Zech. 8:20-28 -- This is what the Lord Almighty says:
"Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants
of one city will go to another and say,
'Let us go at once to entreat the Lord and seek the
Lord Almighty. I myself am going.'
And many peoples and powerful nations will come to
Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him."
Vs. 23 -- This is what the Lord
Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take
firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have
heard that God is with you."
First of all, if "many people and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek
the Lord Almighty and to entreat him," it's because He is residing in Jerusalem.
Otherwise it would be just as effective to entreat Him from anywhere on earth where
they might reside. We also are certain that this has never happened before, so this
unfulfilled prophecy has to be for a future fulfillment. It has to be when Christ is
ruling the earth from the present day city of Jerusalem, after its tremendous upgrade
following Christ's second
coming.
Vs. 23 -- "In those days ten men from all languages
and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, let us go
with you, because we have heard that God is with you."
This must be referring to the time immediately following the return of Christ at which
time He is gathering the exiled Jews from their 1260 days of abuse and brutalizing, to
bring them back to their homeland in the land of Israel.
Why ten men from all languages and nations? Remember when God brings this
One World Order beast with the ten horns which represent the ten kings with each his army --
being under the generalship of the Antichrist and his army. Remember their
destroying Jerusalem and killing two-thirds of the inhabitants of the holy land. The
remnant third of survivors are placed in two groups to undergo the punishment that God had
prophesied would befall them for 1260 days. Fifty percent of them would remain in
Jerusalem and undergo brutalizing, raping and trampling, while the other half of these
survivors would be exiled to all these nations represented in this combine of the ten
kings.
Zech. 14:1,2 -- A day of the Lord is coming when your
plunder will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to
fight against it; (the ten kings and their armies against Jerusalem)
The city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and
the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people
will not be taken from the city.
The Lord says that not one of the exiles will be missing when they are gathered up to
bring them back to their inheritance at Christ's return. Don't you imagine that
these inhabitants in these nations will be impressed how these exiles are preserved by God
so that not one of them will be missing when He gathers them to receive their inheritance?
They will want to go with the Jew that had lived in exile in their country for that
very reason.
Jer. 23:3-6 -- "I myself will gather the remnant of my flock
out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their
pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.
I will place shepherds over them who will tend them,
and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing," declares
the Lord.
Vs. 5 - "The days are coming,
"declares the Lord, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King
who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.
Vs. 6 - In his days Judah will be
saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteousness.
Could the exiles spoken of here, in any way, be referring to the exiles that returned
from their Babylonian captivity over seventy years previously? Were all of them
returned with not one missing? Did they thereafter live safely in the holy land
without fear? Did the King who ruled the land in those days remove the fear because
this king was called by the name of "The Lord our Righteousness?"
Ask any Jew who lived during the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. They would vouch
that they did not know what living without fear meant. Living in fear was a way of life
for them.
Ezek. 36:17-28 -- "Son of man, when the people of
Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions.
Their conduct was like a woman's uncleanness in my
sight. So I poured out my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and
because they had defiled it with their idols.
I dispersed them among the nations, and they were
scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their
actions.
Vs. 20 -- And wherever they went
among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, 'These are the
Lord's people, and yet they had to leave the land.'
Vs. 21 -- I had concern for my
holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had
gone.
Vs. 22 -- "Therefore say to
the house of Israel, "This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your
sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy
name...
Vs. 23 -- I will show the
holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have
profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the
Sovereign Lord, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes.
Vs. 24 -- "For I will take
you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back
into your own land...
Vs. 28 -- You will live in the
land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people and I will be your God.
Isn't it easier now to see why the Gentiles, living in the ten countries and possibly
more -- where the Israelites will be exiled, will see these undeserving
Israelites being gathered up by God's messengers to bring them back to their homeland; and
where not one of them has perished during their exiling. No wonder they take hold of
the hem of the robe of the Jew and request the opportunity to serve such a forgiving and
compassionate God. They want to go to where the Jew is going, hoping to become a
member of this kingdom their God has set up in Jerusalem.
I believe we are given the same evidence that the surviving Israelites, that are being
trampled in Jerusalem during this same period, will be protected from death also.
Isaiah 51:12-23 -- I; even I, am he who comforts you. Who
are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the
Lord your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that
you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent
on destruction.
