(Zechariah 12:2-3) “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.”
By the end of the 11th Century approximately two-thirds of the ancient Middle-Eastern Christian world had been conquered by Muslims, including the Holy Land (Israel), Syria, Egypt and Anatolia (Turkey).
The crusades, attempting to check the advance of Islam, initially were successful. The crusaders established a Christian state in the Holy Land and Syria. However, the continuing growth of the Islamic states reversed those gains of the crusaders.
The Crusades continued for roughly three centuries spanning from the 11th to the 13th centuries, with the major period of crusading activity occurring between 1095 and 1291.
At the centre of the crusades was the status of the city of Jerusalem. Both Islam and Christendom fought primarily for control of the city.
Jerusalem has been fought over more than 100 times throughout its history. It’s been captured and recaptured 44 times, besieged 23 times, and attacked 52 times. Jerusalem is considered a holy city by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Now the Ottoman Turks took over the Holy Land, including Jerusalem in 1516. The Ottoman sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluk armies at the Battle of Marj Dābiq and took over Greater Syria along with Jerusalem.
The city of Jerusalem was governed from Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, instead of Cairo. The Ottoman occupation of the Holy land (Israel) lasted until the end of World War I.
The Ottoman rule over the Holy Land ended in 1918 after the Ottoman forces were defeated at the Battle of Megiddo. From this time the British controlled the land of Israel.
Since its rebirth as a nation in 1948 Israel has been centre stage in world affairs. The State of Israel was proclaimed on May 14, 1948, when David Ben-Gurion declared its establishment in Tel Aviv. This was the day the British Mandate over Israel ended. Israel had been reborn as a nation in a day (Isaiah 66:7-9).
The dry bones of Ezekiel Chapter 37 in the valley, representing the whole house of Israel, were resurrected. There was “a rattling of the bones” coming together with tendons and flesh appearing on them and skin covering them. This “rattling of the bones” was heard around the world on May 14, 1948 (Ezekiel 37:1-8).
Now at this declaration in 1948 concerning the establishment of a Jewish state the whole Islamic world was “rattled” and went berserk!
On the eve of May 14 1948, the Arabs launched an air attack on Tel Aviv, which the Israelis resisted.
This action was followed by the invasion of Israel by Arab armies from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Egypt. Saudi Arabia sent a formation that fought under the Egyptian command.
Even though poorly armed and outnumbered the Israelis won the day. It was a miraculous deliverance ordained by God, “He who watches over Israel and neither slumbers or sleeps was watching over them (Psalm 121:4).
Then on October 6th 1973 the Arab coalition launched a surprise attack on Israel during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, which coincided with the Battle of the Sinai.
Israel ultimately repelled the attack and regained lost ground, but only after the United States made the decision to supply the Israeli military.
Then from June 5–10th 1967 the Six-Day War occurred, being the third of the Arab-Israeli wars and that saw the capture of the whole city of Jerusalem including the Temple Mount.
Israel’s decisive victory included the capture of the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria (The West Bank), the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
From this time on the status of these territories subsequently has become a major point of contention in the ongoing Arab-Israeli conflict we see today. At the centre of this conflict are the City of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.
In Zechariah chapters 12 &14 we see the time when the armies of the nations of the world will attack and lay a siege against Jerusalem.
The context of these chapters is the last days confirmed by other passages of scripture which also foretell the same event and the wrath of God’s winepress that will crush these armies (Isaiah 63:1-6) (Ezekiel 38:22-39:1-6) (Joel 3:1-3, 12-16) (Revelation 14:17-20) (Revelation 19:11-16).
Right now the armies of the Egyptians are forming on the border between Egypt and Israel. Hamas are fighting against Israel. Hezbollah are fighting against Israel in the north on the border with Lebanon.
Even in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) the Biblical heartland of Israel, Islamic Arab militancy is rearing its ugly head and gnashing their teeth at Israelis living side by side with them.
In Iraq militant terrorist groups are out for Jewish blood, not to mention the Houthis in Yemen. Behind these terrorist organizations and funding them is Iran
The rebel forces in Syria under Abu Mohammad al-Julani, a Syrian revolutionary and terrorist, military commander and politician are in league with Turkey.
As for Erdogan the man from Turkey he clearly wants to resurrect the Turkish Ottoman Empire of his Turkish forebears. Not so long ago he openly called for the Muslim world to unite against Israel and for Muslims in and around Israel to storm the temple Mount.
History does have a way of repeating itself.
The crusades were fought over the status of Jerusalem, and it would seem we are seeing the formation of armies today that will ultimately join forces to attack Israel and seek to make Jerusalem the capital city of an Islamic Empire.
Most of them will be Islamic, however, other nations will join them (Ezekiel 38:1-6).
Zechariah tells us that when the final siege of Jerusalem happens that God will cause Israel’s immediate neighbours seeking to change the status of Jerusalem, to experience God’s power that will cause them to reel and to stagger.
Jerusalem will become and immovable rock for all of the nations which we see gathering their forces today in the corridors of political power in both western and Middle Eastern nations.
All who try to change the status of Jerusalem will be “ripped apart” (vs.3). In the past major wars of 1948, 1973 and in 1967 God has fought for Israel against their Arab antagonists.
He is going to fight for them again and Israelis will also fight and win! (Zechariah 12:4-9). The Jews as a nation will be saved through an encounter with their Passover Lamb the Messiah our Lord Jesus (Zechariah 12:10-14).
It will be a time of spiritual refining for the people of Israel (Zechariah 13:1-9).
God will have gathered the nations to Jerusalem and even though the City has been savaged by these satanic armies of the Islamic Antichrist the LORD will have gone out to fight and to destroy them and send His Son back to be the Commander in Chief of the armies of Israel (Zechariah 14:1-5, 12-15).
After this the Messianic Millennial kingdom will commence (Vs.6-11, 16-21).
In that day when the Messiah sits on David’s throne at Jerusalem, having destroyed all of Israel’s enemies on the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, all of the nations and their political leaders that have survived His Second Coming will realise that it does not pay to mess with God, or with his Covenant people the Jews and the Body of Messiah spiritually grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel!
Let the nations beware that seek to remove the 3,000 year old status of Jerusalem being the capital of Israel.
God is going to confound Israel’s enemies, make Jerusalem an immovable rock, and rip apart all that seek to remove the God ordained status of Jerusalem as the eternal capital of the Jewish people!
Those who mess with God’s City mess with Him!
