This week, we marked Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, when we solemnly remember the 6 million Jews brutally murdered in a true genocide. It is a tragedy from which the Jewish people have not yet numerically recovered, even after 80 years.
Did you know that this solemn day, along with two other secular days observed in Israel, fulfills biblical prophecy? That’s right, even non-religious Israelis are unwittingly participating in God’s prophetic timeline.
Yom HaShoah and Yom Hazikaron are not merely national observances but powerful confirmations of God’s Word.
Those of us who take the Bible seriously know that the feasts of the Lord celebrated in Israel paint a prophetic picture of God’s end-time plan. But these three modern observances, often considered “man-made traditions” by the average Israeli, stand as signs of fulfilled prophecy and God’s faithfulness.
As the grandson of Holocaust survivors, this topic is deeply personal. My grandparents survived Auschwitz and made their way to Israel via Cyprus, where my mother was born in a detention camp. Upon arriving in Israel, my grandmother gave birth to her son, who tragically died on his 19th birthday during the War of Attrition with Egypt when his Israeli warship was sunk.
Here’s what’s crucial: the Holocaust, as horrific as it was, was not the cause of Israel’s rebirth. It was part of God’s prophetic timeline but not the reason for it. God had already begun preparing the ground decades earlier through the first Aliyah, the wave of Jewish immigration to the land of Israel.
Consider Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones in chapter 37. The prophet sees a valley filled with scattered dry bones, a vivid picture of the Jewish people dispersed among the nations. In verse 11, God explicitly tells Ezekiel, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!'” Could there be a more fitting description of the Jewish people after the Holocaust?
What happens next? God declares in verses 12 to 14, “Behold, oh My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, oh My people, and brought you up from your graves. I will put My spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land.”
This is exactly what we’ve witnessed in our generation. The survivors of the Holocaust, these dry bones, were brought from the graves of Europe to the land of Israel. Not to Uganda, Argentina, or Madagascar, as some had proposed for Jewish settlement, but specifically to the land of Israel, just as God promised.
Next, we have Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day. This day honors the soldiers who have fallen defending Israel and victims of terrorism. My own family has experienced this loss. My uncle died on his 19th birthday during the War of Attrition when an Egyptian attack sank an Israeli warship.
In Israel, Memorial Day immediately precedes Independence Day. Coincidence? Hardly! It’s a powerful reminder that our national rebirth came at a tremendous cost. The freedom we enjoy was purchased with the blood of those who defended this tiny strip of land against overwhelming odds.
Consider this. In 1948, the armies of five Arab nations descended upon newborn Israel, a nation of just 650,000 Jewsโmany of whom were Holocaust survivors. The world expected Israel to be wiped out in days. Yet, against all odds, Israel not only survived but thrived. As Zechariah 12:8 declares, “In that day the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.”
This brings us to Yom Haatzmaut, Israel’s independence day. On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel.
Isaiah 66:8 says, “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once?” That is precisely what happened! In a single day, after 2,000 years of exile, the nation of Israel was reborn.
This wasn’t just a political event; it was the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. God also promised through Ezekiel in chapter 36:8-10, “But you, oh mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit for My people Israel, for they are about to come. For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, and all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt.”
Look at Israel today. When Mark Twain visited in 1867, he described it as a “desolate country,” “a silent mournful expanse,” and “a desolation.” Now, Israel has thriving cities, remarkable agriculture, and cutting-edge technology. The desert is literally blooming!
Many secular Israelis observe these three days without realizing they’re participating in the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. They view them as secular national observances while unknowingly playing a role in God’s prophetic timeline. This reminds me of God’s words to Peter in Acts 10:15, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” Sometimes, what appears common or secular to human eyes is actually a part of God’s Holy plan.
In Malachi 3:6, God declares, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, oh sons of Jacob.” It’s because of God’s unchanging nature that Israel still exists today. This is why the tiny nation of Israel, surrounded by enemies, continues to thrive against all odds.
So the next time someone claims Israel’s rebirth was merely a “political accident” or response to the Holocaust, remember Ezekiel’s dry bones, remember God’s promises to bring His people back to their land, and remember that what many see as a common, coincidence, or secular event God is using to accomplish His Holy purposes. Remember, the God who scattered Israel is the same God who has regathered them, and He will complete what He has begun.
