Zechariah 14:1, 2 NKJV
1 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming…
2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
When this specific prophecy is fulfilled, the entire world will have decided that Israel is the “enemy”. It is incredible, given the size of Israel, that mighty nations will have decided that the nation of Israel must be dismantled. How could such a small nation have become the fulcrum upon which major international calamitous events could pivot?
How could God’s chosen people have become the enemy of all the nations? Doesn’t the following prophecy by Ezekiel feel like it just came from the front page of the newspapers of the nations?
Ezekiel 25:6-7 NKJV
6 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced in heart with all your disdain for the land of Israel,
7 indeed, therefore, I will stretch out My hand against you, and give you as plunder to the nations; I will cut you off from the peoples, and I will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
Has the world not seen people celebrating in the streets as the enemies of Israel rejoice when the Jews are killed or injured?
Why did God choose Israel? Listen to the word of God as transmitted by Moses:
Deuteronomy 7:6-9 NKJ
6 “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.
7 “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples;
8 “but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;
At this time, many nations have decided that Israel is the “enemy”. Even the United States, one of Israel’s closest allies, is telling Israel to “return to its 1967 borders” if they expect to achieve peace with the Palestinians. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Israeli Parliament, is feeling pressure from many nations all over the world, including the United Nations General Assembly, to cede territory to the Palestinians in order to establish a Palestinian state along side Israel.
Are the “Chosen People” about to become the enemy of all nations? Perhaps not all nations have decided to declare Israel the enemy, yet, but Zechariah 14:2 says that “all nations” will do so. The most outspoken so far have been members of “far left” movements and the Muslim nations
Those who “will surely assemble” against Israel is not an unexpected event. Listen:
Isaiah 54:14-15 NKJV
14 In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; And from terror, for it shall not come near you.
15 Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake.
King David said the following:
Psalm 2:1-9 NKJV
1 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure:
6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.'”
Listen to what the prophet Obadiah said, regarding those who rejoice over the destruction of Israel:
Obadiah 1:12-15 NKJV
12 “But you should not have gazed on the day of your brother In the day of his captivity; Nor should you have rejoiced over the children of Judah In the day of their destruction; Nor should you have spoken proudly In the day of distress.
13 You should not have entered the gate of My people In the day of their calamity. Indeed, you should not have gazed on their affliction In the day of their calamity, Nor laid hands on their substance In the day of their calamity.
14 You should not have stood at the crossroads To cut off those among them who escaped; Nor should you have delivered up those among them who remained In the day of distress.
15 “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.
The Holy Scriptures indicate that being an enemy of Israel is a risky endeavor!
In the Book of Genesis, the Lord said to Abraham:
Genesis 12:3 NKJV
3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Notice the last sentence “…in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” It seems like a non-sequitur to say that God will curse those who curse you yet in you all families will be blessed. The Holy Scriptures frequently speak in the present and simultaneously reference the future.
God does not only warn the enemies of Israel but He also warns the false prophets of Israel who say “peace when there is no peace”. Listen to the words of the prophet Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 13:3, 6-10 NKJV
3 Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!
6 They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ But the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed.
7 Have you not seen a futile vision, and have you not spoken false divination? You say, ‘The Lord says,’ but I have not spoken.”
8 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Because you have spoken nonsense and envisioned lies, therefore I am indeed against you,” says the Lord God.
9 “My hand will be against the prophets who envision futility and who divine lies; they shall not be in the assembly of My people, nor be written in the record of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. Then you shall know that I am the Lord God.
10 “Because, indeed, because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace.
Notice the sentence, “…people who envision futility.” Those who feel that it is useless to embrace God’s plan for Israel shall not be rewarded. God’s hand will be against them.
Today, at the highest levels of government among many nations, there are movements whose sole purpose is to eliminate Israel (Zionism). This news article below focuses on the Prime Minister of Israel but it is indicative of the boldness coming forth from world leaders depicting Israel and her leaders as the enemy.
In another recent article, November 25, 2011, Islamic activists proclaim that “One day we will kill all the Jews”
Cairo rally: One day we’ll kill all Jews
Muslim Brotherhood holds venomous anti-Israel rally in Cairo mosque Friday; Islamic activists chant: Tel Aviv, judgment day has come
Arab hate: A Muslim Brotherhood rally in Cairo’s most prominent mosque Friday turned into a venomous anti-Israel protest, with attendants vowing to “one day kill all Jews.”
Muslim Brotherhood spokesmen, as well as Palestinian guest speakers, made explicit calls for Jihad and for liberating the whole of Palestine. Time and again, a Koran quote vowing that “one day we shall kill all the Jews” was uttered at the site… Throughout the event, Muslim Brotherhood activists chanted: “Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, judgment day has come.”
At a program called The World without Zionism, in preparation for an annual anti-Israel demonstration held on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told a group of students that Israel must be “wiped off the map”. More recently similar radical statements have been made.
At the end of WW II, Hitler, in his final political statement said, “”Above all I charge the leaders of the nation and those under them to scrupulous observance of the laws of race and to merciless opposition to the universal poisoner of all peoples, international Jewry.”
Not much has changed. Hitler’s charge to the leaders of the nations is beginning to sound like a prophecy fulfilled. It is most perplexing to know that prophecies of our Lord, being fulfilled by man, make His chosen people the enemy of all.
One final Biblical perspective on this matter provided by the prophet Ezekiel:
Ezekiel 30:3-5 NKJV
3 For the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.
4 The sword shall come upon Egypt, And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia, When the slain fall in Egypt, And they take away her wealth, And her foundations are broken down.
5 “Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword.”
When the Holy Scriptures refer to “Egypt”, the land of the Americas was not yet discovered, thus if you look at Egypt as a typology, rather than a nation, you will see the nations of the Americas may also be the object of Ezekiel’s prophecy. It is true that modern weapons of war did not exist when Ezekiel wrote, so we read of swords where in fact, such ancient weapons are representative of what is to come.
Here, Jeremiah speaks from the heart, expressing his concern over the spiritual state of Israel:
Jeremiah 8:18-22 NIV
18 O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me.
19 Listen to the cry of my people from a land far away: “Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign idols?”
20 “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.”
21 Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?
Though Jeremiah was referring to events of the past, does it not seem applicable to the current forecast? The plan of Israel’s enemies is to crush them.
This book explores these points in detail, citing the key signals, pointing to the coming tribulation, the rapture of the Church, the anti-Christ and the Millennium. These are indeed perilous times. Israel is both heralded as God’s chosen people and yet they are cursed by many as “the enemy.” When the nations decide to attack Israel, to erase their country from the map, God will act and the tribulation will commence.
Now, to the fundamental teaching of this book: