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.
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.
Courtesy: Temple Institute
Efraim Palvanov is a Canada-based life-long writer, researcher and educator who shares authentic Jewish wisdom intertwined with science, history, philosophy, and mysticism. Efraim has degrees in biology and education, and currently serves as the head of the science department at Bnei Akiva Schools of Toronto. Visit mayimachronim.com for more thoughts like these, and check out his YouTube channel @EfraimPalvanov.
Prophecy: Have The Torah’s Predictions Been Realized? Part III
Typography
- Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
- Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times
- Reading Mode
