What is the history behind Israel?

Answer 1

Biblical history is the history of Israel. It is different from all other histories. Secular scholars consider the movements of nations and armies to be the core of world history. Church historians, on the other hand, consider the great ecclesiastical conferences and development of denominations and institutions to be at the heart of human history.

It is remarkable, but the Bible alone views history from the vantage point of Israel, especially from Genesis 12 through Acts 8. The prophet Isaiah, for instance, envisioned Israel as occupying “the center of the earth”:

In that day shall Israel be … a blessing in the midst of the earth (Isa. 19:24).

From Acts 9 through Rev. 3, the focus of the Bible is more on the church, local and world-wide. With Rev. 4, however, Israel resumes the center stage position and continues as such until the end of the Scriptures. Thus, the vast bulk of the Word of God revolves around Israel, the Chosen nation of God.

Other Nations Mentioned In Bible Only As They Contact Israel

Israel, however, was always in the foreground, through the patriarchs, the kings, the prophets, the movements of the nation in and out of the Promised Land, and the various reactions of the Israelis to the first coming of Christ. The nation Israel was always center stage, and the Bible mentions Gentile nations only insofar as they had contact with the Chosen Nation.

The Scriptures present Egypt in relation to Moses and the Exodus; the Canaanites as the object of the Conquest; Babylon as it figured in the destruction of the Temple and in the Captivity; Persia as it brought about the restoration of Jerusalem; and Rome as it had an impact on the New Testament scene. Through all these contacts with the Gentile nations, Israel remains the nation around which scriptural history revolves.
Israel Suppressed By The Dispersion for 19 Centuries

For 19 centuries, though, the Dispersion has suppressed Israel, as the Jews have found themselves scattered throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. In reality, the religion of Judaism has reconfigured Israel in such a way that it practically lost its national distinctive. Israel is an anomaly, unlike any other people. It defies the common definitions of religion, race and nationality.

Furthermore, Israel has been adrift from its own Messiah. The Messiah who came first to Israel has become a stranger to most of His own Jewish people. Peculiarly, it is mostly Gentiles who worship Him on all the continents of the earth through a vast variety of congregations and fellowships.
The Remarkable Restoration of Israel

So it has been for almost 2,000 years, but in our time things have undergone a remarkable change. Jews by the millions have returned to the Land of Canaan, and Israel is once again a nation on the face of the earth. There is also a resurgence of faith in Jesus as the Messiah among a minority of Israelis.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of such a radical event. This is precisely what the prophets foretold would occur at the time of the Second Coming of Christ:

Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, to which they are gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land (Ezek. 37:21).

The New Testament also teaches that the Church Age would end with the Rapture of the Church. Following that, the Lord would prepare Israel and the world for the Return of Christ through the awesome days of the Tribulation, the 70th Week of Daniel. All of this assumes that Israel is a nation at the end of the age.
Israel Again The Center of The World As In The Bible

Once again the focus of history is back on Israel. If we are to look at the world the way the Scriptures do, we must now view all actions of all peoples from the vantage point of modern Israel.

If the Scriptures are the Word of God, and that we constantly affirm, then we must conclude that this is precisely how God views the world. It is not easy for us to do this because we normally view everything from our own perspective: our family, our country, our church and our culture. How can we lift ourselves out of our shell and our circumscribed mold, and begin to view our world from the biblical point of view?

It takes considerable effort, concentration and faith to go against the grain and commit our minds to conforming to the scriptural perspective. It is also somewhat humbling, as well. In America, for instance, we tend to see everything in relationship to the power politics displayed by our armed forces, and our ideas of democracy and constitutional government. We must step down off this exalted cultural pedestal. We must understand that much of what God will accomplish on the earth between now and the Lord’s Second Coming is going to be done in and through Israel.
How Did Israel Become a Nation Again?

How did the world get this way? How did Israel get back into the Land? It didn’t just happen overnight. It has been a process, a lengthy one stretching back over 100 years. Great movements and ideologies have converged to bring all this about, and equally great movements have come along to attempt to frustrate the return of Israel to the Land. From this point on we must begin to view all modern history from the biblical perspective. We have to realize that all things are happening in the divine plan to bring about the restoration of Israel and the Second Coming of Christ. Everything else must be considered secondary.


