In recent months, astonishing observations are being reported in the northern Dead Sea region. A land that for centuries was barren and dry, with no sign of life, is now lush and green and covered in flowers as prophesied in the Bible. What does it mean?
The Dead Sea is a salt lake, bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. It was in a cave on the West Bank, that two Bedouin shepherd boys discovered the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947, leading to the discovered of thousands of pages of text in other caves nearby. These were the oldest copies of the scriptures ever found. The discovery allowed scholars to compare the texts and authenticate modern Bible translations. They found that the scriptures had been remarkably well preserved, despite centuries of handwritten transcription and translation. The scrolls were found right before Israel was reestablished as an independent Jewish state in May of 1948. (Learn more at deadseascrolls.org).
Geographically, the Dead Sea region is the lowest point on earth. The shore is reportedly 1,412 feet below sea level. The sea itself contains nearly 10 times the salt of the ocean and therefore contains very little life, thus "The Dead Sea". The salt also inhibits plant life on the shores. Mark Twain, the famous author, toured the region in 1867 and reported that "there was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil, had almost deserted the country".
In the book of Genesis 13, the land is first mentioned. When Abram and Lot left Egypt, they settled at Bethel together. Eventually, disputes arose among their herdsmen and Abram made a suggestion:
And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. (Genesis 13: 8-12)Later, in Genesis 19, the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah is told. To sum it up, God turned the region into a wasteland:
Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; (Genesis 19:24)Skeptics believe the cities may have been destroyed by an earthquake between 2100 and 1900 B.C., since Jordan is located on the Syrian-African fault line in the Great Rift Valley. The region does have earthquakes from time to time, but the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because of wickedness and those who refuse to learn from history are destined to repeat it.
If the Bible's accounts of the past aren't convincing enough, it's prophecies should be. Prophecies are given as evidence of God's omniscience and also given to warn us. Out of love, God gives us fair warning, so we are without excuse and can never say, "Father, I didn't know!"
For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. Then shall they know that I am the LORD, when I have laid the land most desolate because of all their abominations which they have committed. (Ezekiel 33:28-29)
I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them. (Isaiah 42:8-9)
And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. (John 14:29)So we see that God is merciful and warns his people. We also see that those who chose to rebel and ignore the warnings were destroyed.
Through His prophets, He also foretold that flood waters would later bring life to the Dead Sea and heal the waters and the land surrounding it.
And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. (Ezekiel 47:9) *
And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be. (Zechariah 14:8) See also "living waters" in John 4:10 and John 7:38.Today, after thousands of years, sinkholes on the shores of the Dead Sea are filling with fresh water and fish. In 2011, scuba divers discovered huge craters on the seafloor, from which fresh water is flowing and replenishing the Dead Sea.
It is important to remember that when God makes a promise or a declaration, He doesn't forget it or change His mind. It is us who need to change our minds, repent, and submit to the will of our Father in Heaven.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:8)
So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)Another prophecy we appear to be seeing fulfilled today is the one in Isaiah 35.
The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God. (Isaiah 35:1-2)
In order to understand the meaning of a passage, we must turn back to the previous chapter, Isaiah 34, where God proclaims a warning to His enemies, using Edom as an example. It starts with this:
"Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood." (Isaiah 34:1-3)Historically, when a nation became exceedingly wicked to the point where God's patience was pushed to its limits, that nation was destroyed. In fact, in the Great Flood, everyone on the planet, except Noah and his family, were killed. The planet was purified of those who rejected God and did evil. So why is the wilderness "glad" in Isaiah 35??
The "wilderness", in Biblical terms, refers to a distant place and is often symbolic of being distant from God, or lost. Some other verses referring to the wilderness give us more contextual clues:
And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. (Deuteronomy 8:2)
He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. (Job 12:24)
Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. (Isaiah 32:15-16)Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. (Psalms 67:2-6)
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. (Psalms 96:11-13)Could the flowers by the Dead Sea mean the earth is rejoicing in anticipation of the return of Yeshua Messiah (Jesus Christ)?
More videos:
Dead Sea turned Red Sea with rare blossoms (March 12, 2020)
The Desert Blossoms (March 3, 2019)
The Dead sea is surrounded by newly emerged life (Feb. 23, 2020)
Browse the region on Google Maps:
Watch for the signs! Don't fall for the Anti-Christ and condemn your soul for eternity! Learn more in the previous post, The Seven Seals.
But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:18-19)