God's Word Concerning their Return

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="10920861egerdp.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Edwardian Script ITC" ><B>On Eagle's Wings</B></FONT><B>  </B><B> Inc.</B><B>     </B><FONT SIZE="6" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Webdings" ><B>j</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>  </B></FONT><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="On Eagles Wings"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div>                                              back to  <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="On Eagles Wings"><U><B>On Eagle's Wings</B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="10de4c00egerdp.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="id131.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Original Website Home Page"><U>Original Website Home Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id129.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Letter of Introduction"><U>Letter of Introduction</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id23.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="About Us"><U>About Us</U></A></div> <div> <B>God's Word Concerning their Return</B></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Children of Promise"><U>The Children of Promise</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id92.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Taking Hold of the Promise"><U>Taking Hold of the Promise</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="How to Participate"><U>How to Participate</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id93.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U>Related Links</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Birth of On Eagles Wings Inc."><U>The Birth of On Eagle's Wings Inc.</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id96.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Presidents Notes"><U>President's Notes</U></A></div> <div>  <form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post"> <input type="hidden" name="cmd" value="_s-xclick"> <input type="hidden" name="hosted_button_id" value="309653"> <input type="image" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_donateCC_LG.gif" border="0" name="submit" alt=""> <img alt="" border="0" src="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/scr/pixel.gif" width="1" height="1"> </form>  </div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#EEEEEE" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="386" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 17414 WIDTH="374"><div> <I><B>God's Word Concerning the Jews </B></I></div> <div> <I><B>Return to Israel & Himself</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>This is what the Sovereign LORD says:</B></div> <div> <B>"See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, </B></div> <div> <B>I will lift up my banner to the peoples; </B></div> <div> <B>they will bring your sons in their arms </B></div> <div> <B>and carry your daughters on their shoulders.    </B><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" ><B>Isaiah 49:22 NIV</B></FONT><B> </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>I will turn all my mountains into roads, </B></div> <div> <B>and my highways will be raised up. </B></div> <div> <B>See, they will come from afar-- </B></div> <div> <B>some from the north, </B></div> <div> <B>some from the west, </B></div> <div> <B>some from the region of Aswan.</B></div> <div> <B>Shout for joy, O heavens; </B></div> <div> <B>rejoice, O earth; </B></div> <div> <B>burst into song, O mountains! </B></div> <div> <B>For the LORD comforts his people </B></div> <div> <B>and will have compassion on his </B></div> <div> <B>afflicted ones. </B></div> <div> <B>Isaiah 49:11-13 NIV</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" ><B>  </B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Who are these that fly along like clouds, </B></div> <div> <B>like doves to their nests?</B></div> <div> <B>Isaiah 60:8 NIV</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Surely the islands look to me;</B></div> <div> <B> in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, </B></div> <div> <B>bringing your sons from afar, </B></div> <div> <B>with their silver and gold, </B></div> <div> <B>to the honor of the LORD your God, </B></div> <div> <B>the Holy One of Israel, </B></div> <div> <B>for he has endowed you with splendor.</B></div> <div> <B>Isaiah 60:9 NIV </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Pass through, pass through the gates! </B></div> <div> <B>Prepare the way for the people. </B></div> <div> <B>Build up, build up the highway! </B></div> <div> <B>Remove the stones. </B></div> <div> <B>Raise a banner for the nations. </B></div> <div> <B>The LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: </B></div> <div> <B>"Say to the Daughter of Zion, </B></div> <div> <B>'See, your Savior comes! </B></div> <div> <B>See, his reward is with him, </B></div> <div> <B>and his recompense accompanies him.'"</B></div> <div> <B>Isaiah 62:10-11 NIV </B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#0000CC" FACE="Arial" ><B> </B></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>For the LORD'S portion is his people; </B></div> <div> <B>Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. </B></div> <div> <B>He found him in a desert land, </B></div> <div> <B>and in the waste howling wilderness; </B></div> <div> <B>he led him about, </B></div> <div> <B>he instructed him, </B></div> <div> <B>he kept him as the apple of his eye. </B></div> <div> <B>As an eagle stirreth up her nest, </B></div> <div> <B>fluttereth over her young, </B></div> <div> <B>spreadeth abroad her wings, </B></div> <div> <B>taketh them, </B></div> <div> <B>beareth them on her wings: </B></div> <div> <B>So the LORD alone did lead him, </B></div> <div> <B>and there was no strange god with him.