even though God scattered Israel, He promised to bring them together again into their own land. In Ezekiel 36:17-38, God promises to regather the scattered Israelites back into their own land. He says that He won’t do this for their sakes, but rather for His holy name’s sake. Once regathered, He will bless the Israelites as He did before, and the Israelites will loathe themselves for their unfaithfulness.
Another set of verse I want to mention is in Isaiah. When Israel would be turned into a nation again, evidently it was going to happen overnight:
Isaiah 66:7-8 “(7) Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. (8) Who hath heard of such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”
Again, since my knowledge of history kinda sucks, I’m going to borrow information from a credible source. According to this BBC news article that gives an overview of how Israel came into being and is faring today: “The state of Israel was proclaimed by the Jewish leader, David Ben Gurion, on May 14, 1948, and officially came into being on the 15th, after British Mandatory rule ended at midnight.” (Source:
news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/israel_at_50/history/78597.stm). According to the article, groups of desperate Jews began settling back into the promised land back in the 1880s.
I remember some bits of scripture that say something along the lines of nations rising up to fight against Israel, but God will miraculously bring Israel the victory. Since I don’t remember these passages well enough to quote them, I’m going to warn you that I might not be remembering these passages correctly. If those passages do in fact exist, then the internet should lead you right to them. (It’s getting a bit late where I am, so I’m going to hold off on looking them up myself this time)
I’m afraid that most of the end time prophecies are beyond my understanding at this point, but I do feel confident that Israel becoming a nation again is a prophecy fulfilled. I don’t know what the main characters are in the end times prophecies–the harlot, the beast, and the false prophet–but I assume those will be revealed in time. If you’re interested in learning more, I trust that the Church likely has an official interpretation of these figures, or at least something to point you in a certain direction. I’m actually a protestant who lately took an interest to Catholic doctrines, so I’ve never looked into what the Church has to say about the end times.
I don’t set a goal or limit on how much or how long I read. I will also read a bit before bed. I don’t take any notes at the moment, but I am looking at getting a bible study program, so I may start then.