Zionism — The Primary Vehicle of Restoration Out of The Dispersion

The primary tool God has used to bring about the restoration of Israel is the movement of Zionism. Zionism is the religious, sociological and political movement that promotes the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. There is something in the breast of most, if not all, Jewish people that is not complete outside the Promised Land:

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy (Psalms 137:4–6).

This attraction has been intact since the Dispersion began with the Destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in A.D. 70, shortly after Christ’s first coming. The attraction, however, has been suppressed all these centuries by the reality of Jerusalem’s subjugation. As our Lord predicted, Jerusalem has been “trodden under the feet of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) all during this time.
The Treading of Jerusalem by The Gentiles

First it was the Romans who trod down Jerusalem, then the Byzantines, then the Moslems under the auspices of the Arabs, Mamelukes or the Turks. There were also the European Crusaders, who controlled Jerusalem for 100 years, and some other parts of the biblical lands for another 100 years. For most of this 19-century-long period, though, the Land has been under some type of Moslem control. Furthermore, the Moslems have firmly planted the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa Mosque on the Temple Mount overlooking Jerusalem.
The Jewish Dream of a Restored Israel

Throughout the Dispersion, there have always been some Jewish people living in the Land. Mostly they lived in Galilee, but sometimes they were able to get to the remaining shrine of their revered Temple Mount, the Western Wall in Jerusalem. There was always the religious conviction that the Jews would ultimately return to the Land “en masse” in the Days of the Messiah. Maimonides and other famous rabbis fostered this teaching. They had the firm belief that when the Messiah comes, there will be universal peace.

There were a few aborted and short-lived attempts at migration. For instance, many Jews attempted to return to Jerusalem during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate (4th century) and at the time of Sabbatai Zvi (17th century). However, there was no serious movement back to Israel until the Zionists began their organizing movements in the latter half of the 19th century. In the 20th century, Zionism has resulted in more than a million of the world’s 15 million Jews now living in the Promised Land!
What Is Zionism?

As Israel is unique among the nations, so Zionism is unique among movements. It has many facets and is complex. The encyclopedia defines Zionism as “a movement aimed at establishing a national Jewish state in Palestine, the ancient Jewish homeland” (World Book Encyclopedia, 1969, Vol. 20, p. 499). It is even more complex than that definition suggests. Zionism is a religious, sociological and political movement that promotes the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.

It is religious, because it is based on biblical promises and rabbinic interpretations about the restoration of Israel. In the beginning of Zionism, the leaders actually considered the idea of bringing the Jewish people of the world to one of the countries of Africa. The religious leaders soon weighed in with objections that the only country that would appeal universally to the Jewish people would be the ancient land of Israel. Four thousand years of religious and historical associations would attract them from all over the world to the Land of their ancestors. There was also the appeal of the hope of the Messiah. The biblical prophets had prophesied that the Messiah would one day come, bless the Jewish people in the Land, and bring peace to the whole world.

Zionism is sociological as well. The attraction of the ancient Land alone probably would not be enough to motivate the Jewish people. They would have to leave their homelands, businesses and professions to undertake the rigors of pioneer life in a harsh environment. The founder of Zionism, Theodore Herzl, realized in the Dreyfus trial in Paris in 1894 that anti-Semitism was an active force even in the enlightened country of France. It took ruthless and massive persecution in Russia, Europe and the Arab nations for the Jews to leave and seek a haven in a new land. Israel became a safe haven to which they could escape from age-old Gentile persecution. The motivating persecutions of the 19th century began with the pogroms of Russia and Eastern Europe and came to a horrendous head in the death camps of the Nazis. Millions of Jewish people became convinced that the only way they could survive was if they had the safety valve of a land of their own.

