HISTORICAL REVELATION
King Loius the 14th of France asked Blaise Pascal if there is any evidence of the supernatural. Pascal answered 'Les Juifs' — the Jews. What did he see that made him come to this conclusion?
Winston Churchill said, "Some people like the Jews and some do not, but no thoughtful man can doubt that they are beyond all question the most formidable and most remarkable race which has ever appeared in the world." What did Winston see that made him say this?
Check out the supernatural history of the Jewish people and ask yourself: could this have been predicted?
According to religious Jews, the Torah was dictated to Moses in the desert 3337 years ago. Biblical critics teach that the Torah is a compilation of four human-made texts redacted around 2,500 years ago into the current text (for several problems with this theory, read this).
Let's assume for now that the biblical critics are correct. Imagine the possibility of human authors sitting around thousands of years ago, thinking about what to write in their guidebook. "Don't kill" and "Don't steal" sound good to me. However, when one reads the Torah in some depth, one finds that, apart from these basic precepts, it contains some pretty remarkable claims.
We see that there are seven extraordinary predictions made in the Torah.This is already surprising seeing as humans don't make extraodrdinary predictions in their books seeing as they can't guarantee they will eventualise. What's even more notable is that some of the extraordinary predictions in the Torah are negative (who would write negative things about themselves?), they contradict each other (if one of the predictions comes true it is extremely unlikely the others will) and one of them is actually supernatural (no human would make a supernatural prediction or could make sure it come true). Together they paint a unique and supernatural history for the Jews which we now see has actually transpired ...
1. Eternal Nation
Close to the beginning of the Torah, the author claims that the Jewish people will be an eternal nation.
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"I will ratify My covenant between Me and you and between your offspring after you, throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you, and to your offspring after you" (Genesis 17:7).
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Anyone familiar with human psychology knows that this is something that any nation would want to claim. Still, anyone familiar with history knows it is somewhat unlikely to manifest. Nations and empires rise and fall all the time; there are no Aztec, Babylonian, or Edomite nations today, to name a few.
We do see other nations which have been around as long as the Jews - China and India are pretty good examples. Yet seeing as they have a strong, large, well-established country and many, many people, you would expect that.
It's because the Jewish people have lacked these significant factors that our survival is extraordinary.
Even more astounding is that the author of the Torah predicts this and adds to it that we will be devastingly persecuted wherever we are!
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First, why would anyone predict such awful things for their nation?
Secondly, seeing that they all happened, how did this first prediction, that there would always be Jews, also stand the test of history? It is supernatural to survive such conditions (no other nation ever did).
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As Mark Twain famously said:
"If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one-quarter of one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way... The Jew has made a marvelous fight in this world in all ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused for it. The Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greeks and Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they were gone; other people have sprung up, and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, and have vanished. The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert but aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jews; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?" (Essay "Concerning the Jews," 1899)
This does not make Jewish history unusual; it makes it completely unique.
2. Exiled and Dispersed (Negative Prediction)
The Torah says that we will enter the Land of Israel but then, after not following the Torah:
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"The Lord will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other…" (Deuteronomy 28:64)
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Far from having a strong, consistent homeland, the Jewish people were exiled twice from their land: first, when Solomon's Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE, and second, after 'Herod's' Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. An earlier example of Jewish dispersal is the Assyrians' conquest of the northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BCE, when the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom were exiled from the land and became the "Ten Lost Tribes."
Exile of a whole nation was, in fact, not such a common occurrence. Nations usually got conquered and assimilated into the conquering power's culture. To predict being conquered is not extraordinary, yet the author of the Torah didn't do that — they predicted an extraordinary occurrence, complete exile and dispersion of the whole nation.
For centuries, Jews have been expelled from many countries, for example, England (1290), Spain (1492), and Portugal (1496), and never had a stable homeland. We became the 'Wandering Jews,' dispersed all over the world. Most Jews today do not live in the same country in which their grandparents were born! For much of our history, most Jews never set foot in Israel.
The striking fact is that the prediction of dispersal came true. It is perplexing to think that human authors would make this claim: Would they have said: "We are going to go into the promised land... and then mess it up and get kicked out!?" What other religion makes claims against themselves like that?
