Saturday, August 5, 2017

The Impossible Economy

How did the economy of Israel become so strong after almost 1800 years of decline?

After the Romans took control of the land of Israel, they were amazed with wealth that was there.  The main sources of wealth throughout the Roman Empire were agriculture products, mining, and trade.  However, the people of Israel who lived in the land of Israel maintained a very robust economy, despite several hindrances.

First, the people of Israel took every seventh day off, while most of the Roman world worked seven days a week.  They not only did not farm on the Sabbath, but they generally did not do any work at all.

Second, the people of Israel effectively took off about six weeks each year from farming to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate three Feasts of Truth (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles) each year.  These festivals all occurred during the agricultural season, while most of the Roman world had festivals between the end of one agricultural season and the beginning of the next agricultural season.

Third, the people of Israel neither reap nor sowed eight years out of every fifty.  (Every seventh year, the year of release, for forty nine years, and then the year of Jubilee in the fiftieth year.)  In fact, they generally did no work at all, other than what was necessary to sustain life, during those eight years.

Fourth, the land of Israel generally lacked any notable mines.  Whatever metals that may have been present in the past had been mined out long before the Romans showed up.

So, considering that the people of Israel were only working about half as many days as possible at the first main source of wealth, and that the land of Israel lacked the second main source of wealth, poverty seemed certain.  Yet, the people of Israel had tremendous wealth in the land of Israel.

In fact, the land of Israel produced so much wealth that Herod the Great, and his descendants, were able to maintain building projects that rivaled those of Rome.  They built an entire miniature Rome, called Caesarea.  In fact, they built several of these miniature Romes in the land of Israel.  One of them, located on the Mediterranean coast, lacked any kind of natural harbor, so they built a large harbor for it.

They also built extensive fortresses, palaces, and resorts throughout the land of Israel.  They created one of the most comprehensive road systems in the entire Roman Empire.  They even beautified other cities outside of the land of Israel as an act of friendship to nearby Roman providences and client kingdoms.

Most impressive of all, were the efforts started by Herod the Great to expand and beautify the Temple in Jerusalem.  He had a giant retaining wall, using the largest corner stone ever used, to level and expand the Temple complex platform to over thirty five acres.  It was the largest religious complex ever erected, about twenty times larger than the Temple of Dianna in Ephesus.  Over 300,000 people could assemble in the outer court at one time.  This made it tie with the Circus Maximus in Rome as the largest assembly structure in history.

The walls of the Temple were decorated with some of the most costly stones in the world.  The Temple far surpassed anything else in the world for beauty and magnificence.  The Temple literally took the breath away of some people when they saw it for the first time, causing them to pass out.

Hundreds of thousands of people per year, including many foreigners, were constantly employed for almost a hundred years in these building projects.  All of this was financed by taxes laid upon the people of Israel in the land of Israel, and the Gentiles who lived among them.  These projects, that rivaled anything in Rome, were financed without the benefit of tributary, wealth seized in war, or taxes collected from other providences, that financed the building projects of Rome. These internally financed building projects were visual evidence of the tremendous power of the economy in the land of Israel under Herod the Great, and his successors.  There was no doubt that the land of Israel was a land of great wealth.

One reason was the location of the land of Israel was perfect for trade.  The coast on the Mediterranean Sea gave the people of Israel trade with most of the Roman Empire that encompassed this sea.  The position of it on the eastern edge of the Roman Empire gave them to access to the Parthian Empire to the east.  It were also the main connection between the Arabs to the southeast and the rest of the Roman Empire.  It also was connected the inland portions of the Roman Empire of Asia.  Lastly, it was connected to Egypt, which was connected to a large portion of Africa that was south of the Roman Empire.

Another reason was the tourist industry in Jerusalem.  The Temple brought in people from across the Roman Empire and far outside of it to Jerusalem for the three Feasts of Truth each year.  Jews and proselytes from as far away as China and southern Africa came to these festivals.  In fact, there was usually a higher influx in the years of release and the Year of Jubilee.  While Rome had a sizable tourist industry as well, almost all of the tourists were internal to the Roman Empire.  The providence of Judaea brought in far more wealth from external tourism than any other providence in the Roman Empire.

Lastly, the land of Israel produced an amazing amount of agricultural products, due to the rest that the Jews gave it during those eight years of out of every fifty years, when the land was not farmed.