</B></div> <div> <B>Deuteronomy 32:9-12 KJV</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>This is what the LORD Almighty says: </B></div> <div> <B>"In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, </B></div> <div> <B>'Let us go with you, </B></div> <div> <B>because we have heard that God is with you.'" An Oracle</B></div> <div> <B>Zechariah 8:23 NIV  </B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>"So then, the days are coming," </B></div> <div> <B>declares the LORD, </B></div> <div> <B>"when people will no longer say, </B></div> <div> <B>'As surely as the LORD lives, </B></div> <div> <B>who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' </B></div> <div> <B>but they will say, </B></div> <div> <B>'As surely as the LORD lives, </B></div> <div> <B>who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north </B></div> <div> <B>and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' </B></div> <div> <B>Then they will live in their own land."</B></div> <div> <B>Jeremiah 23:7-8 NIV</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> " ... I will bring health and healing to it;</B></div> <div> <B>I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.</B></div> <div> <B>I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.</B></div> <div> <B>I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.</B></div> <div> <B>Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; </B></div> <div> <B>and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it."</B></div> <div> <B>Jeremiah 33:6-9 NIV</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Comfort, comfort my people,</B></div> <div> <B> says your God.</B><I> </I></div> <div> <I>S</I>peak tenderly to Jerusalem, and </div> <div> <B>proclaim to her that her hard service </B></div> <div> <B>has been completed, </B></div> <div> <B>that her sin has been paid for...</B></div> <div> <B>Isaiah 40:1-2 NIV</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> A voice of one calling:</div> <div> "In the desert <B>prepare the way for the LORD</B>; </div> <div> make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.<I> </I></div> <div> Every valley shall be raised up, </div> <div> every mountain and hill made low; </div> <div> the rough ground shall become level, </div> <div> the rugged places a plain.  </div> <div> And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, </div> <div> and all mankind together will see it. </div> <div> For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."<I>  </I></div> <div> <B>Isaiah 40:3-5</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>You who bring good tidings to Zion, </B></div> <div> <B>go up on a high mountain. </B></div> <div> <B>You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, </B></div> <div> <B>lift up your voice with a shout, </B></div> <div> <B>lift it up, do not be afraid; </B></div> <div> <B>say to the towns of Judah,</B></div> <div> <B> "Here is your God!"</B><I> </I></div> <div> <B>Isaiah 40:9</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Yeshua (Jesus) is His Name!</B></div> <div> <B>Luke 13:34-35</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Therefore, behold, I will allure her,</div> <div> <B>Will bring her into the wilderness,</B></div> <div> <B>and speak comfort to her.</B></div> <div> I will give her </div> <div> her vineyards from there,</div> <div> And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope;</div> <div> <B>She shall sing there</B>,</div> <div> <B>As in the days of her youth,</B></div> <div> <B>As in the day when she came up </B></div> <div> <B>from the land of Egypt.</B></div> <bR> <div> And it shall be, in that day," Says the LORD, </div> <div> <B>"That you will call Me 'My Husband,'</B> </div> <div> And no longer call me 'My Master,'</div> <div> For I will take from mouth the names of the Baals, </div> <div> And they shall be remembered by their name no more.</div> <bR> <div> <B>In that day I will make a covenant for them</B></div> <div> <B>With the beasts of the field</B>,</div> <div> <B>With the birds of the air,</B></div> <div> <B>And with the creeping things of the ground.</B></div> <bR> <div> Bow and sword of battle </div> <div> I will shatter from the earth,</div> <div> To make them lie down safely.</div> <bR> <div> "I will betroth you to Me forever;</div> <div> Yes, I will betroth you to Me </div> <div> In righteousness and justice, </div> <div> In lovingkindness and mercy;</div> <div> I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,</div> <div> And you shall know the LORD.</div> <bR> <div> <B>"It shall come to pass in that day</B></div> <div> <B>That I will answer," says the LORD;</B></div> <div> <B>"I will answer the heavens, </B></div> <div> <B>And they shall answer the earth.</B></div> <bR> <div> The earth shall answer </div> <div> With grain,</div> <div> With new wine,</div> <div> And with oil;</div> <div> They shall answer Jezreel.</div> <bR> <div> Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,</div> <div> And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;</div> <div> Then I will say to those who were not My people,</div> <div> 'You are My people!'</div> <div> <B>And they shall say,</B></div> <div> <B>'You are my God!'"</B></div> <div> <B>Hosea 2:14-23</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Isaiah 49 NIV </B></div> <div> <B>(Israel Speaking)</B></div> <div> Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name.  He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.<I>  </I>He said to me, "<B>You are my servant, Israel</B>, in whom I will display my splendor."<I>  </I>But I said, "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the Lord's hand, and my reward is with my God."<I>  </I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>And now the LORD says-- </B></div> <div> <B>he who formed me in the womb</B></div> <div> <B> to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him </B></div> <div> <B>and gather Israel to himself, </B></div> <div> <B>for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD </B></div> <div> <B>and my God has been my strength--</B><I><B>  </B></I></div> <div> <B>he says: </B></div> <div> <B>"It is too small a thing for you to be my servant</B></div> <div> <B> to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. </B></div> <div> <B>I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, </B></div> <div> <B>that you may bring my salvation </B></div> <div> <B>to the ends of the earth."