IN AD70 the nation of Israel ceased to exist and the Jews were scattered among the nations and for almost 1,900 years Jews have amazingly survived and maintained their national identity. Today they exist as a nation in spite of centuries of Antisemitism. On 12 occasions Jews were expelled from countries. England expelled every Jew in 1290 and they were not permitted to return for nearly 400 years!
In Russia Pograms were declared when anyone could kill a Jew and for days they were slaughtered and were forced to live in “shtetls”; towns in border areas. During WWII Hitler’s gas chambers systematically killed millions of Jews. The survival of the Jewish people is itself a miracle and the revival of the nation in 1948 a fulfilment of Bible prophecy. Ezekiel said through Ezekiel:
“For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land” (Ezek.36:24).
Ezekiel prophesied that the re establishment of Israel would be in three stages (Ezek.37:1-14).
- The scattered Jews would unite in the last days. This was fulfilled in 1897 at the first Zionist Congress organized in Basle, Switzerland, by Theodore Herzl.
- Israel would again become a nation in the land while still rejecting Messiah.
On 14th May 1948 we witnessed the second stage of Israel’s restoration when Israel was again declared to be a nation and since that time we have witnessed amazing developments that are nothing short of miraculous. - Israel would turn to the Lord and be a Godly nation during the Tribulation.
An Economic Miracle
Against all odds Israel has grown into a powerful nation. Although Israel’s population is only 0.01% of the world population she now has an economy that rates 8th largest in the world and this has been achieved while suffering several invasions, constant terrorist attacks and opposition more than any nation on earth.
Israel is ranked first among OECD countries, meanwhile, in research and development expenditure in relation to Gross Domestic Product, but is ranked last in the terms of the percentage of government spending on research and development out of all of its expenditures in the field.”
After WWII the Jews returning from Eastern Europe and Russia were Socialists and for this reason the Soviet Union supported the formation of the State of Israel but when Benjamin Netanyahu became Minister for Finance in 2003 he rejected the concept of a Socialist State and set the nation on a free enterprise growth path that has amazed the world.
A Nuclear Military Power
When the nation was born in 1948 David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister, insisted that Israel develop her own nuclear technology in the Negev Desert. Israel will not divulge how many nuclear weapons she has but it is believed it exceeds 200. A location in the Negev Desert has been allocated for a nuclear power plant but with so much gas available there has been no need to build the plant. The fact that Israel has been invaded so many times in 70 years has encouraged her to develop a defense industry. In 2023 her home-grown weapons are among the best in the world. Her Defense Force numbers 169,000 with 465,000 reserves, her submarines are capable of delivering nuclear warheads and her airforce is the envy of the nations. in 2021 she sold $11.3 billion of defense exports from 5,400 sales. There are over 150 active defense companies based in the country.
Israel is a High-tech Nation
According to Israel Hayom “Israel, is a global leader in the percentage of citizens working in the high tech field, with 362,000 in the industry who represent 10.4% of the country’s workforce. To compare, the percentage of the overall workforce in high tech, in Ireland It is 9.2%, in Sweden, it is 5.7%, in Great Britain 5.5%, Germany 5.3%, and in the Netherlands 4.3%. The number of high tech workers in Israel increased by 8% over the past year (representing 27,000 new workers).
In the past year, the Israeli high tech industry raised over $100 million 88 times, although publically traded Israeli high tech companies in 2021 lost 10% of their worth on the NASDAQ. Israeli start
ups raised a record $27 billion in funds in 2021, more than doubling the total from the previous year.
Oil and Gas Industry
In recent years Israel has discovered vast deposits of oil and gas in her territorial waters off the Mediterannean coast. She now has a gas pipeline to Egypt where gas is liquified and shipped to Europe. Gas is also piped to Israel and Jordan. A major gas pipeline was planned to Europe but the US President Biden stopped the project. If a new President revives the project it will supply 10% of Europe’s needs.
Chemical and Fertilizer Industry
The Dead Sea has reduced in size due to the demands on water in the Jordan River but it is estimated there are 1.9 billion tons of potassium chloride in the Dead Sea where a strong chemical and fertilizer industry exports to the world.
Israel has her own satellites and her own launching rockets. She has reduced the size of satellites and increased their capability thus enabling more to be placed in space for less cost.Desalination and Solar Power Israel is only a small country and 60% of her land is desert yet she has turned much of that desert into rich farming land by irrigation. To do this she has become the world leader in design and construction of water desalination plants which she now exports to other nations. Her agricultural products and flowers are exported to Europe.
Israel has five desalination plants along the Mediterannean Coast and is pumping desalinated water into the Sea of Galilee to maintain levels.
Also, Israel has become a leader in the development of solar energy. Israel’s largest solar power plant is currently the Ashalim Power Station in the Negev Desert. It is made up of three separate plots that rely on solar thermal, photovoltaic, and natural gas, respectively.
Nobel Prizes
Although Jews comprise only 0.2 percent of the world’s population, Jews have won approximately 22% of Nobel Prizes. In scientific fields Jews make up 26%. This performance is 112 times or 11,250% above average. Jews have demonstrated ability in chemistry (19% of the world total), economics (39%), literature (14%),physics(26%) and physiology or medicine (26%).
To say this is astonishing is an understatement. If Israel can achieve so much while still rejecting Messiah, what will they do in the millennial kingdom when Christ is reigning.
Peace with Arab Neighbours
Today Israel can negotiate peace with her Arab neighbours because of her economic and military strength. Her neighbours now see themselves threatened by Iran and are forced to look to Israel for protection. The restoration of Israel as foretold in Scripture will be complete when Russia and her Islamic associates invade during the first half of the Tribulation and the nation turns to Jesus Christ. After that Christ will return and Israel will crown Him as their King and King of kings over all the earth. Only then antisemitism will cease. Zechariah wrote:
“In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you” (Zech.8:23).