Brooklands
Gospel
Centre
Coming Events
Israel and coming events
Introduction
The name ISRAEL means different things to different people. To many it refers to a troublesome little nation in the Middle East, which keeps on dominating news bulletins. For Christians, it spells deep division in the interpretation and understanding of what Scripture says. Unnumbered books and articles have been written and pondered over and it is certain that this little booklet will not bring diverging views any closer.
The issue for Christians is whether the Israel of the Old Testament has been replaced
in this present Age by the Church of Jesus Christ and therefore has no future as
a people or a nation. Or if there will be its re-
If it is the former, it means that the blessings promised to the patriarchs, kings and prophets of Old Testament times have been transferred to us who now form the Body of Christ and that the present state of Israel is an irrelevance in respect of Biblical prophecy.
This study takes the latter position and sees a glorious future for Israel after times of deep sorrow and tribulation. It does not profess to be in depth or comprehensive. However it may be helpful to the enquiring reader to follow carefully the Scripture quotations which, where possible, have been quoted in full. Some of these may not be very familiar and meditation on them in the context of Israel’s past, present and future will have its rewards.
It should also be noted that there are only a few passing references to the Church. The entire emphasis is on Israel, its land, its people, its future and its unique relationship to God and His Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Drew Craig
Index
Part One: Israel -
Part Three: The Lord’s Return To Earth And The Establishment Of His Kingdom
Part Four: The Reign Of The King
Israel -
(All references are from the Revised Version)
We are living in very interesting yet predictable times. We, who, by God’s grace, have been allowed to understand something of the significance of ‘the last days’ are not surprised at the state of the world. Nowhere is this more so than in the affairs of the Middle East and in particular Israel. Of all nations in the world Israel is UNIQUE Perhaps this is the right time to retrace what the Scriptures have to say on this subject. It is the only nation ever chosen by God to be His SPECIAL POSESSION. This applies both to the PEOPLE and the LAND.
‘…I will plead…for MY PEOPLE and for MY HERITAGE Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted MY LAND…’ (Joel 3:2). In Isaiah 8:8 the land is called IMMANUEL’s! It is important to remember in the ongoing contemporary arguments as to who owns the Land that we keep this fact in the forefront of our minds.
The divine affection and care for the land as expressed by Moses is recorded for
us in Deuteronomy 11:11-
Thus the land of Israel stands in a unique relationship to the Lord. Nowhere else in Scripture does He refer to any other land as ‘my land’.
It was to the land of Israel that God sent His Son, revealing Himself in flesh to accomplish the greatest act of love, the laying down of His life as a sacrifice for sin. It, along with its capital Jerusalem, is in truth THE land of the Bible. It is surely remarkable that after two thousand years of international disinterest, in 1948 this land sprung again to life and into the limelight. Since then it has been the subject of controversy and debate. Its very existence threatened by surrounding hostile nations. But it will survive and after great sorrows and tribulation will become the focus of great future events. Here the earth’s last great battles will be fought ending with the triumphant return of the Messiah, the repentance and restoration of Israel and the introduction of His millennial reign.
The Lord, also in a very definite way, spoke of the special relationship with the
People of the Land. We cannot do better than use the revelation God gave to Moses
before their entry into it, ‘…the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a peculiar
(special) people unto himself, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
The Lord did not set his love upon you or choose you because you were more in number
than any people, for ye were the fewest of all people... But because the Lord loveth
you’ (Deut 7:7-
Many centuries later the apostle Paul emphasises the importance of this relationship,
‘I wish that I myself were accursed from the Messiah for my brethren, my kinsmen
according to the flesh: who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and
the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God,
and the promises, whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Messiah
came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen’ (Romans 9:3-
Our response to this must be again, the words of the Apostle as he surveys the glorious outcome and breaks out in a doxology of praise, ‘O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgements and his ways past finding out!’ (Romans 11:33).
All the COVENANTS that God made in Scripture (apart from the one with Noah) were
made with the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the latter being renamed Israel
(Genesis 32:28), including the New Covenant given through Jeremiah (31:31-
To Abraham: ‘I will make of you a GREAT NATION and I will bless you and make your name great’ (Genesis 12:2). ‘…unto your seed will I give THIS LAND’.
To Isaac: ‘For to you and your descendants will I give all THESE LANDS, and will confirm the oath which I gave to your father Abraham’ (Genesis 26:2).
