The State of Israel represents only a part of the ancient Israel, specifically the remains of the southern Kingdom of Judah, while the northern ten tribes of the Kingdom of Israel have been scattered across Western Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australia. These modern descendants of the Israelites, including both Israel and Judah, face a shared enemy in radical Islam, though many in these nations do not recognize the threat, except for modern-day Judah, which has been fighting for its existence since 1947. God will ultimately prevail, as prophecies indicate that scattered Israel will be regathered in the Promised Land, and Israel and Judah, whatever remnant remains, will be united once again with true worship of God restored to them. However, a remnant of Israel will be saved and brought through the time of Jacob's Trouble, with only those who turn to God and repent being spared. This remnant suggests that few will see the need for repentance, and it is estimated that perhaps only ten percent of greater Israel may survive. God will determine the exact number, knowing the hearts and works of His people, and the spiritual condition of these nations will decide their fate, not military strength.

God's determined purpose is to regather and restore the remnant of Israel, bringing them back to the Land of Promise after a period of scattering and punishment for their sins. In Isaiah 11:11, the Lord sets His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from lands like Assyria and Egypt, providing a highway for their return as He did during the Exodus. Jeremiah 16:14-15 emphasizes this regathering, declaring that the Lord will bring Israel back from the north and all lands of exile to the land given to their fathers, surpassing even the memory of their deliverance from Egypt. Restoration, distinct yet closely linked to regathering, involves God bringing Israel back into His favor. This includes a singular act of atonement, as Zechariah 3:9 states that God will remove the iniquity of the land in one day, and a gradual process of increasing Israel's wealth and prestige among nations, as described in Isaiah 60:10-11, where foreigners build their walls and kings minister to them. Punishment precedes restoration, with Jeremiah 16:18 noting that God will punish Israel in full for their sins before restoring them. In the context of Jacob's trouble, a time of unparalleled tribulation as depicted in Jeremiah 30:5-7, God promises salvation and restoration for Israel. Jeremiah 30:3 affirms that God will bring back His people from captivity to possess the land of their fathers. This restoration includes breaking the yoke of oppression and establishing service to the Lord and David their king, as seen in Jeremiah 30:8-9, while God's fierce anger falls on the wicked in the latter days. Moses, in Deuteronomy 30:1-3, introduces the future regathering and restoration of scattered Israel, speaking to both immediate listeners and their descendants. When Israel reflects on the blessings and curses in captivity, God will have compassion, gather them from all nations, and prosper them more than their fathers, as stated in Deuteronomy 30:5-6, circumcising their hearts to love Him fully. This spiritual transformation, further elaborated in Ezekiel 36:26-27, involves God giving a new heart and spirit, ensuring obedience through His Spirit. Ezekiel 37:21-22 speaks of God gathering Israel from among the nations, making them one nation under one king, no longer divided. A covenant of peace, everlasting in nature, will be established, with God's sanctuary among them forever, as noted in Ezekiel 37:26-27. Despite this promise, rebellion persists in some, and Ezekiel 20:38 declares that God will purge rebels from among the regathered, preventing their entry into the land of Israel to maintain its holiness. God's plan extends beyond regathering and restoration to a worldwide mission. In Ezekiel 48:30-35, the city's gates, named after Israel's tribes, are seen as exits, metaphorically suggesting a going out to spread God's word. Isaiah 27:6 envisions Israel taking root, blossoming, and bearing fruit that covers the earth, indicating a global impact. Christ, as a shepherd in Jeremiah 31:10 and Ezekiel 37:24, leads His flock, potentially out of the land to preach the gospel, mirroring the New Testament model of going out to all nations, as in Matthew 28:19. Israel's role in God's salvific work, as Psalm 74:12 states, is to bring salvation throughout the earth. Restored Israel, under the New Covenant, will carry the gospel to all peoples, fulfilling God's promise to Abraham that all families of the earth will be blessed through him. Isaiah 2:3 captures this dual movement of going out to teach God's ways and drawing people to Zion, where the law and word of the Lord go forth from Jerusalem.

