ALIYAH | Return Ministries

Aliyah Memories from Peg Byars

aliyah

UNDERSTANDING ALIYAH

“Aliyah” is the Hebrew word meaning “to ascend.” The word commonly refers to Jews who immigrate or return, to Israel. However, in order to truly understand Aliyah, it is important to also understand a brief history of Israel. When we look at history, in light of the prophetic scriptures we can see God's hand at work in this day and hour. We are living in a unique time when God is fulfilling His Word to Israel in the sight of the whole earth. The Lord is bringing the Jewish people back to Israel. More than one million Jews have immigrated to Israel in the past fifteen years. It's time for the Body of Christ to wake up and realize that this is no coincidence.

“Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: "It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I am proved holy through you before their eyes.“ ‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land...Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors..." (Ezekiel 36:22-24,28)

Less than 100 years ago, Israel was a desolate wasteland just as the Lord said it would be because of the disobedience of the Jewish people which resulted in them being expelled from the land, temporarily. They were scattered among the nations and exiled from the land of Israel in 70 A.D because of their idol worship and defilement of the land. But, it was not permanent. The Lord indicated through the prophets that He would bring them back in the "latter days" and make them "more prosperous than their ancestors" had been. They had been scattered for nearly 2000 years ...until, May 14, 1948.

Mark Twain traveled to the Holy Land in 1867 and documented his thoughts in a journal that was published and now provides a historically documented account of his experience. Combine his words with the photograph below taken in 1938 (less than 85 years ago) of desolate and barren Israel. There was not even a tree in sight. Compare this to the "blossoming" Israel of our day.

"The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root. Israel will bud and blossom and fill the whole earth with fruit!" (Isaiah 27:6)

In light of this history, now consider, that God said He would one day call the Gentile believers to carry the descendants of Abraham back to their promised homeland!

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I will give a signal to the godless nations. They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms; they will bring your daughters on their shoulders."

(Isaiah 49:22)

"They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially." (Romans 15:27)

"...for salvation is from the Jews." (John 4:22)

The greatest prophetic sign of the last days is, without question, the return of the Jews to the land of Israel! There hasn't been a single time period since the days of Jesus that has seen more biblical prophecies come to pass as the one we are living in right now. For instance, in 1948, according to God’s promises, Israel became a nation. Isaiah spoke of Israel being born in one day (Isaiah 66:7-8), would it surprise you that Israel was, indeed, re-born in one day? In 1967, Jerusalem was restored to the Jews, indicating that these are the days of favor and restoration for the Jewish people, spoken of by the prophets.

"...I will bring my people Israel back from exile.“They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God." (Amos 9:14-15)

Israel is the "apple of God's eye." Scripture prophesied that in the last day's God would draw His people back to the land of promise.

"...in the latter years you shall come into the land that is restored from [the ravages of] the sword, where people have been gathered out of many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had been a continual wasteland; but its people were brought out of the nations, and they are living securely, all of them." (Ezekiel 38:8 AMP)