RESTORATION
Amos 9:13 A time is coming declares the Lord
When the plowman shall meet the reaper
And the treader of grapes (will meet)
Him who holds the seed ;
When the mountains will
drip wine
And all the hills shall
wave [with grain].
I will restore My people Israel.
They shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them ;
They shall plan vineyards and drink their wine ;
They shall till the gardens and eat their fruits.
And I will plant them on their soil,
Nevermore to
be uprooted
From the soil I have given them.
The stanzas of Amos slip into a future description of a time of restoration of Israel to their native lands, after which Israel shall nevermore be uprooted again. Nothing except divine intervention could establish Israel "nevermore" to be uprooted. Therefore this last stanza is about the Messianic end of The Age time period when the Lord/Messiah /Melchizedek comes. "Mountains dripping with wine" are also Messianic references. Future, past, and present are often described within a single unit of text, almost as if the events are fused together with the element of time removed. Indeed, God sees history from outside time, where ultimate causes yield ultimate effects, despite their "apparent" unrelatedness to the human eye of sequential time. Similar references such as forever, nevermore, and everlasting occur in conjunction with a consistently repeated list of End of The Age events, such as restoration of Israel in the example before us. These events and references are densely distributed throughout all of the Old Testament prophets.
Hosea 12 :7 You must return to your God ; Practice goodness and justice, And constantly trust in your God. But so as not to cause despair, The Lord says:
Hosea 14 :5 I will heal their affliction, Generously will I take them back in love I will be like dew to Israel; He shall blossom like the lily.
The prophet ends on a word of hope for a restoration that is still yet to come. Israel here (14:5), can be read as denoting the people of God who have strayed from home. The time frame jumps way into the future to the time of messianic restoration at ages end that is upcoming. The prophet himself is probably unaware that this is a distant future event, knowing only that it will occur, but not when.
Isaiah 43:1 Fear not, for I will redeem you;
I have singled you out by name,
You are Mine.
When you pass through water,
I will be with you;
Through streams,
They shall not overwhelm you.
When you walk through fire,
You shall not be scorched.
Through flame,
It shall not burn you.
Isaiah 43:4 Because you are precious to Me,
And honored, and I love you,
I give men in exchange for you
And peoples in your stead . . .
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the end of the earth—
Isaiah 49:4 I thought, "I have labored in Vain,
I have spent my strength for empty breath."
But my case rested with the Lord,
My recompense was in the hands of my God.
And now the Lord has resolved –
He who formed me in the womb to be His servant –
To bring back Jacob to Himself,
That Israel may be restored to Him!
And I have been honored in the sight of the Lord,
My God has been my strength.
Isaiah 54:4 Fear not, you shall not be shamed;
Do not cringe, you shall not be disgraced.
For you shall forget
The reproach of your youth.
And remember no more
The shame of your widowhood.
For He who made you will espouse you—
His name is "Lord of Hosts;"
The Holy one of Israel will redeem you,
Who is called "God of all the Earth."
Isaiah 54:11 Unhappy,storm-tossed
one, uncomforted!
I will set your stones in fair colors
And make your foundations of sapphires.
I will make your battlements of rubies,
Your gates of precious stones,
The whole encircling wall of gems.
And all your children shall be disciples of the
Lord,
And great shall be the happiness of your children;
You shall be established through righteousness.
You shall be safe from oppression,
And shall have no fear;
From ruin, and it shall not come near you.
Surely no harm can be done
Without My consent:
Whoever would harm you
Shall fall because of you.
Isaiah 55:1 Ho, all who are thirsty,
Come for water,
Even if you have no money;
Come, buy food and eat:
Buy food without money,
Wine and milk without cost.
Why do you spend money for what is not bread,
Your earnings for what does not satisfy?
Here, we get a glimpse of the bounty and blessings that will ensue with restoration. Again, people are thirsty because of drought in the latter days.
Isaiah 60:9 Behold, the coastlands
await me,…
To bring your sons from afar,…
Aliens shall rebuild your
(Jerusalem’s) walls,…
Their Kings shall wait on you (Jerusalem) – …
Your gates shall always stay open –
Day and night they shall never be shut – …
And you shall be called "City of the Lord."
Isaiah 65:17 Behold! I am creating
A new heaven and a new earth;
The former things shall not be remembered,
They shall never come to mind.
Be glad then and rejoice forever…
Never again shall be heard there
The sounds of weeping and wailing…
He who dies a hundred years
Shall be reckoned a youth…
They shall plant vineyards and enjoy their fruit…
For the days of My people shall be
As long as the days of a tree,…
They shall not bear children for terror,
But they shall be a people blessed by the Lord.
Before they pray I will answer Them;
While they are still speaking, I will respond.
The wolf and lamb shall graze together…
In all My sacred mount…
Isaiah 65:25 Nothing evil or vile shall be done – said the Lord
Yet to such I look:
To the poor and brokenhearted,
Who are concerned about My word.
Jeremiah 29:20 But you, the whole exile community which I (Lord) banished from Jerusalem to Babylon, hear the word of the Lord!…
Jeremiah 24:14 I will be at hand for you…and I will gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you – declares the Lord – and I will bring you back to the place from which I exiled you…
Jeremiah 24:11 For I am mindful of the plans I have made concerning your welfare, not for disaster, (but) to give you a hopeful future.
