In 539 BCE Cyrus, king of Persia, issued a decree to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1.1-4). Many people believe that, at that time, the remnant of Israel was being regathered to the land of Israel as was prophesied in Scripture. If this were the regathering, how does it relate to what God has stated in Scripture? If not the regathering, then what was it?

It was never God's intention to leave any part of Jacob in the midst of the nations.

When God speaks of the regathering of the nation of Israel, it is always a permanent return (Jeremiah 24:5-6; 30:8; 32:40-41/Ezekiel 39:25-29). It was never God's intention, according to Scripture, to leave any part of Jacob in the midst of the nations. Jeremiah wrote, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up'" (Jeremiah 24:5-6.) Notice what God has said regarding this regathering: "... not overthrow them" and " . . . not pluck them up". This cannot apply to the regathering in 539 BCE because the Romans overthrew them several hundred years later. Another prophecy that stands out is Zechariah 8:7-8: "Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'Behold, I am going to save My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west; and I will bring them back, and they will live in the midst of Jerusalem, and they will be My people and I will be their God in truth and righteousness'". This prophecy is significant in the fact that Zechariah wrote it in the land of Israel after his return following the decree of Cyrus.

Another problem with the "regathering" in 539 BCE is that Jeremiah stated that Jerusalem "shall not be plucked up, or overthrown anymore forever" (Jeremiah 31:38-40). We know that Titus overthrew Jerusalem in 70 CE; therefore this prophecy, along with others like it, must refer to a different regathering — a more permanent one.

There are Scriptural references to a second regathering: "Then the Lord your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you" (Deuteronomy 30:3) and "Then it will happen on that day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea" (Isaiah 11:11). The significance in these prophecies is that they refer to a second regathering to the Land. This is the permanent one spoken of by the prophets.

If the return in 539 BCE was not the regathering that many believe it to be — what then was it? What is the return spoken of by Jeremiah (29:10)?

There had never been any judgement in the history of the world like the one that Israel had experienced.

After Ezra had returned to Jerusalem, the princes discovered that the people of Israel, along with the Levities and priests, had not separated themselves from the people of the surrounding nations. They had taken for their wives the daughters of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites (Ezra 9:1). When Ezra heard of this situation, it grieved him in his spirit and he sought the face of the Lord. In praying, Ezra confessed the sins of Israel that had brought them to this situation. Then, in the midst of his prayer, Ezra reveals the reason for the regathering — to give Israel hope in the midst of the diaspora. He prayed, "But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage. For we are slaves; yet in our bondage, our God has not forsaken us, but has extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem" (Ezra 9:8-9). Much is revealed in the two sentences of this prayer. First, Ezra states that the return from Babylon is "for a brief moment". It is not the permanent regathering stated by the prophets. Had it been, Ezra would surely have given glory to God for their regathering to the Land. He would also most likely have spoken of their return to the Land forever. Next, we see that Ezra still considers them in bondage to the Persians: "... grant us a little reviving in our bondage. For we are slaves; yet in our bondage...". Finally, we see the reason for the return: "... to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place ... to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem". There had never been any judgement in the history of the world like the one that Israel had experienced. Any other time a nation was torn from its land, it never returned. God wanted Israel to know that He would regather them according to His promises. He wanted them to know that the house of God (although the Glory of God did not reside in it) was in Jerusalem and that He had rebuilt Jerusalem, the city of the great king. In the diaspora, Israel would remember what God had said regarding His house, His mountain and His holy city, Jerusalem.

Jeremiah prophesied that Israel would return after seventy years (Jeremiah 29:10). How, then, can we reconcile this with what we have already seen? To understand this, we must carefully read what Jeremiah wrote. He stated, "For thus says the Lord, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place'" (29:10). Notice that the Lord stated "this place". The assumption is that He meant the land of Israel, but why then did He not say "Israel" or "this land"? Instead He says "this place". God says ". . . all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon" (29:20). He is bringing them "back" to where He sent them from. If we look in the next verse, we see that God expresses the same reason for bringing them back as Ezra stated: ". . . to give you a future and a hope" (29:11). Thus God declared that He would bring His people Israel back to the city of Jerusalem. Daniel, after reading the words of Jeremiah (Daniel 9:2), prays for the Lord to turn His wrath " . . . away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain" (Daniel 9:16). The emphasis is on a return to the city of Jerusalem; not necessarily the entire land of Israel.

There must be a Jewish presence in the midst of Israel for the Messiah to come.

While Ezra saw the physical aspect of God's working, I believe that there was also a spiritual aspect: the preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Micah prophesied that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Jesus is a Jew born in the midst of Israel. It is true that the Romans ruled over the land; nevertheless, Israel was Jewish. There had to be a Jewish presence in the midst of Israel in order for the Messiah to come forth. It is the same today. There must be a Jewish presence in the midst of Israel for the Messiah to come.

Almost forty years after Jesus ascended to heaven, the Jewish remnant in Israel returned to the diaspora. Was this another dispersion? I do not believe so because most of the Jews had stayed in the diaspora. Only a remnant had returned. For two thousand years — from the calling of Abraham to the resurrection of Jesus — God had focused on His vessels of redemption. Now, as the nation of Israel, along with the Church, entered the diaspora, God turned to the nations. This was the "times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24). For the past two thousand years, God has given a witness of Himself to the Gentiles thru Israel (to the nations) and the Church (to individuals). God has now turned His attention back to His people Israel. The true regathering started in the late 1800's and culminated in 1948 with the birth of the nation of Israel. We believe that the "times of the Gentiles" ended in 1967 when Israel regained control of Jerusalem. If this is the work of God now, should not we be involved in the building up of Zion? Our work (the Church) should be to encourage Israel to be the people God has called them to be. With Israel back in the land, what is their hope now? The coming of the Mashiach! Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus!