"Where's the World Headed? Do the Jews Offer a Clue?

“In the United States for example, various polls show the nation is “headed in the wrong direction”.  That’s the “U.S.”  What about the rest of the world?  Do other peoples and nations question the direction in which their nation may be headed?

Of course, the Muslims have their notion about where the world ought to be headed and the radical Muslims are trying to make it so.  Is their vision of the future the correct one?  If so, life ahead is going to be rather unpleasant for non-Muslims.

How about another vision?  Perhaps the Judaeo/Christian view.  This, incidentally, is a commonly shared vision between the two, though Jews would be the last to acknowledge it.  In fact, Christians know more about history’s conclusion for the Jews than the Jews do.  That’s because Christians read the Tanakh and the Book of Revelation; Jews restrict themselves to the Tanakh (generally parallels the Christian “Old Testament”).

In trying to sort out religious claims and visions of the future a guide might be the words of Shakespeare, “What’s past is prologue” (“The Tempest”, Act 2, Scene 1).  This pithy statement can take us to Israel’s history that can cast light on present events.  First, a reminder.  As a political entity, for virtually 2,000 years the nation of Israel did not exist, after having previously existed for 1500 years.  Then suddenly, on May 14, 1948, Mr. David Ben-Gurion declared Israel to be a nation.  Wow!

That “Wow!” moves to a whole new level when coupled with the words of the classical prophet from the Tanakh, Isaiah: “. . .the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left,. . .” (11:11). (Emphasis mine.)  The first time was under Darius after the 70-year period of Jewish captivity in Babylon.  The second time is in our own day.  Jews are returning to Israel from all over the earth and have been since Mr. Ben-Gurion’s declaration.

There’s another “clue” to the significance of the Jews returning to their land, it’s a matter of timing; highlighted by the prophetic words of Jesus:  “And they (the Jews) will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations.  And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles (non-Jews) until the time of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).  Since the “Six-Day War” of 1967, the City of Jerusalem has not been under gentile domination.  Note.  Though Jewish forces conquered the whole of the City of Jerusalem, political maneuvering has nearly cost them control of it.

It has to be declared that the past is thrusting itself into the future and that future will see Israel and Jerusalem exalted though all the world should move against Israel—and it will—then Israel’s Messiah shall come.  Indeed “What’s past is prologue” and many of us now living may get to see its fulfillment.  That’s where the world is headed.