CLAIM: The OT predicts the regathering of Israel. Does this passage predict this?
RESPONSE: Jeremiah writes:
(Jer. 31:38-40 NASB) “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the city will be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39“The measuring line will go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40“And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD; it will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever.”
The final line is crucial, because God promises that the Jews will never be dispersed again after this time. This, of course, could not refer to the first regathering. In addition, John Walvoord comments, “It is predicted that Israel will return to the land and that Jerusalem will be built in a certain area which had formerly never been used for building purposes. It is remarkable that this precise area has been built into a portion of the modern city of Jerusalem in fulfillment of this prophecy.”[1] For a more complete case, see our earlier article, “The Regathering of Israel.”
[1] Walvoord, John F. Israel in Prophecy. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1978. 68.