MASADA WILL NOY HAPPEN AGAIN

Part 4

In chapter 14 - The Day of the Lord, Zechariah partly overlaps chapter 12, but focuses entirely on the crisis at the end time - at Christ's return. The first verse gives us the time setting as "the day of the Lord." This is a time described in more than 30 prophecies, and it refers to the time of the end. Here we see once again irrational hatred for the Jews and their enemies lined up against them.

"I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city" (14:2).

Just as happened on October 7, 2023, but on a far greater scale, women will be raped and houses will be ransacked - and, this time, half of Jerusalem will be taken hostage. But this will involve more than just a few terrorist groups. "All the nations" will make a last attempt to heave the heavy stone away. Revelation 11:2 informs us that when Jerusalem is overthrown, it will be trampled underfoot for three-and-a-half years. By comparing the time setting of Zechariah to the events described in Revelation, it is evident that these verses foretell the time when Christ will return and stop the madness.

"Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of the battle" (Zechariah 14:3).

The events described in verse 4 preclude this being a past occurrence. It is yet in our future: "On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south."

Yes, Christ will intervene and put an end to this senseless carnage against the Jews. He will also put an end to war and destruction all over the world. "The Lord will be King over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and His name the only name" (v.9)

No longer will false religion of any stripe - Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and, yes, paganized "Christianity" - stand the test. Many prophecies describe this time following Christ's second coming, when Jerusalem will be called "the City of Truth" (Zechariah 8:3). But, sadly, that day is not yet. How this current war will play out remains to be seen. We know it is not the final battle that will bring about Christ's second coming, as other prophesied events must happen first, according to Scripture. However, there is another prophecy regarding Judah - the Jewish state called Israel - and it has ominous implications. Neither the British-descended peoples (Ephraim) nor their allies, America (Manasseh) and Judah (the Jews), have obeyed their Creator. Though God's word, proclaimed by this work, has warned them, they refuse to repent and instead choose to live by human precepts (Hosea 5:9–12). And the end result? At some point in the not too-distant future, and it could happen during this war, Judah will receive a disastrous blow - a wound worse than anything seen so far. What exactly that will be remains to be seen, but even after Christ returns, the Jews will still retain a capable fighting force according to (Zechariah 14:14). A thousand years before Zechariah, Moses recorded a prophecy that the enemies of Judah would do well to heed. At the end of his life, Jacob, whose name had been changed to Israel, brought his twelve sons together and told them what would happen to them at the end of the age.

"Gather together," he said, "that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days: Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, and listen to Israel your father" (Genesis 49:1-2).

Judah was one of Jacob's twelve sons. We know of Judah's descendants as the Jews. Not only are we told that the sceptre - or the ruler - would come from him (v. 10), but also we are told that Judah would be like a ferocious lion against his enemies.

“Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?" (49:8-9).

Is that not what we have seen over the last 75 years? Iran, who is clearly behind Hamas, has awakened a sleeping lion. But, as we have also seen in these prophecies about Judah and Jerusalem, it will be a difficult time going forward, and God will eventually allow Jerusalem to be overrun. Only then will the Messiah return to save Judah and all the world from mankind's self-inflicted troubles. After Christ returns, people all over the earth will come to understand who the God of Israel is - and that His way is the only way to peace, prosperity, and harmony.

As of this writing, it remains to be seen what is next for this conflict between Israel and its enemies. Will things eventually settle down for a while before the next major attacks? Will other nations take up arms against Israel? Will Israel use this time to destroy Iran's nuclear development facilities so that nation will not "get the bomb"? This we do not know. But we know from Scripture the eventual outcome. One thing is for sure: At the end of this present age, when the Jews are facing an unprecedented barrage of enemy armies set on their destruction, Masada will not happen again - not because of Judah's most fervent efforts, but because  'the one whom they pierced' will step in to do His will. (TO BE CONTINUED)