THE MESSIAH COMES TO ISRAEL. Part 1

In his recently released book The Messiah Comes to Israel, author Gerald Rowlands takes a detour from the traditional “Rapture Next” path. From the prophecy in Zechariah 12 he investigates the high probability of an imminent war to be launched against Israel by all her near Muslim neighbors. According to verses nine and ten, Almighty God Jehovah will intervene directly to defend and deliver Israel from her fanatical enemies, after which He will pour out His Holy Spirit upon the nation, and reveal Himself as Israel’s Messiah. He will then be received by Israel with period of great mourning and national repentance that precedes a glorious national transformation.
Zechariah 12:9-11
9 For my plan is to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
10 "Then I will pour out the spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on all the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.
11 The sorrow and mourning in Jerusalem on that day will be like the grievous mourning of Hadad-Rimmon in the valley of Megiddo. NLT
The chapter opens with a strong message from Jehovah God concerning the prophetic future of Israel and Jerusalem. God predicts a fierce End Time attack upon Israel by all her surrounding neighbors. Amazingly, the attack will be repulsed by the direct intervention of Jehovah and all Israel’s enemies will be soundly defeated and destroyed. In the wake of this supernatural victory, Jehovah will pour forth His Spirit on the population of Israel and Jerusalem. This outpouring will come by the sovereign grace of God causing cries of repentance to fill every mouth. The immediate result will be an immense scene of national mourning the like of which has never been witnessed in Israel since the death of King Josiah.
Immediately after the cries of repentance, God will open a fountain of cleansing to purge Israel from all their sins and defilements. (Zechariah 13:1)
The amazing victory will gain for Israel a great deal of territory formerly occupied by her enemies. It will also win a period of peace and prosperity when Israel and Jerusalem will be exalted above all the nations and the God of Israel will also be highly exalted. Many of the glorious promise that God has made over Israel will be wonderfully fulfilled. Predictions such as Isaiah 61may then be fulfilled. This peaceful and prosperous period will last until the war that is predicted in Ezekiel 38 and 39.

The Sequence of Zechariah’s Prophecy
Zechariah 12:1
The burden (massa: H5375) of the word of the LORD (Jehovah) against (concerning) Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: NKJV
The opening statement of the chapter says that this particular message is a burden (Hebrew, massa - a heavy load, a weighty matter) concerning the future of Israel. God is extremely serious about the predicted situation. He is warning Israel and the world about a serious event that will happen in the End Times future of Israel. God also presents His credentials as the creator and sustainer of the universe including mankind.
Zechariah 12:2-3 all the nearby nations send their armies to besiege Jerusalem. NLT
All the nearby nations on the borders of Israel will attack Jerusalem. They will launch a united savage attack upon Israel and its capital city. It will be launched with the optimistic belief that at last they have the ability and opportunity to destroy the Jewish presence in Israel. Jehovah then outlines His response to the attack. In definitively naming Israel’s enemies in this war as “all the nearby (geographically adjacent) nations” Zechariah clearly distinguishes this war from the one predicted in Ezekiel 38, 39. This is a different war preceding, possibly by several years, the one mentioned in Ezekiel.
Zechariah 12:2-3
2 I will make Jerusalem and Judah like an intoxicating drink to all the nearby nations that send their armies to besiege Jerusalem. NLT
He will give to the attacking nations the cup of His anger which will be like a powerfully intoxicating drink. The attacking forces will begin to act like drunken men in an irrationally and uncoordinated manner. Sensible strategies and actions will desert them and they will conduct themselves like men in a drunken stupor. In some yet technically unknown manner God is also going to “mess with their minds” causing forms of insanity that will cause them to perform ill advised actions that will defeat their own purposes.

Who Are The Enemies?
The immediate enemies are all the nearby enemies as outlined in
Psalms 83:4-8
4 "Come," they say, "let us wipe out Israel as a nation. We will destroy the very memory of its existence."
5 This was their unanimous decision. They signed a treaty as allies against you —
6 these Edomites and Ishmaelites, Moabites and Hagrites,
7 Gebalites, Ammonites, and Amalekites, and people from Philistia and Tyre.
8 Assyria has joined them, too, and is allied with the descendants of Lot. NLT
These ancient nations all have their descendant equivalents in the modern Islamic nations that currently surround Israel on every side. At present this war is being waged mainly by Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria, motivated and armed by Iran. However, there are also numerous nations that are giving tacit approval to the aims of Israel’s enemies through plans to divide Israel and Jerusalem giving place to Islamic ambitions. Certainly the UN and its minions are already guilty in this regard. U.S and U.K government policies are also complicit with plans to create a Muslim State within the current boundaries of Israel and Jerusalem; they too will face the anger and judgment of God. Joel 3:2.
Once again, as on many previous occasions, the religious leaders of Iran have spoken openly of their determination to destroy and eliminate what they called the “Zionist regime.”

