The Redemption Print
Written by Victoria Radin   

“O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is mercy, And with Him is abundant redemption.” (Psalm 130:7)

A global shift began in 1897 when Theodor Herzl, the founder of Political Zionism, convened the First Zionist Congress in Basel, Switzerland. He expressed, in his speech to the Congress, his vision of a Jewish return to the land of Israel (re-named Palestine), which had been in the hearts of Jews for 2,000 years. 

At that time, the Ottoman Turks were in control of the Holy Land. But at the end of the WW I in 1918, the Allies had won resulting in the Ottoman Empire being carved up into nations -– Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Trans Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Palestine, with Palestine being contested between the Arabs and Jews. The United Kingdom was given authority to rule Palestine until its fate was decided. 

In 1947, just 50 years after Theodor’s 1897 speech, the United Nations ‘awarded’ Palestine to the Jewish people. And, in 1967, 70 years after Herzl’s speech, the city of Jerusalem was liberated from Arab control.

As was true in 1897 with the establishment of Zionism, and in 1947 with the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people, and in 1967 with the liberation of Jerusalem, the surprising election of Donald Trump who began his presidency in 2017, brought another global shift 120 years from the day Theodor Herzl had envisioned. President Trump announced that the United States recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital.

On the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) following a “Jubilee” year (50th year), all of the debts of the Israelites were to be canceled, all of the Israelites who had become enslaved were to be set free, and all of the land belonging to the Israelites was to be returned to its rightful Israelite owner. The rabbis taught that there would be 120 Jubilees (50 X 120 = 6000 years) before the Messiah would come to rule and reign in the earth for a 1000-year Sabbath Day of Rest.

The 120 Jubilees were broken down into 50 Jubilees from Creation to the Exodus (50 X 50 = 2500 years) and 70 Jubilees from the Exodus to the Final Jubilee (70 X 50 = 3,500). Based upon a prophecy by a mystical rabbi, Judah Ben Samuel who lived in the 13th Century, the year 2017 will mark the conclusion of the Final Jubilee.

The period from the First Zionist Congress in 1897 to the final Jubilee in 2017 appears to be a microcosm of the 120 Jubilees before the coming of Messiah–the final 120 years before His return.

Rabbi Dov Kook, a respected rabbi from Tiberias believes that Trump’s election represents a part of the process of redemption. Rabbi Kook had compared Trump to the Biblical King Cyrus, who was a friend to the Jews. “Trump is like Cyrus the Great, who granted the Jews the right to build the Temple,” said Rabbi Kook. With the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital, perhaps Trump will be like Cyrus in aiding Israel to build the Third Temple on the Temple Mount.

There is a polarization of nations and individuals, allowing them to decide on which side of history they choose to be, making them personally responsible for their decisions and its consequences. No one will be able to say, “I didn’t know”. It’s about choosing God’s side, which is clearly the nation of Israel––His nation––or the side of the enemy that seeks to destroy Israel and even all mankind.

President Trump has chosen to side with Israel, keeping the United States from God’s judgment, at least temporarily. But individuals still have to choose for themselves. Just as the UN declared sovereignty for the people of Israel, Trump has declared Jerusalem sovereign to Israel. 

The full Redemption of Israel must include the restoration of the Temple and its services, the return of all the land God promised to Israel, and the return of the Jewish people to the land of their inheritance from all the nations of the world, leading up to the return of the Messiah. Since 1881, the Jewish population of Israel has increased almost 1000 times.

The global shift of Israel’s population from the First Wave of Immigration to 2016

1881 Jewish Population 7,000 - Eliezer Ben-Yehuda begins revival of Hebrew language 

1881-1903 First wave of Jews immigrate to Israel from Eastern Europe (35,000)

1904-1914 Second wave of Jews immigrate to Israel from Russia (50,000)

1919-1923 Third wave of Jews immigrate to Israel (40,000)

1924-1928 Fourth wave of Jews immigrate to Israel (80,000)

1929-1939 Fifth wave of immigration to Israel following the rise of Nazism  (250,000)

1933-1948 Sixth wave of Jewish immigration to Israel – illegal immigration (110,000)

1947 Jewish Population of Israel at its beginning 630,000

1948-1951 Jewish immigration (688,000) doubled the population

2016 Jewish Population 6,419,000, ten times the Jewish Population at its beginning in 1948

The next global shift will begin with the restoration of all the land promised to Israel, followed by the building of the Third Temple.  Then there will be a great out-pouring of the Holy Spirit on the Jewish people.  

 “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”  (Luke 21:28)