THE REVIVAL OF ISRAEL

God's covenant with Abraham was to establish His plan for the nations of the world through His chosen people Israel (Gen 12:3). This promise came through Jesus Christ, the Seed of Abraham from the line of King David. Through disobedience, Israel was allowed to be captured by the Assyrian, the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires. In His great wrath, God dispersed the Israelites due to disobedience and sins to different parts of the world, but God did not completely forsake them. In the end time, God will gather them from the places where He had dispersed them.

God appeared unto Abraham and asked him to leave his country and kindred: "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee" (Gen 12:1). In verse 7, "And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I given this land (Israel)."

Abraham was justified by faith and God again promised Canaan, and confirmed by a sign and vision (Gen 15) "In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying , Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:"(v. 18).

Before Isaac was born, God promised Abraham that He "will establish my (God's) covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him." The covenant is everlasting but Abraham and his seed must keep God's covenant (Gen 17:9,10). The three covenant promises, namely, land, descendants, and blessings are foundational upon keeping of God's covenant.

God was angry with the Israelites for not keeping the covenant which God made with Abraham and He said,"I shall scatter them among the nations, and disperse them in the countries" (Ezekiel 12:15).

"And I will scatter thee among the heathen, and disperse thee in the countries ..." (Ezekiel 22:15; 36:19).

Solomon sinned against God by worshipping the many strange idol gods of his many wives. God' had said to Solomon iIn 1 Kings 9, "Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, ... 6. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ... 7. Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight;"

Israel was in the hands of the Hebrews from Abraham (2000 BC) until after the death of Solomon. During the reign of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, the kingdom was divided into two, Israel with 10 nations (north) and Judah and Benjamin in the south.

Second Kings records the destruction and captivity of Israel by the Assyrians (2 Ki 17) in 722 BC as well as the destruction and captivity of Judah by the Babylonians (2 Ki 25) in 587 BC.

50,000 people returned to Jerusalem during the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia to restore the temple. Some years later, a smaller group of less than two thousand men returned.

During the time Jesus was on earth, Israel was under the rule of the Roman Empire. Seventy years after the death of Jesus Christ, the land of Israel became extinct for about 2,000 years and it was re-established in May 14, 1948 after the Second World War. No society in 6,000 years which was extinct was ever revived, but the land of Israel. Adolf Hitler, the German dictator had killed about 6,000,000 million Jews. Only God can cause such a miracle of raising up Israel again from the ashes of history.

How Many Jews Died in the German Concentration Camps?

Carl O. Nordling

"It is well known that the majority of those who were interned in the German concentration camps during part of the Second World War did not return to their homes after liberation. Most of these people were Jewish. It has been a common belief that about 6 million Jews died in these camps, intentionally killed in accordance with a grand program for the physical extermination of the entire Jewish population of Europe. Most laymen presume that this was proven by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg in 1946. The International Court did not prove anything of the sort, however, and historians who have dealt with contemporary German or Jewish history have long since modified this description in various degrees."

Before the Second World War, there were about 13,000,000 Jews in Israel and Adolf Hitler, the Nazi German dictator had ordered 6,000,000 Jews killed so that leaves approximately 7,000,000 Jews left. Of this number, some left before the war started on September 1, 1939.

By the time when Israel was re-established in 1948, the entire Jewish population in May 1948 was 806,000. which was less than 1 million.

The war fought between Israel and Egypt, Jordan and Syria in 1967 was known as the Six-Day War. The Arab states of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Algeria were supporters of the war.

The war lasted only 132 and a half hours only which was barely less than 6 days. The fighting was on 3 fronts, the Egyptian side lasted 4 days, the Jordanian lasted only 3 days and the Syriam lasted the whole 6 days. Egypt was defending Sinai and Gaza Strip, Syria was defending Golan Heights and Jordan occupied the West Bank. Very few Arab inhabitants lived in the three areas.

Israeli troops were less than 100 km from Cairo and less than 50 km from Amman and Damascus, and the Arab nations gave in to the Isralis. The Six-Day War dramatically changed the perception of the Arab nations regarding Israel, resulting in a depression in the Arab world. The efficiency of Israel was not lost on the Arab nations.

Israel gained the largest territorial regions from any of the wars the country had been involved in. Sinai and Gaza Strip were captured from Egypt, East Jerusalem and West Bank from Jordan and Golan Heights from Syria. The war affected the international nations resulting in a closure of the Suez Canal for 8 years and an increase of goods due to increase of freight charges..

Israel: 29,677 initially rising to 115,000 by March 1949. This includes the entire military personnel count—both combat units and logistical units. Note that the entire Jewish population in Israel in May 1948 was 806,000.