However, all of that wealth began to evaporate when the Great Revolt began in 66 AD, since large scale war tends to be hard on agriculture, disruptive to trade, and bad for tourism.  When the Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 AD, it brought an end to most of the tourism.  The majority of tourists had been Jews making pilgrimage to worship at the Temple.

After the Great Revolt ended, there was still wealth created from agriculture and trade.  The land of Israel still produced abundantly.  It was still a convenient connecting point that was close to the geographical center of the Old World.  So, trade continued as long as peace prevailed.

This all changed when Bar Kochba began his revolt in Modi'in in 132 AD.  The infrastructure that facilitated trade was destroyed during the revolt.  When the Jews were expelled from Judaea in 135 AD, business connections between these Jews and Jews outside of the Roman Empire were severed.  The wealth from trade left the land of Israel with the people of Israel.

The land of Israel began a long and steady decline in agriculture at this time as well, particularly since it stopped receiving both the early and latter rain each year, that was vital for growing crops.  Agriculture was no longer a source of wealth in the land of Israel after the Jews were expelled in 135 AD.

The economy improved some after the Byzantine Empire took control of the land of Israel in 390 AD.  They allowed Jews to move back into the land of Israel, except for Jerusalem, and those Jews began to once again establish business connections with Jews to the east.  The land of Israel still produced enough agriculture products to sustain a fairly large population, so at least it was not a net food importer at this time.

The Byzantine Empire also created a booming "Holy Land" tourism business that partially replaced some of the income lost from the Temple pilgrimages.  Still, the economy of the land of Israel was no where near as wealthy as had been before Judaea was destroyed by the Romans.

Then the Arab Caliphates took control in 636 AD.  The Jews began evacuating the land of Israel to move to places like Khazaria, severely damaging trade. The "Holy Land" business also came to a grinding halt.

So in 691 AD, the Arab Caliphate built the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount during the Second Fitna, to bring an end to unrest caused by Arabs being radicalized after going to Mecca for the Haj.  This did not bring in near as much tourism from Arabs as had been hoped, so the Arab Caliphates went back to allowing Christians back into the Holy Land for pilgrimages.  This brought in much more business than the Dome of the Rock pilgrimages, but was still below that of the Byzantines.  They also eased up on the Jews to put end to the continual downward trend in trade that came from lost business relationships as Jews left the land of Israel.  Still, the economy was never near as good as it had been under the Byzantines.

Then around 1000 AD, there came a large increase in violence against the Christian pilgrims.  Needless to say, this really hurt the "Holy Land" tourism business and the economy went down further.

Finally, the Crusaders took control of the land of Israel in 1099 AD to restore the "Holy Land" business, killing virtually everyone they found, including Jews and other Christians.  This caused almost all of the remaining Jews to leave the land of Israel.  They did much more damage to the land of Israel with their scorched earth policy. So, the land of Israel became dependent upon the import of agricultural products in order for people to live there.  There was also the constant problem of continual warfare with the Arab Caliphates and Ayyubid Sultanate that pretty much blockaded trade from anywhere other than Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.

However, the Crusaders did manage to bring the "Holy Land" tourism business to new highs, even though they brought a complete end to the "Dome of the Rock" tourism business.  Still, the economy of the land of Israel never reached back to the levels that it had enjoyed under the Arab Caliphates.

Then the Ayyubid Sultanate filled the land with destruction when they invaded in 1187 AD.  This brought about an end to the "Holy Land" tourism business, but restored the "Dome of the Rock" tourism business.  It also brought an end to trade with Europe, which had became the main source of trade for the land Israel.  However, it did revive part of the trade with the east, the Arabs, and Egypt.  So the economy in the land of Israel reached even lower levels than it had experienced under the Crusaders.

Then the Mamluk Sultanate invaded in 1260 AD and engaged in a war of conquest that lasted for more than thirty years.  Needless to say, this disrupted the "Dome of the Rock" tourism business and trade.  It also increased the amount of net imports of the agricultural products into the land of Israel as this war devastated farms across the land.  Even after the conquest was over, the damage remained for centuries.  So the economy of the land of Israel became even worse than it had been under the care of the Ayyubid Sultanate.

When the Ottoman Empire took control of the land of Israel in 1517 AD, they found that the economy of the land of Israel was a constant drain on their own economy.

