Read Zechariah 9-10 at Bible Gateway.
The return of the King, according to the prophets, will not be as we have been told by Left Behind. The enemies of the LORD’s house, are Damascus, or Syria; the land of Hadrach, and Hamath, both territories and cities in the north of Syria, between Damascus and Turkey. Tyre and Sidon are modern Lebanon, which is today a puppet state of Syria.
Ashkelon, Gaza, and Ekron were major cities of the Philistines, the ancient enemies of Israel. Today some of this former Philistine territory is the modern day Gaza Strip. These are the countries that are so often in the news today engaging in rocket attacks against Israel and sponsoring terrorism against Israel, in order to destroy her. Their efforts will only increase and intensify, until the King returns to Himself defend her.
Israel’s coming King, who will cut off chariot and battle bow in Israel (who will end the need for weapons of war to defend herself); who will speak peace to the nations, is the same who was lowly and riding on a donkey — Messiah Yeshua.
Messiah Yeshua has salvation with Him, and because of His blood of the covenant, YHVH sets prisoners free from the waterless pit, and those same prisoners will again hope in the LORD their stronghold. These are the ones the LORD of hosts will defend: His people. So who are His people, Christians, or Jews?
“For I have bent Judah, My bow,
Fitted the bow with Ephraim,
And raised up your sons, O Zion,
Against your sons, O Greece,
And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”
Then the LORD will be seen over them,
And His arrow will go forth like lightning.
The Lord GOD will blow the trumpet,
And go with whirlwinds from the south.
The LORD of hosts will defend them;
They shall devour and subdue with slingstones.
They shall drink and roar as if with wine;
They shall be filled with blood like basins,
Like the corners of the altar.
The LORD their God will save them in that day,
As the flock of His people.
For they shall be like the jewels of a crown,
Lifted like a banner over His land—
For how great is its goodness
And how great its beauty!
Grain shall make the young men thrive,
And new wine the young women. Zec 9:13-17“My anger is kindled against the shepherds,
And I will punish the goatherds.
For the LORD of hosts will visit His flock,
The house of Judah,
And will make them as His royal horse in the battle.” Zec 10:3“I will strengthen the house of Judah,
And I will save the house of Joseph.
I will bring them back,
Because I have mercy on them.
They shall be as though I had not cast them aside;
For I am the LORD their God,
And I will hear them.” Zec 10:6
His people are Judah (Jews), and Joseph (Ephraim, Gentiles, or Christians). The two witnesses (Num 13:1-16, 14:6-9), the two olive trees which fuel the menorah (the light of the world, Zec 4:1-3), the two sons of new oil (Zec 4:11-14). Judah, the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin plus Levi, the southern kingdom; and Joseph, or Ephraim, the ten remaining tribes, the northern kingdom. He will cause them to be one people in His hand. He will whistle for Ephraim from the west, and they will come and be the arrow in the bow of Judah.
The two witnesses will work together, in the land of Israel, by the LORD’s direction, to defeat the enemies of the LORD arrayed about them. We Gentile Christians are not Gentiles: we are realizing that we have been dispersed Ephraim all along, and that the LORD is calling us home from the four corners of the earth. Moreover, if we are of the generation who seek the LORD, then we are Jacob; we are Israel (Psa 24:6).
Then the LORD Himself will be seen over them together; His arrow will go forth like lightning. The LORD God will blow the trumpet, and go with whirlwinds from the south. The LORD of hosts Himself will defend them! The King will return and no one will ever learn war anymore, for His enemies will be defeated, and He will rule the nations in peace, from the River to the ends of the earth.
For further reading:
Animated maps: the doom of Syria
Leave a Reply