A Cup of Drunkenness and Heavy Stone

 

Readers, 

This is ‘the back and forward story’ of how, when and why Jerusalem is like a cup of drunkenness for surrounding nations, and a HEAVY STONE for the whole world! 

In Zechariah 12:2-3, The Lord inspired the prophet to pen His following intentions:

 

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for ALL peoples; all who would attempt to heave it away will surely injure themselves, though all nations of the Earth are gathered against it.

 

Many, if not most Bible teachers think this applies to the tribulation age, the last half of which will feature the apocalypse and Armageddon. History proves the veracity of this prophecy, and global news reports, daily confirm its continued unfolding. However, history actually demonstrates it began to unfold much earlier—as a repetitive pattern! 

Across The Bible, the phrase, ‘In that Day’, essentially signifies,

At the (The Lord’s) appointed time(s)!

 

The Lord’s perspective is so much GREATER than ours. Since He sees across eternity, it’s a sinch for Him to speak across the 6 predicted ages of our history on this current version of Earth! (See: Human History Ages (Series)) I intuit this prophetic pattern began to unfold early in the 2nd age (pre-cross); then ‘kicked into second gear’ during the last few centuries of that age; and it might well continue until it ends in the predicted 5th age (Millennial Reign age) of history! We are currently transiting the 3rd age (post-cross) of history, so this prophecy still ‘has a lot of fuel to burn’, so to speak. Here’s why I intuit such is likely the case.

 

In the Hasty Jewish Migrations series, I list 9 significant, Jewish migrations that either have occurred, or according to Biblical prophecies, will occur during the 2nd-to-5th ages of our history. Of these, 5 would be ‘hasty’, in nature; and 5 would be Jews returning to Palestine after lengthy absences. Of the latter group, 3 returns are historical, and 2 are pending. Biblical and modern history demonstrate that, with each return, Jews encountered various levels of resistance from peoples who had occupied lands that had been previously occupied by Jews.

 

As such, Zechariah 12:2 might be the continuation of this repetitive pattern that began when Joshua led campaigns to capture lands across Canaan, after the exodus from ancient Egypt. If so, this specific prophecy will not be one that will suddenly begin during the tribulation age! As a large stone tossed into a relatively quiet lake, produces ripples that extend across the lake, the successive returns of Jews to Palestine, and their continued, unruly (sinful) presence there (e.g., during the Grecian and Roman empires) produced waves of resistance across the region, and beyond!

 

Zechariah 12:3 kicks this pattern to a broader, global level!!! That apparently began when the prophecy in Ezekiel 37 became historical, with the establishment of the modern state of Israel in May 1948. Its creation triggered a flood of Palestinian migrants/refugees who were forced to leave lands that Jews would occupy, after centuries of being absent. It also triggered a spate of wars across the Middle East, wars that captured global attention. And Israel’s recent war in Gaza, has broadened and sharpened the global gaze on Jerusalem, which became the capital of Israel in mid-1980. So once again, we see the prophecies in Zechariah 12:2-3 actually pre-date the tribulation age, the apocalypse, and Armageddon! But many other Biblical passages predict this pattern will ‘kick into the 5^th gear’ DURING the tribulation age, the apocalypse and Armageddon!!! So the Tribulation doesn’t initiate this prophecy—it merely intensifies its final surge toward culmination!

 

These insights reveal we need to do a much better job at perceiving The Lord’s repetitive patterns and shocking reversals of His patterns that are demonstrated across The Bible. It really matters, and will greatly aid our comprehension of His ways and plans.

 

Why This Particular Pattern?

 

We established that Jews who returned to Palestine after length periods of absence, encountered various levels of resistance from people who had occupied the land in their absence. That’s a natural, human nature response, especially in light of the tremendous human migrations across the ages. I intuit The Lord’s strategic rationale for this pattern may be to train and prepare Jews, first, and then all nations of the world, for the eventuality of THE MOST PIVOTAL and consequential age of human history--The Millennial Reign age—the 5th age of history. For millennia, that 5th age of our history, has clearly been on His mind! 

 

For a thousand years, The Bible predicts a greatly expanded, raised-up Jerusalem, will be Earth’s global capital, in a significantly expanded Israel—from the Nile, to the Euphrates rivers! The final, MAJOR, Jewish migration at the start of that age (Isaiah 60) WILL NOT trigger any kind of resistance from any Gentiles who will have previously occupied countries in that vast area! Rather, Isaiah predicts Jews in that age will be globally favored, possibly the result of people the world over, trying to curry favor from/with Jesus, as global King!

 

The Bible iteratively predicts that, from there, He will rule the whole world with an iron rod, enforcing global peace and righteousness, aided by all of His (then) resurrected, immortal saints from across the first 4 ages of history. Like Him, we will be glorified, i.e., glowing, like He glowed per Matthew 17:1-9 and Mark 9:2-10). With so much LIGHT on the Earth, see what Isaiah predicted will happen to the sunlight and moonlight at that time! Imagine that…

 

Why Such an Exceptionally Long Training Period?

 

We humans are s-l-o-w or outright refuse to perceive The Lord’s ‘Hand@Work’ in history, or to give Him any deference in human affairs. Like extremely stubborn children and incorrigible teenagers, perhaps we require a steady stream of patient, hard lessons, and even with such, we REMAIN DEFIANT to ‘parental’ or any authority. The question becomes, not whether The Lord’s hand still moves in history, but whether we recognize it. Tip: All survivors of the apocalypse WILL recognize and honor it!

In light of this ‘back and forward story’ of how, when and why Jerusalem is a cup of drunkenness for surrounding nations, and a heavy stone for the whole world, here’s a question for you to ponder:

 

So how would you respond

to such disrespectful and incorrigible people,

(Jews and Gentiles, alike),

and prepare them for the eventuality of something 

as awesome as The Millennial Reign age?!

Perhaps that is why the Lord allows Jerusalem to remain heavy in every age

so that humanity learns, slowly and painfully, to bow to the weight of His plan.