So they attempted to re-establish the "Holy Land" tourism business by allowing Christian religious professionals to operate various holy sites, mostly in Jerusalem.  They hoped that this would offset the downturn in the "Dome of the Rock" tourism business that resulted from their possession of Jerusalem.  They made immigration into the land of Israel more open to Sephardic Jews, especially Spanish Jews who sought to move there after being expelled from Spain in 1492.  They hoped that this Jews would turn the land of Israel into the center of trade among Jews throughout the world, so they could tax the profits.  They encourage Arabs to move in and become sharecroppers, known as "fellahs", while they retained ownership of the land of Israel.

Despite their best efforts, the economy of the land of Israel only grew worse.  They found it increasingly difficult to find fellahs willing to farm most of the land of Israel, since the farms often did not even produce enough to keep the family of a fellah fed.  The Christians in Europe had largely lost interest in "Holy Land" tours and were more interested in exploring the New World.  The Jews who moved into the land of Israel were often cut off from other Jews, and so were not able to create any business connections in the land of Israel.  They also were often retired, and came to live out their last days there.

In fact, the economy of the land of Israel became so bad, the Ottoman Empire could get almost no one to live there.  The land of Israel eventually became a 99% food importer, had virtually no trade, since it was bypassed by traders going to Arabia to connect to Egypt by ships, and almost no tourists for either the "Holy Land" or the "Dome of the Rock" tourist businesses.

The mostly Sephardic Jews who had been coming into the land of Israel, had only been able to remain there due to halukka sent by external Jewish groups.  Halukka was charitable gifts collected for the express purpose of maintaining a Jewish prescence in the land of Israel.  This halukka, and similar money sent to Christian and Muslim religious professionals, who maintained the various holy sites, became the sole positive economic active in the land of Israel.  In essence, the land of Israel had a negative GDP (Gross Domestic Product) for almost six hundred years.

However, the first seeds of economic improvement were planted by Christian Zionist missionaries after their arrival in 1840 AD.  Since most of their support came from England and the United States, the ships that brought them support were at the mercy of the weather.  There was also the unpredictability of donations, since their donors were subject to the economy of the nation that they lived in.

So perhaps out of necessity, they began creating small farms in the Galilee near streams and the Sea of Galilee that used modern irrigation techniques.  This allowed them to not be completely dependent upon charitable donations to remain in the land to continue their work.  These farms were the first real improvement in the agricultural business of the land of Israel in about 1200 years.

This was the state of the economy when Mark Twain visited Jerusalem in 1867 AD.

Then in 1870 AD, the Ashkenazi Jews began returning to the land of Israel.  Their inspiration to bring about Jewish economic self-dependence in the land of Israel was boosted by the limited success of the Christian Zionist missionaries in self-sustaining farms.  So that same year, Mikveh Israel was opened to teach arriving Ashkenazi Jews how to create self-sustaining farms throughout the land of Israel.  Then in 1881 AD, Hovevei Zion was established to teach arriving Ashkenazi Jews how to create self-sustaining farming communities.  The next year, Rishon LeZion was founded as the first such community.

These Ashkenazi Jews brought with them business connections as well.  Many of them had connections with prominent Jewish families, like the Rothschilds, who helped them establish trade with European and American businesses.  More importantly, they had an little known champion of their cause in America named William Blackstone.

In 1891 AD, William Blackstone presented a petition to the president of the United States for America to give support to the Ashkenazi Jews immigrating into the land of Israel called the Blackstone Memorial.  Prominent Christian Zionist business men like J. D. Rockefeller, J. P. Morgan, Cyrus McCormick, and others were among those who signed this petition.

When the president refused to grant the request of the petition, these American business men began working with Jewish business men and Jewish organizations in America to help Ashkenazi Jews become economically self-sufficient in the land of Israel.  Christian Zionist business men in America were instrumental in helping Ashkenazi Jews in the land of Israel create a strong economy.  They helped these Ashkenazi Jews expand their trade to include not just Europe, but also America.  They also helped these Ashkenazi Jews create a new infrastructure in the land of Israel to expand trade into new markets with new exports beyond agricultural products.

Their efforts helped establish the first bank in the land of Israel in 1902 AD.  They also sought to give grants, lend loans, and make investments to help create industries in the land of Israel.

However, the Ottoman Empire soon made industrialization in the land of Israel almost impossible.  This empire began to put up roadblocks to expansion of the economy in the land of Israel.  The land of Israel was largely limited to having an agriculture based economy.

So, as new Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants moved in, the first kibbutz was established in 1909 AD, which brought about crops raised mainly for export.

Then the British gained control of the land of Israel in 1918 AD, and the industrial revolution came to the land of Israel.

In 1920 AD, Ashkenazi Jews began creating the first factories in the land of Israel.  They also created the first labor union in the land of Israel that same year.

In 1921 AD, new Mizrahi Jewish immigrants created the first Moshav for growing even more agricultural products for export.  Around this time, the agricultural sector of the economy grew so strong that the land of Israel became a net food exporter.  This growth was only diminished when the British Mandate in 1923 AD restricted how much land that new immigrants could buy from Arabs for farming.

So many of the Jews turned to living in cities and working in factories, which raised their earnings.  That same year, the first electric company was founded in Jaffa by an Ashkenazi Jew, Pinhas Rutenberg, with help from Winston Churchill, another Christian Zionist.  So in 1924 AD, the first trade fair was held in Tel-Aviv.  The economy in the land of Israel had gained a new segment - manufacturing.

The Great Depression did not stop this revolution.

In 1930 AD, Moshe Novomeyski, an Ashkenazi Jew, started mining potash from the Dead Sea, thanks to the help of Thomas Tulloch, who came from a long line of Christian Zionists.  This was the first known mining operation in the land of Israel since before the Roman Empire.  The mining segment of the economy was back from the dead.

The first textile plant in the land of Israel was established in 1934 AD. This soon lead to more than eighty other factories in the textile industry developing within three years time.

In 1935 AD, the first stock exchange began operations.  In 1937 AD, the first commercial airline began regular flights.  The financial and services segments of the economy were growing as well.

Then the nation of Israel was born again in 1948 AD, and all of the foreign restrictions on economic growth were lifted.  By this time, Israel had shifted from an agriculture based economy to a manufacturing based economy, with more than 250 Jewish owned factories operating in the land of Israel.

When the nation of Israel regained control of the city of Jerusalem in 1967 AD, they were finally able to revive the "Holy Land" tourism business by providing a safer environment for tourists.  They were also able to facilitate significant growth in the "Dome of the Rock" tourism business through a policy of religious tolerance.  Finally, they were able to grow a new "Diaspora" tourism business that targeted Jews living in the Diaspora.

The nation of Israel then signed a peace treaty with Egypt in 1978 AD, and revitalized trade with Africa through Egypt for the first time since 1882 AD.  Israel also signed a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994 AD, that reopened trade with much of the east again.

Today, the economy of Israel is one of the twenty strongest in the world.  It is ranked as the most durable economy in the world.  It has a standard of living on par with countries like Australia.  It has achieved the "Very Highly Developed" status, the highest status available, in the UN Human Development Index, and is the only country in the Middle East to have reached this status.  It is also the only country entirely in the Middle East that is a member of the OECD.  It has signed free trade agreements with every country in Europe, and North America, along with Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey.

Israel fills the markets of the world with its agricultural products.  It is the worlds largest exporter of cut diamonds.  It is one of the top tourist destinations in the world. It is a supplier to most major retailers in America.

Israel has one of the most robust real estate markets on Earth.  It has one of the strongest financial sectors on Earth.  It is also a world leader in the medical sector and in pharmaceuticals.  It is a top exporter of military equipment.  It has a promising future in alternative energy sources.  It ranks first in supply of skilled labor.
 
Israel has progressed to a technology based service economy from a manufacturing based economy, like the United States.  It has the second most innovative economy in the world.  It has the second most prosperous Information Technology hub in the world, the Silicon Wadi, that is second only to the Silicon Valley of the United States.  Intel, Apple, Microsoft, and Google all have major research centers in Israel.  It is number one in the world for research and development investments.  It is also second only to the US in venture capital for technology investments.

The TASE (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange) has had the third highest number of Initial Public Offerings (IPO).  Israel is the foreign country with the second highest prescence in the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange).  It is the number one foreign investment country for US billionaires like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Donald Trump.

The economy of Israel has been taken off life support and returned as one of the strongest economies in the world.