</B><I>  </I></div> <bR> <div> This is what the LORD says-- </div> <div> the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel-- </div> <div> to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: </div> <div> "Kings will see you and rise up, </div> <div> princes will see and bow down, </div> <div> because of the LORD, who is faithful, </div> <div> the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."<I>  </I></div> <bR> <div> This is what the LORD says: </div> <div> "In the time of my favor I will answer you, </div> <div> and in the day of salvation I will help you; </div> <div> I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, </div> <div> to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances,<I>  </I></div> <div> to say to the captives, </div> <div> 'Come out,' </div> <div> and to those in darkness, </div> <div> 'Be free!' </div> <div> "They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.<I>  </I>They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun beat upon them. He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.<I>  </I></div> <bR> <div> I will turn all my mountains into roads, and <B>my highways will be raised up.</B><I>  </I></div> <div> See, they will come from afar-- </div> <div> some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan."<I>  </I></div> <div> Shout for joy, O heavens; </div> <div> rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! </div> <div> For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.<I>  </I></div> <bR> <div> But Zion said, </div> <div> "The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me."<I>  </I></div> <div> "Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? </div> <bR> <div> Though she may forget, I will not forget you!<I>  </I></div> <div> See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.<I>  </I>Your sons hasten back, and those who laid you waste depart from you.<I>  </I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Lift up your eyes and look around; </B></div> <div> <B>all your sons gather and come to you. </B></div> <div> <B>As surely as I live," declares the LORD, </B></div> <div> <B>"you will wear them all as ornaments; </B></div> <div> <B>you will put them on, like a bride.</B><I>  </I></div> <div> "Though you were ruined and made desolate and </div> <div> your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away.<I>  </I>The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing, 'This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.'<I>  </I>Then you will say in your heart, 'Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these--where have they come from?'"<I>  </I></div> <bR> <div> <B>This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.</B><I>  </I></div> <div> <B>Kings will be your foster fathers, </B></div> <div> <B>and their queens your nursing mothers.</B> </div> <div> They will bow down before you with their faces to the ground; they will lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; </div> <div> those who hope in me will not be disappointed."<I>  </I></div> <div> Can plunder be taken from warriors, or captives rescued from the fierce ?<I>  </I></div> <div> But this is what the LORD says: </div> <div> "Yes, captives will be taken from warriors, and plunder retrieved from the fierce; I will contend with those who contend with you, and your children I will save.<I>  </I>I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh; they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine. Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>Jeremiah 31:1-13</B></div> <div> "At the same time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people."  Thus says the LORD: "The people who survived the sword <B>Found grace in the wilderness</B>- Israel, when I went to give him rest,"  The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.  Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel!  You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, <B>And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice</B>.  You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria: The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food.  For there shall be a day When the watchman will cry on Mount Ephraim, 'Arise, and let us go up to Zion, To the LORD our God'"</div> <bR> <div> For thus says the LORD:<B> "Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations: Proclaim, give praise, and say, 'O LORD, save Your people, The remnant of Israel!'  Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth</B>, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with child, together: A great throng shall return there.  They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them.  I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In  a straight way in which they shall not stumble:  For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.</div> <bR> <div> Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, 'He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.'  for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand of one stranger than he.  Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, Streaming to the goodness of the LORD__  For wheat and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the heard: Their souls shall be like a well-- watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all.  Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together; For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.  </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Isaiah 40:31 NIV</B></div> <div> <I> </I>...those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.<B> They will soar on wings like eagles</B>; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Isaiah 41:8-14 NIV</B></div> <div> ... "But you, O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend,<I>  </I><B>I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you.