MASADA WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN

part 3

Part 3

Israel is a very small country. A modern fighter jet can fly from the Arab-dominated West Bank territory to Tel Aviv in eleven seconds. How would any of us like to have mortal enemies dwelling so near to us? And as strong as Israel is, how can it defend itself against such overwhelming odds? How is it that the nation of Israel has survived so long?

Does this fact makes you wonder?

Well, in His Word, God gives the answer.

The State of Israel has survived three major wars (1948, 1967, and 1974), two intifadas (violent uprisings lasting six and five years, respectively), suicide bombers, and rocket attacks - and now, after 75 years of existence, it is locked into its fourth and most dangerous war. Each time, no matter how much damage the Israelis sustain, those who come against them end up bloodied and defeated. This is exactly what the prophet Zechariah foretold. Zechariah 12 begins by setting the record straight on who is behind this prophecy - not a playful spook in the night or a crystal ball, but the Creator of the heavens and earth. "This is the word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord who stretches out the heavens, who lays out the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him declares: 'I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves'".

Do we not see that the nations that today surround Israel and Jerusalem are drunk with hatred? Can we not see that the problem of Jerusalem is as a very heavy stone for those who wish to rid themselves of it? And do we not see that all who try to solve the problem - will injure themselves?

Consider what else this passage tells us. The fact that the Jews are in control of Jerusalem is not a trivial point. God gave this prophecy 2,500 years ago. Think about that! Would you like to make a prediction about any city anywhere on earth regarding the circumstances it would face that many years into the future? Consider that the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Then, in 135 AD, they kicked the Jews out of their homeland. There was not a Jewish state from 135 AD until 1948. This prophecy could not have been fulfilled during any of those 1,813 years! So, here we have it: Jews in Jerusalem, Jerusalem a troublesome stone, and everyone who tries to solve the problem will injure themselves.

This chapter of Zechariah pictures the final siege against the people of Jerusalem. A great future battle. Some say its Armaggedon. Those who oppose God's people will not prevail forever. Eventually, evil, pain, and oppression will be abolished once and for all.

Taking it a bit further, it says that all nations are gathered together against it. Isn't true that year after year, at the United Nations, there are more resolutions condemning Israel than condemnations of all other countries combined - in 2022, the General Assembly approved 15 against Israel and 13 against all others. Is all this mere coincidence? How could anyone foretell, 2,500 years in advance, today's state of affairs for that tiny strip of territory at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea?

 Zechariah goes on to describe the fate of the nations that go against the Jews.

"On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place" (12:6)

That certainly sounds like our present day, but how can we know that these prophecies were not fulfilled long ago? How can we know that they are for our time and the near future? As pointed out above, we know that the Jews did not control Jerusalem from 135 AD until 1948, and they did not control all of Jerusalem until the Six Day War in June 1967. And there is more. The prophecies of Zechariah 12 are ongoing and lead up to the final battle for Jerusalem. The verses we have read foretell what has been happening throughout Israel's history from 1948 onward, but the latter part of the chapter speaks of a very specific time - a time when the Messiah will directly intervene, and in such a way that the Jews will understand that Jesus Christ truly is the Son of God.

"On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord going before them. On that day  will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son" (12:8-10).

This is a prophecy of Christ intervening for Judah and Jerusalem, but it includes a prophecy foretelling His first coming - "then they will look on Me whom they pierced" - indicating the manner of His death on our behalf. (to be continued)