Iranian leader predicts destruction of Israel – January 28th 2010
TEHRAN (AFP) – Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is confident Islamic nations will one day watch the destruction of arch-foe Israel, his website Wednesday quoted him as saying. Khamenei made the remark during a meeting with Mauritanian President Mohammed Ould Abdel Aziz in Tehran, the website said.
The all-powerful Iranian leader also said that Israel's continued "pressure to erase Palestine from the world of Islamic nations" will fail.
"Surely, the day will come when the nations of the region will witness the destruction of the Zionist regime... when the destruction happens will depend on how the Islamic nations approach the issue," Khamenei told Aziz, who arrived in Tehran on Monday.
"The Zionist regime, by continuing to use pressure, blockades and committing genocide, wants to erase Palestine... but it will not succeed."
Zechariah 12:3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone, a burden for the world. None of the nations who try to lift it will escape unscathed. NLT
God will also then make Jerusalem like a very heavy, immovable stone. All who try to displace this stone will only succeed in rupturing themselves and tearing their nations apart. The stone will prove too heavy for even the whole world to dislodge. They will make no progress in their attempt to change the status of the city. Jerusalem will remain intact and wholly in Jewish hands.
Every nation that has any role in supporting the division of Israel and Jerusalem will experience severe judgment from the hand of God.
Joel 3:1-2
1 "At that time, when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem," says the LORD,
2 "I will gather the armies of the world into the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will judge them for harming my people, for scattering my inheritance among the nations, and for dividing up my land. NLT
As a faithful watchman over Jerusalem God neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Psalms 121:3-5
3 He will not let you stumble and fall; the one who watches over you will not sleep.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel never tires and never sleeps.
5 The LORD himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. NLT
However in Zechariah 12:4 He issues fresh and further assurance that at this particular time in her history He will keep an especially alert eye on the people of Israel.
Zechariah 12:4 "On that day, says the LORD, I will cause every horse to panic and every rider to lose his nerve. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will blind the horses of her enemies. NLT
In another version of the Bible Jehovah says, “And I will open My eyes on the house of Judah.” (MKJV)
The phrase “open my eyes” implies to give special attention to indicating that God will be especially mindful to the plight of His people at a given time. He will be solicitously mindful of them.
In addition to keeping His eyes on Israel Jehovah also says that He will “blind the horses of Israel’s enemies” i.e. He will cause them to lose all sense of direction. They will be completely disoriented. I am sure this means that God will confuse all the radar, radio transmissions and directional finding instruments of the enemy.
In an induced state of total confusion all Israel’s enemies will lose their nerve. They will be severely demoralized and in a state of grave panic to the degree of mental breakdown. I believe that Israel will have some hitherto secret weapons that will be like ray guns, capable of zapping the brains of their enemies and incapacitating them. There will also be supernatural powers working to cause mental problems and intellectual disarray. Alternatively it may be God Himself who strikes the mental faculties of Israel’s enemies.
Zechariah 12:5 'The people of Jerusalem have found strength in the LORD Almighty, their God.' NLT
In the Israeli ranks there will be an absolute difference in mentality. They will discover and be imbued with supernatural strength from Jehovah Sabaoth, the commander in chief of Heaven’s armies. Instead of trusting wholly in their own military strategies and capabilities they will place their faith solely in the Living God.
Zechariah 12:5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. (KJV)
The clear intimation of verse 5 is that the rulers (government leaders) of Israel will boldly declare that their strength and confidence will be in the LORD of Hosts. Although since the birth of modern Israel their confidence has been invested in their amazing Defense Force, in this new situation their hope will be placed in the God who is defending and delivering them from their fanatical attackers. Another version declares that the “governors” i.e. ruling administrators of Israel will transfer their hope to the LORD of Hosts.
Zechariah 12:5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. (KJV)
The plain inference of verse 5 in the King James Version is that the rulers (government leaders) of Israel will boldly declare that their strength and confidence will be in the LORD of Hosts. Although since the birth of modern Israel their confidence has been invested in their amazing Defense Force, in this new situation their hope will be placed in the God who is defending and delivering them from their fanatical attackers.

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