To Jacob: ‘…I will give you and your descendents the land on which you are lying….All
peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring’ (Genesis 28:13-
It has often been said that Genesis is the seed plot of Scripture. What is found in germ form is adhered to and expanded in further history and revelation. It is so with the patriarchs; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
In Genesis 22:17 God says that Abraham’s seed would be as the ‘stars in the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the sand of the sea shore Encompassing both a heavenly and earthly people’.
In Genesis 26:4, we see that the promise to Isaac concerning his seed that it will be ‘as the stars of heaven’ with no reference to the earthly element.
To Jacob in Genesis 26:14 God states that his seed would be ‘as the dust of the ground’ with emphasis only on the earthly.
The Apostle Paul helps us to interpret these distinctions when he writes to the churches
of Galatia, ‘…Jerusalem that is above is free…we brethren, as Isaac was, are children
of promise’ (Galatians 4:26-
Returning now to the progressive references to the Covenants, we come to the inclusion
of Moses and his prophecy, ‘Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant
of the Lord your God…’ (Deuteronomy 4:23-
Because this is so we note that the LAW given through Moses was ADDED to the covenant
made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Apostle Paul expands on this in Galatians 3:17-
Years later the Covenant was accepted and reinforced by king David in his prayer,
‘…O Lord God, there is none like thee…and what one nation in the earth is like thy
people, even like Israel, …and thou didn’t establish to thyself thy people Israel
to be a people unto thee for ever.’ (2 Samuel 7:22-
Concerning the Land, David exclaims, ‘…ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones…remember
his covenant forever, the word which he commanded, unto a thousand generations: the
covenant which he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac. And confirmed the same
unto Jacob, for a statute to Israel for an everlasting covenant: saying, unto thee
will I give the land of Canaan the lot of your inheritance’ (1 Chronicles 16:15-
In 2 Samuel 7:13 it is said that David’s kingdom ‘shall endure for ever before me’.
This must surely carry us forward to David’s greater Son, the Messiah of Israel,
as spoken of in Psalm 2:6-
The next reference of a covenant made with the House of Israel and the House of Judah
is made through the prophet Jeremiah. It is called the NEW covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-
‘…This is the covenant that I will make… I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God and they shall be my people… If these ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall cease to be a nation before me for ever’.
History tells us that for Israel the fulfilment of this covenant it yet future and
this is confirmed by the writer to the Hebrews (8:8-
Before we comment on the terms of this covenant we must note the words ‘For if the first covenant had been faultless there would be no place sought for a second’ (Hebrews 8:7). We have previously referred to this when dealing with the covenant given to Moses. An explanation of the word ‘FIRST’ is given in chapter 9. Here the writer refers to the functions of the Tabernacle and its offerings which revealed Gods purpose and plan in parable form (v9) which pointed forward to the Messiah. He tells us ‘… But Christ having come a high priest of good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hand…’ (Hebrews 9:11).
Before there could be national salvation for Israel as predicted by the apostle Paul
‘So all Israel shall be saved’ (Romans 11:26), provision, to God’s satisfaction,
for the personal forgiveness and cleansing of sin must be accomplished. Thus the
Messiah of Israel, on the night of His last Passover, explained to his disciples
that the NEW covenant would be ratified in Him. ‘…And he took bread, and when he
had given thanks, he brake it and gave to them, saying, this is my body which is
given for you; this do in remembrance of me. And the cup, in like manner, after supper,
saying, this cup IS the new covenant in my blood, that which is poured out for you’
(Luke 22:14-
Because we Gentiles, referred to by the Lord as the ‘other sheep not
of the Jewish fold’ (John 10.16), have experienced by God’s grace, through the cross,
the terms of this New or SUPERIOR covenant, does not invalidate the future repentance
and restoration of Israel as a nation, under the reign of their Messiah, ‘…JESUS…and
the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David and he shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever and of his kingdom there shall be no end’ (Luke
1:32-
When we consider all these Scriptures, in their context, we come to the settled conclusion that the CHOICE of the people, the LAND and the COVENANTS called by the Apostle Paul, ‘the gifts and calling of God…are without repentance (IRREVOCABLE)’.
Jerusalem
The first reference to Jerusalem in Scripture is Genesis 14:18 in relation to Melchizedek who is called King of Salem, city of PEACE. Further references to it are JEBUS (Joshua 19:10), JERUSALEM (Joshua 10:1), ZION (Isaiah 60:14), HOLY CITY (Isaiah 52:1) and ARIEL (Lion) (Isaiah 29:1). With almost 5500 years of history it became Israel’s capital in 1400 BC when the first temple was built by King Solomon.
