1) Fulfilling prophecy: Judea claims Jerusalem
There are great events in the world that matter very little one way or the other, and there are small events that matter greatly. We may have faith in the Bible because we see the impossible miraculous fulfilment of the precise detail of its prophecy, in what seem small things: After a drought of 1260 years, it now rains miracles in greater Jerusalem.
Whereas human prophecy has a poor track record, with climate prophecies of the last twenty years the most likely to fail, the Bible is still delivering new fulfilment after two millennia of the detail of what was hopeful promise.
We have been following the development of the Jewish presence on the mountains of Israel, as the desolate mountains are redeemed from their dryness. In the modern era from the 1850s many prophecies are fulfilled in the return of the Jews to the land of Israel after being scattered to all nations on earth. There are many examples:
After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. (Ezekiel 38:8)
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. (Zechariah 8:7-8)
I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased. I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again. I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them. (Zechariah 10:8-10)
Israel did occupy Lebanon, and as Zechariah prophesied (Ch11) Lebanon thereafter was burnt (due to openings it doors to the PLO which became the destroying power of Hezbollah). Ancient Gilead is in Modern Jordan. The initial proposal for a Jewish homeland included Gilead, until it was cut off and given to the Hashemites.
Today, this very day, after precisely seven years a small group 'Women in Green' led by Jewish women of Judea has grown, and is now a great force. Due to rational logical political directions and with no reference to the prophecy of Zechariah Twelve they are beginning to fulfil it.
And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, “The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.”
In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.
In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:5-9)
Let us consider first what the prophecy requires:
1. It is set in a time that many nations seek to come to fight against Jerusalem. Though Jerusalem has been fought over, there was never a confederacy of nations against Jerusalem. There is now an environment of agreement among many nations that they do not want Jews in Jerusalem (so called East Jerusalem, over the 1948 -1967 'green line' the ceasefire line of the 1948-49 war).
2. It requires that Jews live in both Judah (Judea) and Jerusalem, this occurred before AD 70. At that time one nation came against Jerusalem – the Romans, and Jerusalem was not defended by Yahweh Elohim of Israel. Those in Massadah at the edge of the Judean desert making their last stand could not make Jerusalem their strength. The situation re-arose with the Aliyah's from 1883 to 1948 in very small numbers. Due to Jordan's annexation of the area, the prophecy was impossible from 1949- 1967 as no nations wanted to dislodge Jordan! Then after 1967 increasing numbers of Jewish people re-settled in their ancient homeland both in East Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria that resulted in a staggering increase, that now has made the situation exactly as prophesied. …
3. The prophecy requires that the people of Judah (Judea) say in their heart that the people of Jerusalem are their strength in Yahweh. Zechariah does not say 'Israel', he wrote 'Judah'. Why would the people of one area of Israel say the people of Jerusalem are their strength? If it was about the Temple, then it could have been the 'stones'. If it was that the people of Jerusalem are 'holy' it would have said so - but it says 'strength' not 'holy'. Those in Judah 'speak to their heart' due to the nations that come are against Jerusalem. The situation is now exactly as prophesied.
4. The prophecy requires that there is something special about the people of Judah and that they are lead by many Governors. These Governors are fiery and incendiary people!
The re-settlement of Jews in their Biblical heartland is controversial due to most (if not all) nations opposing Israel's victory in the wars of 1967 and 1973. The international opposition has led to the consistent call from many nations leaders' for Israel to give up land for 'peace', which led to the return of the Sinai to Egypt, calls for the Golan to be given to Syria and constant ongoing calls for everything else won by Yahweh Elohim's Miracle in 1967 to be given to the re-incarnated Philistines called the PLO, to whom Gaza was given in 2005. Due to the opposition, the Jews who settle in Judea and Samaria are tougher and more zealous than others, which means that their leaders are known.
Photo: Banner reads - Future Jerusalem to become a metropolis for all counties - Credit Gershon Ellinson, Via Women in Green
The 'governors' - Yesha Council
It is a unique thing in Israel but Judah has a collective class of people called 'governors'! Whereas Tel Aviv and Carmel have leaders who work alone, the elected leaders of the municipalities in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley have collected together since 1980 in the Yesha Council. Note that this body of 'Governors' was formed as Jerusalem was re-united in Jewish law.
