Church History · 1948

Israel Becomes a Nation Again

On May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion declared the State of Israel in Tel Aviv, nearly 1,900 years after Rome destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. Many Christians see it as prophecy fulfilled from passages like Ezekiel 37 and Isaiah 66:8, while others read those promises differently.

Read it in the Bible: Isaiah 66:8 Ezekiel 37:21-22 Amos 9:14-15 Romans 11:1-2 Acts 1:6-7

On Friday afternoon, May 14, 1948, David Ben Gurion stood in the Tel Aviv Museum and read Israel's declaration of independence. For the first time in nearly 1,900 years, since the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70, there was a Jewish nation in the land of Israel. United States President Harry Truman recognized the new state that same evening. The next day, armies from neighboring Arab nations attacked, and war followed. Many Christians see 1948 as a stunning fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Others believe those prophecies were fulfilled in other ways. Both views are held by faithful believers, and this page explains each.

What Happened on May 14, 1948?

After World War I, Britain ruled the land then called Palestine under a League of Nations mandate. In 1917 the British government had issued the Balfour Declaration, supporting a national home for the Jewish people there. Jewish immigration grew, along with conflict between Jewish and Arab residents.

After the Holocaust, when six million Jews were murdered, pressure grew for a Jewish state. On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to divide the land into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The British mandate was set to end at midnight on May 14, 1948. That afternoon, before the Sabbath began, Ben Gurion read the declaration. It promised equal rights to all citizens regardless of religion, race or sex, and promised to protect the holy places of all faiths.

The war that followed brought great loss. For Israelis it is the War of Independence. For Palestinians, more than 700,000 of whom fled or were forced from their homes, including many Palestinian Christians, it is remembered as the Nakba, the catastrophe. Honest Christians can hold both of these realities with compassion.

How Long Were the Jewish People Without a Nation?

The Bible traces Israel's story through the kingdom of David, the exile to Babylon in 586 BC and the return under Persian kings. In 63 BC Rome took control. In AD 70 the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, as Jesus had warned in Luke 21. After a second revolt in AD 132 to 135, Rome banned Jews from Jerusalem and renamed the region Syria Palaestina.

For centuries after that, Jewish communities lived scattered across the world, yet they kept praying "Next year in Jerusalem" at Passover. In the late 1800s, the Zionist movement, led by Theodor Herzl, began working for a return. The events of 1948 were the result.

Which Bible Prophecies Do Christians Connect to 1948?

Many Christians, especially evangelicals and those who hold a dispensational view of prophecy, see 1948 as God keeping His promises to Israel. Three passages are quoted most often.

Who has heard of such as this? Who has seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be delivered in an instant? Yet as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. Isaiah 66:8

Israel's declaration came in a single day, and many see this verse as a picture of it.

you are to tell them that this is what the Lord Yahweh says: 'I will take the Israelites out of the nations to which they have gone, and I will gather them from all around and bring them into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over all of them. Then they will no longer be two nations and will never again be divided into two kingdoms. Ezekiel 37:21 to 22

This comes right after the vision of the valley of dry bones, which many saw as a picture of a people coming back to life after the Holocaust. Amos 9:14 to 15 also promises that God will plant Israel in its land, never again to be uprooted. In this view, God has not forgotten His covenant with Abraham, and Paul's words in Romans 11 that God did not reject His people point to a future for Israel. This hope is older than the modern era. Some Puritans and many Christians in the 1800s prayed for the Jewish return long before it happened.

How Do Other Christians Read These Prophecies?

Many other Christians, including Reformed, Catholic, Orthodox and many Palestinian Christians, read these passages differently. They point out three things.

Fulfilled in the return from Babylon: Ezekiel and Isaiah were written to exiles, and God brought them home under Cyrus in 538 BC, just as Jeremiah promised.
Fulfilled in Christ: The promised one king over a united people is Jesus, the Son of David. Paul says that all who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed and heirs of the promise in Galatians 3:29.
A secular state: Modern Israel was founded mostly by secular leaders, and Ezekiel 36 and 37 link the return to a spiritual renewal, a new heart and God's Spirit, which they believe comes through the gospel.

In this view, modern Israel is a nation like others, to be treated with justice and love, but not a fulfillment of prophecy in itself. Some in this camp still believe Romans 11:26 points to a future turning of many Jewish people to Jesus.

Is 1948 a Sign of the End Times?

Some prophecy teachers linked 1948 to Jesus' saying that "this generation" would not pass away until all was fulfilled, and predicted dates for His return. Those dates came and went. Jesus' answer to His own disciples is a wise guide.

So when they came together, they asked Him, "Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" Jesus replied, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. Acts 1:6 to 7

You can read more on the Prophecies Fulfilled in History page on this site.

Why It Matters for You Today

Whatever view you hold, 1948 is a reminder that the God of the Bible acts in history. The survival of the Jewish people through exile, persecution and the Holocaust is remarkable by any measure. The Bible calls us to love Israel, to love our Arab and Palestinian neighbors, and to pray.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May those who love you prosper. Psalm 122:6

The greatest promise is the one God made to Abraham, that all the families of the earth would be blessed through his offspring. That promise came true in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah who came for the whole world.

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Questions People Ask

When did Israel become a nation again?

Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948. David Ben Gurion read the declaration in Tel Aviv just before the British mandate ended. The United States recognized the new state the same day.

Is Israel's rebirth a fulfillment of Bible prophecy?

Many Christians believe so, pointing to Isaiah 66:8, Ezekiel 37 and Amos 9:14 to 15. Many others believe those promises were fulfilled in the return from Babylon and in Christ and His church. Both views are held by sincere, Bible believing Christians.

What does Isaiah 66:8 mean?

Isaiah 66:8 asks whether a nation can be born in a day and pictures Zion giving birth to her children. Many Christians apply it to Israel's founding on May 14, 1948. Others read it as a picture of God restoring His people after exile and through the Messiah.

How long was Israel without a nation?

After Rome destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70 and crushed a second revolt in AD 135, there was no Jewish state until 1948. That is a gap of nearly 1,900 years. Jewish communities still lived in the land and around the world during that time.

Sources

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