Continued from last issue…
A major portion of the Tanakh deals with prophecies. While most of the words of the Prophets were already realized in their own days, or in subsequent decades, there are occasional places in Scripture where the Prophets speak of the distant future, or the “End of Days”. Similarly, other Jewish holy texts—including the Talmud, Midrash, and Zohar, among others—make predictions about the future. Have these predictions been realized in the many centuries that have passed since then? Below is a collection of some (though certainly not all) ancient Jewish prophecies that have clearly materialized.
Jerusalem: Rebuilt & Reunified
- On that self same page of Talmud, the Sages also elaborated on a prophecy of Zechariah:
The Holy One, blessed be He, wished to give to Jerusalem a [definite] size; for it is said: “Then I said, ‘Where do you go?’ And he said to me: ‘To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its breadth and what is its length.’” [Zechariah 2:6] The ministering angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: “Master of the Universe, many towns for the nations of the earth have You created in Your world, and You did not fix the measurement of their length or the measurement of their breadth. Will You fix a measurement for Jerusalem in the midst of which is Your Name, Your sanctuary and the righteous?” Thereupon, [an angel] said unto him: “Run, speak to this young man, saying: ‘Jerusalem shall be inhabited without walls, for the multitude of men and cattle therein.’” [Zechariah 2:8]
Zechariah received a prophecy that a time will come when Jerusalem will grow so large that it will no longer be able to have any contiguous walls. Amazingly, until very recently Jerusalem was always bound by its old walls. The first neighbourhood of Jerusalem to be established outside the Old City walls was Mishkenot Sha’ananim in 1860! This was a result of a new surge of Jewish immigration (see #5 and #6 above), which continues until the present day. Having said that, there was always a large Jewish presence in Jerusalem, even before the late 1800s. For instance, a census taken by the Prussian consul in 1845 found that Jerusalem had a total of 16,410 residents, of which 7120 were Jews, together with 5000 Muslims, 3390 Christians, 800 Turks, and 100 others.
- While Jerusalem needed to be rebuilt, one part of it did not need rebuilding: the Western Wall. Why is this Wall so special to the Jewish people? This is the only original wall of the ancient Temple Mount that is still standing. All the other walls of Jerusalem are later additions. Amazingly, the Midrash prophesied long ago that this Wall in particular will never be destroyed because the western side of the Temple is where the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence, dwelled. The Midrash (Eichah Rabbah 1:31) recounts the following narrative:
When Vespasian conquered Jerusalem, he assigned the destruction of the four retaining walls of the Temple to four generals. The Western Wall was allotted to Pangar of Arabia. Now, it has been decreed by Heaven that this should never be destroyed, because the Shekhinah resides in the west.
The others demolished their sections, but Pangar did not demolish his. Vespasian sent for him and asked, “Why did you not destroy your section?” He replied: “By your life, I acted so for the honour of the kingdom. For if I had demolished it, nobody would know what it was you destroyed. But when people look [at the wall], they will exclaim, ‘From the great building he destroyed, you can tell the might of Vespasian!’”
This Midrash explains why the Wall was never destroyed, and never will be destroyed. It is important to keep in mind that Midrash Rabbah was composed, according to scholars, sometime between the 4th and 6th century CE. Jerusalem has since experienced countless wars, Crusades, bombardments, takeovers, and battles. Yet, one wall continues to miraculously stand, just as prophesied.
Israel’s Inexplicable Prosperity
- While there are many different signs pointing to the coming Redemption, the Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a) says the following:
There can be no greater sign of the redemption than what is said: “But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel, for they are at hand to come.” [Ezekiel 36:8]
When Israel’s deserts will bloom and provide an abundance of food for all of its inhabitants, one should know that the Redemption is at hand. The prophet Isaiah (27:6) further adds to this that “In days to come, Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with its fruit.” Both of these amazing prophecies have been realized in our day. Not only has Israel become self-sufficient (meaning no one in the country will starve if all imports stopped, as God promised in Ezekiel 36:30), but Israel now exports some $1.5 billion in fruit and food every year. Israeli fruits can be bought in grocery stores around the world, as Isaiah prophesied millennia ago.
On a related note, Isaiah (35:1-2) also prophesied that the many deserts of Israel will miraculously bloom one day:
The wilderness and the parched land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice… they shall see the glory of the Lord, the Excellency of our God.”
Israel is famous for making its deserts bloom, for being the only country in the world to have a net increase in trees (having planted over 260 million), for inventing technologies like drip irrigation to preserve water and allow food to grow in “parched lands”.
