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Will you take your Bibles and turn once again to Zechariah chapter 12, and we will be looking at the first nine verses: Zechariah chapter 12, one through nine. And I've entitled my discourse to you this morning "Israel's Future and Final Day of Physical Deliverance." Let me read the text to you,

"The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel.

"Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him,

"'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.

"'In that day,' declares the LORD, 'I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.

"'Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, "A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God."

"'In that day, I will make the clans of Judah like a fire pot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem.

"'The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah.

"'In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them.

"'And in that day, I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.'"

As we watch the rapid rise of Antisemitism in our world, even among many evangelicals, we're forced to ask the question, why is that? I noticed in the news recently, France, Malta and Australia have announced plans to recognize Palestine as a state in September 2025, at the 2025 United Nations General Assembly with Canada and the United Kingdom, stating that they will as well, subject to certain conditions. Of course, much of this is driven by the growing number of Muslims in these countries that demand their leaders to take a stand against Israel. And if you look at this kind of Antisemitism, and you look at the ideas that are brought forward -- like a two-state solution and so forth -- you have to admit it is absolutely irrational. It's even absurd. Are people so naive as to believe the lies of Hamas? Is this really a land dispute? Is Israel really occupying a land that belongs to the Palestinians, whoever they really are? Surely the lies of the liberal media worldwide cannot account for the escalating level of Jew hatred everywhere. Since their captivity in Egypt over 3000 years ago, the Jewish people have been persecuted more than every other people group combined. And obviously, on that basis alone, there's something going on here far beyond just a political issue; a land dispute. There's something supernatural driving all of this hatred.

In my series "Israel in Bible Prophecy," you may recall that I went through in great detail two reasons for the intransigent Antisemitism that we see in the world. The first reason is: Satan's hatred of God's chosen people, and the second reason is: God's judgment on his chosen people, which will ultimately lead to their spiritual salvation and national restoration. And what we're seeing today, dear friends, is the result of an ancient battle between two opposing supernatural kingdoms -- the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God, combined with God's judgment on his chosen people for their disobedience.

May I remind you that God made this abundantly clear all the way back in Deuteronomy 28 where he promised to bless them for their obedience to his law and curse them for disobedience. And then in Deuteronomy 29 beginning in verse 24 he said this,

"'All the nations will say, "Why has the LORD done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?"

"'Then men will say, "Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt."

"'"They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom he had not allotted to them.

"'"Therefore, the anger of the LORD burned against that land, to bring upon it every curse which is written in this book;

"'"and the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger and in fury and in great wrath, and cast them into another land, as it is this day."'"

And you will recall in John four and verse 22 we are reminded through the words of our Lord that, "salvation is from the Jews." And so naturally, the Jews have always been Satan's target. Satan and his minions have conducted a campaign of deception and violence to prevent God from accomplishing his covenantal purposes, revealed in the Noahic, the Abrahamic, the Mosaic, the Davidic, the New Covenants, which all include, not only the salvation of individual sinners, but also the salvation and restoration of ethnicities, of nations, of societies, and then finally, a restoration of all creation, all of which are primary emphases in the storyline of the Bible.

But now, as we return to Zechariah's prophecy, I want to give you the big picture here, so you don't get lost in the details. The big picture is that there are two oracles that make up the second half of the book. The first oracle was in chapters nine through 11, and there we have a prediction of the destruction of Gentile supremacy over Israel and the divine empowerment of Israel to defeat them. And the second oracle begins here in chapter 12 and will go through chapter 14.

And here we have a prediction of the final great ruler of the Gentile nations, the Antichrist, and how God will deliver Israel from him and the nations, and bring about their national conversion, which will also bring in a season of judgment that transforms Israel, so that they will become a holy nation that they were intended to be.

