Welcome back fellow sojourners!  The signs of the times are all over front page news if we look through Biblical lens.  Often, the news is tragic…such as the recent terrorist attacks on Jews in Paris.  We mourn, and our hearts break as we see evil perpetrated against innocent people.  However, there is news that shines light on brighter sides of prophecy as well. We’ll partake of some good news together today!

For me, it is difficult to pull away from the prophecies of Ezekiel 36-39 because it seems those prophecies are so vividly coming to fruition in our lifetime.  You see, once the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD and the Jews scattered, Israel was left desolate and Jews literally dispersed throughout the world.  The majority of Jews went to Europe, a very large population went to Russia, many went to Africa, and a considerable number eventually made America their “home.”  Once Jews left Israel, the land became very desolate.  There was swampland in the northern parts of Israel, sand dunes along the Mediterranean coast, barren deserts in the south, and at one point in history virtually all the trees were burned down to avoid heavy taxation by occupying governments.

But God made promises to Abraham that He never forgot!  In Genesis 12:2, He promised Abraham and his descendants [Israel] a great nation.  Furthermore, Genesis 15:18 says, On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.”  Thus, though the Jews were dispersed throughout the world, God intended that they thrive in their own land.

But how could that happen, given that the Jews were separated from their homeland for so long?  They had integrated into other societies, learned other languages, and taken on the culture of other places.  Answer: they never lost their identity and God never forgot His promises!  Regardless of where they were and what nationality they may have become, they still remained Jews!  I don’t believe that was coincidence, but rather God’s providence!  Why?  Because Ezekiel 36-37 tells us that God blessed the land of Israel in preparation of His people returning there!  You see, I believe He “touched” the land of Israel so it could be restored, and He blessed them with the ingenuity to drain swampland and create canals and reservoirs ..

…turn sand dunes into habitable metropolitan areas…

…and made the deserts bloom!

Read Ezekiel 36-37!  You will see that God prepared the land (Ezekiel 36), then He began to gather His people from all the lands (Ezekiel 37).  On May 14, 1948, Israel became a nation again, and Jews finally had a place to come “home!”

How does that relate to today’s news?  Good question…thanks for asking!  You see, though over 6 million Jews now live in the land of Israel, many millions more still live around the globe. They lend their talents and their incredible drive to succeed to many other lands, but Israel is home!  Throughout Israel’s brief history, Jews have steadily “made aliyah” (returned to the homeland), and the state of Israel encourages them to come.  About a year ago, as Russia was overtaking Ukraine, the Jewish Agency in Israel urged Ukrainian Jews to come home.  Just days ago, during a solidarity march in the aftermath of the Paris terror attack on Jews, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said:  “I want to tell the Jews of France and the Jews of Europe – the State of Israel is your home.”

Indeed, Israeli leaders are calling their people home!  Why?  Because God has promised them a land, and because Jews have protection in Israel that they don’t have elsewhere.  (Read Ezekiel 38-39!)  The return of the Jews to their homeland is a very key sign of the times!

But I want to close today with far greater promises that God makes, once the children of Israel are re-gathered in the land:

Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.  You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.
~Ezekiel 36:25-28

Give the Lord of Israel a great big “Amen”…then why not pray for the spirit of the Living God to draw His people back to the land He has given them!