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Zionism in biblical prophecy, part 5

So far I have shown the nature of Jewish Zionism and its place in prophecy. The Judah-Edom merger in 126 B.C. ensured that the nation would have to fulfill two sets of prophecies, both of which point to Zionism. The Judah branch is represented by the fig tree that Jesus cursed but which was also to come back to life and bring forth “leaves” (Matthew 24:32). The Edomite branch was Zionistic from the beginning in Esau’s desire to acquire the birthright and the land itself.

While Judah was forbidden to return from exile until it had ceased its “hostility” to the Messiah, Edom had a legitimate claim to the birthright on account of Jacob’s deceit. Hence, the Jewish state was allowed to be established as “Israel” in 1948, not as Judah but as Edom. The modern representatives of Jacob, set forth by their flag, the “Union Jack,” gave the birthright back to the spiritual descendants of Esau-Edom in order to allow them time to prove themselves to be stubborn and rebellious sons.

God then treated Edom as if they were the chosen people. He allowed them to take on the name of Israel, even though they were not of the House of Israel. Whenever they were attacked, He protected them to ensure that they would indeed have the full opportunity to prove themselves worthy or unworthy of the birthright calling.

Hence, they defeated their enemies in 1948-1949, 1967, and in 1973. Some have reported miraculous victories in battle. If this is so, it only proves how God honors the birthright, even if held by Edom. The key, however, is to know that Edom’s claim on the birthright is not permanent. The prophets make this very clear, dating back to the word given before the twins were even born (Genesis 25:23).

The question is how does this end? Will God continue to protect and empower the Jewish state of Edom and make the earthly Jerusalem the capital of the Kingdom? Clearly not. Yet God’s protection since 1948 has emboldened them. They assume that God’s protection will remain upon them forever, because they do not take into account the prophecies of Edom.

The Controversy of Zion

Isaiah 34 speaks of divine judgment upon Edom and upon the nations in general. The prophet implies that the nations are led by Edom. Isaiah 34:2 says,

² For the Lord’s indignation is against all the nations, and His wrath against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to slaughter.

Verses 4 and 5 continue,

⁴ And all the host of heaven will wear away, and the sky will be rolled up like a scroll; all their hosts will also wither away, as a leaf withers from the vine, or as one withers from the fig tree. ⁵ For My sword is satiated in heaven, behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom and upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction.

This prophecy against Edom is fulfilled in the sixth seal, recorded in Revelation 6:13, 14,

¹³ and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. ¹⁴ The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

It is clear, then, that Isaiah’s prophecy about Edom was not fulfilled in 126 B.C. when Judah conquered and incorporated them into Judaism. It has a future fulfillment in our time, and the language suggests that it is linked to Jesus’ prophecy of the fig tree in Matthew 24:32.

Isaiah 34:8-10 continues,

⁸ For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause [“controversy,” KJV] of Zion. ⁹ Its streams will be turned into pitch, and its loose earth into brimstone, and its land will become burning pitch. ¹⁰ It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will go up forever [olam, “indefinitely”]. From generation to generation it will be desolate; none will pass through it forever and ever [netsakh, “continually”].

This appears to describe a nuclear event, where men will be unable to “pass through it,” due to radiation. Isaiah lacked the language to describe radiation, so he used terms that were available to him—“burning pitch,” and “brimstone.” This does not look good for Edom, and by knowing from history that Edom is in Jewry, we are compelled to see that the Israeli state is in great danger of a nuclear event of some kind. The Israeli people themselves ought to take Isaiah’s warning seriously and move out of danger.

The Fate of Jerusalem

Isaiah 29:1-6 gives us another glimpse of what appears to be a nuclear event in its prophecy of the fate of Jerusalem.

¹ Woe, O Ariel, Ariel the city where David once camped.

Ariel has a double meaning: (1) “Lion of God” and (2) “the hearth of God” (fireplace). It is a poetic name for Jerusalem, “where David once camped.”

² I will bring distress to Ariel, and she will be a city of lamenting and mourning; and she will be like an Ariel [“hearth”] to me.

Notice how the prophet uses the double meaning of Ariel to set forth his prophecy. God Himself was speaking through the prophet, saying, “I” will do this to Jerusalem.

³ I will camp against you encircling you, and I will set siegeworks against you, and I will raise up battle towers against you.