The impossible has happened.

How could have all of this happened?

This is the work of the Greatest Zionist.

The Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) has caused the economy of Israel to grow strong after about 1800 years of decline (Isaiah 60:17).  He has caused Israel to become so wealthy that the nations around it will invade Israel to gain that wealth (Ezekiel 38:8-13).

The Father of Truth has been causing the Jews to have plenty in the land of Israel (Deuteronomy 30:9).  He has been bringing the Jews into a wealthy place after their years of affliction living among the Gentiles (Psalm 66:10-12).  He has caused the wealth that the Jews created while they were scattered among the Gentiles to return to the land of Israel with them (Isaiah 60:8-9).

The Father of Truth has been causing the agricultural segment of the economy to increase again (Psalm 85:12).

The Father of Truth has been creating a robust real estate market in a land where nobody wanted to live in (Jeremiah 32:44).  He has been causing prosperity to return to the land of Israel (Jeremiah 33:7-9).  He has been bringing prosperity to the land of Israel so the Jews could rebuild their ancient cities (Zechariah 1:17).  He has been bringing prosperity to the land of Israel, so the Jews can live there (Zechariah 8:11-15).

The Father of Truth does not just want to make the impossible happen concerning the prosperity of Israel, but He wants to make the impossible happen concerning your prosperity.  He wants you to come into the House of Truth, and learn to be prosperous.

Like the economy of Israel, the Father of Truth wants you to learn how to keep His commandments so you can prosper (Deuteronomy 29:9).  He wants you to learn how to carry out the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) in the way He intended, so you can have good success in everything (Joshua 1:7-8).  He wants you to walk in all of His ways, so you can prosper in everything that you do (1 Kings 2:3).  Doing what He commands is the key to prosperity (1 Chronicles 22:13).

Like the economy of Israel, the Father of Truth wants you to ask Him for advice, so you can prosper (Judges 18:5).  He wants you to believe what He has spoken through the Prophets, so you can prosper (2 Chronicles 20:20).  He wants you to delight in keeping His commandments, so you can prosper (Psalm 1:1-3).  He wants you to seek Him for the peace of Jerusalem, so you can prosper (Psalm 122:6-8).

Like the economy of Israel, the Father of Truth is delighted to prosper those who serve Him (Psalm 35:27).  He wants you to come into the House of Truth and prosper (3 John 1:2-4).

Like the economy of Israel, the Father of Truth gives those who come into the House of Truth the power to gain wealth, so His covenant can be established in the Earth (Deuteronomy 8:18).  He wants to teach you how to profit (Isaiah 48:17).  He alone can cause you to gain a profit every time (James 4:13-15).

Like the Apostles of Truth, the Father of Truth wants you to have something better than silver or gold, so His covenant can be established in the Earth (Acts 3:6-26).  The Father of Truth gave something much greater than silver or gold - the precious blood of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) - so you could come into the House of Truth (1 Peter 1:18-19).

The Man of Truth became poor so you could become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).  He is the means for you to come into the House of Truth, so the Father of Truth can take care of your every need (Philippians 4:19).

The Father of Truth does not mind you having riches as long as you put your trust in Him, instead of your riches (1 Timothy 6:17)  He wants you to come into the House of Truth to have true riches, and not just temporary riches that you will one day either lose or leave behind (Revelation 3:17-19)..  

For it is impossible for those who put their trust in riches to come into the House of Truth (Mark 10:23-25).  So, the Father of Truth does not want riches to deceive you from remaining in the House of Truth (Matthew 13:22).  Loving money will cause you to leave the House of Truth (1 Timothy 6:10).

What good would it do you to be the richest person on Earth, if you lose your life in the Chamber of Horrors for eternity (Matthew 16:26)?

So, you only need to be rich enough to carry out will of the Father of Truth for your life (Proverbs 30:7-9).  This is true prosperity (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

You come into the House of Truth by putting the Man of Truth in charge of everything in your life, including your money, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised Him from the dead, to experience true prosperity (Romans 10:9).  You will never be deceived into leaving the House of Truth, if you will put your trust in the Father of Truth, because He raised the Man of Truth from the dead (1 Peter 1:20-21).  The Father of Truth has unspeakable riches stored up for those who remain in the House of Truth (Revelation 21:18-27).

Come into the House of Truth!

Labels: , ,