Geographical Centre – Literally
The prophet Ezekiel confirms this for us, he writes, ‘Thus saith the Lord God: this is Jerusalem: I have set her in the midst of the nations, and countries are round about her’ (Ezekiel 5:5).
Some years ago ECHOES OF SERVICE produced a wall map of the world with Israel and Jerusalem as its CENTRE. Radiating out in concentric circles to the extremities of all the land masses it showed that the outermost circle touched each one.
On the 3rd May 1996 in Hereford Cathedral the Queen Elizabeth II dedicated the restored map of Maundy. Originally painted in the 12th Century it depicted the world with Jerusalem as its centre!
The uniqueness of the Land of Israel with its capital Jerusalem is, without doubt, one of the central themes of the Bible. For example, Jerusalem is mentioned thirty two times in the Gospel of Luke!
Salvation Centre – Spiritually
Luke 9:51 states that ‘(Jesus) steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem’ and the bewildered travellers to Emmaus (Luke 24:18) said to their travelling companion, ‘dost thou sojourn alone in Jerusalem and know not the things that are come to pass?’ Jerusalem would be the place where the greatest transaction and triumph of the planet, indeed the universe, would be enacted. When king David’s greater Son, Messiah Jesus, would enter through one of its gates, symbolically as it’s king, only three days later to hang outside its wall, disrobed, destitute and disgraced to die between two common criminals The just for the unjust to bring us to God.
The highest thing that men could see above the cross was his lovely name: ‘THIS IS JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS’. It was written in Hebrew, the language of religion and revelation; Greek, the language of culture and philosophy, and Latin, the language of law and government. Yes! The entire world was at Golgotha, outside Jerusalem. It was there that He, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Messiah, died for our sins to bring us to God.
Yes, the entire world was at Golgotha. You were there, and so was I!
Between the thieves on either side,
The Lord of Life was crucified.
Men wondered at the site so rare,
And sitting down they watched Him there.
And none who saw could understand
Why darkness covered all the land,
And none who heard the cry ‘I thirst’
Knew why the sinless One was cursed.
Nor understood those words so true,
‘Forgive they know not what they do’,
For God alone, and none beside,
Knew what was done when Jesus died.
Trouble Centre -
The prophet Zechariah wrote, long after the Babylonian Captivity, and he recorded
12:2-
Even as we read, the eyes and thoughts of the major nations are upon Israel. Peace talks follow more peace talks and they have all come to nothing. From all over the world, in the last fifty plus years, hundreds of thousands of Jews have returned to their homeland. And despite Israel’s present great difficulties, the build up has begun and the actors are taking the stage to enact the final scene. And it is well understood that centre to it all is the future status of Jerusalem, that is the bottom line! The conflict envisaged will be conventional and cruel, incorporating the time known as ‘Jacob’s trouble’, more commonly described as ‘the great tribulation’.
It will commence on the human level but quickly progress to the supernatural, ‘Then shall the Lord go forth and fight those nations…and his feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives’ (Zechariah 14).
It will be the battle of all battles. A godless, self-
‘The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against
the Lord and his anointed, saying; Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away
their cords from us’ (Psalm 2:2-
All their ire is concentrated on Jerusalem, the city of God. It is there that an unprecedented event will take place; the return to earth of the Lord Jesus, ‘to take vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ’ (2 Thessalonians 1:8).
Nerve Centre – Governmentally
The prophet Isaiah also has much to tell us of this future day and the centrality
of Jerusalem, ‘…out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem. And he shall judge between the nations and reprove many peoples’ (2:2-
The disaster of our world is an increasing lawlessness; the shadow of the Antichrist is already seen. Events in many nations can be described only as anarchy, but there is a day coming when all will be changed. Antichrist who proclaims universal peace will bring it to an abrupt end and it will only be with the direct intervention of the Messiah that true world government and peace will reign. This will be a regulated society of law and order.
Isaiah’s prophecy clearly states that the Word of the Lord will go to the ends of the earth from Jerusalem. This has never happened before in all Israel’s history. Some have suggested that high technical information systems will carry the information. When it does Israel will have at last recognised their Messiah and the remaining pieces of the prophetic jigsaw will be put in place.
The law will go out of Zion, in contrast to man going his own way, and doing his own thing. Isaiah says, ‘the Lord will teach us ways, and we will walk in his paths’.
The lawlessness of the present age will be replaced with good and effective government.
