The apostles seemed to like quoting the Old Testament; what did the
prophets actually say about Israel’s fate in the end?
What didn’t they say!...and they weren’t
addressing the Church either!
Let’s start with Hosea again
– after he said they would “abide many days without king and without a prince
and without a sacrifice…” he went on to say:
“…afterward shall the
children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king;
and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.”…which of course will be miraculous because even by this time king
David has already been dead for centuries and most of Israel is about to be wiped off the map.
Okay but who backs up Hosea on that?...Israel’s return in the end times.
All 15 of them!...one way or another, plus Moses, Nehemiah, the psalmists… It might seem a bit boring to study the prophets but this is where we find out what’s really going to happen. We only have room for some snapshots:
“And it shall come to pass
in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand a second time to recover the
remnant of his people, which shall be left…and he shall set up an ensign for
the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the
dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” Isaiah 11
“For the Lord will have
mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land…” Isaiah 14
“Therefore, behold, the days
come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that
brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord
liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and
from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into
their land that I gave unto their fathers.” Jeremiah 16
“And I will make them one
nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to
them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided
into two kingdoms any more at all.”……and later on……
“And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.” Ezekiel 37
“And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.” Ezekiel 37
“So the house of Israel
shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day and forward…neither will
I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the
house of Israel, saith the Lord God.” Ezekiel 39
“…But if ye turn unto me, and keep my
commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost
part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them
unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there.” Nehemiah 1
“And I will strengthen the
house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them
again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I
had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them.” Zechariah 10
If you ask me...it's rather weird for predictions to come true today, that were made by obscure prophets thousands of years ago. Humanly speaking it all sounds so ridiculously impossible, although I suppose with God, nothing is impossible.
So what did the apostle Paul have to say?…….NEXT
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