These
bold collective claims are intended to add credibility and provide
authority to Isaiah’s predictions that follow. Who says to
Jerusalem,
‘You
shall be inhabited,’ (by Jews) To the cities of Judah, ‘You
shall be built,’ (by Jews) And I will raise up her waste places;
Who says to the deep, ‘Be dry! And I will dry up your rivers’;
Who says of Cyrus, (King of Persia 600-530 BC) ‘He is My shepherd,
And he shall perform all My pleasure, Saying to Jerusalem, “You
shall be built,” (by Jews) And to the temple, “Your foundation
shall be laid. (by Jews)”’ (Isaiah 44:26-28; emphasis added)
This
Isaiah prophecy was issued well over a century before Jerusalem was
destroyed by the Babylonians around 586 BC. Isaiah essentially
stated that, as sure as the Lord single-handedly stretched out the
heavens, spread abroad the earth and created mankind, the JEWS would
rebuild JERUSALEM and JUDAH. Isaiah anticipated the destruction of
Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the subsequent need to restore it.
Isaiah 44:26 prophesied that JERUSALEM would be inhabited with JEWS
and the cities of JUDAH would be rebuilt by JEWS. Isaiah 44:28
proclaimed over 150 years in advance, that King Cyrus of Persia
would issue the command for the restoration of JERUSALEM and JUDAH!
In 539 BC, the Persian King Cyrus conquered the Babylonians and
according to Ezra 1:2, he immediately commanded the Jews to return
to Israel to rebuild the Jewish Temple and restore the devastation
in Judah. Zechariah’s generation was the living fulfillment of
Isaiah’s prophecy. Thus, his repeat declaration of Isaiah 44:24 in
Zechariah 12:1, is intended to leave no doubt that what he is about
to prophesy will surely find fulfillment!
The
question is when? The Arabs Contest Israel’s Rightful Claims to
Jerusalem and Judah
“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.” (Zechariah 12:2; KJV)
Zechariah
12:1, which called to remembrance Isaiah’s prophecy about King
Cyrus, clearly declared that the JEWS possessed God given
sovereignty over all of JERUSALEM and JUDAH! King Cyrus commanded
the JEWS, not the Arabs, to return to Israel and restore their
homeland. Zechariah 12:2 foretells that someday Israel’s rightful
claims to these areas would be falsely and forcibly contested by the
surrounding Arab peoples.
Jerusalem
becomes the center of the controversy and it causes the Arabs to
tremble as long as they place a stronghold over the area. The Hebrew
word for “siege” is “matsor,” which can also be translated
as hemming in. As this study will point out, this appears to be
dealing with the current Arab-Israeli dispute over portions of these
territories, namely the West Bank. During Zechariah’s time, these
regions were called Judah and Samaria. Presently, the Arabs claim
that these areas are under illegal Israeli occupation, but
Zechariah’s claims make it clear that it is the Arabs that are
trespassing into these lands.
During
the Jewish Diaspora, which essentially began about 70 AD, many Jews
abandoned Jerusalem and Judah. In 135 AD, the Romans renamed the
land as Palestine and over the centuries, the Arabs began to
homestead the Holy Land. Jeremiah 12:14-17 anticipated this problem,
and revealed God’s compassionate end time’s plan to remedy the
predicament. Thus says the LORD:
“Against
all My (surrounding) evil (Arab) neighbors who touch the inheritance
(land of Israel) which I have caused My people Israel to
inherit—behold, I will pluck them (evil Arabs) out of their land
and pluck out the house of Judah (Jews) from among them (evil
Arabs). Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will
return and have compassion on them and bring them back, everyone
(Jews and evil Arabs) to his heritage and everyone to his land. And
it shall be, if they (evil Arabs) will learn carefully the ways of
My people, (the Jews) to swear by My name, ‘As the LORD lives,’
as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they (evil Arabs)
shall be established in the midst of My people. But if they do not
obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that (evil Arab) nation,”
says the LORD. (Jeremiah 12:14-17; emphasis added)
Today,
these evil Arab neighbors are out of compliance with God’s
compassionate Mideast peace plan. They are worshipping Allah, not
Jehovah, and they are cursing the Jews and staking false claims upon
Jerusalem and Judah. As a result, the Lord will be left no other
choice than to “utterly pluck up and destroy that (evil Arab)
nation.” The evil Arab nations likely represent the inner circle
of nations depicted in the Psalm 83 map image. Correlating verses
that seem to identify them and their participating role in Zechariah
12:2 are, the Arab confederacy of Psalm 83:6-8, the evil neighbors
in Jeremiah 12:14-17, the despisers of Israel in Ezekiel 28:24-26,
the plunderers, mockers and trespassers of Ezekiel 36:1-7 and
elsewhere. It is interesting to note that the word “trembling”
in Zechariah 12:2 is the Hebrew word “raal,” and it is only used
this one time in the entire Old Testament.
Some
Bible versions translate it as trembling, reeling, or drunkenness.
