The power of prophecy is such that its echoes reverberate through time, transcending generations and touching the very core of human existence. Some prophecies remain shrouded in mystery, while others unveil themselves in the tapestry of history, presenting before us a picture so clear it’s almost uncanny. Such is the prophecy embedded within Deuteronomy 30, a passage that carries profound significance for Israel and the world today. Have the prophecies of old truly unfolded in our modern age? How do they resonate with the current state of Israel, and what do they say about the shifting sands of religious theology?
Deuteronomy 30 is one of the most remarkable passages in the entire Bible. To help us appreciate this extraordinary prophecy of Moses, let’s review the chapters leading up to it.
The Context of Deuteronomy 30
In Deuteronomy 28, Moses related to the people of Israel the blessings for obedience and punishments for disobedience of God’s law. Near the end of the chapter, we see that the ultimate punishment for disobedience is exile and dispersion.
Then, in chapter 29, Moses continues by telling the nation that while they are in exile, the land will lie desolate. Moses even describes how in the future, people from other nations will see the destruction of the land and the exile of the Jewish people and conclude that God has done this because the Jews turned their backs on God. (Deut. 29:22-28) More on that later.
Deuteronomy 30 is Happening Today
Then comes Deuteronomy 30. Here, Moses tells the people that after many generations of dispersion to the four corners of the earth, they will return to the land.
The modern state of Israel today is populated by millions of Jews from every corner of the earth. The Jewish people have returned en masse to our land. We have taken possession of it in the form of Jewish sovereignty. Israel is a prosperous nation. And there are more Jews in the land today than at any other time in history. Every detail of this biblical prophecy, spoken over 3300 years ago, has been fulfilled in our time. Since it was uttered, everyone who read the Bible saw these verses as a future prophecy. But today, we live in a time when every word of these verses is a reality.
Christian Replacement Theology
But not all who profess belief in the Bible see these verses this way. For most of the past 2000 years, the standard doctrine of Christianity regarding the Jews was what is known as Supersessionism or Replacement Theology. This is the belief that the church had replaced Israel.
According to Supersessionism, the Jewish people were originally the chosen people in covenant with God. But, due to their disobedience and violation of the covenant, the Jews lost this status. The covenant of Israel was transferred to the church. For those who adhere to this belief today, the modern state of Israel is not a fulfillment of Deuteronomy 30. When they look at the millions of Jews from all corners of the earth who populate the land of Israel under Jewish sovereignty, they do not see Biblical prophecy fulfilled.
Unwittingly Fulfilling prophecy
But here’s the irony, their denial that the modern state of Israel is a fulfillment of these prophecies is included in the prophecies themselves!
Just a few verses before the Deuteronomy 30 prophecy we quoted, the Bible says:
Here Moses foretells a time when the nations will look at the exile of the Jews and the desolation of the land of Israel and conclude that the covenant between Israel and God has ended. It’s worth noting that the nations in this passage are familiar with the text of the Bible. The text explicitly states that they will compare the land of Israel to the cities that God overturned in Genesis 19. Furthermore, these people are clearly aware of “every curse that is written in this book.”
Incredibly, Moses described people from the nations of the world who know and believe in the Bible, but also believe that God’s covenant with the Jewish people has ended. Imagine hearing this prophecy when Moses originally spoke it over 3300 years ago. This detail would seem absurd. Why would there be nations who profess belief in the Bible but believe that God has broken His covenant with the Jewish people? Without the founding and spread of Christianity, who among the nations of the world would even know the Bible?
Christian theologians who promoted Replacement Theology looked at the seemingly endless exile of the Jews and the desolation of the land and came to the exact conclusion foretold by Moses in these verses. From the reality that they saw before them, it appeared that God had revoked the covenant from the Jewish people. Ironically, by espousing their erroneous doctrine these theologians were fulfilling this prophecy without even realizing it!
So why did they make this mistake? The answer is right here in the text as well. Immediately after this prediction of Supersessionism Moses tells us that “The secret things belong to the Lord.” In other words, don’t think that you can look at reality and come to your own conclusions about God based on what you see in front of you. Even if in your time it looks to you like God has given up on Israel, don’t draw your own conclusions about God’s plans. Read the Bible. The covenant is forever.
