For centuries, Christians and Jews have been anticipating a miracle—the re-establishment of the nation of Israel in their ancestral homeland. The reasons behind this anticipation are the numerous prophecies and promises of God recorded throughout the Bible that clearly indicate there would indeed be a Jewish homeland in Israel in the last days.

This miracle occurred on May 14, 1948, when the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel was proclaimed. 

To understand the significance of this miraculous event, it is necessary to know the history of this land. As a bridge between Asia to the north, Iran to the east, Africa to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel has long been a battleground for the invading armies of the world.

Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Cyrus the Persian, and Alexander the Great all trampled and battled their way across the land that God had originally deeded to the Jews. Eventually, the Romans succeeded in conquering everything west of the Euphrates River from Europe to Africa and were in power at the time of Christ. Since then, history has recorded one conflict after another in the Holy Land.

After 19 centuries of being expelled from the land of Israel, the Jewish people are planted again back in their own homeland. The Bible prophecies regarding future events assume that Israel will exist as a nation in the last days. But for about 19 centuries, there was no nation. There were a few Jewish people who remained in the land, but Israel did not become a nation again until 1948. 

The prophet Isaiah, in the final chapter of his book, gives us one of the most amazing prophetic declarations in the entire Bible: “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children” (Isaiah 66:8). 

Both Christian and Jewish scholars acknowledge this passage as a prediction of Israel’s rebirth in the land instantaneously, a nation born in a day. This has never happened before in all of history. Never has a nation or a group of people who were expelled from their land returned after nearly 2000 years with their language, their heritage, and their commitments largely intact.

The very fact that Israel exists today is evidence of the fact that Bible prophecy is true and can be trusted. It demonstrates that God keeps His promises and that He has the power to fulfill what He has said will happen in the future. The return of Israel is a super sign of the end times. It is one event that should cause us to respond, “The prophecy has already been fulfilled. Israel has returned.”

Adapted from Target Israel by Tim LaHaye and Ed Hindson