[This is God speaking to the Israelite remnant that have been undergoing trampling and
brutalizing for the past 1260 days in Jerusalem. They have refused to admit Christ
as their Savior from the time of the cross until now. But that is about to
change. The oppressor is the Antichrist-Satan personified as a man and universally
bent on destruction but of the Israelites in particular.]
Vs. 14 -- For where is the wrath of the oppressor? The cowering
prisoners will soon be set free; they will not die in their dungeons, nor will they lack
bread.
[These prisoners being trampled by the Antichrist and his legions in Jerusalem will be
carefully monitored by God to see that they will not be killed and will not starve.
Persecution will continue for the entire 1260 days because that is "the punishment in
fulfillment of all that has been written." Luke 21:22.]
Vs. 17 -- Awake,
awake! Rise up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of
his wrath, you who have drained to its dregs the goblet that makes men stagger.
[The 1260 days have now come to an end. The Israelites have drained the cup of
God's wrath toward them to its dregs.]
Vs. 22 -- This is what
your Sovereign Lord says, your God, who defends his people: "See, I have taken out of
your hand the cup that made you stagger; from that cup, the goblet of my wrath, you
will never drink again.
Vs. 23 -- I will put it into the
hands of your tormentors, who said to you, 'Fall prostrate that we may walk over you.'
And you made your back like the ground, like a street to be walked over."
[What better description of being trampled could you possibly make?]
I believe we can see from this passage that even though these Israelites will undergo
inhumane abuse for this period of trampling in Jerusalem, they will not die under the
abuse and that their bread and water will be sure. God is carefully making sure
the Antichrist and his subordinates do not exceed the limits that God has set for this
prophesied punishment.
Now we have fresh in our minds the punishment these remnant Israelites undergo during
this time. And not only is this punishment allowed, but orchestrated by God, to be
within limits which He has set.
I would like to present a prophetic event found in Revelation 9 that has always been an
enigma to me. This prophecy very well could be speaking of these very events above.
It is the prophecy associated with the fifth trumpet, all of which takes place
during Satan's rule of the earth and coincides with a portion of the time of this
prophesied punishment of the Israelite survivors in Jerusalem.
Rev. 9:1-6 -- The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I
saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. (Satan) The star was given the
key to the shaft of the Abyss.
[Could this be Satan being given the key to rule this earth during his promised time of
42 months?]
When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic
furnace. The sun and the sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. And
out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of
scorpions of the earth.
Vs. 4 -- They were told not to
harm the grass of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those people who did not have
the seal of God on their foreheads.
[Who had the seal of God on their foreheads? All born again Christians have this
seal on their foreheads placed on them when they accept Christ as their Savior.
Do these Israelites undergoing exiling and trampling have this seal on their
foreheads? Absolutely not! The mere suggestion of that would be an insult to
an Israeli. What about the great majority of the earth that are Atheists or are not
committed to serving Christ? There is nowhere it states that none of these will die
during this time.
Vs. 5 -- They were not given power to kill them, but only
to torture them for five months. And the agony they suffered was like that of the
sting of a scorpion when it strikes a man.
[These being punished for a period of five months of this 1260 day period, consisted of
some type of torture. The torture was allowed by God, but death was not.]
Vs. 6 -- During those days men will seek death, but will not find
it; they will long to die, but death will elude them.
[God will not allow them to die because He knows this is a refining process from
which He has previously prophesied that not one will be missing at the end of this
punishment. Remember the prophecy that was given to reveal when this punishment will
be initiated?]
Zech. 13:8,9 -- In the whole land, (land of Israel)
"declares the Lord, "two-thirds will be struck down and perish; yet one-third
will be left in it.
Vs. 9 -- This third I will bring
into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. (all impurities
removed) They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, 'They are my
people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.' "
After 2000 years they have become converted and recognize that Christ is who He had
previously told them He was; but they had refused to accept Him. Now He makes
the first step in reconciliation. He will say, "They are my people.' And
they will respond, 'The Lord is our God.'
Isaiah 27:7-9 (Speaking of the Israelites during this punishment) --
Has the Lord struck her as he struck down those who struck her? Has she been
killed as those were killed who killed her?
Vs. 8 -- By warfare and exile
you contend with her-with his fierce blasts he drives her out, as on a day the east wind
blows.