And you may recall in our study of Zechariah 11, in the first 14 verses, you have a description of Israel's rejection of the good shepherd, and that's history now; we can look back and see that that's what they did. They rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, but in Zechariah 11, beginning in verse 15 through 17, you see Israel's acceptance of the worthless shepherd, the Antichrist, which is yet future, and the rise of the Antichrist biblically and the hideous cruelty of his short reign, will ultimately plunge Israel into a season of its greatest testing. It will be a time of purification. We read about this in various passages. For example, Jeremiah describes it in Jeremiah 30 actually, in verses five through seven, he speaks of it as the time of "Jacob's trouble." This is Daniel's 70th Week, also known as the Tribulation, and all of it will ultimately culminate in the battle of Armageddon. In Daniel 12, beginning in verse one, we read this will be, "...a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book of life, will be rescued"; referring to the elect remnant of Israel.

"'For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.

"'Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.'"

And of course, this will be a time of preparation for Israel's millennial ministry, when the land and the people become the global center of Christ's rule upon the earth.

But now, in chapters 12 through 14 that we're beginning today, we have a revelation of God's plans for Israel at his second coming, when Christ returns and establishes his millennial reign. We're going to look at the first nine verses this morning, and I'd like to do so under three headings. We're going to see, number one: "A Sovereign Gathering of Israel's Enemies." And secondly: A Sovereign Slaughter of Israel's Enemies." And finally: "A Sovereign Transformation of Israel's Heart." And throughout these primary themes, beloved, we are going to witness afresh the magnificent reality of who God is. We're going to see his sovereignty, his authority, his omnipotence, his mercy, his grace, his faithfulness, his love and his imminence -- the imminence of the Creator to accomplish his purposes announced in these panoramic predictions. In fact, as we look at all of this, I hope that you will see this so clearly that it will cause you to just want to sing, "Then sings, my soul, my Savior God to Thee, How Great Thou Art, How great thou Art."

Now notice closely as we look at the text. It begins in verse one by say, saying, "The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel." The term "burden" in Hebrew could also be translated "oracle," and it speaks of a sober, of a weighty message. And in this context, a message of cleansing, a future judgment, but also of deliverance and national blessing. And this is a "burden of the word of the LORD" -- this is Yahweh here -- "concerning Israel" God's chosen nation. It's not concerning believers in general. It's not concerning the church, only some kind of a preconceived theological bias, especially that of supersessionism, would invent such an interpretation. There's no exegetical reason to do that. So this is speaking of, "...the burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel."

It's interesting, we also see the emphasis on Jerusalem and Judah in verse two, and the house of David, the house of Nathan, the house of Levi, the family of the Shemites in verses 12 through 13. So the subject here is ethnic, national Israel. Now bear in mind that Israel's rejection of Christ -- rejection of the good shepherd --  and their acceptance of the worthless shepherd described in chapter 11, are events that are separated by the church age that we live in right now; but this prolonged hiatus, or interregnum, or interval does not mean that God has permanently disenfranchised his chosen people;  his chosen nation. Rather, the church age is preparatory for Israel's ultimate deliverance and future conversion.

So we read in verse one, "The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel." Now, I want you to notice what he does next. Notice how the Lord buttresses his predictive oracle by establishing his divine authority and his power. And he does this in the strongest of terms. In fact, what we see here is he uses three participles expressing his omnipotence, his omniscience and his imminence. By the way, that's a term you don't hear a lot. It's i, m, m, a, n, e, n, c, e. It refers to God's present and active involvement within his creation, including individuals. By the way, this is the opposite of transcendence, all right, which emphasizes his otherness, existing beyond the limitations of the physical universe.

And I might also add that as we look at what he says next, this is going to answer the question of the skeptic that would say, "Well, who's making these absurd predictions?" Or even the erudite scholar or the esoteric mystic who would dare contradict or reinterpret or even ignore these precise predictions. Let me answer here on the basis of the Word who was saying this. In other words, by whose authority should we believe this, right? "Thus declares the LORD..." and here's the first participle, "...who stretches out the heavens." This is the one who's writing this. It's the Lord who stretches out the heavens. In other words, this is the omnipotent, omniscient Creator who spoke into existence the infinite realm of the celestial universe. That's pretty strong authority.

And then there's a second participle. He's the one that, "...lays the foundation of the earth." So in other words, again, this is the omnipotent, the omniscient sovereign who created the Inviolable laws of physics that is necessary to maintain the infinite number of variables necessary for the Earth to continue in its orbit and on and on and on. This is the one who upholds all things by the word of his power.

