Regarding this modern-day return of thousands of Jews to the
land of Israel, following is a set of Scriptures which these
same people insist is a description and prophecy regarding
the Diaspora, or scattering, and the Jews' return to Israel:

"For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both
search my sheep, and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh
out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are
scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver
them out of all places where they have been scattered in the
cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the
people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring
them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of
Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the
country. I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the
high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall
they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they
feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock, and
I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. I will
seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was
driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and
will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the
fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment."
Ezekiel 34:11-16, KJV

So the question we need to ask ourselves is whether or not
the previous verses are really describing the modern return
of the Jews to Israel. Personally, I have some very serious
doubts. To understand why I have these reservations, and
don't just hop on the 1948 bandwagon, one must understand
the history and context of these verses. Similar to Daniel,
Ezekiel was a Jewish Prophet, and captive, in Babylon. His
mission wasn't just to help his brethren to understand why
they found themselves in such a predicament, and why God
had allowed their enemies to invade and capture Jerusalem;
it was also to give them comfort and hope; by letting them
know that their captivity would not last forever; and that
someday, they would be allowed to return to Israel as free
people again.

In my mind, it makes absolutely no sense that Ezekiel would
then proceed to tell them things which would not occur for
about another 2,500 years, until the twentieth century. What
kind of comfort would that give to them? They would be long
gone and dead. On the other hand, if Ezekiel was speaking of
a more immediate return, that is, within decades, and not in
centuries, that would certainly offer a lot more hope to the
captives in Babylon. Perhaps they might not live long enough
to see it, but some of their children would. As I explain in
other articles, it turns out that the Jews of Jerusalem were
held captive by the Babylonians in Babylon and the surround-
ing provinces, for a period of seventy years, precisely as
the Prophet Jeremiah had told them would occur, as we see by
these verses:

"And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an
astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of
Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when
seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king
of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their
iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it
perpetual desolations . . . For thus saith the LORD, That
after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit
you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to
return to this place . . . For, lo, the days come, saith the
LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people
Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to
return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they
shall possess it."
Jeremiah 25:11-12, 29:10, 30:3, KJV

Thus, within Christian circles, we refer to this historical
Jewish period as the "Seventy Years Of Captivity". We know
from history, that following the invasions by the forces of
Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, and the fulfillment of the
"Seventy Years of Captivity", the Jews were indeed allowed
to return to Israel by Cyrus the Great, considered by many
to be the greatest king of the Medo-Persian Empire. Again,
this topic is discussed in more detail in "The Seven Heads"
series. In Jeremiah chapter thirty, a few verses later, we
find these additional verses which speak of the "time of
Jacob's trouble" and the eventual return to Israel. As with
the previous verses, while we can try to apply them to our
current time, and the modern return of the Jews to Israel,
in my view, it is clear that they're really referring to the
exodus from Babylon, which was initiated by Cyrus the Great.
The reference to David may be a look into the future, when
Jesus fulfilled His Ministry in Israel. You may recall that
in the Gospels, the people repeatedly referred to Jesus as
the son of David:

"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. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD
of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and
will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve
themselves of him: But they shall serve the LORD their God,
and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD;
neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee
from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity;
and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet,
and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith
the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all
nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a
full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and
will not leave thee altogether unpunished."
Jeremiah 30:7-11, KJV

There is another clear hint in the previous sets of verses
which further supports my belief that these Scriptures are
prophesying of the Jew's return to Israel hundreds of years
before the birth of Christ, and not of a modern 20th century
return to Israel, as these wayward American preachers, as
well as some Jews, are trying to convince us. Please notice
that in the prophecy, the Lord says through Ezekiel:

". . . but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will
feed them with judgment."

In similar fashion, Jeremiah, who began preaching decades
before Ezekiel, also clearly stated in his prophecies:

". . . And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are
accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and
that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the
land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual
desolations."

This same warning of impending judgement is issued to the
Babylonians in other places, and in other prophetic books as
well. It is a proven historical fact that this is precisely
what happened. As I explain in other articles, such as "The
Fruits Of Disobedience", time and time again, God would use
the heathen nations to punish the Israelites. He would use
these nations as His "vessels of wrath" against the Jews;
but then He would turn around and judge those nations for
their own wickedness. The reason why the "Seventy Years Of
Captivity" came to an end, is because the Babylonians were
defeated by the Medes and the Persians, who initially formed
the dual empire of Medo-Persia. The Persians are still with
us today. As I noted earlier, they are the Iranians. It is
also believed by some people that the Kurds are descended
from the Medes.

But what I hope you can see here, is that these prophecies,
which, according to some people, are supposedly talking about
the Jews returning to Israel in our modern day, in order to
found the modern nation of Israel in 1948, are in fact about
historical events which actually occurred over two thousand
years ago. Please notice that they very specifically mention
the fate of Babylon. They were very time-specific prophecies,
which cannot possibly be applied to our modern times. We are
very specifically told that when the Seven Years Of Captivity
ended, and the Jews returned to Israel, God would punish the
Babylonians; and that is exactly what happened. These events
are intrinsically tied together, and they occurred thousands
of years ago.

You see, the perpetrators of this deception, have to convince
you that the return of the Jews to Israel today is supported
by the Scriptures; because if they don't, then obviously, the
rest of their deception simply falls apart. In other words,
if they have purposely, or perhaps ignorantly, misinterpreted
the previous verses, what else have they been teaching that
is wrong? If the modern return of the Jews to Israel does not
fulfill prophecy, then what about Israel becoming a nation in
1948? What about all of the other things the Israelis have
done in order to claim modern Israel as their own, such as
the decades-old fight with the Palestinians?

This series continues in part four. I trust that you will
join me.


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