We are ever increasingly witnessing international lawlessness, corruption and wickedness
that Scripture tells us will characterise our world in the last days (2 Thessalonians
2:1-
Can this filthy tide be turned? Can the bitter waters become sweet? Yes! The Man who rules the wind and the waves will turn them. The raging seas of international unrest will be calmed and ‘the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ’ (Revelation 11:15).
Glory Centre – Ultimately
This is truly a marvellous concept, out of this world! It is Zechariah that we are
indebted to for a glimpse of a new world order, ‘I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem
and Jerusalem shall be called The city of truth…there shall be old men and old woman
dwell in the streets of Jerusalem…and the streets of the city shall be full of boys
and girls playing in the streets thereof…and I will bring my people from the east
and the west and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem…I will be their God in
truth and righteousness’ (Zechariah 8:3-
Ever since the Creator formed man in His own image and placed him in Eden’s paradise it has been His design and desire to dwell among them and have communion with them. Early scripture records that, ‘God was walking with Adam in the cool of the day’ (Genesis 3:8).
The rise of Israel from among the nations 2000 years later reinforced this desire as God carefully laid out plans for the Tabernacle. He said to Moses, ‘there I will meet with thee…from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim…’ (Exodus 25:22). On its completion Scripture records, ‘that the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle’ (Exodus 40:34).
As King David approached the end of his reign he wanted to build a permanent sanctuary
to the Lord. He felt that the ‘tent’ which had been the centre-
But it was not to be. David had to be content to gather the materials. God decreed that it would be Solomon his son, who would have the honour of building and beautifying the temple. 1 Kings 8:11 records that when the Ark was brought into the temple, ‘the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord’. The temple remained the symbol of the presence of God until the day dawned when the literal and physical presence of God appeared on earth. His name shall be called ‘Immanuel, God with us’. Writing many years after the Incarnation, the Apostle John described it as ‘the Word became flesh and tabernacled (made His home) among us’ (John 1:14). All previous manifestations were but faint reflections of this revelation.
But the story of God’s intervention in the affairs of men does not stop here. Scripture predicts that in a day to come, when the Lord Jesus will actually and physically return to Jerusalem (Acts 1:11 and Zechariah 13), the once despised and lowly One will appear as King, to claim from the world His crown rights, and He will do it in Jerusalem.
‘I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem’ (Zechariah 8:3).
The Churches Worship Centre – Presently
‘Ye are come unto mount Zion and unto the city of the living God…the heavenly Jerusalem’
(Hebrews 12:22). We must note the present tense ‘are come’ our present position in
Christ in this day of grace. We are not exhorted to pilgrimage to the city of Jerusalem.
From the right hand of the majesty on high our resurrected Lord has decreed that
He is in the midst of His people, The church of the firstborn ones! What a wonder
that the wild Gentile olive branches are being grafted into the very heart and purposes
of the God who in His sovereign choice called and pre-
The church of Jesus Christ now worships where He IS! ‘…where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst’ (Matthew 18:20). How can we ever grasp the significance of the Lord being ever present as his obedient and submissive people gather together around Him!
The concept of worship in a ‘heavenly’ Jerusalem was unfolded by Jesus in a theological discussion with the Samaritan woman (John 4). As they talked together at Sychar’s well, the Lord said to her that the time would come when people would neither worship in Mount Gerazim (the worship centre of the Samaritans) nor in Jerusalem (the Jews worship centre) but the ‘true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth’ (John 4:23).
So He was pointing forward to the replacement of the temple, or any other building, large or small, as the focus of worship in this present age. In many parts of the world a variety of buildings are used by believers in worship because it is a sensible way to separate the worshippers from surrounding distractions. But we need to emphasis that the building is not the church, but a place where the church meets. Over the centuries men and woman have met to worship God in forests, caves and in the mountains. This was and is a measure of true devotion.
The Lord’s Return To Earth And The Establishment Of His Kingdom
The prophet Zechariah comments in some detail about the events surrounding the fulfilment of the angel’s prediction in Acts 1 that ‘this same Jesus shall return in like manner as ye have seen him go’.
The language in 14.3 ‘…his feet shall stand upon the mount of Olives’ makes clear that he is referring to a future literal event. The ‘residue’ (remnant) spoken of in verse 2 is not the church of the New Testament, but is Jewish, and that has been the underlying theme in the entire prophecy. Its message is completely eschatological.
As we have noted in Acts 1:11, the angels confirmed to the disciples that their Master would return in the same manner as he had left them. They emphasised that there would be a physical, personal, public, literal and visible return of the Messiah back to earth in His glorified body; the body He left Olivet with.