And then finally, he's also the one that, "...forms the spirit of man within him." Folks, this is the Lord. What the old theologians would call the "ineffable tetragrammaton." Ineffable meaning: too wondrous to utter from the lips; tetragrammaton: four letters, is Yahweh; LORD, translated, Lord. This is who is speaking. He is the one who "forms the spirit of man within him." The one who is therefore ultimately aware of who we are; the one who operates within us. The one who knows all about us, who knows our very thoughts. And again, this has to do with his imminence. He's presently and actively involved in the life of every single human being. Which, I might add, refutes the blasphemous heresy of deism, which asserts that somehow God is the Creator, but after he created things, he just left it alone, and he's not involved. Folks don't miss this. This is Almighty God saying these things. He is the one revealing this oracle, this burden.

This is the Almighty God who will accomplish these predictions in the future, to the praise of his glory. And I have to admit, I tremble when I study these things, because I realize that my responsibility is to tell you precisely what he is saying and not somehow reinterpret it according to something that I think may or may not happen. In fact, if I can add this: none of these solemn predictions square with the events, as some would argue, of the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. That's what some would say this is what this is talking about. None of the events square with that, or of the taking of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes, as some would argue; or the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Romans, despite the Herculean efforts of non-dispensationalists to somehow reinterpret these prophecies and to force them into these events in order to maintain a system of theology. When you look....my point is, when you look at those interpretations, you have to say that is not what is going on here. In this regard, David Baron, who was a 20th century Russian Jewish scholar that came to faith in Christ, said this, quote,

"In none of those calamitous events in the past history of Israel, [referring to the ones that I just gave you] did God and the person of the Messiah visibly appear on the Mount of Olives with His angelic hosts as the deliverer of His people and the destroyer of many nations which were gathered against them. Nor was the spirit of grace and supplication ever yet poured out upon the Jewish nation, so that they might look upon and recognize Him whom they have pierced. Nor has the Lord, from any of those past events onward, become," quote, "'king over the whole earth" (Zechariah 14:9). Not to mention many other great and solemn events which are predicted in these chapters, which cannot be allegorized or explained away."

He went on to say,

"We must reject, therefore, the view of some of the Orthodox commentators that this last section traverses the ground already trodden in the previous chapters and refers to the events which took place in the period between the time of the Prophet and the day of the Messiah."

End quote.

Indeed, that kind of interpretation, I would humbly argue, is pure subjective conjecture. It has no exegetical basis, and therefore it ignores the normal meaning of language and the original intent of the author. So we must maintain a consistent contextual interpretation of the Scriptures, including the Old Testament prophecies pertaining to Israel's future restoration, otherwise you will never have an accurate understanding of the storyline of the Bible, and you will forfeit the great blessings that leap off of these pages with respect to who God is and what he is up to and what he's going to do to bring glory to himself publicly. What we have before us will take place, the passage says, "in that day," remember that phrase, it's going to take place "in that day." That's an eschatological phrase, a phrase speaking of the future; and it's used repeatedly of this second oracle in chapters 12 through 14. In fact, it's used six times in chapter 12, three times in chapter 13, and seven times in chapter 14.

And I might also add, this is equivalent to the phrase quote "the day of the Lord," used to speak of both near historical events and far historical eschatological events involving God's wrath. And what's interesting as we study the Bible, we see that in the New Testament, the writers used the phrase "the day of the Lord" to describe two periods yet to be filled on Earth. Number one: the climactic judgment of The Tribulation. You read about that very clearly in Second Thessalonians 2:2, and Revelation, chapter 16 through 18.

And secondly: the consummating judgment on the earth at the end of the millennium that ushers in the New Earth. You read about this in Second Peter 3, verses 10 through 11 and Revelation 20, verses seven, all the way through chapter 21:1.

