What’s next? Enough horror that we need to actually skip to the back of the book first so we know how it ends up.
As I write this post, the world is an absolute mess! In Europe, the Russians are under fire for likely supplying Ukranian rebels with surface to air missiles that shot down a 777 passenger plane killing all on board. The American border is being overrun by illegal immigrants, stressing the capability of the southern states to handle the influx and further dividing a nation which has already been severely fractured by the actions of its politicos. Governor Rick Perry is making plans to secure his own border in defiance of Washington. In Iraq, Christians are being expelled and exterminated. And, in tiny Israel, a war is on. A war between the terrorist Hamas and the nation of Israel whose people have been under continuous threat since the beginning and who always seems to get the blame for every situation that pops up in that very unstable region.
Though the abandonment of Israel by everyone from the United States to the Presbyterian Church and other supposed Christian organizations seems shocking, it should not surprise us. The Bible predicted this predicament all along; and, it has predicted some of the next events in the life of that nation. It predicts that she will be hated. It predicts she will be attacked by a number of nations. It predicts she will go through the most difficult time in her history to date – and it predicts that a remnant comprised of 1/3 of all of Israel shall be saved.
In the weeks to come, we will explore Israel in Bible prophecy – from the Ezekiel 38 war, to Psalm 83, the fall of Damascus, Syria, Jeremiah 49, and the time of Jacob’s trouble.
Meanwhile, what do I make of the war right now with Hamas? First, let me state I don’t think Hamas is an existential threat to Israel. Honestly, I don’t think anyone is. Recent headlines in England’s the Jewish Telegraph underscore why. 
Even though the world is against her, the U.N. is hostile towards her, America has abandoned her, and even Christian groups are casting their lots on the side of her enemies, Israel is not alone. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is still for her and will always be because He is true to His covenants. Israel will not be destroyed – at least not entirely.
Zechariah 14:1-2 states:
1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
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.
Now, what is the spoil of Israel? The city of Jerusalem in the whole for one. In 1949, when the nations of the world, and primarily Great Britain, partitioned the land of Israel and created the land of Jordan, they “gave” West Jerusalem to Israel as its capital. And, though the world has recognized Tel Aviv as the capital of Israel, from that first day David Ben Gurion declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Why can’t we get that? But, I digress. In 1949, Israel was given West Jerusalem. In 1967, the 6 Day War was fought when Israel preemptively struck out at Egypt which was amassing to attack Israel once again. It had succeeded months of skirmishes and military attacks including the Egyptians blocking the vital Straits of Tiran. Egypt and her allies were showing every intention at going into Israel and Israel beat them to the draw. She destroyed airfields in Egypt and ended up winning over Syria and Jordan as well. In the end, she had peace (at least temporarily) and had obtained what UN resolution 242 set up as “occupied territories” in the Sinai, Gaza Strip, west bank of the Jordan, Golan Heights (where a tour guide on a trip to Israel told us shells raining down upon Israel were a daily occurrence prior to this time), and East Jerusalem as spoils of war.
Go back to our verses. What does the Bible say in Zechariah 14:1-2?
Zechariah 14:1-2 states:
1 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
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.
It appears that the land will once again be divided. Israel will lose her spoils. Half the city of Jerusalem will be taken back, forcefully. And the day for Israel will be one of the worst in its history.
But, that’s not the end of the story. Let’s read what happens next:
3 Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.
God will not abandon Israel, but will fight for her. And, he will win the battle!
The timing of this war is at the end of days, just prior to the Lord setting up his reign during the Millennium, around the time of Armageddon. Prior to this, there will be a time more painful and more difficult that Israel or the World has ever seen. A discussion of these events is what we will explore in the weeks to come.