As the prophet will explain shortly, He will use foreign armies in the siege; yet God is the One commanding those armies. He takes full credit for this war. It is important to know whose side God leads. He does not picture Himself as the great Defender of Jerusalem. He is, instead, the One laying siege to the city. So what will be the outcome of this battle?

⁴ Then you [Jerusalem] will be brought low; from the earth you will speak. And from the dust where you are prostrate your words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground, and your speech will whisper from the dust.

This pictures Jerusalem as the loser, not the victor. The city is pictured as a dead man whose voice whispers from an underground tomb. The city’s hostility toward God did not change at the last minute, as so many have predicted. In other words, Jerusalem is God’s enemy. Isaiah 63:10 explains how this is so:

¹⁰ But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.

Most Jews and Christians alike seem to think that God would never become the enemy of Israel or Judah. Yet Leviticus 26:40-42 makes it clear that they would become hostile to God, and for this reason, God brought in foreign armies to destroy their cities and exile the people. Moses himself warned them in Deuteronomy 8:19, 20, saying,

¹⁹ It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. ²⁰ Like the nations [of Canaan] that the Lord makes to perish before you, so you shall perish, because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God.

So it is that in the final siege of Jerusalem at the end of the age God presents Himself as the Commander of the foreign armies that will lay siege to Jerusalem. God “turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them.” Why? Because of their “hostility” toward Him—that is, Jesus Christ (as we believe).

So Isaiah 29:5 continues,

⁵ But the multitude of your [Jerusalem’s] enemies will become like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away; and it will happen instantly, suddenly.

Most Bible teachers assume that Jerusalem’s “enemies” are the foreign armies that God is leading in the siege. This leads them to believe that God will destroy His own army and save Jerusalem at the last minute. But the prophet has already told us the fate of the city in the previous verse.

We must understand God’s definition of His “enemies” that is revealed in Isaiah 63:10, which is based on Leviticus 26:40-42 and Deuteronomy 8:19, 20. The “enemies” of Ariel (as the Lion of God) are the inhabitants of Jerusalem itself, and it is for this reason that God lays siege to the city, using foreign armies. So when the Israelis took over Jerusalem in 1967, they unknowingly set themselves up to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy.

No Spoils of War

It was common throughout history for a victorious army to loot the conquered territory. The army was rewarded with “the spoils” of war. (See Hebrews 7:4.) However, in the case of the conquest of Ariel-Jerusalem, the destruction of the city is so complete that the victorious army was not to receive any spoils of war--=or any of their real objectives. Isaiah 29:6 says,

⁶ From the Lord of hosts you [Jerusalem] will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.

This sounds like a nuclear explosion with its “loud noise” and “whirlwind” and “a consuming fire.” It can be seen as a more detailed description of what we read in Isaiah 34:9, 10.

Isaiah 29:7 turns God’s attention toward the army that He was leading in the siege of Jerusalem, giving us a very unusual prophecy. It says,

⁷ And the multitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel [led by God, of course], even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her [See verse 2], will be like a dream, a vision of the night.

Most Bible teachers fail to understand this. The city is to be destroyed, but what of the army that God used to destroy the city? Well, it will be “like a dream.”

⁸ It will be as when a hungry man dreams—and behold, he is eating; but when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams—and behold, he is drinking, but when he awakens, behold, he is faint and his thirst is not quenched. Thus the multitude of all the nations will be who wage war against Mount Zion.

What? No great destruction upon the destroyers of Jerusalem? No divine indignation visited upon them? What is this “dream” that is prophesied?

Well, what is the dream of the foreign armies who oppose Zionism? Is it not to regain control of the city of Jerusalem and the entire land itself? But if no one can pass through that land, due to nuclear fallout, then how can they achieve their objective? It will be “like a dream,” where one wakes up only to find that he is still hungry and thirsty. In other words, NO ONE WILL GET THE LAND, because it will be uninhabitable.

This, Isaiah says under inspiration from God, is the final end of the Zionist project. Neither the Edomites nor the Ishmaelites nor the Palestinians will be able to claim the land. Hagar-Jerusalem and all children of the flesh will be “cast out” (Galatians 4:30) in favor of the Isaac company, the children of the New Covenant, the heavenly Jerusalem (Galatians 4:26, 28).