Vs. 9 -- By this, then, will
Jacob's guilt be atoned for, and this will be the full fruitage of the removal of his sin.
This is the refining of these remnant Israelites like silver, and testing them like
gold. Its from the cup that they will never have to drink from again. This is
revealing God fulfilling the promise He made to Abraham -- that irrevocable
promise.
Romans 11:25-29 -- I do not want you to be ignorant of this
mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a
hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel
will be saved as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn
godlessness away from Jacob,
Vs. 27 -- And this is my
covenant with them when I take away their sins."
Vss. 28,29 -- As far as the
gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is
concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are
irrevocable.
Even though the Israelites have profaned His name in all these countries that they have
been exiled to, God will still carry out the irrevocable promise that He made to their
forefather, Abraham. This to take place at Christ's second coming.
Acts 3:17-21 -- "Now, brothers, I know you acted in
ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold
through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer.
Vs. 19 -- Repent, then, and turn
to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the
Lord,
Vs. 20 -- and that he may send
the Christ, who has been appointed for you -- even Jesus.
Vs. 21 -- He must remain in heaven
until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his
holy prophets.
"and that he (the Father) may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you --
even Jesus." This is Peter telling the Israelites, after the crucifixion, that
Christ had been appointed by God the Father for them.
This restoration that Peter is speaking of, though still future, is still awaiting
fulfillment.
"He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God(the Father) to restore
everything." For certain this nails the specific time this restoration is
scheduled to take place. This, from what Peter has said, means the restoration of
the Israelites back to their previous position as God's special nation, as well as
restoring them their inheritance to a peaceful, secure and greatly expanded and upgraded
holy land.
Christ must remain in heaven until the time for God to accomplish this can only mean
that it has to happen when Christ comes in all His glory at His second coming.
Immediately before Christ was taken up to heaven, His disciples asked Him the question
that was uppermost on the minds of all of Christ's followers at that time.
Acts 1:6-9 -- So after they met together, they asked him,
"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"
Vs. 7 -- He said to them:
"It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own
authority.
Vs. 8,9 -- But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in
Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from
their sight.
Wouldn't this have been the perfect time for Christ to let these disciples know that
that promise of restoration was no longer valid, or that it no longer would ever apply to
their nation? Or, that was my original plan that we will call plan A, but because of
the failure of the Israelites as a nation, I have had to inaugurate a new plan that we
will call plan B. Sorry I don't have time to explain it to you.
The failure of the Israelites as a nation has continued to be front page material in
all these prophetic books right up to the time of Christ's second coming, but it states
that He will still honor that promise; not in any way to be influenced by their past
behavior, but to show the holiness of His great name that they had profaned.
Ezek. 36:33-34 -- "This is what the Sovereign Lord
says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and
the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying
desolate in the sight of all who pass through it.
Vs. 35 -- They will say,
"This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that
were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.
Vs. 36 -- Then the
nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed
and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do
it."
Has the Lord ever cleansed the Israelites from all their sins to the present time?
No record of it whatever.
This says the resettling and rebuilding of their towns and ruins are not scheduled to
be done until God first has cleansed the surviving remnant, at His coming, from all their
sins. Then the nations that remain (after His second coming) will know that it is
God who has rebuilt what was destroyed. (not the Israelites)
"I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it." Does this in any way sound
conditional to you? If this promise is conditional what more could the Israelites
do, beyond what God said they did, to cancel this promise? But God says it is not
because of what the Israelites did, either for good or for evil, that He is carrying out
this promise. It is to bring honor to His name which the Israelites had profaned in
the kingdoms where they had been exiled. He does this by fulfilling the irrevocable
promise that He made to Abraham, by restoring Abraham's descendants to their promised
land.
Did Christ ever abandon His chosen people -- the Israelites, as a nation?
If so, is the abandonment permanent? Most Christians say this abandonment was
permanent, but there is much evidence to the contrary. Some say they were never
abandoned. There is strong evidence against this also. Notice Christ's prayer
on the cross against His nation that were crucifying Him:
Psalm 69:22-28 -- May the table set before them become a
snare; may it become retribution and a trap. May their eyes be darkened so they
cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.
Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce wrath
overtake them, May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. .
.
Vss 27,28 -- Charge them with
crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation. May they be blotted out
of the book of life.