It is important to note the question the disciples asked their Master before He left them, ‘…dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ (v6). What kingdom were they referring to? A literal or a spiritual one? In Matthew 20:21 the mother of James and John requested that her sons would sit on either side of their Master, Jesus, in His kingdom. Again, what sort of kingdom had she in mind? Also we remember the request of the dying malefactor, ‘Lord, remember me when thou comest in (into) thy kingdom’. Where did the knowledge of a kingdom come from? Who gave the information to these enquirers? There is only one answer to that – their Hebrew Prophets!
It is interesting and relevant in our quest to ascertain what kind of kingdom the disciples were asking about, to note the references to and the prediction of a literal and earthly kingdom made by the priest Zechariah in the opening chapters of Luke’s Gospel. Before we cite this and other statements we need to remember that four hundred years have elapsed since Haggai, Zachariah and Malachi prophesied. This gap in time has often been referred to as the ‘silent years’ when there was no message from God to the Jewish remnant. I wonder about this? When we are introduced to Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, Simeon and the prophetess Anna in Luke it is evident that they and their ancestors had been diligent to preserve the brotherhood existing from Malachi’s time. He referred to those that feared the Lord speaking to one another and ‘the LORD hearkened and heard…’ Malachi 3:16.
Now four hundred years later the priest Zechariah (still functioning in the temple)
speaks, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel for he hath visited and wrought redemption
for his people. And hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his
servant David, as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets…and to remember his
holy covenant, the oath which he sware unto Abraham our father, to grant unto us
that being delivered out of the hand our enemies, we should serve him without fear’
(Luke 2:67-
To put the matter beyond doubt, the angel, in his announcement to Mary, said that
Messiah (Jehovah’s anointed king) would occupy ‘the throne of his father David’ (Luke
1:32-
When Simon Peter, in Matthew 16, confessed that his Master was ‘…the CHRIST (Messiah)
the Son of the living God’, it is quite clear that he believed that He had come to
establish the kingdom promised by the prophets years before and his Master confirmed
that this had been revealed to him ‘…by my Father which is in heaven…’ (Matthew 16:16-
These references show what the disciples had in the forefront of their minds as they stood on the Mount of Olives with their Master. They were convinced that He was the Messiah. So, they wondered, had the time NOW arrived that they had been waiting for, when the occupying powers that had for centuries afflicted their land would be defeated? If they were mistaken and there was to be no earthly and literal kingdom their Master could have easily told them so, but note His reply ‘…it is not for you to know the times or the seasons the Father hath SET within his known authority’. He could have gently rebuked them, as He did the disciples on the Emmaus Road, calling them foolish and slow of heart for not fully understanding the Scriptures! But he didn’t, why? Because He accepts their assumption that He WILL restore the kingdom, but points out that it is not for them to know the timing.
The immediate task that He now assigned to them, called the ‘great commission’, was
to ‘go into all the world and make disciples’ (Matthew 28:19-
This lengthy preamble to Zechariah 14 is important and is the fulfilment of the promise
confirmed by the angels, in Acts 1, that he would return to the earth again. The
events outlined now by the prophet, is the amplification of the last verses of chapter
13 (7-
Verse 2 introduces us to the end times, ‘Behold I will gather all the Gentiles (nations)
against Jerusalem to battle the city shall be taken…’. The siege and captivity proceeds
and leads up to the ‘day of the Lord’. This verse describes the last triumph of the
nations over Jerusalem, The Lord Jesus said of this city that it shall ‘…be trodden
down of the Gentiles till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled’ (Luke 21:24). Daniel
(7:23-
Despite the horrendous results of the attack, reference is made to the sparing of ‘the residue’; Bengel (the historian) confirms that this event is yet future. When the Romans last took Jerusalem in the time of Hadrian, ‘not a single Jew was left in the city’ he continues. ‘The residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city, for salvation from the Lord shall intervene…’ Zechariah continues (verse 3). ‘Then shall the LORD go forth and fight against those nations…’ The clear objective of Antichrist is to annihilate Israel. ‘Come, and let us cut us off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance’ (Psalm 83:40). A call that has come loud and clear from some of the modern day enemies of Israel. But Antichrist will learn that while the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel continue on the earth there will remain alive the name and power of Jehovah.
