Day 9: The final Aliyah

… In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. – Ezekiel 38:8 NKJV

So many people are saying that Christ may return any day; however, according to Scripture, there is still much to be done before He returns, including His people returning to their homeland. We can speed His return by praying for them to return and asking God how He wants each of us to be involved.

Carolyn Hyde, a Messianic worship leader in Israel, shares (HeartOfG-d.org):

Aliyah means to ascend. It ends with Yah which means God, so Aliyah is going up to meet God. The final Aliyah is when we meet the Lord in the air. The Jews returning to Israel is a physical picture, taking physical people to a physical land. The real picture is in the spirit when the final shofar is blown. When you pray for or help with Aliyah, you are praying for and speeding the Lord’s return.

We studied Jeremiah 23:3-6 earlier that speaks about this topic. Today, we will look at other verses.

Meditate on and study one or more of the following verses:

Ezekiel 38:8.

• When the Bible mentions the latter years or last days, it is referring to the end times.
• What is the comparison between what the land was and what it will be?
• Ask God to reveal whatever He wants to show you through this verse.

Ezekiel 37:21–28.

• What does God promise to do in verses 21–22?
• How does this passage reveal that this is the time when Christ will return?
• What kind of covenant will God make with them?
• What else do you learn from these verses?
• What will be the result, according to verse 28?

Read Joel 3:7, 14, 16.

• God is speaking to Israel’s enemies who have mistreated them. What does He say to them?
• God is bringing His people back to the land of Israel. Notice what God does from Zion and Jerusalem.
• What will He do for His people?
• What else do you learn from these verses? Ask God to reveal His heart to you in greater ways.

Read Micah 2:12–13.

• What do these verses promise?
• Jacob and Israel are two names for the same person.
• What do you think God is saying through these verses?

Read Micah 4:6–7.

• What day is this referring to? Verse 1 says, “in the latter days.”
• Notice in the last part of verse 7 where the Lord will reign.
• What will God do before the Lord reigns over them in Mount Zion? (Verses 6 and 7a.)

A prayer to pray

God Almighty, You are a trustworthy God who does what You say You will do. Thank You that we can see we are in the latter days (at least at the beginning of them), because You are gathering your people from the nations, bringing them back to their land and restoring Israel. What an encouragement to know that events are falling into place, all in preparation for Your return. Show me how You want me to participate with You in preparing for Your return.

Prayer points for today

• Pray that the church will begin to understand what must happen before Christ can return.
• Pray for the Jews who are still scattered around the world and need to come to their homeland. Ask God to give them that desire to make Aliyah and live in Israel.
• Pray for protection for Israel and Jews, both inside and outside of Israel.

An action to take

Find a good news service where you can learn what is really going on in Israel and around the world, not tainted by the world’s media. Here are two recommended sources:

• A WhatsApp group where daily current events are posted related to Israel (including the surrounding nations). This is an international prayer group led from Jerusalem. If you would like to join, contact estherswalk@gmail.com.
• “Worthy Brief” has daily devotions, along with news in the following categories: Around the World, Israel-Palestinian Conflict, Inside the United States and Christian News. Each category has a few stories with two to three lines of information and a link you can click for more information. It is written by George Whitten. You can learn more at www.worthyministries.com.