In That Day…
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. (Zechariah 12:2-3)
IS JERUSALEM THE CENTER OF THE WORLD? Type that statement into Google and enjoy hours of reading. Study Jerusalem! For centuries, some of the leading minds of the world have been saying that Jerusalem is the center of the world. It appears to be the geographical center. Today, it is the center of controversy in the United Nations and is, thus, the political center. It is the religious center in that it is the center of Judaism, birthplace of Christianity, and one of the most sacred sites of Islam.
DURING ITS LONG HISTORY, Jerusalem has been attacked 52 times, captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times, and destroyed twice. The oldest part of the city was settled in the 4th millennium BCE, making Jerusalem one of the oldest cities in the world. (Google)
ONE OF THE STRONGEST REASONS FOR BELIEVING THE BIBLE IS TRUE is true and relevant for today is its prophetic focus on the Jew and the city of Jerusalem. Repeatedly, God said He was going to bless, or judge Israel and it happened. The exercise of prophecy seems to be most prevalent toward Israel, the apple of God’s eye. No other race of people has been scattered throughout the world and yet retained its racial identity. But the Jewish people have been scattered over the world more than once and yet they maintain their racial identity. Why? The experts don’t know why. The Bible tells us why.
THE BIBLE IS NOT ORDINARY BOOK. It records God’s spoken messages, and actions. God keeps His Word. In summary, the Bible is a treasure house of written and fulfilled prophecies. Many prophecies are yet to be fulfilled. Because prophecies of the past have been fulfilled, we have faith to believe that those prophecies not yet fulfilled, will be fulfilled in God’s own time in keeping with His purpose and plan.
MUCH OF WHAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT JERUSALEM has been fulfilled. We are now in the beginning of the End Times. On May 14, 1948, Israel proclaimed itself to be a nation and was recognized as a nation by President Harry Truman on behalf of the United States on the same day. The fight was on. The wheels began turning. God’s plan began unfolding for Israel as a nation in the End Time.
BARBARA AND I ARE READING IN THE LAST THREE CHAPTERS OF ZECHARIAH: chapters 12-14, in our daily Bible reading. Warren Wiersbe comments: “Zechariah takes us to the end times. He describes the Gentile nations attacking Jerusalem, the Jews experiencing severe trials (“the time of Jacob’s trouble”), and then the Lord returning in power and great glory to deliver His people and establish the promised kingdom. What an exciting scenario it is! But it isn’t fiction: it’s God’s own Word, and it will come to pass.
“AS YOU STUDY THESE THREE CHAPTERS, note the repetition of the phrase “in that day,” which is found sixteen times. “That day” is “the day of he Lord,” the day of wrath and judgment that the prophets wrote about (Joel 3:9-16; Zephaniah 1) and that Jesus described in Matthew 24:4-31 and John in Revelation 6-19.” (Wiersbe)
“JERUSALEM IS MENTIONED FIFTY-TWO TIMES in the book of Zechariah. Twenty-two of these references is in the final three chapters. In the first chapter of his prophecy, Zechariah told us that God was “jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy” (1:14). This statement reveals the yearning heart of a loving Father for His firstborn (Exodus 4:22) and the desire of a faithful Husband for His unfaithful bride (Jeremiah 2:2; 3:2) God’s timing isn’t always what we would have planned, but He is wiser than we are and will keep His promises to Israel. The Lord will deliver Jerusalem (12:1-9; 14:1-7) “
TODAY, WE SEE THE NEWS STORIES OF THE WORLD KICKING ISRAEL in the teeth every time they can. The United Nations has nothing good to say about Israel. The rockets continue to pour in, killing as many as they can. Recently, Israel’s enemies have been sending in kites with burning torches attached to them, to burn the fields and crops. The United States has helped Israel since their birthday in 1948. The rockets get more sophisticated and deadlier. Still, the incoming jet airlines continue to bring in hundreds of Jews who are “coming home” from all over the world. They know it’s dangerous. But it’s also dangerous in some of the places they’re coming from.
IN "THAT DAY" it’s going to be bad when the nations of the world gather around Jerusalem with the intent of destroying them. We will learn more as we continue in Zechariah. We can learn also from reading Ezekiel 39 about what God is going to do in that day. There will not always be a problem with Islam. The Jewish temple will be built in Jerusalem on Mount Zion but built in unbelief. Israel will make a covenant with the anti-Christ but after 3 ½ years the covenant will be broken, and the anti-Christ will proclaim himself to be God and the Jews will have to flee their beloved land. They will be hunted down to be killed. It will be “Jacob’s Trouble.” But, there will be a great awakening during that time. Thousands and thousands of Jews as well as gentiles will turn to Christ as Savior and Lord. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
JANUARY 29, 2019 - TUESDAY
A.M. Exodus 19-21 P.M. Matthew 20:1-16
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Good Verses to Memorize:
Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2Timothy 4:2-4)
Song for Today:
The Holy City (5:14) (Orchestra-Choir)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BM9E1hEVrg
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