Moreover, the Hebrew word for “cup” is “saph” and it differs
from another Hebrew word for cup, which is “kos.” “Kos” is
used to depict God’s wrath contained in a cup for divine judgment
purposes in Isaiah 51:17, 22 and Jeremiah 25:15. I point this out,
because some biblical scholars believe that this mention of cup is
dealing with God’s wrath or judgment, but this does not appear to
be the case. Zechariah’s cup of trembling contains a concoction,
which when ingested, results in a reaction of reeling and
intoxication. The point Zechariah is making to the Arabs is, abandon
your erroneous claims upon Judah and Jerusalem because they are
causing you to behave like a violent drunkard.
The
International Community Intervenes on the Status of Jerusalem 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. (Zec. 12:3, NKJV)
“And
it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a
burdensome stone for all the peoples; all that burden themselves
with it shall be sore wounded; and all the nations of the earth
shall be gathered together against it.” (Zec. 12:3 ASV)
This
verse predicts that when the status of Jerusalem is contested by the
Arabs, “in that day,” the international community will
intervene. Zechariah 12:1-6 uses the term “in that day” three
times in (Zechariah 12:3, 4, 6). The adage, “in that day,”
appears over 100 times in the Bible and it mostly refers to the
correlating progression of events that occur within the same general
time period. Like, a domino effect, with one event prompting the
succession of a sequence of other interrelated scenarios. For
example, in the future prophecy of Ezekiel 38 a formidable coalition
of nations invades Israel and Ezekiel says that, “in that day,’
the Lord becomes furious and then proceeds to supernaturally destroy
this confederacy in the events described in Ezekiel 38:14-23.
Zechariah 12:3 makes a clear distinction between, “all the
surrounding peoples” in verse 2, with “all nations of the
earth.” In verse 3, Zechariah seems to intentionally omit the word
surrounding from the prior verse. Thus, now the prophet is referring
to the international community, “all the nations of the earth”.
Part two of this article will further explain this difference. The
word Zechariah uses for burden can also be translated as to “impose
a burden.” What the prophet appears to be stating in verse 3 is;
When Israel’s surrounding Arab neighbors attempt to besiege and
possess Jerusalem, “in that day,” the international community
will attempt to intervene and “impose a burden” upon the city.
Zechariah
warns that this is a bad idea because the burden will boomerang back
to “sorely wound,” or “cut to pieces,” those nations. Before
I comment on how Zechariah 12:3 seems relevant today, it’s
important to note that most Bible prophecy teachers connect this
verse with the gathering of the nations in Joel 3:2 and Zechariah
14:2. They believe that this verse finds fulfillment during the
campaign of Armageddon near the end of the Tribulation Period. For
example, the Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, authored by
John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck reads, “That day,” (alluding to
Zechariah 12:3), refers to the future Battle (or better, Campaign)
of Armageddon, in which the nations’ armies will gather against
Jerusalem.” My belief is that the meddling of the international
community spoken of in Zechariah 12:3 began on November 29, 1947,
with the passage of UN Resolution 181, also called the Partition
Plan. November 29, 2017 marks the seventy year anniversary of this
event. On “that day” the United Nations imposed a severe burden
upon Israel’s sovereign claims to Jerusalem by turning the city
into an international zone. The “Partition Plan” partitioned
Palestine into a state for the Jews and one for the Arabs, but
Jerusalem was segregated from both into an international zone. (Map
image shows Jerusalem in blue as an international zone. Image was
taken from this website: http://www.mideastweb.org/unpartition.htm)
The evil Arab neighbors of Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and
Lebanon were among the 13 nations that voted against the passage of
the Partition Plan. Jordan was not admitted into the UN until 1955,
so they aren’t listed in this elite group. Unsurprisingly, these
are the primary nations that went to war with Israel in 1948. These
Arabs lost that war and Israel’s Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion,
declared Jerusalem as the “Eternal Capital of Israel.” However,
in the Armistice Agreements of 1949, the United Nations again
imposed a burden upon Jerusalem by drawing a green line of
demarcation that separated Jerusalem into two parts. Only West
Jerusalem was allotted to the Jews.
This 1947-1949 map image
evidences that the international community intervened again on the
status of Jerusalem by dividing the city.
This
marked the first time in history that the city of Jerusalem had been
divided. The dividing of Jerusalem is not biblically endorsed.
Nowhere in the Bible does it mention an East or West Jerusalem.
Then, in the Six Day War of in June of 1967, Israeli Defense Forces
(IDF) left the Arabs “reeling” again by defeating them in
another war. As a result, Israel gained control of East Jerusalem
and the West Bank (from Jordan), the Gaza Strip (from Egypt) and the
Golan Heights (from Syria).
In the aftermath of their victory,
Israel made the unwise choice of allowing the Waqf based in Jordan
to maintain control over the Temple Mount.