</B><I><B>  </B></I><B>So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.</B><I>  </I>"All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.<I>  </I>Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.<I>  </I>For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.<I>  </I>Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Isaiah 60 NIV</B></div> <div> "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.<I> </I><B>See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.</B><I><B>  </B></I><B>Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.</B><I><B>  </B></I><B>"Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.</B><I><B>  </B></I><B>Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.</B><I>  </I>Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.<I>  </I>All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.<I>  </I><B>"Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?</B><I><B>  </B></I><B>Surely the islands look to me</B>; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, <B>to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel</B>, for he has endowed you with splendor.<I>  </I>"Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. <B>Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion.</B><I>  </I>Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations-- their kings led in triumphal procession.<I>  </I>For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.<I>  </I>"The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place of my feet.<I>  </I>The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.<I>  </I>"<B>Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations.</B><I> </I><I><B> </B></I><B>You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.</B><I>  </I>Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.<I>  </I>No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.<I>  </I>The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.<I>  </I>Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.<I>  </I><B>Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.</B><I>  </I>The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Isaiah 62 NIV</B></div> <div> <B>For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, </B></div> <div> <B>for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, </B></div> <div> <B>till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, </B></div> <div> <B>her salvation like a blazing torch.</B><I>  </I></div> <bR> <div> The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.<I>  </I>You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.<I>  </I>No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah ; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.<I>  </I>As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.<I>  </I>I have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD, give yourselves no rest,<I>  </I>and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.<I>  </I>The LORD has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm: "Never again will I give your grain as food for your enemies, and never again will foreigners drink the new wine for which you have toiled;<I>  </I>but those who harvest it will eat it and praise the LORD, and those who gather the grapes will drink it in the courts of my sanctuary."<I>   </I>Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations.<I>  </I>The LORD has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.'"<I>  </I>They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the LORD; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Isaiah 66:1-4 NIV</B></div> <div> This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?<I>  </I>Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.<I>  </I>But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man, and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig's blood, and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations;<I>  </I>so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread. <B>For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me</B>."<I> </I></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Zechariah 7:13-14 NIV</B></div> <div> <B>"'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD Almighty.</B><I><B>  </B></I><B>'I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers.</B> The land was left so desolate behind them that no one could come or go. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.'"</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Isaiah 66:5-24 NIV</B></div> <div> Hear the word of the LORD, you who tremble at his word: "Your brothers who hate you, and exclude you because of my name, have said, 'Let the LORD be glorified, that we may see your joy!' Yet they will be put to shame.<I>  </I>Hear that uproar from the city, hear that noise from the temple! It is the sound of the LORD repaying his enemies all they deserve.<I>  </I>"Before she goes into labor, she gives birth; before the pains come upon her, she delivers a son.<I>  </I><B>Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has ever seen such things? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?</B> Yet no sooner is Zion in labor than she gives birth to her children.<I>  </I>Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?" says the LORD. "Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?" says your God.<I>  </I><B>"Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her</B>, all you who mourn over her.<I>  </I>For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance."<I>  </I>For this is what the LORD says: "I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees.<I>  </I>As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."<I>  </I><B>When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the LORD will be made known to his servants</B>, but his fury will be shown to his foes.<I>  </I>See, the LORD is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.<I>  </I>For with fire and with his sword the LORD will execute judgment upon all men, and many will be those slain by the LORD.