Island Appears in Parched Sea of Galilee - Israel Today Staff

Island Appears in Parched Sea of Galilee

Thursday, September 08, 2016 |  Israel Today Staff

A new drought is in full swing in Israel, as evidenced by the plummeting water level of the Sea of Galilee, known locally as the Kinneret, which has resulted in the appearance of a large island near its southern shore.

The Galilee today stands some 4.5 meters (nearly 15 feet) below its optimal water level, and is fast approaching its “Black Line”, at which point it will suffer irreversible ecological damage, experts have warned in the past.

The deputy head of the Kinneret Authority told Israel’s Ynet news portal that “everyone needs to pray for a rainy winter.”

But meteorologists have already forecast below average rainfall in the coming months.

Indeed, Israel’s Water Authority bleakly predicted that “the worst is still before us.”

In other words, a miracle is in order.

And while this danger is lost on no one, some are pointing out that the drying up of the Sea of Galilee was foretold millennia ago, and could be connected to the coming of Messiah.

According to ancient Talmudic sage Rabbi Yehuda, “in the generation when the Son of David comes, the house of assembly will be for harlots, Galilee in ruins, Gablan [the rivers of the Golan] lie desolate.” (Sanhedrin 97a)

This prediction is tied to Isaiah 19:5, which reads: “And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be drained dry.”

In remarks to Breaking Israel News, Rabbi Yosef Berger, the rabbi of David’s Tomb in Jerusalem, explained that “the Talmud is full of signs that indicate the coming of the Messiah, and every single one of them is undeniably coming true.”

Watch video here: Sea of Galilee

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