Leonard Nimoy's epitaph: 'Israel is a miracle'

Leonard Nimoy

WASHINGTON – As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes the case for his nation's security before Congress Tuesday, actor Leonard Nimoy is still speaking about the miracle of Israel in a movie he narrated not long before his death.

The movie, shown on television from coast to coast, is called "The Miracle of Israel," and connects the strange and seemingly supernatural events surrounding the Jewish state's founding and survival over the last 67 years.

"The Miracle of Israel" tells the story of the only nation in the history of the world that has maintained a national identity for centuries without a homeland. The documentary explores four ancient prophecies in light of modern events, including:

The establishment of the state of Israel in 1948
The re-gathering of the Lost Jewish Tribes to the homeland
The rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, and
Claims of the coming of the Jewish Messiah

The four miracles highlighted in the film are not only distinct threads woven into the fabric and seams of the Jewish people's survival and restoration, but some say they are proof of prophetic fulfillment that has and will continue to impact the world as it moves toward the Last Days, explain the filmmakers.

The birth of Israel as a nation in 1948 was more than just the fulfillment of a dream held across 1,900 years – it was the modern fulfillment of ancient Bible prophecy, claims the movie seen by millions of Americans through airtime purchased by the filmmakers who use it to promote the DVD version and other supportive material.

Get "The Miracle of Israel," narrated by Leonard Nimoy in one of his last professional acts.

Produced by the Miracle of Israel Foundation, the movie reminds viewers that the Bible promised that, although God would banish the Jewish people from their land because of disobedience, He would in the "latter days" bring them back and re-establish them in their land.

For the Jewish People, a quest for a Homeland that took almost 2,000 years was ended by a vote that took just three minutes. Although miraculous, it did not come without struggle, a struggle that continues to this day.

The history of Israel cannot be told apart from the modern miracle of God's re-gathering of His people, scattered to the four corners of the earth. This re-gathering began back in the 19th century as Jewish settlers, fueled by their faith and conviction, came back to the Land of their Fathers. They cleared the swamps and revived the language of Hebrew.

Before, during and immediately following the Holocaust, many European Jews tried to immigrate to Israel to escape death, but sadly the British, who ruled Palestine until 1948, turned them away. Many went back to Europe where they were killed while others ended up in internment camps, never making it to the Promised Land.

After 1948, however, the floodgates opened and millions of Jews have returned to their Land. Ancient Jewish communities, perhaps even those whose members may have been descendants of the "Lost Tribes" of Israel, have made aliyah (the Hebrew word meaning "returning to Israel") from such faraway places as China, India and Ethiopia. A new phenomenon is the sudden interest among many Latinos to recover their lost Jewish identity. Many believe they are descendants of Jews forced to leave Spain and later Portugal during the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th century. Recent advances in state-of-the-art DNA research can now confirm if, in fact, a person comes from Jewish descent.

The first Temple was built by David's son, Solomon, around 950 B.C. It was constructed according to the pattern of the tabernacle in the wilderness given to Moses to house the Ark of the Covenant.

According to archaeologists, scholars and historians, it was built on Mount Moriah, the site where Abraham offered Isaac to be sacrificed. It was later destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. and eventually rebuilt by the remnant that returned from captivity 70 years later.

Known as the Second Temple, it was later enlarged and beautified by Herod the Great during the latter part of the first century B.C. It was built on such a magnificent scale, it became one of the great wonders of the ancient world. The Temple was again destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., when they ransacked Jerusalem and burned the city to the ground.

During the 7th century, when Jerusalem was under the control of the Muslims, a mosque was built over what was thought to be the Holy of Holies. It remains there to this day.

The Temple Mount is hotly disputed and is perhaps the most valuable real estate in the world today. A movement has now emerged to rebuild the Temple again, and that movement is quickly gaining momentum.

The film makes the biblical case not only for the return of the Jewish people to the land, but also of spiritual restoration.

Get "The Miracle of Israel," narrated by Leonard Nimoy in one of his last professional acts.