The
West Bank & Gaza map depicts the current condition of the status
of Jerusalem. Lo and behold, Israel presently has control over the
entire city, apart from the Temple Mount. What’s observable as we
look at the border changes in Israel since the Partition Plan of
1947, is that the biblical claims that Jerusalem belongs to the JEWS
is prevailing over the geo-political efforts of the Arabs and the
international community. The US Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 Over
the past three decades, the US has been at the forefront of dealing
with Middle East peace and the final status arrangements of
Jerusalem. On his presidential campaign trail, Donald Trump promised
to relocate the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. However, on
June 1, 2017, US President Donald Trump signed a presidential waiver
that prevented the move. Relocating the US embassy to Jerusalem is
not just a friendly gesture to Israel, rather it is an act of
compliance with the US Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.
On
October 23, 1995, the 104th Congress passed The Jerusalem Embassy
Act. It was passed for the purposes of initiating and funding the
relocation of the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel
Aviv to Jerusalem, this was to be accomplished no later than May 31,
1999. However, the move never took place because on the 6-month
anniversary date, US President Bill Clinton signed a presidential
waiver suspending the move. Like Clinton, Presidents George W. Bush,
Barrack Obama and now Donald Trump, have all continuously signed
this waiver. Some of the important points from the 17 congressional
findings contained in Section 2 of the legislation are below.
Finding
#1: Every sovereign nation, including Israel, may designate its own
capital.
Finding
#2: Since 1950, the city of Jerusalem has been the capital of the
State of Israel.
Finding
#7: Since 1967, Jerusalem has been a united city administered by
Israel,
Finding
#9: Congress ‘‘strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an
undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious
group are protected.” This is reaffirmed in finding #10.
Finding
#17: In 1996, the State of Israel will celebrate the 3,000th
anniversary of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem since King David’s
entry. (This finding acknowledges that Israel’s presence in Israel
pre-dates any Arab claims to the city in modernity).
What
the Jerusalem Embassy Act acknowledges is that America believes that
Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel and this is validated
by the historical fact that the Jewish presence in Jerusalem
predates all Arab claims to the city. This means that moving the US
Embassy to Jerusalem would be in alignment with the Bible’s
similar claims. Should Donald Trump serve a full first term, he will
have several more opportunities to make good on his promise to move
the embassy. If he does,
1.
it will signal that the world’s greatest superpower supports
Israel’s rights to Jerusalem as its undivided capital,
2.
Further undermine the international control and oversight of
Jerusalem,
3.
Pave the way for other nations to move their embassies to Jerusalem.
These
three things are problematic for the Arabs claims over Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:2 informed that the surrounding Arabs are intoxicated
over Jerusalem. If the world’s greatest superpower moves its
embassy to Jerusalem, it could create uproar within the neighboring
Arab states and a firestorm throughout the greater Islamic world,
which considers Jerusalem as its third holiest city. What Donald
Trump and Americans need to be concerned about is the warning of
Zechariah 12:3. Imposing a burden upon Jerusalem, like asking Israel
to relinquish control over an area with the city of Jerusalem or
territory of Judah (Judea), will have consequences. It will “break
to pieces,” or “sorely wound” America.
White
House correspondent Bill Koenig of www.watch.org points out in his
book called, “Eye to Eye, Facing the Consequences of Dividing
Israel,” that dividing the land of Israel results in adverse
consequences to the nation(s) directly involved. He cites the case
of Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005. He correlates the evacuation
of the Jews from Gaza at that time to the devastation caused during
the category 5 hurricane. Former president George Bush had
influenced Israel to withdraw from the Gaza and the Lord responded
swiftly by slapping America with its most costly disaster in its
history. The lesson to the nations is do not divide the land of
Israel. If Donald Trump dares to separate the Jews from their land,
especially Jerusalem as specified in Zechariah 12:3, then the
warning is that America could suffer severely.
On
May 24, 2017, The Times of Israel reported; “US President Donald
Trump is said to be pressing Israel to transfer parts of the West
Bank to Palestinian administrative control as a goodwill gesture to
help revive peace talks between the two sides. Specifically, they
have asked for areas in the northern West Bank to be transferred
from Area C to Area B, according to the report.” 12 Area A is
under full civil and security control by the PA (currently governed
by Fatah). Area B is under PA civil control but Israel and the PA
are cooperating to provide security services. Area C is fully
Israeli in all but name.iv Zechariah 2:8 says that “he who touches
Israel,” referring to the land and / or the people, “touch the
apple of God’s eye.”
If
Trump plans to make America great again, he will need to make wise
decisions concerning Israel and the future status of Jerusalem. He
needs to tread lightly when it comes to Israel so as not to poke God
in the eye. Perhaps it’s best for him to move the US embassy to
Jerusalem and then just keep his nose out of God’s business
concerning the final status of Jerusalem.
NEWS
FLASH! THIS JUST IN! As I’m preparing to publicize this article,
Israel National News declares on July 27, 2017; Report: Netanyahu
offers major land swap with PA “PM reportedly told Trump envoys he
is prepared to surrender large swath of pre- 1967 Israel to PA in
exchange for 'settlement blocs'.” Stay tuned for part two, which
explains how the Arab-Israeli conflict concludes! “In that day,
says the LORD, “I will strike every horse with confusion, and its
rider