<I>  </I>"Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the midst of those who eat the flesh of pigs and rats and other abominable things--they will meet their end together," declares the LORD.<I>  </I>"And I, because of their actions and their imaginations, am about to come and gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my glory.<I>  </I>"I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations--to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.<I>  </I><B>And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD--on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels," says the LORD. "They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the LORD in ceremonially clean vessels.</B><I>  </I>And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites," says the LORD.<I>  </I>"As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares the LORD, "so will your name and descendants endure.<I>  </I>From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD.<I>  </I>"And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Zechariah 2:6-13 NIV</B></div> <div> <B>"Come! Come! Flee from the land of the north,"</B> declares the LORD, "for I have scattered you to the four winds of heaven," declares the LORD.<I> {7} </I>"Come, O Zion! Escape, you who live in the Daughter of Babylon!"<I> {8} </I>For this is what the LORD Almighty says: "After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you--for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye--<I> {9} </I>I will surely raise my hand against them so that their slaves will plunder them. Then you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me.<I> {10} </I>"Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you," declares the LORD.<I> {11} </I><B>"Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people.</B> I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you.<I> {12} </I>The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem.<I> {13} </I>Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Zechariah 10:4-12 NIV</B></div> <div> <B>From Judah will come the cornerstone, from him the tent peg, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler.</B><I> {5} </I>Together they will be like mighty men trampling the muddy streets in battle. Because the LORD is with them, they will fight and overthrow the horsemen.<I> {6} </I><B>"I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them. They will be as though I had not rejected them, for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.</B><I> {7} </I>The Ephraimites will become like mighty men, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD.<I> {8}</I><I><B> </B></I><B>I will signal for them and gather them in</B>. Surely I will redeem them; they will be as numerous as before.<I> {9} </I><B>Though I scatter them among the peoples, yet in distant lands they will remember me. They and their children will survive, and they will return.</B><I> {10} </I>I will bring them back from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. I will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, and there will not be room enough for them.<I> {11} </I>They will pass through the sea of trouble; the surging sea will be subdued and all the depths of the Nile will dry up. Assyria's pride will be brought down and Egypt's scepter will pass away.<I> {12} </I>I will strengthen them in the LORD and in his name they will walk," declares the LORD.</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Zechariah 8 NIV</B></div> <div> Again the word of the LORD Almighty came to me.<I> {2} </I>This is what the LORD Almighty says: <B>"I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her."</B><I> {3} </I>This is what the LORD says: "I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain."<I> {4} </I>This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with cane in hand because of his age.<I> {5} </I>The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there."<I> {6} </I><B>This is what the LORD Almighty says: "It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?" declares the LORD Almighty.</B><I><B> {7} </B></I><B>This is what the LORD Almighty says: "I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west.</B><I><B> {8} </B></I><B>I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their God."</B><I> {9} </I>This is what the LORD Almighty says: "You who now hear these words spoken by the prophets who were there when the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD Almighty, let your hands be strong so that the temple may be built.<I> {10} </I>Before that time there were no wages for man or beast. No one could go about his business safely because of his enemy, for I had turned every man against his neighbor.<I> {11} </I>But now I will not deal with the remnant of this people as I did in the past," declares the LORD Almighty.<I> {12} </I>"The seed will grow well, the vine will yield its fruit, the ground will produce its crops, and the heavens will drop their dew. I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.<I> {13} </I>As you have been an object of cursing among the nations, O Judah and Israel, so will I save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong."<I> {14} </I><B>This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Just as I had determined to bring disaster upon you and showed no pity when your fathers angered me," says the LORD Almighty,</B><I><B> {15} </B></I><B>"so now I have determined to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah. Do not be afraid.</B><I><B> {16} </B></I><B>These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts;</B><I><B> {17} </B></I><B>do not plot evil against your neighbor, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the LORD.</B><I> {18} </I>Again the word of the LORD Almighty came to me.<I> {19} </I>This is what the LORD Almighty says: "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love truth and peace."<I> {20} </I>This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come,<I> {21} </I>and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, 'Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.'