It would appear that the progression from verse two to three is taking us from the natural to the supernatural and results for the second time in human history in the physical and literal intervention of the LORD , as we have seen, in the person of His Son , the Messiah of Israel, Jesus! ‘And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives’ (v4). The writer, as if to emphasise its geographical situation, adds ‘which is before Jerusalem on the east’. ‘The topography’ says Bengel, ‘is accurately given, and to explain it figuratively would be wickedness’. This may seem to some very extreme language, but it is hard to disagree with the facts as stated in Scripture. The Mount of Olives was the last place His feet stood on earth, so it will be the first on which they will stand when He returns.
What will be the physical effect of this appearance? ‘…the Mount of Olives shall
cleave in the midst thereof…toward the east and towards the west and there shall
be a very great valley and half of the mountain shall remove towards the north and
half of it towards the south’ (v4). The fact that the mountain stands to day as it
was when the Jesus was on earth is another proof that this event is yet future. His
arrival will result in an earthquake. The mount will split in two and a GREAT valley
will be created. Some writers have connected this to the seventh bowl judgement (Revelation
16:18-
In sharp contrast to the safety provided to the remnant of Israel details of how the Lord will execute judgement is given in 12:13, ‘the plague…will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths’. Reading these words one is reminded of the similar results that came to the population of Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped in Japan in 1945. Those that survive this plague will turn in panic (v13) one against the other in scenes of terrible confusion and destruction.
It would seem from verse 14 that those who fled in verse 5 will turn, and with the Lord’s help will ‘fight at Jerusalem’ (a better translation than ‘against’). The combination of this judgement upon the invading nations will result in their utter defeat. This is often called Armageddon. This latter name means ‘place of gathering’ and refers to the Esdraelon plain to the north west of Jerusalem, possibly where the actual battle will commence and extend to the valley of Jehoshaphat in Jerusalem.
Returning to verse 5, ‘to Azal’, this area cannot be identified at present. The valley created will be large enough to allow a terrified population (the remnant) to flee from the holocaust happening in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, only to return and fight as we have seen above.
We now continue to look at the topographical changes that will take place when the Messiah arrives on Olivet. The reference to the North and the South receding as well as East and West indicates the flattening of the land. This is confirmed in verse 10, ‘All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimon south of Jerusalem’. Northward the plain will extend to Geba in Benjamin, which is six miles distant. Rimon is thirty five miles south west of Jerusalem. This means that the Judean hills will be flattened and the new valley join up with existing desert region known as the Arabah, that is a very flat area that extends for a hundred miles between the Dead Sea and the gulf of Aquaba, which according to Isaiah will disappear 11:15. What is certain is that this earthquake will not be a small localised tremor but a complete alteration of the topography of Israel, probably including Jerusalem itself. Verse 10 states that
‘…Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place…’ In other words, the city
will be prominent and pre-
Some teachers, when describing the entry of Messiah from Olivet into Jerusalem seem
to overlook these dramatic changes and describe His journey using features as they
exist today. Verse 8 describes what will accompany this upheaval, the introduction
of a newly created vast watercourse, ‘And it shall be in that day that living waters
shall flow from Jerusalem half of them towards the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and half
of them towards the western sea (Mediterranean Sea) in both summer and winter it
shall occur’. This latter comment further reinforces the argument that we are dealing
with usual climatic seasons that will endure until the dissolution of the present
creation. This massive waterway that springs up in Jerusalem and flows down in two
directions, westward and south eastward would appear to be that described by the
prophet Ezekiel. He speaks of ‘waters issuing…out of the house’ (47:1). The house
referred to is that of the Temple he has describes in minute detail in chapters 40-
Ezekiel 47 describes in detail the resulting fruitfulness and blessings that flow from these newly created waters, especially in relation to the Dead Sea (v10) and the Arabah (v8). The waters of the Dead (salt) Sea will ‘be healed…there shall be a very great multitude of fish…from Engedi…shall be a place for the spreading of nets…their fish shall be after their kind as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many, but the miry places and the marshes shall not be healed, they shall be given up to salt’.
Furthermore added emphasis to the literal aspect of the narrative is given in v12,
‘And by the river on the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow
every tree for meat, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall the fruit thereof
fail, it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because the waters thereof issue
out of the sanctuary and the fruit thereof shall be for meat and the leaf thereof
for healing’. The waterway will irrigate the entire desert, (we presently call the
area the Negev), ‘the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad and the desert
shall rejoice and blossom as the rose…for in the wilderness shall waters break out,
and streams in the desert.’ (Isaiah 35:1-
In addition to what is happening on earth, v6-
Before we look at further far-
It may be that in the near future, their believing offspring will form the residue of the nation that shall be brought through the time of Jacob’s Trouble to enter the millennial kingdom as souls redeemed by the blood of their Messiah (the CHRIST).
