BibleForums Christian Message Board
Bible Talk => Eschatology => Topic started by: Fenris on February 11, 2024, 12:42:40 PM
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I'm not an "end timesy" kind of guy. Still, sometimes things happen in the world that do seem to fit the literal text of some ancient prophecy. The goings on in Israel right now in some way fit the text of Zechariah 12. To wit-
A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel.
The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness,” declares the Lord. “I will keep a watchful eye over Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’
“On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume all the surrounding peoples right and left, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.
“The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem’s inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them.
Some observations.
"On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her"
The UN and most of the nations in the world are standing against Israel right now. This began right after the Hamas pogrom against Israel on 10/7, even before Israel took the war to Gaza. And all those nations are now insisting that Israel stop, right now, even as the war seems near won. Or perhaps because the war seems near won.
Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.
The city of Jerusalem has been the safest place in Israel during this war. The south of the country has been evacuated because of the war with Hamas and the north of the country has been evacuated because of ongoing Hizbullah attacks. Tel Aviv came under frequent missile fire from Gaza. But Jerusalem alone has been almost incident free.
the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them
I can't think of a better description of the IDF.
The IDF has been operating in a dense, fortified urban zone, with Hamas combatants hiding amongst civilians and fighting while not in unform. The IDF is taking great pains to safeguard civilian lives. In spite of this, they have killed at least 10,000 Hamas fighters and permanently incapacitated 10,000 more. 75% of Hamas fighting brigades are out of action. The cost to Israel has been 224 IDF soldiers killed in combat. Don't get me wrong, every single IDF death is a tragedy. But that kill ratio can only be explained by God's protection of those brave soldiers.
I have more understanding of the rest of the chapter, but I'm going to pause here for now.
So is my understanding of current events.
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Two chapters further -
1 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.
1. It's a not fulfilled prophecy since the Mount of Olives is still whole.
2. all nations if taken literal means USA too.
3. Of course Christians see many parallels with the NT :)
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Two chapters further -
Uhh we're talking about chapter 12.
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When it's about chapter 12 my guess would be the miraculous wars of 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973.