Most people, even those who have never picked up a Bible, have heard of the first exodus—the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, where they were in captivity—if only from movies such as The Ten Commandments.
But as epic as the first exodus was, the Bible prophesies a second, more spectacular exodus—one in which God will gather the Jewish people from around the world and return them to Israel. Here’s what the prophet Jeremiah said about it:
“Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land” (Jer. 23:7-8,NKJV).
The first exodus was a profound miracle of God, but it will pale by comparison to the second. How can that be? When Moses led God’s people out of Egypt, they were all in one land and had been there for approximately 400 years. Even on foot the journey from Egypt to Israel was short. But the second exodus is very different. Jewish people are still scattered across the globe, and they have been for more than 2,000 years.
Listen to what God said about it through the prophet Isaiah:
“Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you; therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ Bring My sons from afar and My daughters from the ends of the earth” (Isa. 43:4-6).
That is how God described the massive second exodus. Now here is what the prophet Amos said about it:
“I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they also shall make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,’ says the Lord your God” (Amos 9:14-15).
Amos said this return of the Jewish people to their land would never be undone. That is important because they were pulled up from their land repeatedly by the Babylonians, Romans, Greeks, Persians and others. Even when they tried to live outside Israel, nations such as Spain, Russia, England, Germany, and France forced them out by decree or by persecution. They have been driven out of their homeland and almost every other place that they have lived.
The attempt to uproot the Jewish people is not only in the past, however. There are people, organizations and nations calling for the Jewish people to be pushed out of their country today. Anti-Semites seem to believe that everybody has a right to their homeland except the Jewish people.
God, however, will have the final word. Whether the United Nations, Iran, Iraq or any other organization or country tries to uproot the Jewish people, He has prophesied otherwise. The God who said that the bones of the whole house of Israel shall live is the same God who told Pharaoh, “Let My people go” (Ex. 8:1b). In Ezekiel 11:17 and 36:24, He promised to gather His people from the nations of the world. He fulfilled those prophecies on May 14, 1948, when Israel officially became a nation. And in the book of Amos He said, “No longer shall they be pulled up” (9:15).
So what makes this time different from all the other times? Simply the power and promises of almighty God. His great presence rests upon the Jewish people and upon their nation, Israel. They will never be removed again. God said, “I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it” (Ezek. 37:14).
We are already seeing God’s mighty hand of blessing bringing this to pass. The moving of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was a marker, and now other nations are following the United States’ example. I believe the United States’ formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights and its updated position on the settlements also reflect the moving of God’s hand. I feel the same way about the United States and other nations standing up for Israel against its opposers, such as Iran, Iraq and Hamas. Recently I watched President Trump on TV as he presented a peace plan that I pray will bring peace to Jerusalem and all of Israel.
Before we move on, let me show you something about the connection between the first exodus and the second. I want you to understand that the first exodus was about much more than giving the people a land of milk and honey. God explained what He was really after:
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me'” (Ex. 8:1, NIV).
It is interesting how words and phrases catch on and are appropriated by completely different causes. “Let my people go” has become a catchphrase for many situations and causes that have nothing to do with why God said it. Whether it is by accident or design (I suspect it is the latter), the rest of God’s statement gets lost. He caused Pharaoh to let His people go so they could worship Him. They were to go to Mount Sinai, receive the Torah and come into covenant with God. This was part of fulfilling Israel’s destiny not only for their benefit, but so they would bring God’s words and ways to all humankind. The world was to see God’s power and blessings through the Jewish people.
Both exodus events testify to the power and glory of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are signs to the nations. Whether you call the current day the time of the Messiah or the beginning of the latter rain, it is God’s moadim, an appointed time and a time of His great outpouring. I believe no sign speaks more loudly than the rebirth of Israel and the return of the Jewish people. {eoa}
This article is excerpted from Chapter 3 of The Seven Living Prophecies:The Return:God’s Greatest Sign, by Larry Huch (Charisma House 2020).
Ron Allen 
Charisma Media Staff 
Abby Trivett 