The prophet resumes, ‘The Lord shall be king over all the earth, in that day shall the Lord be one and his name one’ (v9). When Jehovah establishes the kingdom, through His Messiah, He alone will be the rightful Ruler over the entire earth. While Israel and her land will be at the centre of the Messiah’s arrival and intervention, there will be international repercussions. All nations will come under the authority and rule of the One whom Revelation 19 describes as ‘KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS’.
In referring to the remnant of Israel that will survive the great Tribulation, and
the subsequent destruction of the invading nations, Zechariah records, ‘And I will
pour upon the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace
and supplication; and they shall look upon (unto) me whom they have pierced…’ (12:10).
This will be a moment of unbelievable astonishment! The Jesus of Nazareth, whose
blood they cried for, of whom they screamed, ‘away with him, crucify him; we will
not have this man to reign over us’ now appears in bodily presence before them! They
see on His body the scars of crucifixion. The centuries in between have not diminished
the awful reality of what they have done and so the prophet continues, ‘…and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for an only son. And they shall be in bitterness
for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first born’. What a moment! What a
revelation! We get a further insight into this mourning when we listen to Isaiah
in his song of Israel’s confession and repentance, ‘…he was despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…he was despised and we (Israel)
esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our grief and carried our sorrows but he was
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities and with his stripes
we are healed. All we (nationally) have gone astray, we have turned everyone to his
own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all…’ (Isaiah 53). And
at that moment of repentance the words of the apostle Paul will be fulfilled, ‘And
so all Israel shall be saved even as it is written. There shall come out of Zion
the deliverer and he shall turn away the ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant
with them when I shall take away their sins…For the gifts and calling of God are
without repentance (irrevocable)’ (Romans 11:26-
The Reign Of The King
The references by the prophet Isaiah previously mentioned will mark the inauguration of the Messianic Reign. The Lord Jesus also underscores the literal nature of this reign, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, that in the generation, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you (the twelve Apostles) who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel’ (Matthew 10:28).
As well as a saved Israel, they will be joined by those who have been martyred for
their faith during the Tribulation and have been resurrected, ‘…and they lived and
reigned with Christ a thousand years’ (Revelation 20:4). We also learn that the saints
who come with the returning Christ, will fill a place of responsibility and nearness
to Him. ‘Thou madest them…to be a kingdom of priests and they shall reign upon the
earth’ (Revelation 5:10). Then, too the Lord Jesus tells us, ‘…that the tribes of
the earth shall mourn, when they see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory. And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound
of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one
end of heaven to another’ (Matthew 25:33-
Redeemed ones who enter the Kingdom will find that changes in them will correspond to the new spiritual and physical conditions that will pertain, not only in Israel but throughout the entire earth. New living conditions will be compatible with new climatic activity. And the whole moral change that will result from the authority and rule of the KING!
One other significant change will be the binding of Satan (Revelation 20:1-
We must conclude that the rebellion of Satan intervening between the end of the Millennium and the creation of New Heavens and a new Earth (commonly referred to as the commencement of the Eternal state) is allowed by God to emphasis the utter incapability of the arch deceiver to upset the purposes of God. And in this connection references made during the Millennium to the everlasting reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, are not invalidated.
We now look at what Scripture has to say about the new order of life and things on the millennial earth. Comments on the various passages quoted have been kept to a minimum so that the reader may interpret or understand what is written as helped by the Holy Spirit.