Now, notice what God promises to do, all right; and we're going to look at this, first of all, under the heading "A Sovereign Gathering of Israel's Enemies." Verse two, "'Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around...'" Grammatically, in the Hebrew, "I" is in the emphatic position, and it basically saying, "I myself." I am the one that's going to do this. What is he going to do? He's, "...going to make Jerusalem a cup..." a "sap̄" in Hebrew, which is a large basin, or a goblet, from which many people could drink. And it's going to cause, "reeling to all the peoples around." It could be translated, "I will make Jerusalem a goblet of intoxication to all the peoples; "the peoples," the "ʿam", referring to the Gentile nations that will come against the city. One interpretation is it will be "a cup that brings dizziness to all the surrounding nations."

So as we look at this in the context of Bible prophecy, what we see is that the end of Daniel's 70th week, at the end of the Tribulation, God will make Jerusalem the primary target of Gentile violence. And I might add that this should be no surprise. I mean, the Temple Mount today is the most disputed piece of real estate in all of the world, and it's like the whole world thinks Israel is occupying Arab land that is not theirs. And what we see biblically is that by the end of The Tribulation, the people of the world will be so intoxicated with rage and have such a thirst for blood that they will be like those in a drunken stupor, and in their greed they will stagger and be unable to accomplish their mission because of what God does to them; because of divine intervention.

Now, may I say from the outset that this rage, and this gathering and all that is going to happen, is a reference to the Battle of Armageddon, and you can read more about this, for example, in Daniel chapter 11, verses 40 through 44. Go to Joel, chapter three, the first 11 verses. Go to Revelation, chapter 14 and verse 20, and chapter 16, verses 12 through 16. But here, even in Zechariah, in chapter 14, verse three, he speaks of what's going to happen. It says, "Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, so as when He fights on a day of battle." So again, this "reeling" as it says in the text, will happen "to all the peoples around," all of those that will come against Israel in that day; and much more will happen to them, as we will see.

The text goes on to say, "...and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah." In other words, it's going to be a siege against the whole nation, not just the immediate vicinity of Jerusalem -- the capital city and the crown jewel of Gentile conquest.

Verse three, "'It will come about in that day,'"-- this future day, this eschatological day, in the day of the Lord -- "'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.'" Here, the Lord uses a very unusual metaphor, one that in our culture wouldn't make a lot of sense, but it would make a lot of sense in those that heard this originally. You see ancient athletes and warriors would lift various sized stones on a regular basis to gain strength. They didn't have weight rooms, they used stones. And anybody knows that if you lift a stone that's too heavy, you're going to injure yourself. And so here, what he's saying is that these nations that are going to come against Jerusalem to destroy her, will be like people lifting a stone that is too heavy, and the result is going to be severe injury. And he adds this, "And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it." I have to smile whenever I read this. These are the kind of odds the Lord loves, right? Make it so that it is so absolutely, utterly impossible for a positive outcome that the only way it could happen is if he intervenes, and therefore he gets all the glory. It's not like all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it, except the United States, and the United States is going to come to its rescue with its be, whatever it is bombers; it's not what it says.

So all the nations of the earth will come against tiny Israel. This is a David and Goliath story, isn't it? Israel, the size about of New Jersey, less than 10 million people. I might also add that this demonstrates the pervasive rule of the Antichrist during that future day of the Lord. And even today, it is not hard for us to envision the entire world coming together against Israel, given the geopolitical machinations that are occurring; all these scenarios that we currently witness all around the world, especially in the Middle East. And I would add this, what if the battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38 and 39 occurs before the Tribulation begins? Which I believe will happen. I do not believe the battle of Gog and Magog is the same as the Battle of Armageddon, as I have asserted in previous expositions, that you could go back and study if you wanted to know my position on that. The descriptions just don't match. But imagine the consequences of a supernatural defeat of a Russian and Arab alliance of nations as Ezekiel 38 and 39 describes. Imagine them being defeated on the mountains of Israel, as the text says that will happen. I mean, would that not stun the world and elevate Israel to a status that would infuriate the world?

I have to smile. I was reading how some Arabs, even today, believe that Israel's God is preventing their ballistic missiles from reaching their target. I have to smile, because at some level, they're right. But would such a defeat not rally the world to have an even greater hatred of Israel, especially when a charismatic leader comes along, as the Antichrist will, and offer a compelling reason for all of this. And somewhere in the mix of all that you're going to have the rapture of the church. Somebody is going to have to explain that in a compelling way, and who knows what the explanations will be, especially given -- I wrote this down -- the UAPs that they're talking about today, "unidentified anomalous phenomena." We always call them UFOs, but they're seeing stuff up there. I think it's demonic activity. But the point is, you're going to have to have a charismatic leader to explain all these things, regardless of when it's going to happen; notwithstanding the potential reasons, whatever they might be. At the end of verse three, "all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it", at the battle of Armageddon.

And then in verse four, "'"In that day," declares the Lord, "I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness."'" This moves us to our second point in my little outline, a sovereign slaughter of Israel's enemies. Now, a horse, biblically, is typically used as a symbol of military prowess. Mounted infantries were a terrifying force in ancient warfare, especially if you didn't have them, and Israel was often confronted with such a formidable foe. And the point is, when all of the nations of the world gather against Israel, which will number in the millions, God himself will intervene to defend Israel. "'I will strike every horse with bewilderment.'" It's the idea of being dumbfounded or stupefied, "'and his rider with madness.'" Which is a figure of just uncontrollable panic. And instead of horses, that the ancient culture would understand, perhaps, and this is conjecture on my part, but I think it's tenable, the horse and rider in our day would be tanks and drones and jet bombers and helicopters and and robots.

If I can digress for a moment. I was reading an article and it spoke of, quote, "China's newest creation, the gun toting quadrupedal wolf robots may be the clearest warning yet that the age of fully automated warfare is at our doorstep." By the way, I looked it up, and the US and Israel have these things too. They're robots that look like wolves. It goes on to say,

"These mechanical predators are an upgraded evolution of China's earlier Robo dogs, but their resemblance to man's best friend stops at the shape of their legs. The wolves are built for war, armed with rifles, able to navigate rough terrain, climb stairs and operate as a coordinated pack. They can carry supplies, perform reconnaissance or deliver precision fire on targets up to 100 meters away. In action, they march into smoke filled battle zones, leap over debris and engage enemies without fear or hesitation. The concept is chilling. In war, they can operate like a real wolf pack, some gathering intelligence, others acting as sharp shooters and still, others hauling ammunition. Leading them would be a pack leader robot, directing the others without fatigue, fear or moral hesitation of a human commander."

End Quote.

Well, whatever the form of weaponry that will be used during the time of the Battle of Armageddon, God has promised to strike the warrior and the machines, the horses, whatever, with bewilderment; strike the operators with madness. You know, I was thinking about this. This will be so easy to do for the Lord, because he can speak anything into existence. But all he has to do is just take out the satellites. You take out the satellites, and everything's gone. Put a virus in the software system. Cause the soldiers to have ringing in their ears so they go mad. Who knows? Planes will crash; drone swarms will crash. Wolf robots will, I don't know, they'll be foaming at the mouth like rabid dogs and run into trees and run over cliffs. Who knows? And all of that's kind of fun to think about, but the big story here is, God's going to protect Israel, and he's going to judge the nations. We don't know how.

"In that day,'" verse four, "declares the Lord, 'I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.'" I mean, this is terrifying. The point is, God will strike their weaponry with bewilderment so they can't accomplish their mission, and he will strike the warriors with madness so they can't function; and all the time he's protecting Israel. And worse yet, he's going to strike both the weaponry and the soldiers with blindness. That pretty well puts a stop to everything. I want you to imagine the scene for a moment. The arrogant Antichrist has amassed a global military to conquer Israel and think of what all has transpired to animate this. By this time, most of the world and its population have been destroyed by the Seal, Trumpet and Bowl judgments that we read about in Revelation chapter six through 19. And by the sixth seal, those suffering from the first four seal judgments -- which are war, famine and death -- they have cried out, and here's what they will say. They've cried out to the mountains into the rocks, quote, "fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come and who is able to stand?" So they will know exactly who it is that's wreaking havoc on the world and bringing such judgment.

