Another prophecy in the scriptures that continues to befuddle the skeptics is actually going on before our very eyes. This phenomenal proclamation was made over 2,500 years ago. It is the prophecy of the restoration of Israel as a nation. God's prophet Jeremiah declares in chapter 24, verses 1-10:

1 The LORD showed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

God scattered the rebellious Israel to the four corners of the earth and declared that their name would become a by-word, which means bad word or slur. Some people, when unhappy with a financial dealing in which they are involved, might refer to the party they're unhappy with as a—and I'm apologizing in advance for even having to write these words—"dirty Jew," or when some negotiate a tough business transaction, they might say to their friends, "I really—and again I apologize—Jewed him down." God said they would become a by-word and they have. God said they would be scattered to the four corners of the earth and they were. Until 1948, the Jews were a people without a country. If you look at an old map dated prior to 1948, you will not find a nation called Israel; instead you'll find Palestine. For thousands of years people of Israel were scattered and without a nation, yet miraculously maintained their nationality. Every other group of people that was scattered, assimiliated into the nations in which they were scattered by the common vehicle of marriage. But the Jews adhere to God's teaching through Moses, which forbids them marriage to non-Jews. They typically live together in Jewish communities and always favor one another in business transactions over business transactions with Gentiles.

God goes on in this prophecy and says that in the last days He would draw the Jews back to Israel with fishing hooks, restore them as a nation and no one would ever pluck them up again. The prophet Ezekiel in chapter 36, verse 35 speaks of Israel's new glory once restored:

And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

Today Israel, which was once barren land, as much of their Arab neighbors' land is today, has literally become the Garden of Eden of the East. Formerly a vast desert, Israel now supplies nearly 90% of the citrus fruit for much of Europe. God said they would be called the Garden of Eden and they are. The probability of a man making these predictions and having them come to pass is one chance in a number so high our vocabulary doesn't have a word for it. It means that there are "Incomputable to one" odds that God made these beautiful prophetic statements. Supernatural Prophecy? Proof that the Bible is in fact the Word of God? Yes, it's a prophecy that's being fulfilled before our very eyes.

God's Holy Word is the source of all truth, yet mankind continually rejects it. For man, it is more convenient to believe a lie. It was that way with Eve in the garden, and with Adam; now it is like mother like daughter; like father like son. Adam and Eve believed the lie then, and the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve have been believing the lie ever since. It just comes naturally.

GOD SAID

MAN SAID

THE RECORD

References:

King James Bible

1947 World Atlas