The Coming Second Exodus

God will once again rescue Israel—with even mightier miracles this time!

When God sent Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt, He said, "...I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments" (Exodus 6:6Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
See All...).

Yes, the wonders and miracles of that first exodus are recorded for us. But God says there will be another exodus, and that exodus will pale the first one into insignificance (Jeremiah 16:14-15 [14] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
[15] But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

See All...)! How will this happen, and how might we be involved in this coming event?

From Prosperity to Captivity

Before we look at this actual exodus, it's important to know what God will be rescuing His people from!

Because of Israel's continual disobedience, God will bring sevenfold punishment upon them (Leviticus 26:18And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
See All..., 24, 28). Hundreds of scriptures detail this coming punishment, which no people in history have ever had to endure (Ezekiel 5:9And I will do in thee that which I have not done, and whereunto I will not do any more the like, because of all thine abominations.
See All...; Matthew 24:21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
See All...).

God says that He will first bring famine and pestilence and then military defeat to Israel (Ezekiel 5:12A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them.
See All...). Together, this will kill two thirds of Israel. God says what food is left will be taken by the invading armies, and the Israelites will resort to cannibalism for survival (Deuteronomy 28:49-53 [49] The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;
[50] A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young:
[51] And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed thee.
[52] And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
[53] And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:

See All...; Ezekiel 5:10Therefore the fathers shall eat the sons in the midst of thee, and the sons shall eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments in thee, and the whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.
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Being overthrown and occupied, the remaining third of Israel will be scattered and taken into captivity. Many will be deported overseas as slaves in labor camps (Deuteronomy 28:68And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
See All...; Jeremiah 30:8For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
See All...; Revelation 18:11-13 [11] And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
[12] The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
[13] And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.

See All...). At this time God says He will have no pity (Ezekiel 5:11Wherefore, as I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish thee; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.
See All...; 7:5-9).

The oppression of the Beast power will be unimaginable. Satan is leading the Beast power, and he wants to destroy God's holy seed. Millions more Israelites will die in captivity, leaving only a tenth left at Christ's return (Amos 5:1-3 [1] Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.
[2] The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.
[3] For thus saith the Lord GOD; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.

See All...; Isaiah 6:11-13 [11] Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,
[12] And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
[13] But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.

See All...). Of the approximately half a billion Israelite descendants today, some 450 million will die!

This catastrophic time is referred to as "Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah 30:5-8 [5] For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
[6] Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
[7] Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
[8] For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:

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Israel Will Remember God in Captivity

God says that the few Israelites who are left will remember what He said, and know that He warned them about this coming punishment (Ezekiel 6:8-10 [8] Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries.
[9] And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.
[10] And they shall know that I am the LORD, and that I have not said in vain that I would do this evil unto them.

See All...). They will have been warned by the gospel being preached before the Tribulation and will be reminded by the messages of God's two witnesses during the Tribulation.

Israel will have gone from world leaders to beleaguered captives. The world will be astonished at what has happened to Israel (Deuteronomy 28:37And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.
See All...; Ezekiel 5:14-15 [14] Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by.
[15] So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.

See All...).

God makes powerful comparisons to the total fear Israel will be experiencing at this time (Deuteronomy 28:66-67 [66] And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
[67] In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.

See All...; Ezekiel 7:17-18 [17] All hands shall be feeble, and all knees shall be weak as water.
[18] They shall also gird themselves with sackcloth, and horror shall cover them; and shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all their heads.

See All...). He says they will be "trembling like a bird," and the sound of shaking leaves will terrify them (Hosea 11:11They shall tremble as a bird out of Egypt, and as a dove out of the land of Assyria: and I will place them in their houses, saith the LORD.
See All...; Leviticus 26:36And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
See All...). Yes, Israel will believe they have no hope and will be at the end of their rope (Isaiah 49:14But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
See All...).

The Great Rescue Begins

The last trumpet sounds, and Christ returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The armies that fight against Christ are quickly destroyed. The remnant of Israel sees Christ's return, and their captors are defeated. But they are still scared, maybe even more! What will happen now?

Concerning this remnant of perhaps 50 million, God says, "I will bring them back, because I have mercy on them. They shall be as though I had not cast them aside...I will whistle for them and gather them, for I will redeem them; and they shall increase as they once increased" (Zechariah 10:6-8 [6] And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.
[7] And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
[8] I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.

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This is not like the first exodus, where all of Israel was in Egypt. Now Israel is scattered around the globe (Isaiah 11:11-12 [11] And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
[12] And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

See All...). Yet every Israelite who is alive at this time will be rescued (Amos 9:9For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
See All...). God will use mighty miracles to gather them.

Israel to See Miracles Again

One of the first things God will do is make paths for His people to return. As it was for ancient Israel, the Red Sea will again be parted, and they will walk across on dry ground. The Euphrates River will also be divided (Isaiah 11:15And the LORD shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod.
See All...; 43:16; Zechariah 10:11And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.
See All...).

The Bible also describes a large highway for Israel's return (Isaiah 11:16And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt.
See All...; 35:8-10; 43:19). The remnant of Israel will be returning to Jerusalem from the north and the south, and a path will be provided. Whatever obstacles are in the way, God will miraculously remove them (Isaiah 40:3-5 [3] The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
[4] Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
[5] And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

See All...).

God will also bring physical healing (Isaiah 35:3-6 [3] Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
[4] Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.
[5] Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
[6] Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.

See All...; Jeremiah 33:6-7 [6] Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.
[7] And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first.

See All...). And God will bring spiritual healing and open their minds to the truth.

The Greatest Miracle of the Second Exodus

By far this spiritual healing is the greatest miracle of all. Before Israel returns to Jerusalem, God will again offer great and wonderful promises to them (Ezekiel 20:33-36 [33] As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you:
[34] And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather you out of the countries wherein ye are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out.
[35] And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face.
[36] Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord GOD.

See All...). With this New Covenant God will now offer salvation and His Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 11:19-20 [19] And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
[20] That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

See All...; 36:24-28).

When God begins bringing His people back from captivity, they will be a humbled people. They will be overwhelmed with emotion and be eager to return to God (Jeremiah 31:7-9 [7] For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
[8] Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.
[9] They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

See All...; 50:4-5). With real repentance, individuals will begin receiving God's Spirit. And unlike their ancestors, they will have the heart and desire to obey God.

Israel will again grow from a small handful to an innumerable multitude (Hosea 1:10Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
See All...). And they will finally become the model nation God wants them to be.

Our Part in This Coming Exodus

With some 50 million Israelites scattered all around the world, perhaps some of us will be involved in leading them back to Jerusalem.

God says He will send shepherds to this remnant, to feed them and take care of them (Jeremiah 23:3-4 [3] And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
[4] And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

See All...). As a spiritual priesthood, we may be with them on their journey back home. Yes, you and I could be able to reach down, wipe away their tears and calm their trembling hearts. To these people we might say, "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
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Yes, God has offered us the privilege to be part of the incredible restoration of Israel. It begins with this awe-inspiring second exodus and ends with them finally being born into the Kingdom of God! UN

Tim Groves is a member in the Jefferson, Georgia, congregation.