We see that this prediction is:
(i) negative (goes against human psychology to write such a thing);
(ii) extraordinary (why would humans think this would happen?); and,
(iii) inconsistent (goes against the eternal nation claim)
3. Few in Number (Negative Prediction)
Suppose we were exiled and dispersed, but there were billions of us. No doubt, we would easily have survived. However, the Torah says:
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"You will be left few in number, instead of being like the stars of the heavens in abundance, for you will not have hearkened to the voice of HASHEM, your God." (Deuteronomy 28:62)
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This is remarkable considering that one of the first commandments in the Torah is to be fruitful and multiply.
Ancient people with a high birth rate = huge numbers!
We know that, whereas the average birth rate in America is 1.2 children per family, the average number of children in Orthodox Jewish families is 6.7. According to natural history, had the Jewish nation grown at the same rate as the rest of the world, we should now be 400 million people, the third biggest nation after China and India! Far from that, we make up only 0.2% of the world's population.
Once again: a) who would make this prediction about their own nation, and
b) how did it transpire contrary to all natural history?
[It may be said it is because of persecution that we've remained few in number. However, since the Holocaust (after which we have not been overly persecuted), the rest of the world's population has grown by three and a half times. That means we should have gone from 11 million Jews at the end of the Holocaust to 39 million now. We know that isn't the case and, far from even doubling our numbers, we have maintained a consistent rate of increase throughout the ages to reach 15 million today (even given our overall high birth rate).]
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We see that this prediction is:
(i) negative (goes against human psychology to write such a thing);
(ii) extraordinary (goes against natural population growth trends); and,
(iii) inconsistent (goes against the eternal nation claim).
4. Persecuted (Negative Prediction)
Can we think of any way an exiled nation with very few people could actually survive even though they are scattered around the world? How about this: The Jews will be so beloved in the eyes of the entire world that the nations will make sure they continue to exist, no matter where we are. "Ah, those wonderful Jews, we must keep them alive and well, forever. Let's build Jewish cultural centers in every city."
It would be just like the Tibetans who were exiled but have a safe place in Northern India and are loved and supported by the rest of the world. They'll definitely survive.
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Yet we see the reverse is true for the Jews. Anti-Semitism is the most universal, irrational, extreme type of hatred the world has ever known. As David Lloyd George [Prime Minister of Great Britain 1916-1922] said,
"Of all the bigotries that savage the human temper there is none so stupid as the anti-semitic. It has no basis in reason, it is not rooted in faith, it aspires to no ideal, it is just one of the dank and unwholesome weeds that grow in the morass of racial hatred."
This was, of course, predicted in the Torah:
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"And among those nations, you will not be tranquil, there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; there HASHEM will give you a trembling heart, longing of eyes, and suffering of soul. Your life will hang in the balance, and you will be frightened night and day, and you will not be sure of your livelihood." (Deuteronomy 28:65-66)
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Once again: a) who would write this about themselves, and
b ) how are there any Jews left, given this reality?
We see that this prediction is:
(i) negative (goes against human psychology to write such a thing);
(ii) extraordinary (why would humans think this would happen?); and
(iii) inconsistent (goes against the eternal nation claim)
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IT IS RIDICULOUS TO WRITE THESE PREDICTIONS SEEING AS IF THEY ...
- COME TRUE: IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO SURVIVE
- DON'T COME TRUE: YOU'VE PROVEN YOUR BOOK TO BE FALSE!
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Part Two:
Although not predicted in their texts, other nations have been scattered, few in number, and persecuted:
Gypsies, Australian Aboriginals, and Native Americans, to name a few. From these nations, we learn another fact of natural history — nations of this sort have minimal impact on human civilization.
However, we see the opposite we the Jewish people. As 2nd American President John Adams said,
"I will insist the Hebrews have [contributed] more to civilize men than any other nation. I believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations ... They are the most glorious nation that ever inhabited this Earth. The Romans and their empire were but a bubble in comparison to the Jews. They have given religion to three-quarters of the globe and have influenced the affairs of mankind more and more happily than any other nation, ancient or modern."
Once again, this extraordinary fact was predicted in the Torah.
5. Light unto the Nations (Positive Prediction)
The author of the Torah makes the far-fetched prediction, going in the face of natural possibility — that this exiled, hated, tiny nation, far from being unheard of and struggling to hang on, would, in fact, be a light unto the nations!
"And I will make you into a great nation; I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you." (Genesis 12: 2-3)
Incidentally, the phrase 'Light unto the Nations' comes from the Book of Isaiah:
"I the LORD have called unto you in righteousness, and have taken hold of your hand, and submitted you as the people's covenant, as a light unto the nations." (Isaiah 42:6).