- The Talmud (Ketubot 111b) explains the meaning of more Biblical prophecies:
There will be a time when the Land of Israel will produce baked cakes of the purest quality and silk garments, for it is said in Scripture, “There will be a rich cornfield in the land…” [Psalms 72:16]
Today, Israeli cakes are popular around the world, while Israeli silk (produced on farms in the Galilee and other regions) is a prized commodity.
- The passage in the Talmud above continues to give us a hint of a future world where food abundance will reach a seemingly miraculous nature:
Our Rabbis taught: “There will be a rich cornfield in the Land upon the top of the mountains.” [Psalms 72:16] It was inferred [from this verse] that there will be a time when wheat will rise as high as a palm tree and will grow on the top of the mountains.
The Sages state that in the future, wheat will be able to grow atop mountains, with giant stalks like palm trees. While this was inconceivable in their days, with modern technology—genetic modification, together with advanced artificial selection techniques—newer, hardier, “meatier” wheat strains have indeed been developed. The bulk of this work already began in the Green Revolution of the 1950s and 1960s, when researchers developed “high-yield” wheat (along with other crops). This Revolution is credited with saving countless lives, feeding the world’s rapidly-growing population. The Rabbis continue the passage above with more prophecies:
“With the kidney-fat of wheat.” [Deuteronomy 32:14] It was inferred from this that there will be a time when a grain of wheat will be as large as the two kidneys of a big bull.
Once again, such a statement would have been unbelievable in the days of our ancient Sages. Today, it is within the realm of the possible. Just think of how we have been able to produce, for example, giant strawberries—ten times larger than natural ones—by increasing the number of chromosome sets inside strawberry cell nuclei. While we have not yet seen wheat grains the size of bull-kidneys, it is certainly a possibility in the near future.
Strawberries, then and now. (Credit: Bonnie Plants)
- As the Talmud describes this future world of agricultural giants, it is careful to say: “do not think that there will be trouble in reaping it…” There will be technology that will make it effortless, where “a man will go out into the field” and take all that he needs. In the old days, it might take an entire village, or at least a large household with servants, to harvest a field. Today, we have tractors and harvesters that allow a single person to “go out into the field” and harvest everything effortlessly, just like the Talmud prophesied.
Health and Longevity
- Isaiah (65:20) prophesied that a time will come when “There shall be no more an infant of days, nor an old man that has not filled his days; for the youngest shall die a hundred years old…” There are two amazing predictions here:
First is that newborn children will cease to die after just several days or weeks. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention):
At the beginning of the 20th century, for every 1000 live births, six to nine women in the United States died of pregnancy-related complications, and approximately 100 infants died before age 1 year. From 1915 through 1997, the infant mortality rate declined greater than 90% to 7.2 per 1000 live births, and from 1900 through 1997, the maternal mortality rate declined almost 99% to less than 0.1 reported death per 1000 live births (7.7 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1997)…
Since 1997, even greater strides have been made. As of today, most Western countries have an infant mortality rate of around 2 per 1000 births. This will only continue to improve, until infant mortality will be unheard of, as Isaiah predicted.
- The second part of his prophecy is that dying before age 100 will be considered strange. Life expectancy will be remarkably high. Once again, we see from historical records that in the past century, average global life expectancy has increased by about 40 years. Today, it is normal to see a life expectancy in the mid-80s in most Western countries, and there are indeed more centenarians than ever. This, too, will continue to increase until “the youngest shall die a hundred years old…”
Women’s Equality
- The prophet Jeremiah (31:21) predicted that a day will come when “the Lord will have created a new thing in the earth: a woman shall court a man.” The exact Hebrew wording is nekevah tisovev gever, literally that the female will “encircle” the male. On this verse, and similar ones, our ancient Sages said that a time will come when men and women, male and female, will finally be equal. The Kli Yakar (Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz, 1550-1619) ties this prophecy of Jeremiah to Exodus 15:21, where he comments that women will be elevated to the level of men in the future. It goes without saying that we are now living this reality. (For more on this, see Ma’amar HaGeulah [Discourse 2, Chapter 3], and Devorah Heshelis’ The Moon’s Lost Light.)
Anti-Semitism
- In the verse, “By the arrogance of the wicked are the poor pursued…” (Psalms 10:2), the Ramchal explains (Ma’amar HaGeulah, Discourse 2, Ch. 5):
… the evil haters will harden and grow even more arrogant, and more jealous, and Israel will not find the strength to stand up to them.
Based on the words of Scripture, the Ramchal states that hatred of the Jews in the End of Days will reach levels unlike any other time in history. This is a key part of what the ancient Sages describe as hevlei Mashiach, the “birthpangs of the Messiah”. Just as a woman experiences tremendous pain and suffering before giving birth and being flooded with relief and joy, the Jewish people will similarly suffer greatly before the birth of a new world.
