Isaiah 11:11-12 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 who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea. He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.
Jeremiah 31:37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
Song of Solomon 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
In 70 AD Jerusalem finally fell to the mighty Roman army led by Titus after a long siege. To commemorate the Roman victory over the Jewish rebellion, an arch was erected in Rome known to this day as the Arch of Titus. This famous arch depicts the fall of the Temple and its artifacts paraded in a processional described by the historian Josephus’ in his account, “The Jewish War.”
The arch of Titus stands to this day, as a horrific monument to the defeat of the Jewish people. Yet history and God have a way of inverting such things since when the nation of Israel was reborn in 1948, the exact depiction of the Menorah on the arch of Titus was used as a symbol of Israel’s rebirth.
While the Roman empire has long been vanquished, the nation of Israel has remained and been resurrected despite utter defeat and decimation. How could this tiny nation survive 2,000 years of dispersion and persecution? A promise (Jeremiah 31) and a prophetic sign are indicated by this “banner to the nations” of Isaiah 11.
And just as the symbol of the menorah on the Roman victory arch has been resurrected to symbolize Israel’s rebirth, this little nation of Israel is also a banner and a sign for us. Israel is a monumental marker indicating our time in history (God’s story) and the absolute surety of God’s promises. Her resurrection signals the time of the end, the last of the Last Days, and the soon coming of Messiah for His Bride.
The Roman empire expressed terrible power and pretension with persecution and plunder, appearing victorious for a season. In these days of the final “Beast” system, the enemy of our souls is also marching, triumphantly corrupting culture and government and destroying righteous foundations. Persecution of God’s saints is increasing greatly, and we may need serious endurance. But we also have a “banner.” His banner over us is love, which endures all things and never fails.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]People often ask me why I so enjoy Shabbat and the rest it affords and why I preach on it so often. Some people think it’s a “legalistic” attitude, but actually, I’m simply being relational. They need to remember that our relationship with the Lord Yeshua is bridal; it’s a marital relationship. [; ; ]
This story is such a powerful illustration of testing and faith that I can’t help but speak about it over and over again. How the Lord could sleep in a boat in a violent storm speaks volumes about His own self-confidence and His natural capacity to disappear from the scene so He can check how well His disciples have apprehended His miraculous power, and really trust Him. He doesn’t spare them one tiny bit from the sense of real and imminent danger. The storm is ferocious, the waves gigantic, the boat really is being overwhelmed with water, nearly swamped, the situation truly is life-threatening, and He’s out, quietly refreshing Himself in dreamland.
During the past two weeks, I’ve received numerous emails responding to our understanding of Israel in the Bible, clearly indicating a need for a more comprehensive explanation of my point of view. This will require a bit more space than …
Yeshua (Jesus) is described as the “image of the invisible God” [; ], that is, God, manifesting Himself in a visible, tangible form, a human form in whom dwells all the fullness of Deity [; ; ], equal with God before Creation [; ], but choosing to be emptied of His glory for the purpose of incarnating as a flesh and blood human being on Earth; [].
Among the mighty men of David were those of the tribe of Issachar whose special gift was their understanding of the times, a gift of prophetic insight; and this was such a precious gift because included in their discernment was the ability to know how to apply it. In our time prophecy is everywhere. Yeshua (Jesus) warned us that there would be false prophets in the last days, especially approaching His second coming, and He said the prophecy would be so subtle and the false signs so powerful that even the elect might be deceived if that were possible; [Mt. 24:24] While it’s clear to many of us that we’re living in prophetic days, there are also millions who have no clue of the current times and seasons.
Have you ever considered why Abraham was called the father of faith? Why not Enoch, who was translated from this world? Or Noah, who by faith created an ark to save mankind in the days of the flood? Abraham didn’t perform any miracles, signs, or wonders, which would qualify him by today’s standards of spiritual performance, yet he is known as the Father of Faith, simply because he trusted in the Kingdom to come.
Last week, we discussed the significance of Jerusalem in the culmination of the age. Here, we’ll continue to scratch that surface. The word “Jerusalem” is so rich with meaning that a single devotion will only begin to unpack it; there are so many etymological approaches. But most agree that the root letters at the end, שלם (shalem) spell a Hebrew word requiring numerous English words to fully comprehend including, “perfect”, “complete”, “sound”, “whole”, “harmony”, “peace”, etc. In addition, the concept of payment is present, as לשלם (leshalem), “to pay”, also suggests “reward”.