Friday, September 25, 2015

And the Making of Aliyah Goes On......

“Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply….Therefore behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when they will no longer say, as the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt, but as the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.  Then they will live on their own soil” (Jer. 23:3/7-8).

Hey Gang: When asked, twenty-two prophecy gurus agreed that the number one prophetic event of the past one hundred years was the reestablishment of the land of Israel.  Can there be any doubt of God’s unending love for the land of Israel and the Jewish people than to reestablish of the land of Israel? He is bringing the olim (those making Aliyah (returning) back to the land of their heritage from the four corners of the earth.

As I have worked my way through the Bible, on numerous occasions I always pay special attention to those verses that seem to stand out in bold print.   I am amazed that seldom do I get the same message from those verses when I come across them a second and third time.  I also noticed that many times it may be the verse before or after that one that stood out boldly the last time that is bold this time. 

We had arrived at the home of one of my bride’s aunts, who happened to come down with the flu and was unable to teach her Sunday School class.   After several failed attempts to find a substitute, she drafted me to be her stand in.  I admit that I did a lot of reading from the quarterly that morning for the subject was taken from a book that I seldom spent much time studying and was not even sure how one pronounces Habakkuk.

But, in the course of preparing to fill her shoes, I ran into one of those verses that was bold and lodged in my brain.  I believe it is a word for this day (and 2021) when so many folks have become discouraged with the shaking that our nation and our world is going through.    I sense that Habakkuk was a wee bit discouraged when he cried out to God, “How long, O Lord, will I call for help and You will not hear?  I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save!” (1:2).  God’s response to Habakkuk, and to all of His children, when the rubber-hits-the-road “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished!  Wonder!  Because I am doing something in your days you would not believe if you were told” (vs. 5).

Is that not true today? The twenty-two guru’s mentioned above, when asked- what is the greatest trend in prophecy today agreed that the re-establishment of Israel was number one on the prophetic fulfillment chart;  but there is also a converging taking place of many prophecies that are described in the Bible. 

 Some said the rapid rise in apostasy was the second greatest; others said the coming together of the pieces of the Gog and Magog confederacy; a few mentioned the ever increasing miracles of technology; and still others said the reoccupation of the city of Jerusalem by the Jews.   All agreed that the return of God’s people to the land of their heritage should be enough to convince even the weakest of God’s creation that it is God who is pulling His children back to the land of their heritage. 

I received a blog this morning that had the caption “Nearly 30,000 Jews Immigrated to Israel thus far in 2015.  I also received a message from Operation Exodus informing me they have surpassed all previous years in assisting the olim to make Aliyah.

 The Israeli Department of Immigration and Absorption Minister recently announced,  “At the rate the olim are arriving they will surpass all previous records for any given year”.  Thus far in 2015 (5775 on the Jewish calendar) 29,500 olim have enter Israel.  He said we expect that number to top out around 35,000 for the year.  (2020 year of Covid 19 over 20000 made Aliyah to Israel from 70 different countries.)

The reasons given for this rapid increase centers on two issues: First, the tremendous increase in anti-Semitism and persecution of Jews around the world; second, the economic conditions.  It is felt that being a Jew or Christian severely limits your opportunities in the job market today in many countries.  

Soooo, friends and neighbors, I close this epistle with a verse that I feel is so very important when describing what is really happening in the world; “Yet, once more, I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.”  This expression ‘Yet once more’  denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.  Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe’ for our God is a consuming fire”.  Hebrews 12:26b – 29.

 Notice the last line, “That we may offer to God an acceptable service”.  You will have opportunity today to offer to God an acceptable service.”  Go!

Blessings,

Gramps

PS We received news from Joel Rosenberg this week that over 300,000 Jews have accepted Yeshua as Messiah.  But really exciting new continues, as he reports that millions of Jews around the world are seeking to learn more about Messiah!!!  Hallelujah! (2019 Population  14.7 Million)