God may temporarily forsake those laden with sin, as seen when the Father forsook His Son on the cross after humanity's sins were placed upon Him, yet He desires to show mercy, restore favor, and ultimately grant glory rather than utter rejection. This principle extends to physical Israel and Judah, who repeatedly forsook the covenant; in response, God sent wrath, rejection, and dispersion, as recorded in Jeremiah and Lamentations, leaving the people in despair and crying out for restoration. Nevertheless, God acts for His name's sake to uphold His reputation, fulfill His promises, and bring His plan to fruition, initiating repentance and return even when the people do not seek Him. Prophecies in Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah therefore declare that a remnant of all Israel will be gathered from the north country, the west, the coastlands, and the ends of the earth, brought back to the land in a second exodus under Messiah's rule. This remnant is not lost to God, who knows each individual and marks them amid the nations; the tribes remain extant, populous, and identifiable through scriptural clues pointing to northwest Europe and their colonies. Jesus and the apostles were sent specifically to these lost sheep of the house of Israel, confirming their continued existence centuries after the Assyrian captivity. The broader message ties this restoration to God's unchanging character and covenant faithfulness: though Israel forsook Him and suffered the curses, He will not ultimately abandon His people but will turn the vast majority back to Himself so that all Israel will be saved, fulfilling the promise that He will never leave or forsake those He has called while extending the same redemptive purpose to the scattered remnant in the end time.

God will save a remnant of Israel during the time of Jacob's trouble rather than making a complete end of the people. This remnant will be restored to serve the Lord their God with David raised up as their king. In the symbolic division of punishment, a small number bound in the edge of the garment represent this remnant. Some among them receive protection while others taken from the garment face further judgment. Those who escape the sword among the nations remember the Lord in their captivity. They loathe themselves for their adulterous hearts and idolatrous eyes and recognize that He is the Lord who brought the calamity upon them. This very small group, after passing through the worst of the scattering, captivity, and affliction, finally turns to Him. God preserves such a remnant from the beginning to ensure He has a people with whom to work once the punishment has refined their attitude and prepared them to fulfill their covenant promises.

God's dealings with Israel reveal a consistent distinction between the physical nation as a whole and a righteous remnant within it chosen through divine election. This separation emerges from the patriarchs onward, as God works selectively through Isaac rather than Ishmael and through Jacob rather than Esau, demonstrating that physical descent alone does not determine standing before Him. The remnant consists of those called according to promise, set apart by God's sovereign choice rather than human works or lineage. This pattern appears throughout Israel's history. After the nation's repeated rebellions against the covenant, the prophets show that most Israelites turned to idolatry and lawlessness, resulting in exile and loss of identity for the northern tribes. A smaller group, however, remained faithful. Psalm 94 portrays this remnant as the oppressed righteous who receive God's instruction and inner peace amid national turmoil, confident that He will not ultimately forsake His inheritance even while judging the majority. Paul develops the same distinction in Romans 9. He affirms Israel's unique privileges yet insists that not all who are of Israel are Israel. The children of the promise form the true seed, and God's election creates an Israel within Israel. This remnant, prepared beforehand for glory, includes both Jews and Gentiles whom God calls by mercy. Physical Israel's widespread rejection of the Messiah served God's purpose by allowing the formation of this elect group, the Israel of God under the New Covenant. The remnant's existence ensures that God's word has not failed. Through it He preserves a seed that will ultimately vindicate His righteousness and extend mercy to the broader nation, showing that His long-term plan works for good despite apparent setbacks.

The prophecy of Amos, bearing a message of doom and destruction to Israel, also holds a glimmer of hope for a remnant of the nation. Although God declares, 'Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth; yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,' says the LORD (Amos 9:8), He will show mercy to a few and spare a remnant of Joseph (Amos 5:15). This remnant, a small representative of the original whole, is likened to a scrap of cloth or a pinch of hair hidden away (Ezekiel 5:1-4), a mere fraction compared to the vastness of the entire nation (Isaiah 10:22; 6:13). Historically, after Assyria conquered and enslaved Israel in 721-718 BC, many survivors were resettled in distant lands such as Halah, by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes (II Kings 17:5-6). Few, if any, returned to the Promised Land, instead migrating north and west into Europe and beyond (Isaiah 43:5-6; 49:12; Jeremiah 3:12, 18; 31:8; Zechariah 2:6; 8:7). The prophesied return of this remnant remains in the future, where they will come back to the land of Israel as a beaten, broken, and humbled people, having endured great suffering at the hands of captors worldwide (Jeremiah 31:8-9; Micah 4:6). Through their trials, they will understand their forsaking of God and His way of life, becoming ready to listen and obey His instructions (Isaiah 10:22; Zephaniah 3:13) and to reap the benefits of following Him (Isaiah 37:31; Zechariah 8:4-8, 11-15). God will sift the house of Israel among all nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, ensuring that not the smallest grain shall fall to the ground (Amos 9:9). In this process, the grain that passes through represents those who will be saved, while the pebbles caught in the sieve are those who will be destroyed for their complacency and denial of impending calamity (Amos 9:10). Despite the severe punishments of war, famine, pestilence, captivity, slavery, and exile, God desires a bountiful, happy life for His people, using these calamities as a final effort to turn them back to Him.