Despite being just 76 years old, having no natural resources, and being in a constant state of war or threat of war, Israel is a world leader in high-tech, medicine, science, agriculture, defense, and higher education. Despite making up only 0.2% of the world population, Jews have won 22% of Nobel Prizes. That is simply not natural. (Check out this incredible video about Israel Defying the Odds).
Let's read more from Mark Twain:
"Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers."
Much more importantly, it is Judaism that gave the world the morals which we all hold as obvious today and taught the world about the existence of the One G-d in whom the majority of the world's population now believes Plato and Aristotle believed in infanticide and the Romans forced gladiators to fight to the death and had other blood sports as popular entertainment. Judaism, through the Torah, demonstrates to the world that that is not in order.
An exiled, small, severely persecuted people, becoming a Light unto the Nations?! Unheard of and unpredictable by humans some 2,500 years ago! Yet, amazingly, this actually happened, as predicted in the Torah.
6. Interdependency of the Land of Israel and the Jewish People (Positive Prediction)
This is where it becomes truly astonishing. We know that Israel lies in what was known as The Fertile Crescent, a crescent of particularly fertile land which is sometimes called the Cradle of Civilization. We know from the 1st-century historian Josephus that the land of Israel was an exceptionally lush, fertile area with big cities and an abundance of trees and crops.
Yet, whoever wrote the Torah made a supernatural prediction about the future of the Land:​
"I will make the land desolate, and your foes who dwell upon it will be desolate. And you, I will scatter you among the nations, I will unsheathe the sword after you; your land will be desolate, and your cities will be a ruin... All the years of its desolation, it [the land] will rest…" (Leviticus 26: 32-33/35)
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The Torah is saying that when the Jewish people are exiled, the land itself will rest and remain desolate.
Whoever wrote the Torah predicted that the fertile crescent would become infertile! Does the land have consciousness? Does it know who is there and refuse to bear fruit for or be settled by anyone apart from the Jewish people? Who's ever heard of such a thing? When the native Americans were driven from their land, did it remain desolate? No, it turned into Manhattan.
The fact that the land which is now Israel remained desolate is even more remarkable given the fact that
a) it is the land bridge between Africa and Asia, therefore making it one of the most prized pieces of real estate in the world, and
b) it is considered the holy land and most important place (after their capital) for the Muslim and Christian empires who ruled over it.
Almost every empire that tried to rule the world conquered and attempted to make the land flourish, yet none of them ever succeeded. Historically, the Land of Israel area remained desolate for nearly 2,000 years — through the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empires. There were no flourishing fields, no big conurbations, no thriving civilization, and a dwindling population (in 1890, there were only 440,000 people in the whole land, whereas today, Jerusalem alone has twice that number).
Since the Jewish people returned to the Land of Israel in 1948, the land itself has become fertile and is thriving. The land has responded only to the Jewish people. No other nation has ever been able to cultivate it and build such a thriving civilization here. Now, there are bustling cities, commerce, technology, agriculture, and a multi-million dollar export industry of fruit, flowers, and vegetables.
That this transpired is unique and supernatural as it transcends the laws of nature.
Yet, whoever wrote the Torah predicted precisely that! Was it the work of human authors at least 2,500 years ago? I think not.
7. Return to the Land
To top it all: whoever wrote the Torah made the incredible prediction that the exiled Jewish people, unlike any other nation ever, would not only survive but would return to their land!
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"Then HASHEM, your God, will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you, and He will return and gather you in from all the peoples, to which HASHEM, your God, had scattered you." (Deuteronomy 30:3)
"HASHEM, your God, will bring you to the Land that your forefathers possessed, and you shall possess it; He will do good to you and make you more numerous than your forefathers." (Deuteronomy 30:5)
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A nation, or a people, who were without a homeland for around 2,000 years and still exist is unique in itself. For that nation to return to their land after all that time is totally unimaginable. For that fact to be predicted 3.300 years ago is supernatural.
In 1900, only 0.5% of Jews lived in the Land of Israel. In 1948 and 1949, 341,000 Jews made Aliyah. Within the first six years of the Jewish state being re-declared in 1948, the population of Israel doubled. I made Aliyah in 2008 along with 13,701 other Jews. In 2020 around 49% of Jews live in Israel. By numbers, more Jews live in Israel today than at any other time in history. One hundred twenty years ago, no one in the world spoke Hebrew. Today it is the world's only revived language spoken by millions of people around the world.
​All of this was so incredibly unlikely that it is unique in human history, yet it was all predicted.
