Modern Israel is Not the Fulfillment of Prophecy

Firstly, my not being a Christian does not hinder my objectivity in any way and I am still able to evaluate New Testament verse in an impartial manner and accept it as part of the debate. The main source of contention during the previous round is Cons view towards Judaism, which is noticably inaccurate and not relevant to the whether prophecy was indeed fulfilled by the reestablishment of Israel. To highlight once more, these prophecies come directly from the religion and would not exist without it. Therefore, a little more respect and fairness concerning Judaism could be shown. Essentially, one could easily argue [as many Christians have] that individual prophecies must be fulfilled before the coming of Messiah. As alluded to in round one and two, in order for the Messiah to actually arrive, the nation of Israel must be re-established again, such as told in Zechariah 8:7-8 : "I will save my people from the countries of the east and the west. I will bring them back to live in Jerusalem; they will be my people, and I will be faithful and righteous to them as their G-d." Given this, it would seem fairly obvious that on the contrary to prophecies, told in different times, by different prophets, being fulfilled all in one go, each prophecy is to be fulfilled gradually. The fact is that prophecies are fulfilled over time. Con evidently discounts the fact that prophecy outlining the return of Jews to Israel and its reestablishment are individual prophecies in themselves; and are to come true prior to any other prophecy, which would include Israel eventually defeating its enemies and the coming of the Messiah, rebuilding of the Temple, etc. A contextual look at Isaiah 43, in which the return of Jews is prophecised: 1: "But now thus saith the L-RD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name, thou art Mine."2: "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."3: "For I am the L-RD thy G-d, The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour; I have given Egypt as thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee."4: "Since thou art precious in My sight, and honourable, and I have loved thee; therefore will I give men for thee, and peoples for thy life."5: "Fear not, for I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west."6: "I will say to the north: 'Give up,' and to the south: 'Keep not back, bring My sons from far, and My daughters from the end of the earth."As can be seen, verse five and six particularly outline the return of Jews to the Holy Land. As with the reestablishment of Israel, the eventual Coming of the Messiah is a too an individual prophecy in itself. In fact, to state that the reestablishment of Israel is not a prophecy, one is more or less saying that the exile of Jews into other lands which was fulfilled around 2000 years is not a prophecy to be judged in itself either. Hosea 3:4-5 and 6:1 clearly outline the the prophecy of exile. While, Isaiah 11:11-12, Isaiah 26:6, Jeremiah 32:34, Isaiah 35:1, Isaiah 66:8 [in which he prophecies being Israel reborn in a day], Pslam 107:2:3, Ezekiel 45:12-16, Ezekiel 36:11-24, and many others, virtually all highlight the prophecy of return. Zephaniah 3:8-10 also prophecies the reinstating of the Hebrew language. Another prophecy that has clearly come true. In conclusion, I thank Pro for introducing this debate. Naturally I ask any potential voters to take into account these prophecies and the fact that all of the above have come true. I'll reiterate again that such a thing as individual prophecy exists, and that each prophecy occurs gradually; not all together in the same time period. The fact that Jews have returned to Israel and reestablished it as their land, is a clear example of prophecy fulfilled.