From the Editor
Watch Jerusalem!
If you follow just one major news trend, make sure it is what is unfolding in this pivotal city.
By Gerald Flurry
World events from today to the end of this age are going to revolve around Jerusalem. This city is going to be the very epicenter of all major events in the future.
We are living in the very end times. The Bible refers to this period
hundreds of times. It also reveals that we are nearing the end of this
age, which will culminate in the worst times of violence and suffering
ever on Earth.
Everywhere you look, you see violence and war. Governments are
toppling every month, it seems. And yet massive violence continues—even
in
nature and the
weather. Why so much violence?
Jeremiah 33:5 says God has hid His face from Jerusalem. But God also
says in Zechariah 1:17 that He “shall yet choose Jerusalem.” When He
does, He is going to make this city the capital of the world and
ultimately the capital of the entire universe!
To God, Jerusalem is the most important city in the world—by far. If
it’s so important to God, shouldn’t it be important to those of us who
follow and obey the Bible—whether the Torah or the New Testament?
(Click
to enlarge) CENTER OF ATTENTION | Jerusalem—a historical and
present-day city of chaos, and a future city of peace—won’t be leaving
headlines anytime soon. (Fred Froese/iStockphoto)Today, God has yet to choose Jerusalem. And I want to show you why you
need to watch Jerusalem right now.
The Hard Lesson From 1967
Outside of its current peril, May 1967 was Israel’s most desperate
month. Egypt, Syria and Jordan were preparing to attack and telling the
world they were going to destroy Israel. Other Arab nations were allying
with them. Finally, on June 5, Israel launched a preemptive strike
against the Arab nations and destroyed Egypt’s whole air force.
On June 5, 1967, many people thought Jerusalem was about to die. It miraculously survived.
Now, though, Israel faces an even greater problem than that.
Notice what Charles Krauthammer wrote in the
Washington Post:
“Forty-five years later in the middle of the night of May 7 and 8,
2012, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shocked his country by bringing
the main opposition party, Kadima, into a national unity government.
Shocking because just hours earlier the Knesset was expediting a bill to
call early elections in September. Why did the high-flying Netanyahu
call off elections he was sure to win? Because for Israelis today, it is
May 1967″ (May 10).
The Jews know their nation is again in danger of annihilation!
Krauthammer went on to say, “The dread is not quite as acute. The mood
is not despair, just foreboding. Time is running out, but not quite as
fast. War is not four days away, but it looms.”
That might be too optimistic. But his summary assessment is dead-on:
“Israelis today face the greatest threat to their existence ….”
Today, Israel faces the greatest threat to its existence as a nation!
Greater than June 1967!
The Israelis are again in fear of being wiped off the face of the
Earth, as their enemies have again explicitly stated that they will do!
Israelis today face the greatest threat to their existence—“nuclear
weapons in the hands of apocalyptic mullahs publicly pledged to Israel’s
annihilation—since May ‘67. The world is again telling Israelis to do
nothing as it looks for a way out. But if such a way is not found as in
‘67, Israelis know that they will once again have to defend themselves,
by themselves. Such a fateful decision demands a national consensus” (ibid).
This is why Mr. Netanyahu was so urgent to form a unified
government. Israel has now drawn together and has most of its political
power backing its leader, so if he decides to try to destroy Iran’s
nuclear facilities, he will have a united nation behind him—just as when
it launched the attack in 1967. You need as much unity as you can get
to be able to do something so bold, or you risk having your government
toppled from within your own country. Such a strong move can’t be
dismissed as “just a right-wing effort,” because there is a unity
government.
In the last few years, the Jews have given away Gaza, Jericho,
Bethlehem and other West Bank areas like Hebron. Hebron is where David
ruled for the first seven years of his reign. Jericho is the land where
God performed miracles through Joshua. Bethlehem is where Jesus Christ
was born.
Gaza is in the vicinity of where Jonah fled from God’s commission
and was swallowed by a great fish. In 2005, Israel evacuated 9,000
people from Gaza and withdrew its military. Almost immediately,
terrorists came flooding into Gaza from Egypt, and they pose an
increasingly deadly threat to Israel.
Mount Sinai, in the Sinai Peninsula, is where God Himself communed
with Moses and ancient Israel. It is a place of unparalleled history.
Israel won control of that region in 1967, but relinquished it 15 years
later. Now that the Egyptians have deposed Hosni Mubarak, they are
menacing Israel once again.
When the Jews talk about these areas, they talk about them as merely “territories.”
They don’t talk about Mount Sinai and these other places that resonate with their rich history with God.
But their prophets talked about those precious lands differently.
They taught about them as places of mighty miracles and divine promises—places that connected them to God!
If you think about how the Jews are approaching this crisis today,
you will realize that it is different. In the past, they thought about
the Bible and about God, and looked to Him to a certain degree. Today
they still talk about God and the Bible some, but the Bible doesn’t
actually guide their lives as it used to. (The same attitude is in the
United States and Britain.)
We can fantasize about being righteous and being a good nation ad nauseam, but
we are not obeying what the Bible says. As a result, the miracles of the past have ceased!
Giving land that God gave you, in exchange for peace with anyone, is
a grand delusion. The United States and Britain have helped pressure
the Jews to give away that land for “peace.” It has never worked. The
results have been more war and more violence. Israel’s enemies see that
Israel is giving up land because it is
weak, and they have
contempt for that. They continue to threaten terrorism and war if Israel
does not give up more land. Since the Jews won’t turn to the God who
gave them miraculous victories in the past, they seem to have no other
option.
What Is About to Happen to Jerusalem
Zechariah 12:3 says, “[A]ll that burden themselves with [Jerusalem]
shall be cut in pieces.” God says anyone who takes on the responsibility
to control
His city that
He will yet choose is going to be “cut in pieces”!