While it may seem like the Holocaust was the climax, rates of anti-Semitism have returned to record highs, and continue to increase year after year. The ADL reported earlier last year that the number of anti-Semitic incidents was nearly 60 percent higher in 2017 than 2016, the largest single-year increase on record and the second highest number reported since ADL started tracking incident data in the 1970s.
In a 2014 survey, they found that over 1 billion people hold anti-Semitic beliefs. The number of anti-Semitic attacks continues to increase as well. In places like Great Britain, France, Sweden, and Scotland, it has gotten so bad that many Jews are emigrating (or planning to) because of it.
A simple search through YouTube reveals the absurd beliefs of many anti-Semites, and how vocally and openly they spew their hate, with so many “likes” and “thumbs up” of approval from others. Watching these videos, one is not sure whether to laugh at their stupidity and ignorance or shudder in fear because of it. It really is hard to believe that so many have been duped into such nonsense. The Ramchal explains that it is the power of Samael, that rebellious fallen angel, which helps to convince them, and drives their hate.
And this is just one symptom of a more general and widespread trend of a degenerating society that our Sages predicted long ago.
Degeneration of Society
- Our Sages described the world in the End of Days in the following way (Sotah 49b):
In the footsteps of the Messiah, insolence will increase and honour will dwindle. The vine will abundantly yield its fruit, yet wine will be dear. The government will turn to heresy, and there will be none to offer them reproof. The meeting places of scholars will be used for immorality… the wisdom of the learned will degenerate, fearers of sin will be despised, and truth will be lacking. The youth will put the elders to shame; the old will have to stand before the young. A son will rival his father, a daughter will rise up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s worst enemies will be the members of his household. The face of the generation will be like the face of a dog; a son will not feel ashamed before his father. And upon whom is there to rely? Only upon our Father in Heaven.
The Sages describe a world of incredible abundance, and yet many are starving; a world of so much information, yet truth is hard to find. Corrupt governments, hatred for religion, places of scholarship becoming places of immorality. No respect for the elderly, no rules in the home, parents who fear to discipline their own children. A completely degenerate and immoral society, and no one is ashamed. Such a social state was unthinkable even fifty years ago, let alone fifteen hundred years ago when the above passage was written. Yet, it is a perfect description of today’s world.
Things to Come
- Some prophecies have yet to be fulfilled, and it looks very likely that they will be. The Sages state that the final war at the End of Days will be instigated by Paras, “Persia” or Iran (see, for example, Yalkut Shimoni on Isaiah 60, passage 499). More specifically, the conflict will actually begin between Persia and Arabia, and this will lead to “Persia destroying the world” or at least doing something so shocking that “all the world’s nations will be shaken, in panic, falling upon their faces…” Today, we are living the tremendous struggle between Iran and the Arab states (led by Saudi Arabia). They are fighting proxy wars in Syria, Yemen, and other zones. If a direct, “hot” war would begin—which isn’t too unlikely from the looks of it—the results could be catastrophic, and draw the whole world’s involvement. Israel will certainly not sit on the sidelines in such a conflict.
- Despite the horrible difficulties of the End of Days, all will end well. God will eventually intervene, and display a set of miracles that will make the Exodus from Egypt look minor. This was prophesied by Jeremiah (16:14-15):
Therefore, behold, days are coming, says the Lord, that it shall no more be said: “As the Lord lives, that brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,” but rather: “As the Lord lives, that brought the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries where He had driven them”; and I will bring them back into their land that I gave unto their fathers…
In the future, the Jews will no longer speak of the miracles of ancient Egypt, but the miracles of the Final Redemption that is soon to happen in our own days. (For a detailed discussion of how the Final Redemption will be greater than the First, see Ma’amar HaGeulah, Discourse 1, Ch. 2.)
- Ultimately, there will finally be peace on Earth. Isaiah (11:6-9) said it most famously, in poetic fashion, that the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them… They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea.
The Rambam (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, 1135-1204) explained that this should not be taken literally, of course, rather “it is merely allegory, meaning that the Jews will live safely, even with the formerly wicked nations. All nations will return to the true religion and will no longer steal or oppress…” (See his commentary on Sanhedrin 10:1.) The prophet Zechariah (8:23) tells us that anti-Semitism will finally end, the gentiles will understand the Jews and wish to learn from them:
Thus said the Lord of Hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, shall take hold of the corner [of the garment] of a Jew, saying: “We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”
In those forthcoming days, there will be world peace and unity, and the whole world will live in harmony under one God (Zechariah 14:9):
And God shall be King over all the earth; on that day, G-d will be One, and His name One.
Prophecy: Have The Torah’s Predictions Been Realized? Part II
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