The worldwide Jewish population is 13.3 million Jews. Jewish population growth worldwide is close to zero percent. From 2000 to 2001 it rose 0.3%, compared to worldwide population growth of 1.4%.

In 2001, 8.3 million Jews lived in the Diaspora and 4.9 million lived in Israel. Just about half of the world’s Jews reside in the Americas, with about 46 percent in North America. (top)

Approximately 37% of worldwide Jewry lives in Israel. Israel's Jewish population rose by 1.6% the past year, while the Diaspora population dropped by 0.5%.

Europe, including the Asian territories of the Russian Republic and Turkey, accounts for about 12 percent of the total. Fewer than 2 percent of the world’s Jews live in Africa and Oceania.

Metropolitan Tel Aviv, with 2.5 million Jews, is the world's largest Jewish city. It is followed by New York, with 1.9 million, Haifa 655,000, Los Angeles 621,000, Jerusalem 570,000, and southeast Florida 514,000.

In 2001, 8 countries had a Jewish population of 100,000 or more; another 5 countries had 50,000 or more. There is not a single Diaspora country where Jews amounted to 2.5 percent of the total population. Only 3 Diaspora countries had more than 1 percent. Gibraltar (24.0 per 1000), United tes (20.1), Canada (11.9), France (8.8), Uruguay (6.7), Argentina (5.3), Hungary (5.2), and Australia (5.1){1} had the highest ratios.

ESTIMATED JEWISH POPULATION BY CONTINENTS AND MAJOR GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS:

Diaspora 8.36 million 63% Israel 4.9% 37%

N.America 6.5 46%

Europe 1.6 12%

S. America, Africa, Asia, Australia 5%

1. USA 6,500,000

2. Israel 4,950,000

3. France 600,000 (750,000)

4. Canada (5) 364,000

5. Britain (6) 275,000

6. Russia (3/4) 275,000 (650,000)

7. Argentina 197,000 (250,000)

8. Ukraine 112,000

9. Germany 98,000 (115,000)

10. Brazil (11) 97,500

11. South Africa (12) 88,000 (65,000)

12. Hungary (10) 55,000 (100,000)

God's covenant with Abraham was broken many times and God in His wrath allowed the Israelites to be captured by the Assyrians in 722 BC and the Babylonians in 587 BC. During the reign of King Cyrus, he allowed the Israelites to return to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.after 50 years in Babylon. Zerubbabel, a direct descendant of King David, appointed by Cyrus, king of Persia led 50,000 to return. In His providence, God used even the unrighteous Persian kings to work His ultimate will and return the Israelites to Israel, their homeland.

70 years after the death of Jesus Christ, Jerusalem became extinct for about 2,000 years. Israel did not appear on the map of the world. God's covenant with Abraham was broken again and in His wrath, God allowed the Israelites to be taken over by the Roman Empire.

Let us fast track to the time of the re-establishment of Israel in 1948 which showed the population of Israel to be 806,000. Since then, the Jewish population rose to 13.3 million with the diaspora as 8.36 million and Israel as 4.95 million. In North America, the population is estimated as 6.5 million, which is more than that of Israel.

Praise and thank the Lord God that Israel has realized that from the Babylonian capture, the population of 52,000 has now risen to 13.3 million. The Israelites should learn from the history in the Old Testament and New Testament that the Lord God keeps His promise with His people.

God scattered the people throughout the world and He is now bringing them back to His promised land of Israel.

"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 ... ... and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth"(Isaiah 12:11,12).

All Christians should wake up and recognize that Christianity has its roots in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to this earth as the descendant of David (John 7:42). God chose Abraham for his faith in Him, and blessed all those who believed in Him (Jesus).

"And I will bless them that bless thee (Israel), and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3).

All Christian churches are Gentile Christian Churches and are grafted from the Jewish root. They are not the seed of Abraham which are blessed, but are children of the promise. Any severance from the root, the plant dies.

"Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee." (Rom. 11:18). Remember Christian Churches, you were grafted in, and not the original root.

It is vitally important that Israel survives for Israel is the root of the blessings of God. If the root dies, the whole of the grafted tree dies with it.

"Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Rom.11:25).

Rejoice in the revival of Israel for the Christian Churches depend on her survival. Remember you are the grafted ones. All glory to God.

DISPERSION AND GATHERING OF THE ISRAELITES http://hubpages.com/hub/dispersiongatheringisraelites

DISPERSION AND GATHERING OF THE ISRAELITES

http://hubpages.com/hub/dispersiongatheringisraelites