Tony PearceI’m just going to read one more scripture, and we’ll skip over Jeremiah 30 and go to Zechariah 12, if you can. Zechariah 12 says,
The burden of the word of the Lord against Israel. Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 3 And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.
Zechariah 12.1-3
Here we have a remarkable prophecy given to Zechariah about the time before the Day of the Lord. He says that, at this time, something is going to happen which is going to cause all the nations of the earth to be gathered together against Jerusalem. And that Jerusalem is going to be a ‘burdensome stone’ (King James’ Translation Zechariah 12.3), a ‘heavy stone’. Jerusalem is a burdensome stone, a stone which is a weight upon the people of the earth.
Zechariah (6th century BC) is saying that the whole world is going to be concerned about Jerusalem. Do you see that happening today in Jerusalem?
The UN passes more resolutions on Jerusalem and Israel than on any other place in the world.
Jerusalem is the focus of attention of America, of Russia, of the European Union, of the Arab world, the Muslim world, and of course, supremely of Israel and of much of the Christian world who can see the biblical and historical significance of Jerusalem.
So, we have this situation in which Jerusalem is now under Israeli control. But the nations want that to change. They want to divide it so that it is part under Arab control, and part under Israeli control. Jerusalem the ‘burdensome stone, burdening all nations is going to lead to the final conflict and, in the course of that conflict, it says in verse 9 of Zechariah:
9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves.
Zechariah 12.9-14
Then, he continues in Chapter 13:
“In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.
Zechariah 13.1
One of the things I said at the beginning is that God blesses Israel when they’re in a right relationship with Him. If they’re not in a right relationship then, they’re actually not under God’s blessing. They have to get right with God.
“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:
3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.
4 “Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.
5 “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.
6 “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
8 “The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
9 “The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.
Deuteronomy 28.1-9
In the Old Testament, Israel had to repent and follow the Torah, keep the Commandments of God. However, we are not living in the days of the Torah now, we are living in the days of the New Covenant. If Israel wants to be blessed and wants to be under God’s protection, ultimately, they have got to come into the New Covenant through Yeshua / Jesus the Messiah.
2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?
Hebrews 2.2-4
Israel should
look on Me whom they pierced. mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
Zechariah 12.10
Who could that be? There is only one person who it could be: Yeshua / Jesus the Messiah. The one that has been pierced who the only Son, Son of God, who died for our sins.
Israel should look on Him and mourn for Him, mourn for their sins, mourn for the years of separation, and repent and believe in Jesus. Then, it says, a fountain will be opened for the House of David, for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness to be cleansed. This is how our sins are cleansed, this is how their sin is cleansed, by faith in Jesus, Jesus the Messiah.
So the preparation for the coming of the Lord is Israel’s repentance and turning to Yeshua the Messiah through the time of Great Tribulation which will come at the end of days.
Then, if you go to Zechariah 14, it says,
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming,
And your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.3 Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.
5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee
As you fled from the earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.Thus the Lord my God will come,
And all the saints with You.6 It shall come to pass in that day
That there will be no light;
The lights will diminish.
7 It shall be one day
Which is known to the Lord—
Neither day nor night.
But at evening time it shall happen
That it will be light.8 And in that day it shall be
That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them toward the eastern sea
And half of them toward the western sea;
In both summer and winter it shall occur.
9 And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
“The Lord is one,”
And His name one.
This is one of the amazing prophecies in the Hebrew scriptures describing the Day of the Lord which corresponds to the Second Coming of Jesus is going to come at a time when the armies of the world are gathered together against Jerusalem.
His feet are going to stand on the Mount of Olives which is outside Jerusalem to the East and he’s then going to take up his rule over Jerusalem and over the world.
He is going to come with the saints, that’s with you and me, and with all the saints down through the ages. That is, those who have been caught up in the rapture, and those who have died believing are going to come back with Jesus and rule and reign with Jesus during the thousand years when he reigns on the earth; something to look forward to.
And, the good news is that the victory is with the Lord. So, while you see all this stuff going on: Hamas wars, Islamic fundamentalism, violence, chaos, suffering on massive scales all over the earth, in the end, Jesus is going to come back and He is the only One who can put it right.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
Psalm 2:11-12
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.
Unfortunately, the governments, the UN, the religious leaders, basically, don’t have a clue. They can’t do anything about it, they can’t solve these problems. They can make proposals but the proposals won’t last.
O God, You have cast us off;
You have broken us down;
You have been displeased;
Oh, restore us again!
2 You have made the earth tremble;
You have broken it;
Heal its breaches, for it is shaking.
3 You have shown Your people hard things;
You have made us drink the wine of confusion.4 You have given a banner to those who fear You,
That it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah
5 That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and hear me.6 God has spoken in His holiness:
“I will rejoice;
I will divide Shechem
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
7 Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the helmet for My head;
Judah is My lawgiver.
8 Moab is My washpot;
Over Edom I will cast My shoe;
Philistia, shout in triumph because of Me.”9 Who will bring me to the strong city?
Psalm 60
Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Is it not You, O God, who cast us off?
And You, O God, who did not go out with our armies?
11 Give us help from trouble,
For the help of man is useless.
12 Through God we will do valiantly,
For it is He who shall tread down our enemies.
The only one who can bring the real peace is the one who made it in the first place, Yeshua / Jesus who made the peace through the blood of the cross by dying for us and rising from the dead to give us eternal life.
All these things are pointing to the Second Coming of Jesus. So, when you see these things beginning to happen, don’t panic and give up. Look up, lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near (Luke 21.28). Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem, pray for Israel that they too might be saved through faith in Jesus, amen.
Amen, praise the Lord. Lord we thank you for your word we thank you for the truth of your word pray that you bless your word and help us Lord to put it into practice and we do pray for the gain for Israel and for the people who are suffering at this time suffering all around the world different disasters and chaos and confusion Lord we pray that you’d have mercy and that many people in these last days would call upon the name of Jesus and find Salvation in your name, amen. Amen.
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