Upwards Church

“I wished I lived in Bible times to see God’s miracles first hand,” some say.  Actually, you are living in Bible times!  Today’s passages or prophecies in Ezekiel are coming to be right before our eyes.

^“For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.”  Ezekiel 36:24

The modern-day rebirth¹ of the nation of Israel,  seventy years ago is such an unprecedented act in world history, it has to be considered impossible² or a ‘miracle’ only achieved by divine intervention.  (You can read more about the events before and after that are incredible or miraculous here.)

Scattered jews from other “nations” and “countries” are brought into their “own land.” Many are familiar with this event, but as we read and did messages in Ezekiel a few other items jumped out to me.

Notice the word “desolate” to describe the land BEFORE the jews returned in Ezekiel 36: 34: ³⁴ The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. ³⁵ So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 

“Desolate” is the exact word used by Mark Twain in 1867 to describe Palestine (the land of Israel) before the Jews returned.

Mark Twain’s statements about Palestine appear primarily in his 1869 travel book, The Innocents Abroad, which documented his 1867 tour of the Holy Land. He famously described the region as a “desolate country” that was barren, unlovely, and largely abandoned. “Palestine is a desolate wasteland.”  He wrote.

Famous Descriptions of Desolation

Twain’s The Innocents Abroad contains frequently cited passages describing Palestine as a “desolate country,” a “silent mournful expanse” plagued by “sow of weeds”. He portrayed the land as being under a “curse” that destroyed its productivity, noting a distinct lack of permanent, settled villages, mentioning only Bedouin tents. [1, 2]

And Jerusalem, the “stateliest name in history”, was in reality a village, so small he could circle it – all “rags, wretchedness, poverty and dirt” – in an hour. That storied city, he concluded, was “mournful, and dreary, and lifeless” and for the life of him, he would not choose to live there.

Ezekiel was right, so was Mark Twain, the land before the Jews arrived in 1948 was desolate.  Under the Ottoman Empire when Mark Twain wrote these words, the land was “desolate, poor, dry and lifeless.”

For example, this jumped out to me as I was illustrating and finding pictures to show of Jacob’s Well in Sychar from John 4.

Notice the dry land, rocks and the poverty of the land and the people in these 1930’s images from our Library of Congress.

God’s word is very accurate. It was desolate before the Jews returned!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then notice this picture from recent times of the same place after the land was restored to Israel.  Notice all the buildings, infrastructure and greenery.  “Ruined cities now inhabited.”  In fifty to sixty years later, there is a massive difference!

We are seeing Ezekiel’s prophecies fulfilled before our very eyes.

And notice the words “tilled and garden.”  ⁴ The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. ³⁵ So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden;

Also notice:  I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. ³⁰ And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations.  Ezekiel 36:29-30

Israel today is very productive, not only with their technology, military, medicine, and economy but in Agricultural products as God said.

Israel exports approximately $2.8 billion dollars worth of agricultural products annually. Key export categories include fresh produce—primarily avocados, mangos, dates, citrus, potatoes, and sweet potatoes—as well as highly advanced agricultural technologies like drip irrigation, desalination systems, and AI-driven precision farming. The European Union remains its largest overall trade partner. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Top Agricultural Exports

• Fresh Produce: Avocados, mangos, dates (especially Medjool), citrus, peppers, carrots, and potatoes.
• Agricultural Technology: Drip irrigation systems, seed varieties, water desalination technology, and precision farming software.
• Processed Foods: Olive oil, almonds, and specialized consumer-ready goods. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Primary Export Destinations

• European Union: France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the UK are the primary markets for Israeli fresh fruits and vegetables, often stocked in major supermarket chains.
• Global AgriTech Markets: Israel’s innovations in water management and precision agriculture are exported worldwide, significantly impacting developing regions and large-scale farming operations global.

Lastly, in Ezekiel 38,  the prophet describes the land full of wealth and bounty.

” (Gog) You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell ^[d]safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— ¹² to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. ¹³ Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ”  

Israel today is prosperous and wealthy, as God said it would be.