Zionism is a political movement as well. Once the Jews returned to the Land of Canaan, who would provide protection for them? Would the nations who had persecuted the Jews for centuries now become their defenders since they were back in the Land? Very unlikely! To be a valid return, there would have to be a new state of Israel, with its own government and army. This is political. Zionism could not be a permanent reality without the political element. It took all the organizational skills of the returned Jewish people to create an economy, a democratic government and a dependable army. To the astonishment of the world, the heretofore peaceful Jews forged a citizen army that has become a military wonder. This small but powerfully skilled army has waged four full-scale wars and many lesser conflicts in a hostile Arab environment that the Russian Communist empire supported for many years.

All three elements, religious, sociological and political, are important parts of Zionism. It has taken all these to motivate millions of Jews to return to the Land, build up the economy and protect Israel from its many enemies.

Responses To Zionism

In physics, there is a law that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The phenomenon of Zionism has stirred enormous reactions in the world, both positive and negative. If we are to think in the biblical mold, we must change our thinking patterns. We must begin to look at modern world history from the viewpoint of how Israel influences everything, and how everything influences Israel.

Two main areas of reaction have been in religion and politics. Christianity has been in the forefront of the debate about Israel in the modern world. Christianity may be considered the daughter of Judaism, and there has always been tension between the mother and the daughter from the time of the birth of the daughter. Judaism has looked upon Christianity as an unfortunate misinterpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures, at best, and a dangerous and persecuting perversion of the Messianic hope, at worst. Christianity, on the other hand, has looked upon Judaism as a vestigial organ, like an appendix that has outlived its usefulness. It not only has considered the fall of Israel, Jerusalem and the Temple the fulfillment of prophecy, it also sees these as sure signs that God has forever abandoned and judged the Jewish people, and banished them into oblivion.

For many Christians, the idea of the Jewish people returning en masse to the Land as a restored nation of Israel is anathema. To them, it would be tantamount to the repudiation of Christianity. This view has been dominant in Christendom for at least fifteen centuries. Something remarkable, though, was happening about the same time as Zionism was stirring in the hearts and minds of the Jewish people in the 19th century. An increasingly large minority of Christians began to re-discover the New Testament attitude of the early Christians toward Israel, which is far different from the prevailing attitude today.
Pro-Zionist Christianity

Instead of having a strongly negative attitude about the position of Israel, these Christians began to teach a very positive view about the future of Israel in God’s plan. Rather than seeing the Jewish people forever cut off from the Lord, they were expounding the Scriptures that reveal a glorious future for both the Church and Israel. They believed that Israel would have an intimate relationship with Messiah, Christ Jesus, at His Second Coming.

These Christians came to be known as Pre-millennialists, which refers to the belief that Christ will return to the earth before the Millennium. This will be a period of a thousand years during which Christ will reign on earth with Jerusalem, Israel, as His capital and holy city.

They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years … [in] … the beloved city. (Rev. 20:4, 9)

They also call themselves Dispensationalists, because they interpret the Scriptures as portraying God as having arranged several dispensations throughout time, including Innocence, Conscience, Law, Grace and the Millennium. People would always be saved by grace through faith in all these dispensations. However, the way in which they live their lives and show their faith would differ from one dispensation to another.

These views became incorporated in a considerable movement in Evangelical Christianity in Europe and America, and became manifested in various gatherings, publications and institutions. Among these were the Keswick and Prophetic Conferences, the Scofield Reference Bible, Moody Bible Institute, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, and Dallas Theological Seminary. Most of the mainline Christian Denominations did not embrace the Premillennial/Dispensational position. Many pastors and churches in most of the various Protestant denominations, though, began to preach and teach these views. They did not think they were inventing anything new, but were rather rediscovering what the Bible taught about Israel, the Church and the Second Coming all along. The Dispensationalists believed these great truths had been lost through much of the Church age.

In the Reformation, Martin Luther had re-discovered the long-suppressed doctrine of salvation by faith. In the same way, the Dispensationalists believed they were re-discovering the long-suppressed biblical truth about such doctrines as the Rapture of the Church and the Millennial blessings of Israel.

Few, if any, have noted, though, that Zionism and Dispensationalist Christianity both came on the scene at practically the same time, the latter part of the 19th century!

How is it that this teaching about the restoration of Israel began to flourish in both the Jewish and Christian cultures at the same point in history? Was this some peculiar coincidence? Did this just happen? Is it possible that the hand of the Lord was operating in both Israel and the Church to bring about just such a development?

