But that doesn’t work for world history. Nations don’t give up their land because of ancient ordinances.”
“Exactly,” he replied. “So how could it happen? The land of Israel had been taken over by enemies of the Jewish people, one kingdom after the next, until it lay in the hands of the Ottoman Empire, an Islamic power that was not about to relinquish anything to the Jewish people. And they certainly weren’t observing the law of Jubilees. But the mystery applies to the entire world, to believer and unbeliever alike. The mystery causes all things, all events, even the rise and fall of kingdoms, to move in the course that will fulfill the appointed purposes. According to the ancient ordinance, the land must be released to its original owner. So the mystery must manifest one way or another.”
“So how did it happen?”
“Through the star of Bethlehem,” he said. “It all began in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem with a conflict between the Greek Orthodox and Latin clergies that oversaw the sanctuary. It involved a metal star that had mysteriously disappeared. The Russian government sided with the Orthodox clergy, while the Ottoman Empire, along with France, Britain, and Sardinia, sided with the Latin clergy. The conflict would lead to the Crimean War. The war would prove a turning point for the Ottoman Empire. In the course of the conflict, the empire would enter into massive loans with its European creditors, the first of several that would lead to financial disaster, bankruptcy. Two years after the end of the Crimean War, the sultan enacted the Ottoman Land Code. All land now had to be registered.”
“Why?”
“So it could be taxed,” he replied. “So he could raise money. It would open the door for the large-scale buying and selling of Ottoman land . . . including the Holy Land. But according to Ottoman law, no land could be sold to foreigners, those outside the empire.”
“But then how could it have any effect on the mystery?” I asked. “If the Jewish people were scattered throughout the world, they would be considered foreigners and wouldn’t be allowed to purchase land.”
“But the mystery,” said the Oracle, “ordains that the land must be transferred back to its original owner. So it must come about one way or another. The registration of the land didn’t solve the empire’s financial problems. And the situation was critical enough to cause the government to do something unprecedented. Nine years after the first land code, the empire enacted a new law, a new Ottoman Land Code—the land could now be purchased by foreigners.”
“Then the land could now be purchased by the children of Israel, by the Jewish people.”
“Exactly,” said the Oracle. “As in the Jubilee, those who occupy the land must release it . . . they must relinquish it. The land must return to its original owner. And so it would all happen as it was prophesied. The effect of the law would be almost unnoticeable at first. But in time it would change the history of the Middle East and the modern world. Jewish people would begin purchasing their ancient land, at times through third parties and unknown to the Ottoman authorities. When the authorities realized what was happening, they tried to stop it. They placed a ban on Jews buying land in Palestine. But the prophecy could not be stopped. The release of the land would continue nonetheless and would prepare the way for the return of the exiles.”
“And it only happened because of the Ottoman Land Code. And the Ottoman Land Code only happened because of the Ottoman debt. And the Ottoman debt only happened because of the European loans. And the European loans only happened because of the Crimean War. And the Crimean War only happened because of the missing star!”
“Yes,” said the Oracle, “all events are part of the mystery. The mystery doesn’t cause the events but causes all things to work together for the appointed purposes.”
“What about my vision? What did the man and the woman in the vineyard have to do with what you just told me? I don’t see it.”
“Because you’re only seeing it as a man and a woman. But what you saw was more than that. They were symbols. The man stood for the people of Israel; the woman, the land of Israel.”
“The woman was chained and in a cage . . . ”
“As the land of Israel was for ages held captive by its invaders. And as the woman was