To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE
Israel Then and Now: Prophecy Fulfilled"There's so much that is happening here in a very short amount of time and to me it's one of the most profound miracles of our day." -author Doug Hershey
On a visit to Israel 150 years ago, famed author Mark Twain described it as a "desolate country" and a "silent and mournful expanse." "He talked about in the Jezreel Valley [where] you could walk 10 miles in any direction and not see a single person," author Doug Hershey told CBN News. "So one of the towns we did photography was of a small town of Afula, which was really off the map as far as many westerners were concerned, but it was established in the early 1900s, so 50 [to] 60 years after Mark Twain, there's a small settlement. Today it's a booming Israeli city that we've been able to match, you know, some side-by-side perfect photography with it." Hershey and his team chose 200 photographs of Israel from the 1880s to the 1940s. In his new book, "Israel Rising: The Land of Israel Reawakens," Hershey chronicles the changes that time span until today.
The book follows the prophet Ezekiel's promise in chapter 36, verse 8, where he declares, "But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to my people Israel, for they are about to come." "We think of prophecy being to kings or people or nations," Hershey continued. "But [Ezekiel] [is] prophesying to the land when Israel returns as a nation—branches will put forth fruit, waste cities will be rebuilt, the people, people and beasts will be multiplied on the land [and] the land will be cultivated and sown." The book's side-by-side photos show the transformation. There's one of Jerusalem near the King David Hotel in the 1930s and the same view today. Another pair shows Hebrew University Mount Scopus in 1925 and what it looks like now. From the northern port city of Haifa to Beersheva in the south, Hershey says the pictures show the prophets' words coming alive. 'It's Happening Right Now' "We're living in a really profound time in history. We're living in a time where 26 [to] 2,700-year-old prophecies from Isaiah and Ezekiel and Jeremiah, they've been lying dormant for about that long and many of them are coming to pass," he said. "The most repeated promise in the Scriptures is that God will bring His people back to the land and when they do, there's going to be these dramatic changes and we're seeing those." Hershey says the land itself seemed to be waiting for its ancient people to return.
Hershey says the book provides a visual opportunity for those who have never visited Israel, and it's also struck a chord with the younger generations. "Most millennials are ready for something real, they want to see something practical, as far as much of perhaps theological Christianity they've been raised on more ideas, they're ready for something solid, they're ready for real," he said. "So even now when I speak in the States, I'll have questions about theology or questions about the Land and usually my answer revolves around 'let me show you, come with me to Israel, I'll show you myself.'" As Israel prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary, Hershey sees a miracle. "Absolutely. I mean, Israel is the time clock as many people have heard and have said and I believe that as well," he said. "There's so much that is happening here in a very short amount of time and to me it's one of the most profound miracles of our day."
To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE
Other Recent Articles from Breaking Christian News A Growing Global Movement of Parents Is Keeping Their Kids Free from Smartphones Democrat Downplays That Bill Would Cost Trump His Secret Service Detail Teacher's Union Accused of Laundering $1.5 Million to Bankroll Dem Governor Josh Shapiro's Campaign Dan Bongino: 9 Reasons to Vote for Kamala Harris New Comms Director for Kamala Harris Campaign Wants to Pack the Supreme Court and Defund the Police Pro-Life Protester Sentenced to More Than 3 Years Behind Bars for Blocking Abortion Clinic These Important Election Integrity Initiatives Might Be on Your 2024 Ballot Harris Campaign Admits to Misleading Voters on Trump, Project 2025 Pro-Harris Media Scrambles to Erase 'Border Czar' from Her Resume as GOP Highlights Her Record Netanyahu Hails Israeli-US Bond, Reminds Protesters Israel the 'Land of the Bible' for 4,000 Years Pray: Elderly Trump Supporter Run Over in Front Yard Elon Musk Says AI Must Be 'Pro-Human,' Is Alarmed by Technological Developments The Man and the Motive: Behind Musk's War on the 'Woke Mind Virus,' and Why He Fights for Children Alberta Premier Danielle Smith Promises Bill Protecting Rights to Refuse Vaccines Is Coming Search the Articles Archives |
All articles on this site and emails from BCN are copyrighted property of Breaking Christian News. Permission is given to link to, or share a BCN story if proper attribution is given to both the original writer and summarizer of the story. Breaking Christian News 2005-2019. All Rights Reserved.
Breaking Christian News is a division of Elijah List Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer: Articles and links, as well as the source articles linked to; do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Breaking Christian News.
Home | Store | Subscribe | Facebook | Article Archive |