TM
Shalom Mishpochah (Family),
I was sent an attachment about this 12th
Century rabbi who made some predictions about Israel. I did a quick
search and found the following info. The source of this article is HERE. I
have copied and
pasted the graphic that tells the story in a snapshot below. This
picture is not in the link noted above. I have also attached the
document that was sent to me for your consideration.
12th-century rabbi predicted Israel's future
Now his prophecies about return of Messiah are being studied
JERUSALEM
– Judah Ben Samuel was a legendary and prolific German rabbi of the
12th century who made some astonishing and specific predictions about
the future of Jerusalem and Israel that came true.
Judah
Ben Samuel, also known as Judah he-Hasid (Judah the Pious), lived and
worked from the end of the 12th century until the beginning of the 13th
century in Regensburg, authoring a number of books in the German
language. Ludwig Schneider of Israel Today magazine
has translated some of his work into English over the last few years,
including “The Book of the Pious – Sefer Hasidim” and the “Book of
Calculations – Sefer Gematriyot.” Following the
Christian crusades to the Holy Land, between 1096-1270, a regular
correspondence developed between the Jews in the Holy Land and the
Christian West. Thus, for example, the rabbis in Worms and Regensburg in
Germany knew that Saladin’s Ayyubids had been ruling in the Holy Land
since 1187.
At
this time, Judah Ben Samuel published the results of his biblical
calculations (Gematria) and astrological observations and summarized as
follows: “When the Ottomans (Turks) – who were already a power to be
reckoned with on the Bosporus in the time of Judah Ben Samuel – conquer
Jerusalem they will rule over Jerusalem for eight jubilees. Afterwards
Jerusalem will become no-man’s land for one jubilee, and then in the
ninth jubilee it will once again come back into the possession of the
Jewish nation – which would signify the beginning of the Messianic end
time.” One jubilee is 50 years (Leviticus 25). It is the 50th year
after seven times seven years, the year in which each person should
regain ownership of his or her land. Ben Samuel’s calculations were
purely theoretical; there was absolutely no
sign at that time of their being fulfilled. He himself was not able to
experience their fulfillment, for it was only 300 years after his death
that the first of his predictions were to come true.
The
Mamluks, who had been reigning in Jerusalem since 1250, were conquered
in 1517 by the Ottoman Turks. They remained for eight jubilees (8 x 50 =
400 years), that is to say they were in Jerusalem for 400 years.
Exactly 400 years later, in 1917, the Ottoman Turks were conquered by
the British. The League of Nations conferred the Mandate for the Holy
Land and Jerusalem to the British. Thus, from 1917, under international
law, Jerusalem was no-man’s land. Then, when Israel captured Jerusalem
in the Six Day War of 1967, exactly one jubilee (50 years) after 1917,
Jerusalem reverted to Jewish-Israeli ownership once again. Thereby,
according to the prophecies of Judah Ben Samuel, the Messianic End Times
began.Many scholars have studied and made reference to Judah Ben
Samuel’s writings in an effort to understand how he
reached his conclusions. Among those referencing Ben Samuel were Rabbi
Isaac Ben Solomon Luria, a mystic dealing with the messianic world
(Jerusalem, 1531-1572, Safed); Joseph Solomon Delmegido (1591 Candia –
1655 Prague), a mathematician and astronomer (“Mazref le-Chochma”),
Azulai I (1724-1806), a famed bibliographer; Samuel David Luzzatto
(1800-1865), a Bible scholar; historian Heinrich Graetz (1817-1891); and
Torah scholar Jacob Epstein (1925-1993).
The
secret of how Judah the Pious arrived at such accurate predictions has
less to do with the actual calculations than it does with the fact that
he had consecrated his life to God. His pupils Rabbi Isaac ben Moses
(Vienna), Rabbi Baruch ben Samuel (Mainz) and Rabbi Simcha (Speyer)
testify that Ben Samuel was a model of abstinence and selflessness and
was awaiting with a burning desire the coming of the Messiah. Ben Samuel
was often called “Light of Israel.” Even bishops came to him for
advice. If anyone asked him where his wisdom came from he would answer,
“The prophet Elijah, who will precede the Messiah, appeared to me and
revealed many things to me and emphasized that the precondition for
answered prayer is that it is fueled by enthusiasm and joy for the
greatness and holiness of God.” But to recap the
astonishing predictions: In AD 1217 this scholarly and pious rabbi
prophesied that the Ottoman Turks would rule over the holy city of
Jerusalem for eight Jubilees. Now, keep in mind, he made this prediction
300 years before the Ottoman Turks seized control of Jerusalem in 1517.
If indeed 1217 and 1517 were jubilee years as Judah Ben Samuel
believed, then his prophecy was exactly right, because exactly 400 years
after the Turks took control of Jerusalem they were driven out of the
city and the holy land in 1917 by the Allied forces under the command of
General George Allenby – on Hanukkah, by the way. But it gets more
interesting still.
The
rabbi also prophesied that during the ninth Jubilee Jerusalem would be a
“no-man’s land.” This is exactly what happened from 1917 to 1967, due
to the fact that the Holy Land was placed under British Mandate in 1917
by the League of Nations and literally “belonged” to no nation. Even
after Israel’s war of independence in 1948-49, Jerusalem was still
divided by a strip of land running right through the heart of the city,
with Jordan controlling the eastern part of the city and Israel
controlling the western part of the city. That strip of land was
considered and even called “no-man’s land” by both the Israelis and the
Jordanians.It was not until the Six Day War in 1967 when the entire West
Bank of the Holy Land was conquered by the Israeli army that the whole
city of Jerusalem passed back into the
possession of Israel. So once again the prophecy made by the rabbi 750
years previously was fulfilled to the letter.
It
certainly would be significant if both 1917 and 1967 were Jubilee
years, considering the significance of what happened in Jerusalem on
those years. But it gets even more interesting, because Judah Ben Samuel
also prophesied that during the 10th Jubilee Jerusalem would be under
the control of the Jews and the Messianic “end times” would begin. If
he’s right, the 10th Jubilee began in 1967 and will be concluded in
2017. “The Bible should
be our standard for prophecy and interpretation of prophetic events,”
said Joseph Farah, editor and founder of WND, upon learning of Judah Ben
Samuel’s predictions in Israel Today. “But one cannot ignore what this 12th-century rabbi said and wrote. It’s well-documented. And I applaud Israel Today for bringing it to light. The implications of these predictions is staggering to say the least.”
This to me is yet one more witness that Yeshua is returning soon. HalleluYAH!!!
Shalom,
Eddie
Eddie