The founding leader of the Yesha Council, Yisrael Harel was one of the early leaders of the fire that burnt the government after the Camp David Accords, leading a Gush Emunim hunger strike for land for Jewish settlement in 1980 that bought then Prime Minister Begin to pleading tears and pressured then defence mister Weizmann to draft laws for settlement expansion. Yisrael Harel settled in Ofrah in Binyamin. Of note is that in that era they sought to take back the Temple Mount sas.upenn.edu
By far the best organized effort to destroy the el-Akia Mosque and the Dome of the Rock was undertaken by a group of Gush Emunim activists from the West Bank This plot was carefully and systematically developed between 1978 and 1982. An army officer with a high level of expertise in explosives was involved, and sufficient munitions to carry out the operation were stolen from the Israel Defense Forces. The plan was aborted following the group's failure to gain explicit approval from leading Gush rabbis.
Yisrael is even today a fire stirring political pots . calling for the application of Jewish Sovereignty to the Jewish 'Area C' of the Olso Accords and the 'Jordan as Palestine' option. He also was likely instrumental in ousting Netanyahu in favour of Bennett, directly making him a fire among wood. Yisrael Harel's reason for doing this was that Netanyahu 'is no right winger', specifically noting (as I myself did) “For his entire premiership, Netanyahu has proved that he always moves to the center, and sometimes even to the Left,” Harel continued, citing Netanyahu’s 2009 Bar Ilan speech in which he endorsed the establishment of a Palestinian state.israelnationalnews
As an example of the type of 'Governor' Naftali Bennett was once a director of the Yesha Council – a governor of Judah (and Samaria). He rose to prominence due to the fire of that Yesha Council. But since compromising in politics he has betrayed the Yesha Council evicting people of Oz Zion.
MK Bezalel Smotrich of Judea opposed the Government's move. “Unfortunately, as we feared in the early days of this government, the destruction of the settlements begins. The Jewish ones, of course. Arab construction is raging in the Negev, the Galilee, and Judea and Samaria, and Bennett and Shaked are choosing to destroy Jewish property. But do not worry, we will continue with God’s help to build and hold on to our land. We will continue the path and values they have chosen to abandon.”
When Bennett was a fire and a force in 2014 he said, “We are pushing to apply Israeli law unilaterally over Gush Etzion, Ariel, the Jordan Valley, Ma’aleh Adumim, Ofra, Alfei Menashe, the Ben Gurion envelope, Samaria, Judea and the rest of the Jewish settlement enterprise. It is time to do what is best for Israel.”jewishpress.com
Whether Bennett remembers his pledge or not remains to be seen, but Netanyahu once in power did not do as he said he would, and mouthed the 'two state' mantra. In this very point let us note that it says specifically that the Governors of Judah are a fire that devour people! We can see this emerging as more and more leaders of note emerge in Judea, currently the Yesha Council is led by David Elhayani, who called the Kushner peace plan a 'scam' and called for Netanyahu to be ousted.
Among the emerging leaders is the Women in Green which is a notable fulfilment, because it will not be subsumed by political opportunism, and is a direct driver of the political direction, pushing the youth.
The fire of the Governors - Women in Green
The Women in Green emerged from two women from Judea beginning a mere protest movement against the Oslo Accords giving up Israeli land 'over the green line' from 1993, gaining their name the green hats they wore. As time passed they realised that they had to do more than protest, and they began educating, “Eretz Yisrael Le’Am Yisrael” “The Land of Israel belongs to the People of Israel.” One of the things they do is the Tisha b’Av Walk around the Walls of the Old City: For the past 27 years, we’ve revived an ancient custom of encircling the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem on Tisha B’Av eve to express our loyalty to Jerusalem, Israel’s undivided united capital. womeningreen.org/about-us/
Because Jews on the mountains are restricted from building by being under military rule, and having disappointed expectations raised by Netanyahu and Trump's Peace Plan regarding sovereignty have pragmatically accepted an idea that as Jerusalem is already given to Israel that parts of Judea should be added to Jerusalem to become the suburbs of a 'greater Jerusalem'. On 9th of June they wrote:
On Thursday, the Sovereignty Movement will launch the Greater Jerusalem initiative, calling for the extension of Jerusalem to become a metropolis to include Gush Etzion, Mevaserret, Ma’ale Adumim and parts of Binyamin.
The co-chairwomen of the Sovereignty Movement, Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, say that the decision to focus on the centrality of Jerusalem in the life of the People of Israel and the State of Israel at the conference stems, among other things, from the violent incidents that have occurred recently in the mixed cities and the threats to Israel emanating from Iran, Turkey, Hamas and Hizb’Allah. womeningreen.org
For the walk about Jerusalem this year they wrote:
This year, in the shadow of the difficult events of recent months, the importance of holding the Walk has assumed greater importance. In addition to being an expression of our yearning for the complete unification of Jerusalem and return to the Temple Mount, the Walk is also the necessary Zionist response to all those who object to our sovereignty in Jerusalem. womeningreen.org
This year the walk will be held, G-d willing, in the shadow recent disturbing events, when, both form home and abroad, there were those who attempted to undermine the eternal connection between the People of Israel and its capital. In this spirit, we have appealed to all members of Knesset, inviting them to join the walk. We look forward to their positive response, placing Jerusalem above all disputes. https://womeningreen.org/newsletter-63/
Let us rephrase what they saying – they are saying in their hearts 'we are the inhabitants of Jerusalem' looking forward to unification with Jerusalem (our strength) and then the return of God dwelling with the people in the revival of the Glory of the Temple Mount.
The governors of Judah shall say in their heart, “The settlers (yashub) of Jerusalem are my strengthening in the LORD (He who will be) of hosts their God (Mighty Ones).”
Another translation, The chiefs of Judah shall say in their heart: 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength through the LORD of hosts their God.' (Zechariah 12:5 Old JPS) or they shall say to themselves, 'The dwellers of Jerusalem are a task set for us by their God the Lord of Hosts, or footnoted 'We will save the dwellers of Jerusalem with the help of their God the Lord of Hosts' (new JPS)
In addition to seeking to pragmatically politically strengthen and save Judea and Samaria as settlers of greater settlement of Jerusalem defining Sovereignty as the Jewish rule of greater Jerusalem including Judea, they look further forward to Zion which is the Sovereignty of the God of Jerusalem over all – in the face of all the world rejecting their 'right' even to exist. The constant pressure of this global denial is the crucible that creates the character of the people of Judea and it's leaders, that makes them a zealous 'fire' that politically 'devours' others on both the political left and the political right- yes indeed, before the modern world invented 'right' and 'left' in politics it is predicted here in Zechariah!
Beginning points to an end
As the first section of the prophecy is beginning to be fulfilled we would expect that the work of the leaders in Judea leads to Jerusalem being inhabited 'in her own place' – that is the old city, the so called East Jerusalem. The modern JPS renders it; 'Jerusalem shall continue on its site, in Jerusalem'! Note how odd to say that a place shall continue on its site! Has not Jerusalem been on its site?
But consider that when Jordan divided off “East Jerusalem” in 1948 which was the entirety of the historical city of Jerusalem, Israel made a new city beside it also called Jerusalem on a new site! In 1967 Jews regained control of the old city, also called 'East Jerusalem' and in 1981 they unified the two cities, but it is only now that Jews begin to cement their control over the old site of the city of Jerusalem. As the leaders of Judea and Samaria campaign for sovereignty they know by putting other satellite Jewish towns in a ring about the Old City with the Temple Mount as 'greater Jerusalem' they can prevent forever “East Jerusalem” being divided off and renamed in Arabic, and allow Jerusalem to continue as the Jewish city named Jerusalem, unified on its ancient site. How could Zechariah have known the detail of such a complex reality that we see today?
Until recent times it could not have made sense that the tent dwellings of Judah are saved first. These settlers who go out and make new towns with demountable buildings are the religious zealots against the restrictions of the anti Zionists. They are not specifically inspired by the prophecy of Zechariah to fulfil prophecy, rather they are driven by their zeal for their God and, more so, by their political situation. In Jerusalem they study which is glorified by Jews, but in Judea they act, and even before the events we see that fit the pattern emerged for millennia it was written that Judah will be saved first, so those in Jerusalem do not become vainglorious.
My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words. (Psalm 119:139)
Those Jews that go out to make new settlements know they take on their own army(IDF), and would not consider twice that they are literally taking on the whole world and all their mighty armies. Why does Yahweh the Elohim of Israel have to save the tents of Judah?
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. 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. (Zechariah 12:1-2)
Our last point of consideration is that the people of Judea (Yesha) who are so reviled about the world by people who don't even know them, will have their 'tents' saved. The tents of Judah are not only saved first, it is very likely they are saved to be inhabited! This will be a high and rare honour. The valley of the Mountains, which is the Jordan Valley, will be a place those of Jerusalem flee too. Jerusalem's buildings, even those built on their own site and those of the rest of the nations are going to be wiped out in the earthquake of the great battle for Jerusalem, moving the great Syria African fault line to the earth.
Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
(Zechariah 14:3-5)
As
we have seen the first conditions of the beginning of the fulfilment
in detail of the prophecy in our day, so in our day we will
see the end of the prophecy. Those world leaders and hateful
activists that revile those who settle in Judea are already
fulfilling prophecy as they lead the leaders to think that Jews may
be removed from the Holy Land the God of Israel gave them by Miracle!
We are in the days of Miracles- the blessed generation.
Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. (Daniel 12:12)
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. (Luke 21:28)
