What if I told you there is a story unfolding right now but it isn’t science fiction?
That’s right. There has been a story unfolding since the beginning of time that when you realize its implications, it sounds like the wildest science fiction story ever told but every word of it is true.
The story begins in the book of Genesis. It is the story of a people called upon to become a nation of priests for God through which the world would be blessed. God called upon a man named Abram from the land of Ur. He was told to leave his father’s idol making business and go to a land that God would show him. He stopped for a time in Haran for a time, where his father died. This was not the land God had told him to go to but God was in no hurry.
After his father died, Abram was once again told to get up and go to a land that God would show him. He did and, travelling west, he eventually came upon what we know today as the Jordan Rift Valley where God showed him all the land from there to what we call the Mediterranean Sea. This is where God told Abram that he will be the father to many nations and through him all nations would be blessed. This land was owned by the Caananites at the time. Yet, Abram was promised that this land would be given to his descendants. Now what happened to Abram and the changing of his name is an interesting story, but you can read about it all in the book of Genesis.
The point is, this started a wonderful set of events. One of which was the creation of a nation of Priests that would come out of Egypt through wondrous works. These people would go through the desert to learn to trust in the Lord and to be made a consecrated people through which God would bless the nations of the world. You can read all about this in the books of Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy. A little of it is in the book of Jude. Yes, we know at the end of Deuteronomy that Moses died and was buried in a place nobody knows, but apparently Satan knew and argued over his body with the Archangel Michael.
The people had to retake the land that was once belonged to their ancestors and eventually became what we call Israel. Named after the new name God gave a descendant of Abraham above named Jacob after wrestling with him over the course of a night.
This nation went through several times of turmoil. They were on and off invaded by their neighbors, they eventually demanded a king to rule over them. So a king they were given. Only three, though before the nation split. Those stories can be read in the books of Joshua, Judges, Kings and Chronicles.
During this time, Israel enjoyed its golden period under the rule of King David. Now David wasn’t a perfect man, but he was considered a man after God’s own heart. For a long time it was decided that David and his son Solomon were mythical characters, then archaeologists found some stones (stele) upon which was written an accounting of a battle victory the King of Aramea had over the King of Israel of the House of David.
After the split of the nation, the two halves eventually fell to conquest by their neighbors. You can read about this in the books of Chronicles and the prophets, such as Jeremiah and Isaiah. This is also backed up from external sources that Assyria did indeed conquer the northern part of Israel and then some time later Babylon conquered the southern part.
One would think at this point that the story is over, but if you read what is said in all of those books, and remember the promises made by God throughout them, you know that the nation of Israel’s story cannot be over. One of the prophets, Ezekiel even tells of a future time. Well many of them did, but this one is quite clear. In the 37th chapter of the book of Ezekiel, starting about halfway through, he is told to grab two sticks and write on one For Judah and the Israelis, his Companions. On the other stick he is to write For Joseph, the Stick of Ephraim, and all the House of Israel, his Companions. Then he was to join them together to make them one stick.
He is specifically told that when asked about this stick, he explains it means that the God will be joining the split houses of Israel back into one again. This has happened, but it was a fact that many believed this would never be and it was either just plain wrong or all allegorical. However, on May 14, 1948, Israel was once again made a whole nation. In one day, you might notice. Something else people thought would be impossible. I say this because it was Isaiah who wrote that the nation would be remade in one day.
What a crazy story, right? It gets better. David, that king during the golden age of Israel, is to somehow come back to rule over this nation. This, too, is written in the book of Ezekiel. Now obviously that part hasn’t happened yet. Given our track record on how sure we were that the story was false up until now, one might consider the possibility at least, that this future part is going to happen. It will be a very different Israel and a very different Jerusalem, to be sure. I can’t tell you when it will happen. I can tell you that it isn’t only the Torah that speaks of it. Paul when writing to the Romans talks about it in chapter 11 of his letter to them. God is not finished with Israel. They may be on pause for a time, but when the church age is done, He will pick up where He left off. Thus fulfilling everything that He said He would. Through His nation of Israel, the gentile nations learned of Him. Though they rejected the messiah, they will come back. Through the nation of Israel, the Gentiles were saved. Through the gentiles, Israel will be returned to God.
Of course, you still have to accept this gift. Jew or Gentile, it is offered to you even now, you but have to accept.