Let us suppose that the Dispensationalists are right. In the end time, God intends to bring Israel back to the Land. He will prepare Israel for judgment (the Tribulation) and final blessing (the Millennium at the Second Coming of Christ). How would God do such a thing? After all, at the beginning of the 19th century, very few, if any, Jews or Christians were seriously thinking about a restoration of Israel. Nevertheless, the prophet Ezekiel, among others, predicted that such a thing would happen, and that it would be a process, perhaps a lengthy one:

Then He said unto me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off on our part.’ Therefore, prophesy and say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel’” (Ezek. 37:11–12).

In the vision, the upturned graveyard of bones came together into skeletons, developed flesh, and then at the end had the breath of God breathed into them. They became alive as a great army and nation. This was a prophecy of the gradual restoration of the Jewish people back to their ancient Land.

A vocal minority of Christians began to teach anew this doctrine from the Bible just as Jewish pioneers began to trickle back into the Land. Who influenced whom? Did Jews hear Christians talking about this, decide it was a good idea, and start packing for Palestine? Or were Jews beginning to head back to the Land, and Christians, observing this, began to consult their Bibles to see if there was anything about it in prophecy?

In reality, these seem to be very independent movements. There was little direct communication between the two groups about the future of the Jews. After centuries of persecution and hurling of accusations one against the other, there was mostly mistrust between the rabbis and the ministers. While the leaders of these movements were not pen pals, however, it is likely that each group observed the publications and actions of the other. They probably had a mutual impact on one another.

While there was little direct communication between Zionism and Dispensationalism, it appears that neither would have flourished well without the other. If there had been no practical movement of the Jews going back to the Land, Dispensationalism would have appeared to most Christians as a highly unrealistic proposition. It probably would have returned to its long position of obscurity. On the other hand, what would have happened if the efforts of the Zionists had not met with the approving encouragement of the Dispensationalist Christians? The return of the Jewish people back to the Land, as we shall see, might have been even more difficult than it turned out to be. We believe that God was behind the development of both movements, and used both Zionism and Dispensationalism to accomplish the beginning of the fulfillment of the ancient scriptural prophecies.



Pro-Zionist Christianity, which developed in the latter part of the 19th century along with Zionism, played a significant role in the beginnings of Israel, as we shall see, at the time of World War I. They accomplished this mainly through the politics of the time in England and America. However, all Christian leaders did not espouse pro-Zionist Christianity, which was based primarily on the newly revived Premillennial/Dispensational theology. While they were energetic and vocal, the Premillennial/Dispensational Christians were (and continue to be) in the minority. Most professing Christians in Europe and in the American hemisphere have long held the opposing view of Amillennial/Postmillennial Christianity.
Anti-Zionist Christianity

While there are some subtle distinctions between Amillennialism and Postmillennialism concerning any future for Israel, they are essentially the same. They teach that any covenant relationship God had with Israel was cancelled at the time of the first coming of Christ. Therefore, God is through with the Jewish people as a nation, and there is to be no State of Israel, now or in the future. In addition, there is to be no Temple, and no Millennial Kingdom for Israel with Jerusalem as its capital. Any blessings to the Jewish people must be along with all other nationalities under the aegis of the Church. Furthermore, God has transferred and transformed to the Church all the blessings and promises He originally made to Israel. Thus, the Church is the New Israel.

Scholars sometimes call this view Replacement Theology, as it views the Church as replacing Israel in all aspects. In contrast, the Premillennial/Dispensational view is that, while the Church is the new creation of the Lord that proclaims the Gospel in this age, the Church does not replace Israel in its national covenant relationship with God. The covenant with Israel does not guarantee personal salvation for all Jews. It does, though, guarantee personal salvation for the “remnant” of Jewish people in all ages, including the Church Age. Also, it guarantees the preservation and restoration of Israel to the Land in preparation for the Tribulation and the Second Coming of Christ.