In Zechariah 14 we have already referred to geological changes. According to Isaiah
(11:15-
Isaiah 35 refers to many aspects of change, ‘The desert shall rejoice and blossom
as the rose’ (35:1-
Then we get references to changes in agriculture in Psalm 72:16. The Psalmist tells
us, ‘There shall be an abundance of corn upon the tops of the mountains; the fruit
thereof shall shake like Lebanon’. The prophet Amos also foretells, ‘The days come
saith the Lord that the ploughman will overtake the reaper; and the treader of grapes
him that soweth seed and the mountains shall drop sweet wine…they shall plant vineyards…and
make gardens and eat the fruit of them’ (9:13-
Perhaps the most significant change is that to human living and the longevity of
life, ‘There shall be no more thence an infant of days…for the child shall die an
hundred years old’ (Isaiah 65:20). ‘Thus saith the Lord of hosts; there shall yet
old men and old woman dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, every man with his staff
in his hand for very age’ (We learn from this that nature will take its course and
the walking stick will still be in use!!). ‘…And the streets of the city shall be
full of boys and girls playing’ (Zechariah 8:4-
This leads us to consider the Theocratic rule that will be in place. Again Isaiah
comments freely about this, ‘It shall come to pass in the latter days…many peoples
shall go and say let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house (temple)
of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths,
for out of Zion will go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And
he shall judge between the nations and shall reprove many peoples…’ (Isaiah 2:2-
We return in conclusion to Zechariah 14 by considering verses 16-
Finally, let us remind our hearts that only redeemed people (through the Saviour’s atonement on the Cross) will enter this Kingdom. Holiness will be the watch word as we see in verse 20. It will be the badge of the Kingdom. It will characterise secular life as represented by ‘…the bells of the horses’, religious life as seen in the ‘vessels in the Lord’s house’ and privately as seen in ‘every pot in Jerusalem and Judah’.
The last word of the chapter summarise all that has gone before, ‘…In that day there shall be no more Canaanite (idolatrous invader) in the house of the LORD of hosts’. It has been suggested that this could have a reference to the Palestinian population that at present is in the Land. Whether this is so or not remains to be seen.
The closing words of the great Messianic Psalm 72 are glorious, ‘THE LORD’S NAME SHALL ENDURE FOR EVER: AND SHALL BE CONTINUED AS LONG AS THE SUN, AND MEN SHALL BE BLESSED IN HIM, ALL NATIONS SHALL CALL HIM BLESSED. BLESSED BE THE LORD GOD, THE GOD OF ISRAEL WHO ONLY DOETH WONDROUS THINGS. AND BLESSED BE HIS GLORIOUS NAME FOR EVER, AND LET THE WHOLE EARTH BE FILLED WITH HIS GLORY’.
Final Thoughts
For over two thousand years, since the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, the nation of Israel has been scattered around the earth as predicted by the prophet Ezekiel, ‘I will scatter thee among the nations, and disperse thee among the countries…’ (Ezekiel 22:15). The movement back to the Land, a trickle at first, began at the end of the 19th Century and continued slowly until the establishment of Israel as a nation in May 1948. Over the past fifty plus years the nation has been rebuilt. Since then it has continued to grow. Indeed, it has become the focus of world attention, and not always for the right reasons. Today contemporary Israel is in denial of the covenants of promise.
We learn from the prophets that the return and restoration of Israel will be in two stages. A physical return followed by a spiritual revival. One major piece of prophecy by Ezekiel in chapter 37 in his allegory of the ‘valley of dry bones’. First, the body is reassembled without breath, the question is asked, ‘Can these bones live?’ (37:4). ‘thus saith the Lord God…I will bring you into the land of Israel…and I will put my spirit upon you and you shall live and I will place you in your own land and you shall know that I am the Lord’ (Ezekiel 37:12).
Presently the nation is progressing through the first stage, in unbelief and still blinded, ‘…hardening in part hath befallen Israel. Until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved.’ (Romans 11:25). As we have seen the words ‘in part’ are important. Since the reestablishment of the nation there has been an ever growing number of Jews in the Land and coming to the Lord. They have heard and accepted the message that the crucified Jesus of Nazareth is both their Lord and Messiah. The remnant principle of God still stands. These that are born again form part of the church of Jesus Christ. Many are persecuted by their peers and certainly by Jewish orthodoxy. What a thrill to know that in some areas throughout Israel converted Jews and Arabs, now one in Christ, meet (fellowship) for prayer and worship. Illustrating the marvellous truth, ‘…for he is our peace who hath made both (Jew and Gentile) one…’ (Ephesians 2:14).
The event leading up to the final and full re-
What will shorten them? The literal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ, as we have examined in Part three of this study. A reborn Israel (Part four) will then enter their Messiah’s Millennial Kingdom.
At its conclusion, ‘…Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall come forth
to deceive the nations…and they went up over the breadth of the earth and encompassed
the camp of the saints about and the beloved city and fire came down from heaven
and devoured them’ (Revelation 20:7-
After the dissolution of the present creation, the last assize will take place at
the great white throne judgement (Revelation 20:11-
Our understanding of the great and glorious future for the redeemed and the unspeakable torment of the uncountable multitude of the lost is very limited. However, we have the assurance that the purposes of God and His Christ will ultimately be fulfilled. To Him be glory through out the ages. AMEN.
DREW CRAIG