The True Israel

I am studying the book of Jeremiah and I am starting to wonder if 1947-48 was the true coming together of Israel mentioned in the Bible. Was it truly done by YHWH?

I believe that the day that He brings all His people back to that land is really the day of His second coming, based on what I have found in scripture thus far. The book of Jeremiah tells us that the day YHWH brings His people back it will be like no other. We see this phrasing in a few other places of the bible as well.

Jeremiah 30: 2-3

“Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’”

Jeremiah 30: 7

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

The last three words are not part of the Hebrew, “out of it”. This is the beginning of the section about YHWH discussing how He will bring back His people. There seems to be a bigger connection with the end times than there is with a mid-20^th century regathering.

Here are a few other verses that have that similar phrasing of time like no other.

Daniel 12: 1

“At that time Michael shall stand up,

The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;

And there shall be a time of trouble,

Such as never was since there was a nation,

Even to that time.

And at that time your people shall be delivered,

Every one who is found written in the book.

Matthew 24: 21

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

It seems that “Israel” will be delivered back to their land, NOT in 1947-48 but rather at the second coming.

Jeremiah 30: 17

But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the Lord, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’

When does YHWH restore/redeem His people? This seems to be KEY to understanding when He gathers His people back to Israel.

Jeremiah 30: 23-24

See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand this.

Jeremiah 31: 2

This is what the Lord says: “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.”

This verse seems to be telling us that those that find favor will have gone through some pretty tough times. That is contradictory to the pre-tribulation theory.

Matthew 15: 24

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

Christ says Himself that He was sent ONLY for the lost sheep of Israel. If that is the case, we really need to find out WHO are the lost sheep are. It does not make sense that we say He came for all mankind when He tells us Himself who He came for.

Jeremiah 31: 6, 8

There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to YHWH our God.’”

See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng (congregation) will return.

Isaiah 11: 10-12

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean. He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.

Matthew 24: 29-31

“Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Based on the verses from Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Matthew it seems like He only gathers His people to Israel ONE time. Each of these examples says He pulls them from the corners of the earth. 1947 is looking less and less likely to be the prophesied time that a nation was born in a day.

I am currently trying to figure out if our current Israel is the Israel that was prophesied as the one YHWH brings His people back to. It seems that every time I see anything about this, people are claiming that it is the prophecy. I am, however, having a bit of trouble accepting this. For starters, one of the reasons that people are saying this is because the Ezekiel passage referring to the dry bones. They claim that this is symbolic for YHWH bringing all His people back to the land. Let’s take a look at the passage for ourselves.

Ezekiel 37: 1-14

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound (rash, H7494 – earthquake, quaking), and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

This passage tends to show something other than the 1947-48 reemergence of Israel. First off, this doesn’t seem like an analogy to me, but rather a resurrection. Is this the FIRST resurrection? “I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” I believe that this passage make much more sense in terms of the dead in Christ rising first.

Revelation 20:4-5

I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

This verse from Revelation says the same thing as that from Ezekiel.

To be continued!!!!!!!