Because of these theological convictions, then, the Amillennial/Postmillennial Christians tend to look at any idea of a future for Israel with alarm, as an affront to Christianity, as a denial of the true position of the Church. The Premillennial/Dispensationalists, on the other hand, view the idea of a future for Israel with delight. Modern Israel is a welcome harbinger of the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Christ.

What does the New Testament teach — Premillennialism or Replacement Theology? There is not as much disagreement about this as one might suppose. Most of the Replacement Theologians and Amillennialists agree with the Premillennialists that the New Testament apostles believed in a future for Israel and the literal Second Coming of Christ — but they say the apostles were just mistaken! It took time for the Church to “mature” to the knowledge that Christ was not returning to the earth, and that Israel was to be replaced by the Church.
It was Augustine around A.D. 400 who ultimately articulated the idea, principally in his well-known work, The City of God. Augustine admitted that at one time he had espoused the doctrine of “Chiliasm,” the belief in a future millennium, in which the Church and redeemed Israel will be blessed by the personal return and reign of Christ on the earth. However, he had since come to the “more satisfactory” view that the Church has replaced Israel forever. Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in fulfillment of prophecy, and the Jews were dispersed throughout the Roman empire. Judaism was branded in the New Testament as an imperfect religion that has been superseded by the Gospel of Christianity. Rome was in its ascendancy as the center of Christian thought and worship.

Rather than looking to some political renewal on this present earth, Augustine taught that we should look to the New Jerusalem, the eternal city of God. In effect, he “leapfrogged” over the Millennium as a future event and saw the Millennial promises fulfilled in the Church age. He further envisioned the Second Coming of Christ as not ushering in the Millennium, but the Eternal State of the New Heaven, the New Earth, and the New Jerusalem.

Christendom canonized Augustine as an official saint, and theologians throughout the Roman Empire accepted his doctrines. The Chiliasts were branded as holding aberrant views, if not heresy, and Augustinian Replacement Theology became the cornerstone of Roman Catholic concepts. In the later developments in the Eastern Orthodox Church, the European Reformation and the Anglican split, Replacement Theology continued essentially untouched. It was an important part of the standard Christian view of Israel, the world, and prophecy.

The effect of all this on Christian attitudes about Israel was devastating. In actuality, Replacement Theology disenfranchised Israel from having a continuing covenant relationship with God. Instead of looking at Jerusalem as the “City of the Great King,” in which Christ will reign for a thousand years upon His return, they saw Jerusalem’s perpetual desolation as much as a confirmation of Christianity as the destruction of Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea was a confirmation of Moses.
Dominance of Replacement Theology in Church History

This anti-Israel view continued as dominant in Christianity until the rise of Premillennial/Dispensationalism (along with Zionism) in the 19th century. Replacement Theology is still the majority view among professing Christian theologians, but Premillennialism is by and large considered a legitimate and vocal minority, at least in Evangelical Protestant circles.

Thus, in relation to the rise of Zionism and Modern Israel, Christianity has brought a divided message. Some (the Premillennial/Dispensationalists) have applauded the rise of the new State of Israel as evidence of the near fulfillment of the Second Coming of Christ. However, many representatives of official Christianity (the Replacement Theologians) are either neutral or antagonistic.
Christianity Both Pro- and Anti-Israel

Such organizations as the Roman Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches have, for the last half-century, taken positions favoring the Arab and Moslem enemies of Israel. They have defended this bias partly by claiming representation in the various countries involved. But a vital part of this bias is based on the theological convictions that cannot abide the resurrection of Israel from the ashes of the Dispersion.

It is with considerable reluctance that the Vatican has recognized Israel, and the Church’s primary interest is in asserting its influence in maintaining its Holy Places in Jerusalem. Similarly, the World Council of Churches has consistently pled the cause of Palestinians against the claims of Israel.

Thus, Christianity has, because of its differing theological views about the future of Israel, had a divided attitude about Zionism and the revived State of Israel. Part of Christianity has expressed delight with the modern Israel, while part has been very negative toward Israel’s very existence.
The Balfour Declaration & The Decree of Cyrus

Over 75 years have passed since the Balfour Declaration was announced by the British Government in 1917, and its significance is fading into dim history. However, it was a turning point in the development of Zionism. There is no question in this author’s mind that God used the Balfour Declaration in the modern restoration of Israel, much the same way as He used the Declaration by the Persian King Cyrus in the restoration of Israel after the Babylonian Captivity. Compare the two documents:

Cyrus:

Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,

Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia: The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (he is the God), which is in Jerusalem.

And whoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1–4).

Balfour:

His Majesty’s Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the right and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country. November 2, 1917.

In both cases, the governments involved held political control over Jerusalem and the Promised Land, and were favorably inclined to see the Jewish people return to their homeland. In both cases also, there was considerable opposition from local governments in the Promised Land and in the countries surrounding it to the return of the Jews. In Cyrus’ time, the opposition was led by the Samaritans; in our time the opposition has been led by the Arab Palestinians.
Importance of The Balfour Declaration

Jews in Israel and the Dispersion are routinely taught about the Balfour Declaration, much the same as Americans are taught about the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Most American Gentiles (including Evangelical Christians), though, know little about this remarkable document that was set forth in the waning months of World War I.
The Friendship of Balfour & Weizmann

At the core of the Declaration was the unusual relationship between the British Foreign Minister Arthur Balfour and an active Zionist scientist named Chaim Weizmann, who later became the president of the World Zionist Organization and the first president of the revived state of Israel. Both of these men were powerful and effective in their own right, and together they forged a working relationship that changed the course of history, and resulted in the rebirth of Israel.

Balfour was a committed Evangelical Christian, and he wrote several books, including Foundations of Belief, in which he set forth the cardinal teachings of the Scriptures. He was a Dispensationalist, and believed in the future restoration of the Jewish people to Israel in connection with the Second Coming of Christ. He became British Prime Minister from 1902 to 1905, and was later the Foreign Minister under David Lloyd George during World War I. There were two reasons why Balfour was so attracted to Weizmann; one was secular and official, the other was religious and unofficial.
Acetone & World War I

The official reason for the friendship that developed between the two men was the critical development of an improved method of making acetone. This proved to be a quantum leap in producing powerful explosives, and played almost as important a role in concluding WW I as the atomic bomb did later in WW II. The German and Allied Forces were locked in mortal stalemate in trench warfare on the Continent for many months. Neither side could dislodge the other, and thousands were dying with artillery shelling and mustard gas rolling between the armed trenches.

It was the Jewish chemist Weizmann who labored in the laboratories and developed the new process for acetone production. With this new process for explosive production, the Allied Forces were able to tunnel under the German trenches and blow them apart. This was the capability that ended the stalemate and enabled the Allies to force Germany to sign the armistice agreement. The British Government in general and Foreign Minister Balfour in particular were very grateful to Weizmann for the part he played in the victory.
Weizmann & Daniel

While we are comparing Balfour to King Cyrus, we might also compare Weizmann to the prophet Daniel. It is clear from Scripture that Daniel prophesied the sudden capture of Babylon when he interpreted the mysterious “handwriting on the wall” to the shaken King Belshazzar and his guests at the blasphemous party described in Daniel 5. That night the army of the Persian King Cyrus captured mighty Babylon in an almost bloodless takeover through the famous under-the-wall strategy described by the Greek historian Herodotus. The Bible does not say, but it may well be that King Cyrus heard of this remarkable prophecy afterward, and credited Daniel with at least part of the reason for the success of his strategy.

Furthermore, Jewish history informs us that the Jewish leaders in Babylon approached King Cyrus after his victory and showed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, which mentioned Cyrus by name (Isaiah 44:28–45:1). Isaiah had written the prophecy over 150 years before, so the Jewish leaders and King Cyrus were amazed that the venerable prophecy had been fulfilled so literally. All of this would explain why King Cyrus was so willing, indeed eager, to issue the proclamation urging the restoration of Israel and funding the rebuilding of the Temple. His appreciation to the prophets Daniel and Isaiah for his victory may well have played a major role in his favorable attitude toward Israel.