<I> {22} </I>And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him."<I> {23} </I>This is what the LORD Almighty says: <B>"In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'" An Oracle</B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Zechariah 12 NIV</B></div> <div> This is the word of the LORD concerning Israel. The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares:<I> {2} </I>"I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem.<I> {3} </I>On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.<I> {4} </I>On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the LORD. "I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations.<I> {5} </I>Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, 'The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the LORD Almighty is their God.'<I> {6} </I>"On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.<I> {7} </I>"The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.<I> {8} </I>On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.<I> {9} </I>On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.<I> {10}</I><I><B> </B></I><B>"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son</B>.<I> {11} </I>On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.<I> {12} </I>The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives,<I> {13} </I>the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,<I> {14} </I>and all the rest of the clans and their wives.  (Zechariah 13:1 NIV)  "<B>On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.</B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Jeremiah 23:1-8 NIV</B></div> <div> "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD.<I> {2} </I>Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD.<I> {3} </I><B>"I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.</B><I><B> {4} </B></I><B>I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,"</B> declares the LORD.<I> {5} </I>"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.<I> {6} </I>In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: <B>The LORD Our Righteousness</B>.<I> {7} </I><B>"So then, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when people will no longer say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,'</B><I><B> {8} </B></I><B>but they will say, 'As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' Then they will live in their own land."</B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Ezekiel 34 NIV</B></div> <div> The word of the LORD came to me:<I> {2} </I>"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?<I> {3} </I>You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock.<I> {4} </I>You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.<I> {5} </I>So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.<I> {6} </I>My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill.<B> They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.</B><I> {7} </I>"'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:<I> {8} </I>As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,<I> {9} </I>therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:<I> {10} </I>This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.<I> {11} </I>"'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: <B>I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.</B><I><B> {12} </B></I><B>As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.</B><I><B> {13} </B></I><B>I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land.</B><I><B> {14} </B></I><B>I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land</B>. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.<I> {15} </I>I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD.<I> {16} </I><B>I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.</B><I> {17} </I>"'As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats.<I> {18} </I>Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?<I> {19 </I>Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?<I> {20} </I>"'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.<I> {21} </I>Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away,<I> {22}</I><I><B> </B></I><B>I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.</B><I><B> {23} </B></I><B>I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.</B><I><B> {24} </B></I><B>I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.</B><I> {25} </I>"'I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety.<I> {26} </I>I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.<I> {27} </I>The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. <B>They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.</B><I> {28} </I>They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid.<I> {29} </I>I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.<I> {30} </I>Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD.<I> {31} </I>You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.'"</div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Ezekiel 39:25-29 NIV</B></div> <div> <B>"Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will now bring Jacob back from captivity and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name.</B><I> {26} </I>They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid.<I> {27} </I>When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, <B>I will show myself holy through them in the sight of many nations.</B><I> </I><I><B>{28}</B></I><I> </I><B>Then they will know that I am the LORD their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.</B><I><B> {29} </B></I><B>I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD."</B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Hosea 11:10-11 NIV</B></div> <div> They will follow the LORD; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west.<I> {11} </I>They will come trembling <B>like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria</B>. I will settle them in their homes," declares the LORD.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Restoration of Israel"><U><B>Next page</B></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>