Bible Believer: Hi, are you interested in the Bible and God?
Interested But Skeptical: Yes, well, I’m interested but also somewhat skeptical.
BB: Hence, the name.
IBS: Mm, so, what’s your best proof there’s a God then?
BB: Israel.
IBS: That’s a country, not a reason.
BB: King Fredrick the Great of Prussia asked a similar thing in 1779.
IBS: He’s in good company, then. So, what was the response?
BB: He asked for an irrefutable proof of God and was told, “The Jews”1
IBS: That’s a race, not a reason.
BB: Well the Jews and Israel are proof that God exists and his Bible tells the future.
IBS: An audacious claim, indeed!
BB: The Bible prophesied the Jews would be scattered then re-gathered, including these words from Isaiah:
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. 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” (Isa 11:11-12).
“Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;” (Isa 43:5-6).
IBS: When was that written? What if it was written after the event just to make it look like God knew it would happen?
BB: Isa 1:1 says it was written at the time of Hezekiah, so about 700 BC. Among the Dead Sea scrolls was the book of Isaiah, which has been dated to the 1st Century BC. Also, the Masoretic text of the Bible is dated to the 10th Century AD, so the prophecy was undeniably given over two thousand years ago.
IBS: How do you know it wasn’t talking about an earlier Jewish re-gathering?
BB: The interesting thing about the Isaiah 11 prophecy is its reference to a “second time” of gathering. The Jews were re-gathered to Israel a first time in the mid-6th Century BC, but only from Babylon/Persia. This prophecy speaks of “the islands of the sea… and the four corners of the earth”.
IBS: Are those the only prophecies?
BB: No, there are plenty of them. Here are some others: Deuteronomy speaks of the scattering and persecution of the Jews
“ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:” (Deut 28:63-65).
“And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase” (Jer 23:3).
“… the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God” (Ezek 36:23,24,28).
IBS: Enough already!
BB: One more, my favourite one is from Jeremiah 23 where God declares that he would be known as the God who brought Israel back to the land, something that has recently occurred.
“the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land” (Jer 23:7,8).
IBS: When were those written?
BB: Jer 1:2-3 says it was written at the time of the last kings of Judah, around 600BC. Parts of Ezekiel and Jeremiah were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, copied in the 1st Century BC, and remnants of Ezekiel were discovered in Masada dated 1st Century AD, and both are in the Masoretic Text of the 10th Century.
IBS: But you can read back into things and project your own viewpoint on past events!
BB: True, but plenty of Bible believers understood this well before it happened and at a time when it appeared impossible.
IBS: Such as?
BB: Some 19th Century Authors:
“There is then a partial and primary restoration of Jews before the manifestation … and the Jewish colonists will return in unbelief of the Messiahship of Jesus.” John Thomas, Elpis Israel, 1849 14th Ed. p.441
“ ‘The great tribulation’ is yet future. It pre-supposes the Jewish nation restored to Palestine in unbelief to serve Gentile political ends, and brought there by the active intervention of a great maritime power” (Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Walter Scott 1796-1861)
IBS: So, I agree that the Bible and these prophecies were definitely written thousands of years ago and that Bible students understood them to refer to Israel, but when did Israel become a nation?
BB: On May 14, 1948 an unpretentious man read a declaration of independence. It is easy enough to find footage of it. How many times can you watch a film clip of Bible prophecy being fulfilled?
IBS: Wow, that is pretty impressive.
BB: How else it could be explained? It’s not like we’re inundated with examples of nations that maintained their identity while dispersed throughout the world and then returned to their homeland after two millennia.
IBS: I suppose it could be a lucky guess. BB: I admire your faith. IBS: My faith?
BB: Yes, you cannot empirically prove God’s existence one way or another, but these prophecies are genuine evidence. You would have to have great faith to believe it was an extraordinary coincidence and a fantastic guess.
IBS: I see your point, but there are some lifestyle consequences…
BB: Ah, your skepticism may have had an added motivation?
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One