Geography of Israel
God gave Abraham and his descendants “all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession” (Gen. 17:8; see Ps. 105:8-11). Specifically, Canaan consisted of all the land west of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. Later it became known as Israel and Judah. The Jews, Abraham’s descendants, are returning to this Holy Land as the end times approach.
Jesus and the martyr Stephen affirmed that the Holy Land belonged to the Jews even when the Jews lived Roman rule (Acts 1:6-7; 7:5). Then, as Jesus prophesied, the Romans destroyed the temple in 70 AD (Mt. 24:1-2). Later, the failure of the Jewish Bar-Kochba revolt against the Romans in 136 AD sent many Jews into exile.
But the Bible always predicted a second regathering of the Jews. It would mirror their first regathering after their sixth century BC exile to Babylon. “Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people… and will assemble the banished ones of Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isa. 11:11-12).
That second regathering began when multitudes of Jews returned to the Holy Land in the 1900s. It crystallized when Israel gained independence in 1948 after 18 centuries of foreign domination.
Now the regathering of Jews continues despite fierce opposition from the great and powerful Muslim-majority nations which surround Israel. Because God is preparing Israel, and its capital Jerusalem, to be the center of His kingdom on earth when Jesus returns:
“Now it will come about that in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’
“For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.” (Isa. 2:2-5)
Israel and the Jews are not yet walking in the light of their Messiah. Instead, they have experienced a “partial hardening” toward Christ until the fullness of the harvests of the Gentiles has come in (Rom. 11:25-26)…
See Harvests of Gentiles and Jews
Other End-Times Guide articles related to Holy Land end times
Related sources for Holy Land end times.
Affirming Israel’s borders: Scripture & history.
Bible supports Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
Keyword: Holy Land end times.
What will happen in the Holy Land end times?
