Chapter 4:
The Land of Promise

THE LAND OF PROMISE

“And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.” (Deuteronomy 30:2-5)

“Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.” (Hosea 3:5)

“And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, ‘Dwell securely in the land (of promise)” (Qur’án 17:104)

“And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and Gilead.” (Jeremiah 50:19)

“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.” (Isaiah 40:1-2)

“The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.” (Psalms 128:5-6)

“You have asked Me a question with regard to the gathering of the children of Israel in Jerusalem in accordance with the prophecy.”

“Jerusalem, the Holy of Holies, is a revered Temple, a sublime name, for it is the City of God...The gathering of Israel at Jerusalem means, therefore, and prophesies, that Israel as a whole is gathering beneath the banner of God and will enter the Kingdom of the Ancient of Days. For the celestial Jerusalem, which has as its center the Holy of Holies, is a City of the Kingdom, a Divine City. The East and West are but a small corner of that City.”

“Moreover, materially as well (as spiritually), the Israelites will gather in the Holy Land. This is irrefutable prophecy, for the ignominy which Israel has suffered for well-nigh twenty-five hundred years will now be changed into eternal glory, and in the eyes of all, the Jewish people will become glorified to such an extent as to draw the jealousy of its enemies and the envy of its friends.”

(Multiple Authors: Lights of Guidance, Page: 500)

Isaiah speaks of this same great ‘gathering’. He prophesies:

‘Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from afar, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side.’ (Isaiah 60:4)

Three verses before, Isaiah foretells that when this ‘gathering’ takes place, the Lord will say to the holy mountain:

‘Arise, shine: for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.’ (Isaiah 60:1)

In yet another place, Isaiah speaks of this great ‘gathering’. He says: ‘And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion...’

(Isaiah 35:10)

Eight verses before in this same chapter, he prophesies that when this ‘gathering takes place

‘...Carmel and Sharon; they shall see the glory of the Lord.’ (Isaiah 35:2)

In yet another place, Isaiah prophesies the great ‘gathering’. He says:

‘He (the Messiah) shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs...’ (Isaiah 40:11)

Six verses before in that same chapter, Isaiah foretells that when this ‘gathering’ takes place:

‘...the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together...’ (Isaiah 40:5)

Almost invariably, the time of the ‘gathering’ of the children of Israel was associated with the appearance of ‘the Glory of the Lord’.

This gathering or return began in 1844. It reached its climax in 1948 with the formation of the State of Israel. Bahá’u’lláh, after reaching Israel as a prisoner, himself prophesied that this would come to pass. His name, we know, means ‘The Glory of the Lord.’

Ezekiel prophesied:

‘My tabernacle also shall be with them...my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore’ (Ezekiel 37:27-28)

[William Sears, Thief in the Night, Part 3, p. 135-136]

“After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” (Hosea 6:2)

According to ‘one day is with the Lord as a thousand years’ (2 Peter 3:8), the 2nd ‘day’ in Hosea, chapter 6, verse 2, is the second millenium during which in the middle of the 19th century (A.D. 1844), the Jews began their historical return to the Holy Land (the Land of Promise).

The ‘third day’, however, prophesies the 1000 years reign of the Second Coming of Christ (Rev 20:4), and the Promised Kingdom of God on earth (Matt 6:10; Matt 16:27; Luke 20:31).

Also, the gathering of the children of Israel in the Holy Land, during the latter days, alludes to the fulfillment of this great prophecy in the Book of Revelation, where, when this gathering takes place, ‘...Carmel and Sharon; … shall see the glory of the Lord. (Bahá’u’lláh)’ (Isaiah 35:2)

“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God (the Messiah) is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)