There is much controversy in the world today focusing on the nations of the Middle East, especially the land of Israel. We know that Israel was not even a nation until 1948 following two world wars and the Nazi atrocities of Hitler’s Third Reich.  The Jews had been separated from their homeland for two thousand years; but God had promised to restore them back to the land in the latter days.  Many promises of the Old Testament looked forward to this time. Allow me to highlight one from the book of Amos.

And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.
Amos 9:14-15

There is much confusion and outright deception today regarding the Jews and their ancestral homeland. What do we do with the land of Israel, the Gaza Strip and the Jewish people; what about the Palestinian claims and the animosity between Israel and her neighbors in the region?  Antisemitism is more mainstream than we have seen in decades.  Students of Bible prophecy are not surprised by these developments we are seeing because the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob told us that in the latter days Jerusalem will be a heavy stone for all peoples.

“Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah.  On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it.
Zechariah 12:2-3

In the following series of articles, I will attempt to explain the Jewish connection to that land from antiquity and God’s promise of their future restoration which is literally happening before our eyes. It’s my intent for these articles to serve as background to a fuller study on the book of Revelation.