4. The Land of Israel
World Scripture
For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My delight is in her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.
Isaiah 62.1-4
The Lord your God will restore your fortunes, and have compassion upon you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will fetch you; and the Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, that you may possess it; and he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers.
Deuteronomy 30.3-5
And We said unto the Children of Israel after him [Moses]: Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter comes to pass We shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations.30
Qur’an 17.104 (Islam)
All civilizations of the world will be renewed by the renascence of our spirit. All quarrels will be resolved, and our revival will cause all life to be luminous with the joy of fresh birth. All religions will don new and precious raiment, casting off whatever is soiled, abominable and unclean; they will unite in imbibing the dew of the holy lights, that were made ready for all mankind at the beginning of time in the well of Israel. The active power of Abraham’s blessing to all the peoples of the world will become manifest and it will serve as the basis of our renewed creativity in the land of Israel. Abraham Isaac Kook, The Zionist Idea
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
What has been the hope of the Jewish people? They hoped to experience the fulfillment of God’s promise to unify the people and re-establish their nation. They longed for that day and kept it in their minds until the moment of death. They left behind the sorrow of not accomplishing it, and it remained their dying wish. When we see this, we recognize that the more a people has passed through a sorrowful course of history, the better they can receive the victorious foundation of world history.
Enduring centuries of misfortune without having a nation, they developed the vision for their nation and love of their people. Because they digested the sorrow, they could realize their vision of a new nation—a new society where they could break down the walls of their confined environment and pursue life in a new, liberated environment.
(30:247-48, March 29, 1970)
The Jews thought that they would unify the world centered on their people once they met the Messiah. However… after the death of Jesus, they wandered for 2,000 years. They were trampled under the hoofs of the Gentiles’ horses, killed by guns and swords, and suffered all manner of humiliations. Finally, with the Second Advent of Christ and the liberation of Korea, in 1948 Israel could emerge as an independent state.31
(208:286-87, November 20, 1990)
The purpose of Jesus’ coming was to build God’s nation. Therefore, we who assume Jesus’ role as ‘tribal messiahs’ should restore the nation of Israel and atone for its past failures… Israel was divided by conflict on the national level between the ten tribes of the northern kingdom of Israel and the two tribes of Judah; this had its roots in the failure of Leah and Rachel to unite in the days of Jacob.
Even in Moses’ day, the tribes fought each other. Jesus passed away in the midst of such division, symbolized by the two thieves on the right and on the left of Jesus at the crucifixion. Now that conflict expanded to the world level, at which time the Christ at the Second Advent comes to resolve the situation and unify the world… Currently, are not Judaism and Christianity enemies? In the Middle East, Israel and the Islamic nations are enemies. We should bring peace to the region.
(250:331, October 15, 1993)