Concerning
Israel's predestined restitution - as planned by God
before the world began - it is completely clear from
the Scriptures that the physical restoration of
Israel will be followed by her spiritual
restoration. This is especially unambiguous in one
of the most dramatic and explicit passages (Ezekiel
37), where the prophet foretells first Israel's
corporeal reconstitution into a physical entity,
then her spiritual rebirth when the Holy Spirit
comes from the four corners of the earth to breathe
or blow upon the as-yet dead bodies. Here is his
vivid description:
The hand of the Lord came upon me
and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and
set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was
full of bones. Then He caused me to
pass by them all around, and behold, there were
very many in the open valley; and indeed they were
very dry. And He said to me, "Son of man, can
these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord God, You
know." Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these
bones, and say to them, 'O dry bones, hear the
word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these
bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into
you, and you shall live. I will put sinews on you
and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and
put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you
shall know that I am the Lord." ' "
So I prophesied as I was
commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise,
and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came
together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the
sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin
covered them over; but there was no breath in
them. Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath,
prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, 'Thus
says the Lord God: "Come from the four winds, O
breath, and breathe on these slain, that they
may live." ' " So I prophesied as He
commanded me, and breath came into them, and
they lived, and stood upon their feet, an
exceedingly great army.
Then He said to me, "Son of man,
these bones are the whole house of Israel. They
indeed say, 'Our bones are dry, our hope is lost,
and we ourselves are cut off!' Therefore prophesy
and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold,
O My people, I will open your graves and cause you
to come up from your graves, and bring you into
the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am
the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My
people, and brought you up from your graves. I
will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live,
and I will place you in your own land. Then you
shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and
performed it," says the Lord.' " (Ezekiel
37:1-14)
This astonishing foretelling appears
in other passages, for instance in Zechariah
12:10-14:
"And I will
pour on the house of David and on the
inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and
supplication; then they will look on Me whom
they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one
mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one
grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a
great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning
at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. And the
land shall mourn, every family by itself: the
family of the house of David by itself, and
their wives by themselves; the family of the
house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by
themselves; the family of the house of Levi by
itself, and their wives by themselves; the
family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by
themselves; all the families that remain, every
family by itself, and their wives by
themselves."
Remarkably, Zechariah 13:1 follows
this, telling us that immediately after the
outpouring of this Spirit of grace and supplication,
a fountain for cleansing will be opened up for the
house of Judah:
"In that day a
fountain shall be opened for the house of David
and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and
for uncleanness."
This fountain is
also mentioned in Joel:
"For behold,
in those days and at that time, when I bring back
the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also
gather all nations, and bring them down to the
Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into
judgment with them there on account of My people,
My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among
the nations; they have also divided up My land."
"Let the
nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of
Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the
surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the
harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress
is full, the vats overflow-- for their wickedness
is great."
Multitudes,
multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day
of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The
sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will
diminish their brightness. The Lord also will
roar from Zion, and utter His voice from
Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but
the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and
the strength of the children of Israel.
"So you shall
know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion
My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy,
and no aliens shall ever pass through her again."
And it will
come to pass in that day that the mountains shall
drip with new wine, the hills shall flow with
milk, and all the brooks of Judah shall be
flooded with water; a fountain shall flow from
the house of the Lord and water the Valley of
Acacias.
"Egypt shall
be a desolation, and Edom a desolate wilderness,
because of violence against the people of Judah,
for they have shed innocent blood in their land. But
Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem from
generation to generation. For I will acquit
them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not
acquitted; for the Lord dwells in Zion." (Joel 3:1-2, 12-21)
Other passages
speaking of the same thing include these:
"Now,
therefore," says the Lord, "turn to Me with all
your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with
mourning." So rend your heart, and not your
garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
kindness; and He relents from doing harm. Who
knows if He will turn and relent, and leave a
blessing behind Him-- a grain offering and a drink
offering for the Lord your God?
Blow the
trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a sacred
assembly; gather the people, sanctify the
congregation, assemble the elders, gather the
children and nursing babes; let the bridegroom go
out from his chamber, and the bride from her
dressing room. Let the priests, who minister to
the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar;
let them say, "Spare Your people, O Lord, and do
not give Your heritage to reproach, that the
nations should rule over them. Why should they say
among the peoples, 'Where is their God?' " (Joel 2:12-17)
This seems much
like Zechariah's passage about God pouring out the
Spirit of grace and supplication.
