TW: Jerusalem’s history foretells Its future

Jerusalem

In its latest TW News & Prophecy, the Living Church of God has the following:

Jerusalem’s history foretells Its future.

The nation of Israel has long benefited from its geographical location. A recent Stratforreport summarized the risks to Israel, based on its geography and its past. Throughout its history, Israel has been able to defend itself against its neighbors, and even a combined attack by more than one neighbor was relatively easy to repel because of its unique geography. What history reveals is that only external powers with clear military and financial advantage have been able to overthrow Israel (e.g., Assyria, Babylon, Britain, and Rome).The Stratfor analysis points out that Israel must ally with a strong power it can trust, in order to prevent invasion and dominance by a powerful outside force. The U.S. has been this power for the last approximately 60 years. Stratfor notes, “It [Israel] can survive only if it maneuvers with great powers commanding enormously greater resources… it must be constantly clever… No nation can be clever forever… But cleverness is not a geopolitical concept. It is not permanent, and it is not assured.” Speaking of a potential scenario in which Israel could be overcome, the report continues, “… Israel might face a Babylonian catastrophe or be forced into some variation of Persian or Roman subjugation” (Stratfor, May 14, 2011).

Bible prophecy labels Israel, and specifically Jerusalem, as a “cup of trembling” to its neighbors (Zechariah 12:2, KJV). It has been exactly that for millennia–a critical geopolitical region that everyone wants but no one nearby can have. As Stratfor notes, it would take an extremely powerful outside force (like Rome) in the absence of a powerful ally (like the U.S.) to effectively gain control of this critical region of the world. Bible prophecy reveals that this is exactly what will happen in the end times.

Jesus said that in the “last days” Jerusalem would be “trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24, KJV). The Bible reveals that this period of time will last for 3.5 years (Revelation 11:2; 13:5) and include a German-led European Beast Power controlling the sacrifices on the Temple Mount (Daniel 11:31; 12:11). Geopolitics are shaping up for this long-prophesied event.

For more information on this subject and the fate of Israel and Jerusalem, see our free booklet, The Beast of Revelation

Of course, as indicated above, the Bible warned that Jerusalem would a difficult issue in the end times:

2 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. 3 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. (Zechariah 12:2-3, KJV)

This may be part of why Jerusalem will be divided:

2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. (Zechariah 14:2)

The current conflict between Iran and Israel, combined with the unrest in Syria and the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists rising up in the Middle East, are setting the stage for the dividing of Jerusalem.

And even if there is no new regional conflict, news items have come out indicating the EU, as well as the current UN Secretary-General (Ban Ki-moon) want to divide Jerusalem now to partially satisfy many Palestinians. Possibly through the treaty of Daniel 9:27, the dividing will happen and the captivity of 1/2 of Jerusalem ultimately will come to fulfill Zechariah 14:2 (see Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided?).

Some articles of possibly related :

Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? What will happen to Jerusalem and the Jews in Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first?
Will the Anglo-Nations be Divided? Will the lands of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand be divided? What about Jerusalem? What does Bible prophecy teach? Are there non-biblical prophecies that support this idea? Who will divide those lands? Who will end up with the lands and the people?
Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? Might this King be called the Mahdi? What does the Bible say?
The Arab and Islamic World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims?