Israel's Prophetic Border Restoration
- Michael E.B. Maher
- Apr 7
- 5 min read
Jeremiah 30:3 “for behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord, 'that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,' says the Lord.’ And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.'”
The next prophetic event we will discuss is the restoration of Israel's borders. There were many prophecies recorded in the Old Testament in which God warned the Jews that if they persisted in disobeying Him, He would remove them from the land He had given to their fathers. Israel stubbornly refused to obey the Lord and so He eventually began to remove them from their Promised Land. That process began in the year 841 BC and continued over the next 1,193 years, finally culminating in the expulsion of the Israelites from the last portion of their Promised Land in the year 352 AD.
Nevertheless, there were also many prophecies recorded in the Old Testament that spoke of the Lord restoring Israel’s borders in the latter days. The above-quoted passage of scripture is one example of said prophecies, delivered in this instance by the prophet Jeremiah in approximately 588 BC[1]. In this prophecy the Lord promised to return the Jews to the land He gave to their fathers, allowing them to possess it once again. We know that this prophecy refers to the whole nation of Israel because God mentions both Israel and Judah in this passage.
Ezekiel 36:22-28 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: "I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. (23) And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord," says the Lord God, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. (24) For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. (25) Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. (26) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (27) I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. (28) Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
The above-quoted passage of scripture is another example of the Lord’s prophecies to restore Israel to their own land in the latter days, delivered in this instance by the prophet Ezekiel in approximately 585 BC[2]. This passage clearly refers to the nation of Israel, for the Lord speaks about Israel profaning His name among the nations to which they were scattered. Nevertheless, for the purpose of sanctifying His great name, the Lord promised that He would eventually gather Israel out of all countries and bring them back to their own land; the land He originally gave to their fathers.
Ezekiel 47:13-21 “Thus says the Lord God: "These are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. (14) You shall inherit it equally with one another; for I raised My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance. (15) "This shall be the border of the land on the north: from the Great Sea, by the road to Hethlon, as one goes to Zedad, (16) Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim (which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), to Hazar Hatticon (which is on the border of Hauran). (17) Thus, the boundary shall be from the Sea to Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus; and as for the north, northward, it is the border of Hamath. This is the north side. (18) "On the east side you shall mark out the border from between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, along the Jordan, and along the eastern side of the sea. This is the east side. (19) "The south side, toward the South, shall be from Tamar to the waters of Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea. This is the south side, toward the South. (20) "The west side shall be the Great Sea, from the southern boundary until one comes to a point opposite Hamath. This is the west side. (21) "Thus, you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.”
Before continuing our discussion about the restoration of Israel’s borders, there are four important points that need to be addressed. The first point is identifying what Israel’s God given borders are. To that end, we have the above-quoted passage of scripture in which the Lord gave the prophet Ezekiel a detailed layout of Israel’s borders in the latter days. The Lord gave this vision to Ezekiel around 573 BC during Israel’s exile in Babylon[3]. The context of this passage is that the Lord showed Ezekiel a vision of what Israel would be like in the latter days. The contents of that vision are recorded in the Book of Ezekiel, chapters 40 to 48.
Many have mistakenly thought that Ezekiel’s vision refers to the period of our Lord’s millennial reign. However, the only part of Ezekiel’s vision that pertains to that period is the passage where the Lord showed him the river of life which will flow from the temple during His reign (Ezekiel 47:1-12). The rest of Ezekiel’s vision refers to various aspects of the state of Israel as it will exist in the latter days, including its borders.
There is nothing new in the borders shown to the prophet Ezekiel, for they are almost identical to the borders shown to the prophet Moses prior to Israel entering their Promised Land for the first time (Numbers 34:1-12). And so we see that God has not deviated from the original territory promised to the children of Israel, prophesying that Israel will once again possess that same territory.
As an aside, it is important to note that the borders given to the nation of Israel through Moses and Ezekiel differ from the borders promised to the Israel of God (the Church) through Abraham. The borders promised to the Israel of God, which stretch from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates River, are far more extensive than those given to the nation of Israel (Genesis 15:18). The reason for this is simple: during the Millennium, the Israel of God, with a population of about 250 million will require a much larger territory than the nation of Israel with a population of about 16 million. Therefore, God will restore to the nation of Israel only the borders given to Moses and Ezekiel.
Below is a comparison of two maps. The map on the left reflects Israel’s borders originally communicated to Moses and Ezekiel. The map on the right is a modern version of that same geographic area, with the borders given to Moses and Ezekiel superimposed upon it. When we examine the map on the right we see a combination of four categories of territory. The first category is Israel’s territory that has already been fully restored; i.e. Israel’s internationally recognised 1949 borders. The second category, are Israel’s territories that have only been partially restored; i.e. the Golan Heights, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The third category, are Israel’s territories not yet restored; i.e. Southern Lebanon and the Sinai strip above the River of Egypt. The fourth category is territory that Israel currently occupies but will eventually be forced to vacate; i.e. the Negev.
Map of Israel’s borders to be restored
Michael E.B. Maher
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