Since the nation of Israel (more correctly Judah – not the
12 tribes) was restored to its God given land (Genesis 17:8 “And
I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein
thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting
possession; and I will be their God”) in 1948, it seems
to have been almost one long war in the Middle East. Zechariah
1:12 “Then the angel of the LORD answered and said, O LORD
of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on
the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these
threescore and ten years?”
These troubles are likely to continue then for several years
yet, spurred on by extremists who take advantage of the Arab character
(descendants of Ishmael) Genesis 16:11-12 “And the angel
of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt
bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD
hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand
will be against every man, and every man’s hand against
him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.”
Even to this day the sectarian violence seen in the Middle East
witnesses to that wildness, but, in turning it against Judah,
they are fighting against God’s will. Zechariah 12:2-3,6
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all
the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against
Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem
a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves
with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth
be gathered together against it. [6] In that day will I make the
governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and
like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the
people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem
shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.”
Eventually, after America and Britain (Manasseh and Ephraim,
two of the leading tribes of Israel) are brought down because
of their sins, Judah will be surrounded by enemies. Zechariah
12:9 “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will
seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”
Zechariah 14:2 “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem
to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled,
and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into
captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off
from the city.” Revelation 9:14-16 “And he gathered
them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour,
and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part
of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred
thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.”
Judah will fight in this battle (Zechariah 14:14 “And Judah
also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen
round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and
apparel, in great abundance”) in the Kidron valley, East
of Jerusalem - but it will be her last war, and the victor will
be Jesus Christ with His angelic armies, her soon coming King
!
Revelation 19:11-15 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold
a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and
True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes
were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and
he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he
was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called
The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed
him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should
smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron:
and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God.” {Also read Zechariah 14, the whole chapter.)