Jeremiah 29:13 You will find Me, if only you seek Me wholeheartedly.
Jeremiah 30:11 I will not make an end of you!
I will not leave you unpunished,
But will chastise you in measure…
Jeremiah 30:17 I will bring healing to you And cure you of your wounds…
Jeremiah 3l:3 Eternal Love I conceived for you.
Jeremiah 3l:31 See, a time is coming when I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah…I will put My teaching in their inmost being and inscribe it upon their hearts.
These lines describe a future of restoration and salvation. The New Covenant is the "kingdom of heaven within" that is enabled by the outpouring of the Spirit of Truth by Jesus Christ; and the Spirit of the Father, the internal guide within.
Ezekiel 36:24 For I (Lord) will take you from among the nations and gather you out of all the countries and bring you into your own land…
This single verse is probably the most important portent that our age is ending, the re-gathering of Jews into Canaan from all the countries of the world, the establishment of modern Israel in 1948. This sets the stage for all other subsequent events. Israel and the Middle East problem is a prophecy clock for the timing of subsequent prophesied events.
Ezekiel 37:33 In that day (when I gather you) I shall cleanse you of all your iniquities… They will say this land has become like a Garden of Eden.
These lines definitely relate to the Messianic, End of The Age, and not the return from Babylonian captivity because; the people are brought from plural countries and nations and not just Babylon. References to the Messianic "cleansing of all iniquities" through forgiveness, and reference to the restoration of the Garden of Eden – which ends The Adamic Age, just as it had begun so many years before, places the re-gathering and the messianic cleansing in the same timeframe. This re-gathering of Judah from "all the countries" into the land of Canaan officially began in 1948, when the international community recognized Israel as a nation. Today these re-gathered Jews are from more than 115 nations; speak 80 languages, and number over 3.5 million people. Recently, this process has greatly accelerated due to growing political and ethnic tensions in Russia and elsewhere in the world. After the re-gathering, they will undergo ‘cleansing’ during the upcoming trial period.
Hosea 3:4 For the Israelites will go a long time without king and without officials, without sacrifice and without cult pillars, and without ephod and teraphim.
Over 2500 years from the time the Northern Tribes depart until they return as Christians is indeed a "long time."
Zechariah 8:2 Thus, said the Lord of Hosts: There shall yet be old men and women in the squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of their great age. And the squares of the city shall be crowded with boys and girls playing in the squares…Though it would seem impossible to the remnant of this people in those days, shall it also be impossible to Me?…I will rescue My people from the lands of the east and from the lands of the west, and I will bring them home to dwell in Jerusalem.
They shall be My people.
Zechariah 8:11 But now I will not treat the remnant of this people as before declares the Lord of Hosts – but what it sows shall prosper: The vine will produce its fruit, the ground will produce its yield, and the skies shall provide their moisture. …And just as you were a curse among the nations, O House of Israel and House of Judah, so, when I vindicate you, you shall be a blessing.
The long age of persecution, prejudice, and marginalization of faithful Jews is swept away as restoration is enacted. The dry land from the present and progressive drought in the Middle East will receive the rain of forgiveness and will yield great bounty through God’s mercy.
The Lord tells us:
Zechariah 8:16 You must love honesty and integrity… Speak the truth to one another… Render true and perfect justice in your gates…
Also, the Holy days of fasting "become occasions for joy and gladness." Repentance blooms into joy.
Zechariah 9:14 And the Lord shall manifest Himself to them (Judah) And His arrows shall fall like lightning; My Lord God shall sound the ram’s horn And advance in a stormy tempest. The Lord of Hosts will protect them.
Joel 3:5 But everyone who invokes the name of the Lord shall escape; for there shall be a remnant on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, as the Lord promised.
Joel 4:1 For lo! In those days And in that time I will gather all the nations And bring them down into the Valley of Jehoshaphat There will I contend with them Over My own people, Israel.
1Enoch 95:4 You shall not fear those who trouble you; for restoration shall be yours; a splendid light shall shine around you, and the voice of tranquility shall be heard from heaven. Woe to you, sinners; for your wealth makes you resemble saints, but your hearts reproach you, knowing that you are sinners. This word shall testify against you, for the remembrance of crime.
1Enoch 95:5 Woe to you who feed upon the glory of the corn, and drink the strength of the root of the spring, and in the pride of your power tread down the humble.
1Enoch 95:6 Woe to you who drink water at all times; for suddenly shall you be recompensed, consumed, and withered, because you have forsaken the fountain of life (Jno. 4:13-14).
1Enoch 95:7 Woe to you who act iniquitously, fraudulently, and blasphemously; there shall be a remembrance against you for evil.
1Enoch 95:8 Woe to you, ye powerful, who with power strike down righteousness; for the day of your destruction shall come; while at that very time many and good days shall come to the righteous, even at the period of your judgment.
The righteous gain dominion. The meek inherit the earth. The offspring of the righteous and elect are to be "lifted up like eagles" apparently physically "elevated" to safety and spiritually "exalted" over and above the "ungodly."