Israel’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is roughly $719.8 billion. When measured by GDP per capita, Israel climbs significantly higher, ranking around 13th to 20th in the world with an average of nearly $69,800 per person. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The specific rankings and figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlight different facets of Israel’s economy: [1, 2, 3]

• Total Nominal GDP: $719.85 Billion (Ranked 26th globally)
• GDP Per Capita: $69,804 (Ranked ~15th globally

Israel exports approximately $60 to $64 billion worth of goods and services annually, heavily driven by high-tech equipment, precision instruments, cut diamonds, and refined chemicals. The United States remains its largest single trading partner, accounting for more than a quarter of all shipments. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Top Export Categories

Israel’s export portfolio is dominated by high-complexity manufacturing and advanced tech: [1, 2, 3, 4]

• Electrical Machinery & Electronics: Integrated circuits, telecommunications equipment, and computer hardware.
• Optical, Technical, & Medical Apparatus: Surgical and medical instruments, diagnostic tools, and measuring equipment.
• Gems & Precious Metals: Cut and unmounted diamonds, making Israel one of the world’s premier diamond-processing hubs.

Israel in a short period of time has acquired vast “goods, silver and gold,” as God said.  We are watching prophecy being fulfilled before our eyes!

I pray that this encourages you and grows your faith in the fact that God’s word is true and can be trusted.

Darrell

PS.  One last thought, why do people have a problem with Israel? Is it that God’s Word is true?

Here’s a great quote from Berel Solomon 

“There’s something about Israel that makes people uncomfortable, and it’s not what they say it is.

They’ll point to politics, settlements, borders, and wars. But scratch beneath the outrage, and you’ll find something deeper. A discomfort not with what Israel does, but with what Israel is.

A nation this small should not be this strong. Period.

Israel has no oil. No special natural resources. A population barely the size of a mid-sized American city. They are surrounded by enemies. Targeted by terror. Condemned by celebrities. Boycotted, slandered, and attacked.

And still, they thrive like there’s no tomorrow.

In military. In medicine. In security. In technology. In agriculture. In intelligence. In morality.

They turn desert into farmland.
They make water from air.
They intercept rockets in mid-air.
They rescue hostages under the nose of the world’s worst regimes.
They survive wars that were supposed to wipe them out

The world watches this and can’t make sense of it.

So they do what people do when they witness strength they can’t understand.

They assume it must be cheating.

It must be American aid.
It must be foreign lobbying.
It must be oppression.
It must be theft.
It must be some dark trick that gave the Jews this kind of power.
It must be blackmail.

Because heaven forbid it’s something else.
Heaven forbid it’s real.
Heaven forbid it’s earned.
Or worse, destined.

The Jewish people were supposed to disappear a long, long time ago. That’s how the story of exiled, enslaved, hated minorities is supposed to end. But the Jews didn’t disappear. They actually came home, rebuilt their land, revived their language, and brought their dead back to life — in memory, in identity, and in strength.

That’s not normal.
It’s not political.
It’s biblical.

There’s no cheat code that explains how a group of people return to their homeland after 2,000 years.

And there is no historical precedent for surviving the Babylonians, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Inquisition, the pogroms, and the Holocaust, and still showing up to work on Monday in Tel Aviv.

Israel doesn’t make sense.
Unless you believe in something beyond the math.

This is what drives the world crazy. Because if Israel is real, if this improbable, ancient, hated nation is somehow still chosen, protected, and thriving, then maybe God isn’t a myth after all.

Maybe He’s still in the story.

Maybe history isn’t random.
Maybe evil doesn’t get the last word.
Maybe the Jews are not just a people… but a testimony.

That’s what they can’t stand.

Because once you admit that Israel’s survival isn’t just impressive, but divine, everything changes. Your assumptions about history, power, and justice collapse. You realize you’re not watching the end of an empire. You’re witnessing the beginning of something eternal.

So they deny it.
They smear it.
And rage against it.

Because it’s easier to call a miracle “cheating” than to face the possibility that God keeps His promises.

And He’s keeping them still.”

Amen!

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Footnotes:

¹The modern State of Israel officially declared independence on May 14, 1948. This milestone established it as an independent and sovereign nation, coinciding with the expiration of the British Mandate over Palestine.  The declaration followed the United Nations’ 1947 adoption of Resolution 181, which recommended partitioning the region into separate Jewish and Arab states.  You can read the full historical proclamation on the official Israeli Government website or explore the broader international milestones surrounding the event via the U.S. Department of State archive. [1, 2, 3]

² The Encyclopedia Britannica changes their additions as the years go by. We discover in retrospect that they’re not always accurate. Here’s an excerpt from a 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica: “The possibility that we can ever again recover the correct pronunciation of ancient Hebrew is as remote as the possibility that a Jewish empire will ever again be established in the Middle East.”   In Israel today there is a revived Hebrew spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, throughout the land. And it’s done in the ancient homeland that has been re-established, according to the prophecies.  What seemed impossible is possible!

Sources: https://www.icej.org/understand-israel/israel-updates/the-miracle-of-israels-rebirth/