Common Commitment to The Future of Israel

Now back to Balfour and Weizmann. It was not just high-powered explosives and the Allied victory that drew them together, there was also a common belief in the future of Israel. Weizmann was an ardent Zionist, and was in constant communication with the Zionist leaders, such as Theodore Herzl, in England and Europe. He was eager to further Jewish settlement in Palestine, which had already begun by the turn of the century as Jews escaped from the persecutions in Russia and Eastern Europe. They found refuge in the agricultural kibbutzim around Galilee.

Balfour, on the other hand (as we noted before), was a devout Christian, and had been exposed to the Premillennial and Dispensational teaching that had been rediscovered in the Scriptures during the previous century. He believed that the Jews must return to the Land as part of the preparation for the Second Coming of Christ, and was thrilled to think that he could have a part in it. Although Balfour accomplished many significant achievements in the British government, it is reported that, in his final days, he felt the most important thing he had accomplished in his life was the Declaration encouraging the resettlement of the Jewish people in their homeland.
Palestine as a British Mandate

Prior to WW I, Palestine had been ruled by Turkey for many years. During the war, Turkey was aligned with Germany, so Britain attacked Turkey from Egypt through Palestine. It was a dramatic time when the British General Allenby captured Jerusalem from the Turks. As the war concluded, Palestine was designated as a British protectorate. Thus, England had to decide how it was to administer the protectorate, and the Balfour Declaration promising a homeland to the Jewish people in Palestine was the apparent solution to the problem.
The Contradictory Pro-Jewish & Pro-Arab British Policies

A very serious problem, however, was that not only was there a pro-Jewish faction in England led by Foreign Minister Balfour, there was also a pro-Arab faction heavily influenced by “Lawrence of Arabia,” which was making contrary covert promises to the Arabs. This duplicity in the British government led to much confusion and ultimately bloodshed in later years. Nevertheless, the impact of the Balfour Declaration on the restoration of the Jewish people to the Land cannot be overestimated. It was brought about, in no small measure, by the convergence of Jewish Zionism and British Christian Dispensationalism in the persons of Weizmann and Balfour.
The Contribution of American Dispensationalism

American Christian Dispensationalism also appeared to be involved, to a lesser extent, at the time. The Balfour Declaration was not just drafted in one day by the Foreign Minister. It was carefully crafted with many revisions over a period of several weeks. It went back and forth between the British Cabinet and various Jewish groups. Some Jewish leaders were concerned that British recognition of a Jewish homeland in Palestine might negatively affect their status as citizens in England and other countries. When they had the wording they considered acceptable, it was sent to President Woodrow Wilson for approval. He was the son of a Presbyterian minister, had been president of Princeton University, and it might be assumed that he had been exposed to the Christian Dispensational teaching that was moving across America. At any rate, President Wilson readily agreed to the proposal, and indicated to the British government that it met with the approval of the American government.
The Hand of God Behind The Scenes

Thus, at the close of WW I it appears that a minority of Dispensational Christians influenced the British government, and to a lesser extent the American government, to accelerate the restoration of Israel during the 20th century in cooperation with the Zionist cause. In ancient times God used political events in the transition of power from Babylon to Persia in the time of Daniel to restore Israel to the Land. Biblical prophecies state that Israel must return to the Land in the last days. Can it be that He used similar political events at the end of WW I to further the present restoration? At any rate, the Balfour Declaration set in motion an exponential increase from a small trickle to a veritable stream as Jewish people began their serious return to the Promised Land. Dispensationalists believe that this was the beginning of the fulfillment of biblical prophecies, and this meant that the time for the judgment of Satan and the establishment of Christ’s kingdom on earth was coming ever closer. It soon became clear that Satan and his willing accomplices were not going to stand by and watch the restoration of Israel and the ultimate Second Coming of Christ to occur without determined opposition.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Very, very long, complicated, and bloody.

The history of modern Isreal starts in the ninteenth century.

Jews started to immigrate to the area we now know as Isreal during the mid and late 1800's in order to escape from persecution, or in the pursuit of the ideal of their own homeland, lead by Zionist idealists. They purchased land from the Arabs already living in the area and the Ottoman's, who had political control in the area at that time. As they established settlements and began to cultivate the land, tensions betwee the Jewish communities and the existing Arab communities grew, and repeatedly errupted into violence.