We see in Revelation 14, there will be 144,000 Jewish male missionaries, and they're preaching the Gospel all over the world, and they're supernaturally protected. You have the two witnesses that have been killed, and they've been raised from the dead for all to see -- Revelation 11. And on the heels of that, you have a great earthquake that kills 7000 people, it says, probably elite forces of the Antichrist. And then on top of all of that, you've got an angelic proclamation of the gospel that's going on. Revelation 14, beginning at verse six, we read how one angel has been, quote,

"flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people;

"and he said with a loud voice, 'Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.'"

Then it says,

"And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.'

And then, thirdly,

"...another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, 'If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand,

"'he will also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of his anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

"'And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.'"

So folks, the whole world, will know the gospel. They won't know Christ, but they will know the gospel and reject it. And even after a demonic horde is unleashed upon the earth to kill 1/3 of humanity, a third of what's left, which is what happens in the sixth trumpet judgment, people will still refuse to repent. It's astounding. Revelation nine, verse 20. This is the sixth trumpet.

"The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which could neither see nor hear nor walk;

"and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts."

And then you can jump down to Revelation 16 in verse nine. This is the fourth bowl judgment. "Men," it says, "were scorched with fierce heat; and they blaspheme the name of God." It doesn't say "men were scorched with fierce heat and they repented." No, they "...blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give him glory." Verse 11, the fifth bowl, "They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and they did not repent of their deeds." Verse 21, which is the seventh bowl, "And huge hail stones, about 100 pounds each, came down from heaven upon men; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, because its plague was extremely severe."

Beloved, I hope you understand that unless God takes the initiative, no one would ever be saved, because these people are going through unimaginable torment and they know exactly who's causing it, and yet they refuse to repent. So my point with all of this is, by this time, the people of the world will be so fed up, so infuriated with anyone that names the name of Christ, and certainly the Jewish people as we see -- and they're going to name the name of Christ, this is where it's headed -- but they see all of that as part of this kingdom that's coming of Christ. Satan is animating all of these things. Satan is empowering the Antichrist, and so God uses their outrage to gather them together against Israel, primarily Jerusalem. And Satan knows this is where the Messiah is going to return. Revelation 16, verse 16, "And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Harmagedon." This is the Plain of Megiddo in northern Israel. It's about 25 miles long and 10 miles wide. In fact, in verse four, again, it says, "'In that day,' declares the Lord, 'I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness,' this is where this is going to happen, "But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.'" And in Revelation 14, verse 20, we read, "And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came up from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of 200 miles."

You see, folks, this will not really be a battle. It will be a massacre. And here in this verse, the Lord is using hyperbole to describe the slaughter. And the carnage will extend, it says, "a distance of 200 miles." By the way, that's the distance from the northern part of Israel to the southern part.

So we've seen a sovereign gathering of Israel's enemies, a sovereign slaughter of Israel's enemies, and finally, a sovereign transformation of Israel's heart. And this is going to begin -- this transformation is going to begin -- with the events that are described next. And the next time we get together, we'll see more of it. It says, "'Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, "A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God."'" Now, "Then the clans," -- the "allufei" -- it denotes, really the chiliarchs, the rulers over 1000; it speaks of rulers or chieftains, the head of a clan. So this speaks of basically Israel's military leaders. "'Then the clans of Judah,'" again, this isn't the church. This isn't believers in general, no, no. "'Then the clans of Judah will say in their heart...'" -- these military leaders -- "'...A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.'" So in other words, they're going to be profoundly inspired by the strength and the courage of their fellow Israelites, who have been empowered by God to stand firm in the face of so much opposition, overwhelming odds. Imagine the anticipation.

And by the way, this is ancient siege warfare began with psychological warfare. They would spend months building a wall around the city to communicate to the people that there is no way out. Imagine what it would be like if you have all the nations of the world coming against you. But you're also beginning to see the enemy is going crazy. What's going on out there? All of a sudden, you start getting a little bit emboldened, right? And that's what the leaders are going to see.