Then the Lord
will be zealous for His land, and pity His people.
The Lord will answer and say to His people, "Behold, I will
send you grain and new wine and oil, and you will be
satisfied by them; I will no longer make you a
reproach among the nations. "But I will remove far
from you the northern army, and will drive him away
into a barren and desolate land, with his face
toward the eastern sea and his back toward the
western sea; his stench will come up, and his foul
odor will rise, because he has done monstrous
things."
Be glad then,
you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your
God; for He has given you the former rain
faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come
down for you-- the former rain, and the latter
rain in the first month.
"So I will
restore to you the years that the swarming locust
has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming
locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which
I sent among you. You shall eat in plenty and be
satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people
shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know
that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the Lord your
God and there is no other. My people shall never
be put to shame.
"And it shall
come to pass afterward that I will pour out My
Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream
dreams, your young men shall see visions. And
also on My menservants and on My maidservants I
will pour out My Spirit in those days.
"And I will show
wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and
fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned
into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the
coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. And
it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name
of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion
and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the
Lord calls. ..." (Joel
2:18-20, 23, 25-32)
"Yet hear now, O
Jacob My servant, and Israel whom I have chosen.
Thus says the Lord who made you and formed you from
the womb, who will help you:
'Fear not, O
Jacob My servant; and you, Jeshurun, whom I have
chosen. For I will pour water on him who is thirsty,
and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My
Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on
your offspring; they will spring up among the
grass like willows by the watercourses.' One will
say, 'I am the Lord's'; another will call himself by
the name of Jacob; another will write with his hand,
'The Lord's,' and name himself by the name of
Israel. ..." (Isaiah
44:1-5)
It was a fine
brother and servant of the Lord from the Netherlands
who told me about an amazing vision he had during a
prayer meeting where people felt led by the Lord to
pray exactly what is written in these verses: to pray
for the spiritual restoration of Israel through the
outpouring of God's Holy Spirit upon them. While they
were praying he saw Israel as a raw diamond and as
they continued praying for Israel's spiritual
restoration the diamond began to glister and then as
with festive fireworks it gave out beautiful shining
sparks - and he felt as if the Lord was saying through
this confirming beautiful diamond vision that they
were right on track in praying as they did. May we all
follow suite! As written in Isaiah 62:1-3:
For Zion's sake
I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I
will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as
brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns.
The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all
kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name,
which the mouth of the Lord will name. You
shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the
Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
There are many
other Scriptures that, though not specifically
speaking about this outpouring of the Spirit,
nevertheless foretell a wonderful, spirit-filled
future for His people, after their long night of
sorrow and rejection!
One thing is
evident and sure from these passages: after this
substantial outpouring of the Wind of the Holy Spirit
upon the people of Israel, and their consequent
entering into the New Covenant God has promised them -
through His prophet Jeremiah - for this their hour of
return, ALL Israel will then be saved and no
Israeli will need to tell another Israeli to know the
Lord. "FOR THEY SHALL ALL KNOW HIM."
Hear Paul, in his
epistle to the Romans:
And so all
Israel will be saved,
as it is written: "The Deliverer will come out of
Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
for this is My covenant with them, when I take away
their sins." Concerning the gospel they are enemies
for your sake, but concerning the election they are
beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts
and the calling of God are irrevocable. For as you
were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained
mercy through their disobedience, even so these also
have now been disobedient, that through the mercy
shown you they also may obtain mercy. For God has
committed them all to disobedience, that He might
have mercy on all. (Romans
11:26-32)
Jeremiah speaks of
this event:
"Behold, the
days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel and with the
house of Judah -
"not according
to the covenant that I made with their fathers in
the day that I took them by the hand to lead them
out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they
broke, though I was a husband to them, says the
Lord.
"But this is the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law
in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I
will be their God, and they shall be My people.
"No more shall
every man teach his neighbor, and every man his
brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all
shall know Me, from the least of them to the
greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will
forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will
remember no more." (Jeremiah
31:31-34)
May the Lord by His
Spirit guide and inspire us all as He did with that
dutch group of intercessors to prophetically pray for
this into reality!
Jan Willem van der
Hoeven, Director
International Christian
Zionist Center
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