In 1917, the British Foreign Secretary Arthur J. Balfour issued the Balfour Declaration that "view[ed] with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people". In 1920, Palestine became a League of Nations mandate administered by Britain. So Britian endorsed the idea of a Jewish state where the previously established settlements were, and took over administration of that state.

The Arabs of the area, of course, reacted violently to what they perceived to be their land being stolen from them by the Jews, and backed up by the British. However, Jewish immigration to the fledging state continued, especially after the First World War and with the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. Attempts to control or limit Jewish immigration only angered both the Jews and the Arabs.

In 1947, the British mandate of the Palestinian state was finally abandoned, and the newly formed United Nations divided the area between the Jewish and Arab populations, 55% to 45% respectivly. Although this plan was reluctantly accepted by the Jews, the Arabs rejected it outright, and violence again flared.

Despite this, when the British mandate formally ran out, the state of Isreal was offically recognised by the United Nations on May 15, 1948.

The man who signed on the dotted line for Isreal was David Ben-Gurion.

Ever since then, Isreal has been at war with the surronding Arab states, either activley or passively. Saudia Araba still refuses to recognise the existance of the state of Isreal.

Answer 4

the place/while there is warfare you will no longer locate an honest answer from a muslim/arab they persist with the prophet: Hadith 4:269 Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah: The Prophet (Muhammad) reported, “warfare is deceit.” with the intention to locate a suggestions-blowing history of what has occurred you will would desire to locate an independent source, of which there are none. the terrific you ought to do is to take it sluggish, in accordance with how good your choose to appreciate is, and examine some previous texts. try "The history of the worldwide" from the 1960's, or an Encyclopedia Britannica from the early 1970's. The library on your section might additionally be an exceedingly solid source. maximum issues you study on Yahoo! solutions would be stilted to the point of view of the author. solid success.

Answer 5

A New Spiritual Israel

Though I believe the actual physical nation of Israel may have some importance in God's eyes; why, I am not certain, other than because it is historically a part of history and is where Christ was brought. It may also be a place which is used to fool demons and to sequendor them to the battle of Armageddon. More importantly is the New Spiritual Israel which does not have location specifically; but which covers over the earth and consist of those who truly worship Jehovah and know him and what he wants for them and from them.

10 “‘For this is the covenant that I shall covenant with the house of Israel after those days,’ says Jehovah. ‘I will put my laws in their mind, and in their hearts I shall write them. And I will become their God, and they themselves will become my people.

11 “‘And they will by no means teach each one his fellow citizen and each one his brother, saying: “Know Jehovah!” For they will all know me, from [the] least one to [the] greatest one of them. 12 For I shall be merciful to their unrighteous deeds, and I shall by no means call their sins to mind anymore.’”

13 In his saying “a new [covenant]” he has made the former one obsolete. Now that which is made obsolete and growing old is near to vanishing away.
Heb. 8:10-13

Answer 6

Israel was led out of Egypt out of Pharaoh's bondage by Moses the prophet of Yahweh. Yahweh gave Israel the Torah through Moses, and made them his people. The Jews are the apple of God's eye, and any nation that goes against Israel is also against God. Throughout history the Jews have been enslaved to various nations starting with Egypt. God kept delivering the Jews to their enemies because they disobeyed him. The Jews have been in bondage to: Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Midian, Persia, Mesopotamia, and Rome throughout their history. This why it took Israel so long to establish itself as a nation. The nation of Israel consists of Jews belonging to twelve tribes. The twelve tribes come from the twelve sons of Jacob. Jacob is who Israel is named after because Jacob was given the name Israel by God during his life.

Answer 7

Read the Old Testament of the Bible. Abraham moved to the area so long ago that it would be impossible to summarize the history on this site.

Answer 8

A bunch of Jewish whom didn't fit in their communities, got shipped to the Arabic countries to make their own state on a Palestinian land ... it's actually an invasion .. not a history

Answer 9

most of Israel's history is in the bible. God made Israel, it will be one of the nations to be saved by God.

Answer 10

Israel is the nickname of prophet Yaqoob A.S. and it means " Slave of Allah" in Hebrew.

Answer 11

It's called the Bible.