I believe this should be easily apparent that abandonment occurred at this time and in
the most unambiguous manner. But now, let us go to the ending of this prayer to get
a glimpse of the disposition of the Israelites in the final analysis.
Psalm 69:33-36 -- The Lord hears the needy and does not
despise his captive people. . .
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of
Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it;
Vs. 36-- The children of his servants
will inherit it, and those who love him will dwell there.
These children of His servants are the children of the "144,000 servants of our
God" whom He seals on the forehead with the Holy Spirit seal (Rev.7:3,4).
This occurs at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, and they reveal Christ to the
inhabitants of the earth for the following three and a half years. They do this by
preaching the everlasting gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
These selected and chosen servants and their subsequent children will inherit the land
of Israel. There are 12,000 of them assigned to represent each of the 12 tribes of
Israel. Those also who love God's name will live there so none of us should feel
excluded from dwelling there if we are born again Christians (those who love His name).
Now let us turn to another description of this same event as given in prophetic vision
to Micah:
Micah 5:1-5 -- Marshall your troops, O city of troops, for
a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod.
[See Matt. 27:28-30 -- They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on
him, and then wove a crown of thorns and set it on his head.
They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of
him and mocked him. "Hail, King of the Jews!" they said.
They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the
head again and again.]
Micah 5:2 (continuing) -- But you, Bethlehem, though you
are small among the clans of Israel, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler
over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. [This is to identify
which of Israel's rulers verse one is speaking of.]
Vs. 3 -- Therefore Israel will
be abandoned [Therefore -- for this reason -- for the unspeakable crime
of the crucifixion] until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of
his brothers return to join the Israelites. [See my booklet #34 The Heavenly
Pregnancy for more evidence on this pregnancy.]
Micah 6:4 -- He will stand and shepherd his flock in the
strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live
securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be
their peace.
These last two verses can only be speaking of the time of Christ's second coming when
he frees his exiled and trampled people and rebuilds their cities and homes that follow
the total devastation at His second coming. He then rules His redeemed peoples --
the Israelites. This includes all born again Christians, both literal Israelites and
Gentile Christians who have been grafted into the Israelite tree.
Now note more about this time of abandonment, but as always followed by reconciliation.
Isaiah 1:13,14 -- Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and Convocations --
I cannot bear your evil assemblies. Your New Moon festivals and your appointed
feasts my soul hates. . . [They keep right on keeping all these symbolic
ceremonies which pointed forward to Christ and since they rejected him
and continue to look for their Messiah, they continue to keep these
obsolete festivals.]
Vs. 15 -- When you spread out
your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will
not listen. Your hands
are full of blood. . . .
Vs. 18 -- "Come now, let us
reason together," says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall
be white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be as wool."
Vs. 19 -- "If you are
willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the
land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword."
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken . . .
Vs. 25 -- "I will turn my
hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities.
[Note when the Nation of Israel is destroyed during the time of the Great
Tribulation, at the time of the end, and at which time the remnant surviving Jews are
exiled and trampled and brutalized.]
See Zechariah 13:8,9 "In the whole land," (of Israel) declares the Lord,
"two-thirds will be struck down and perish; Yet one-third will be left in it.
This third I will bring into the fire. I will refine them like silver and test them
like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them; I will say, 'they are
my people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.' "
Isaiah 1:26 (continuing) -- "I will restore your
judges as in the days of old, your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you
will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.
This can only be speaking of this City in Jerusalem that Christ will be in charge of
rebuilding at the beginning of His Millennial Reign.
Isaiah 54:6-9 -- The Lord will call you back as if you were
a wife deserted and distressed in spirit -- a wife who married young, only to be
rejected," says your God. "For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with
deep compassion I will bring you back.
Vs. 8 -- In a surge of anger [at the cross] I hid my face
from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,"
says the Lord your Redeemer.
Vs. 9 -- To me this is like the days of Noah, when I swore
that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth. So now I have sworn not
to be angry with you, never to rebuke you again."
Can this possibly be speaking of the Israelites at any time since the
crucifixion? Absolutely not! -- nor to any of the rest of His
children. This can only be speaking of the time after His children have all been
redeemed and set up in His Kingdom in the Land of Israel.
There is almost an endless amount of material in these prophetic books to further
substantiate this but this should be enough to see the picture.