That is what happens to every government that tries to burden itself
with Jerusalem: the United Kingdom, the United States, even the United
Nations. God has a particular interest in Jerusalem. He is going to rule
the Earth and the entire universe from there. And He warns everyone
else not to interfere with His prerogative.
Notice another amazing prophecy about Jerusalem that you need to be
aware of. It is in the context of the Day of the Lord, when the Messiah
is going to return.
“Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided
in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to
battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the
women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity”
(Zechariah 14:1-2).
That’s the same half that the Arabs had until 1967, when the Jews
conquered it. It is still inhabited mostly by Arabs. The Bible
prophesied not only that the Jews would take East Jerusalem, but also
that the Arabs are about to
take it back.
In that prophecy, God says He will gather
all nations against Jerusalem to battle! Why is this all happening in Jerusalem?
After
half of Jerusalem falls to the Arabs, it will be like dominoes falling
one after the other: one biblically prophesied event after another. This is all going to happen very fast and very violently,
so you need to watch Jerusalem.
What Is About to Happen to the World
Notice what happens after half of Jerusalem falls: “Then shall the
Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the
day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of
Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives
shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west,
and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall
remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south” (Zechariah
14:3-4).
Do you really believe God? These are monumental prophecies in your Bible.
Look at what is happening in Jerusalem! It is the focal point of
world events! God prophesied millennia ago that this would happen. And
going forward, Jerusalem is going to become even
more important. It is about to explode—and catch the world on fire! Then maybe more people will
believe what God says.
Matthew 24:15-16 also prophesy about Jerusalem’s immediate future:
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by
Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place [Jerusalem], (whoso
readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into
the mountains.” The Bible defines that “abomination of desolation” as
armies surrounding Jerusalem (Luke 21:20-22).
These will not be Arab armies. The Bible prophesies that they will be
European
armies. Daniel 11:40 gives more detail about these armies, which will
be led by Germany. It refers to this power as the “king of the north”
and prophesies that it will clash with the “king of the south,” which is
Iran, the real power in the Middle East. The king of the north is going
to win this war.
Notice that verse 41 says, “He shall enter also into the glorious
land.” This northern power is going to enter Jerusalem. This is a strong
indication that this clash is over
control of the Holy City.
The Hebrew shows that when these armies enter the area, it won’t be by force. It appears they will be
invited into that glorious land that has been so troubled in the past.
The Jews are probably going to invite the Germans and Europe to come into the Holy Land to protect them. They looked to the U.S. and Britain. They looked to land-for-peace deals. Then they look to Germany.
They never look to God!
Prophecy reveals the terrifying consequence of their faithlessness:
The king of the north is going to commit a tremendous double cross! Once
this European power enters that precious Holy Land, it will fill it
with a river of blood. That will mark the beginning of World War
iii.
Verse 45 is a prophecy that this European power will not only fight a war for Jerusalem, but it will move its headquarters there!
Why would a European superpower set up a new headquarters in Jerusalem?
Because this union is based not only on political power, but also on
religious power! It is dominated by one of the three religions that have fought over Jerusalem for centuries.
Verse 44 speaks of ominous “tidings out of the east.” Jerusalem has
exploded. Iran and its allies have pushed against the European
superpower, and that king of the north has smashed Iran. It has entered
into Jerusalem and committed a horrific double cross. World War
iii
is raging. But Russia and China will not be sitting on the sidelines
the whole time. They are going to enter into this bloodbath.
And they too are going to head for Jerusalem!
Revelation 9:16 prophesies of an army of
200 million
soldiers! Who could assemble such a huge army? Only the combined
strength of Russia and China, along with their allies. This Asiatic
superpower is already beginning to form—and the Bible says it will march
against Europe and against Jerusalem!
The Bible specifies that the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers will
dry up and these nations will march right into the Middle East. These
massive armies will gather to battle at Megiddo—Armageddon (Revelation
16:16). But they’re not going to fight there!
Joel 3:1-2 show that these armies will come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, right at the edge of Jerusalem.
All these end-time events continue to revolve around Jerusalem!
The battle in the Valley of Jehoshaphat will be so gory that the
blood will be as deep as horses’ bridles for a distance of about 200
miles! (Revelation 14:19-20). God Himself will fight these armies, and
He will have to do it that way because it’s the only way He can get
their attention! It’s the only way He can make these carnal,
bloodthirsty men
believe Him!
Like so many other crucial events, this great and terrible, final war of the ages will happen right there in Jerusalem.
What Lies Beyond the War
But in spite of all the war, in spite of all the death and horrific suffering, Jerusalem is also a symbol of
good news.
I will yet choose Jerusalem, God says!
In 1 Kings 11:13, God says He has chosen Jerusalem to be the world
capital. He will still make Jerusalem the capital of the world—then the
capital of the universe!
God wants you to realize that much of the Bible revolves around
Jerusalem. He says if you take heed to this, then He will reward you,
and you will be able to rule with Jesus Christ on His throne
in Jerusalem—forever!
God promises to put a stop to all the bloodshed in Jerusalem and
around the world. He prophesies of a Millennium in which Jesus Christ
and His saints will rule the Earth! Then, throughout all eternity,
Jerusalem will rule the whole universe! The “very elect” will reside at
that headquarters city with Christ forever (Revelation 3:12).
Abraham looked for a city whose foundations were built by God. He saw
beyond
the Millennium to a time when God the Father will bring new Jerusalem
down to this Earth and rule the God Family Himself. The Son and His
bride will rule under the Father, all right there in
Jerusalem.
At that point, everyone will have become spirit beings, and what
starts on this Earth, at Jerusalem, will go out to rule and bring life
to the universe!
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