And next, the Holy Spirit inspires his servant, Zechariah, to employ two very descriptive similes that describe their divine empowerment -- that of a fire pot and a flaming torch. Verse six, "'In that day, I will make the clans of Judah like a fire pot among pieces of wood.'" A fire pot was just merely a vessel that people would use to carry hot coals so they could start another fire. And then secondly, “and a flaming torch among sheaves.'" Why? "'So they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell in their own sights in Jerusalem.'" Our God is a consuming fire, is he not? (Hebrews 12:29).

When I was reading this, my mind went to the rebellion of Korah in Numbers 16. If I can digress for a moment, you will recall that Korah, who was a Levite, and a couple of his buddies, Dathan and Abiram, rose in the rebellion against Moses and Aaron, along with 250 leaders of the congregation; they were challenging their authority. So Moses challenged them, you may remember the story, to stand before the Lord, come out with all your family, and let's let the Lord decide. And you know, if the Lord lets you live, then you're the ones in charge, and not us. And if not, the ground is going to swallow you up. And so what we read in Number 16:31, and following,

"As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions.

"So they and all that belonged to them, went down alive to Sheol; [that's the grave] and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

"All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, 'The earth may swallow us up!'"

And then it says,

"Fire also came forth from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense."

Our God is a holy God, and he means what he says. By the way, only the censers remained, we read in verse 39 of Numbers 16, and they were hammered out into a plating that was used for the altar,  quote, according to verse 40, "...as a reminder to the sons of Israel that no layman who is not of the descendants of Aaron should come near to burn incense before the LORD; so that he will not become like Korah and his company -- just as the Lord has spoken to him through Moses." In other words, don't challenge God's authority and don't tinker with his Word.

So at the coming battle of Armageddon, I like to call it the slaughter of Armageddon, the regiments of Israel will be emboldened by what they see happening to the enemy. They will realize that God is up to this, and by the empowerment of God, it says they will "like a fire pot...like a flaming torch among sheaves...they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples." In other words, none of those who come against them will be spared. "While the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem." So though they're vastly outnumbered, they will not be moved. They will be defeated. I might add in Revelation 19, verse 21 it says, "And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh."

Back to Zechariah prophecy, verse seven, "The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first..." In other words, this speaks of the inhabitants outside of the defensive forces surrounding Jerusalem, the common folks living in the outer lands that wouldn't be as protected as well, the people that are vulnerable. Why would he do that? "So that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem.’” Reminds me of Second Kings 19, when the angel of the Lord defeated 185,000 troops of the Assyrians. And it says, "And the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David." The word "feeble" means one who stumbles easily. In other words, they'll be like a mighty warrior, "...and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them." In other words, the royal line that represents the leadership of Jerusalem will display the authority of God that will be given to them.

And then it says, "And in that day, I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.'" Beloved, can you imagine a greater display, public display, of the glory of God? No wonder we read in verse five, "The clans of Judah will say in their heart, 'A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.'" So indeed, God is going to physically deliver his people in that day.

And I might add in closing, that he will spiritually deliver them as well, deliver them from their sin, deliver them from their unbelief. We'll look at this more next week. Then the next verse, it says, in verse 10, "'I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a first born.'"

Well, you might ask, what's going to happen to the Antichrist and the False Prophet. Well, the next time we get together, we'll look at that as we continue on to see what God has revealed in his Word concerning these amazing events. Oh, dear friends, the world is inexorably marching towards a day of divine retribution. God is in control of history. He has ordained the end from the beginning and judgment is coming. And I have to say, I feel a little bit like Noah warning people that the rain is coming, the floods coming. You better get right with God. You better get in the ark of saving grace while there's still a chance. I hope you all know and love Christ. If you don't, I would plead with you to examine your heart and get serious about your relationship with the Lord our God. Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for these eternal truths. Cause them to fall on our hearts in such a way that we will want to fall on our faces and worship you, as we see your glory being manifested in what you're promising to do, not only in the restoration and salvation of Israel, but also so many of us as Gentiles, and to see your glory displayed in your coming wrath. Lord, we thank you for your saving grace. May we live consistently with it that we might enjoy the fullness of all that is ours in Christ. For it's in his name that I pray. Amen.