Zechariah 14:1-4 “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. (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. (3) Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. (4) And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south.”
In this section we want to discuss the destruction of Israel under the reign of the anti-Christ. We have seen in the previous section that the false flag event of the al-Mahdi’s assassination attempt will take the Israeli government completely by surprise. So what is the purpose of this false flag event? The whole purpose is to destroy the state of Israel. Most, if not all the Israeli government and senior military leadership will be present at this event. And so in response to the assassination attempt, the false prophet will destroy the entire Israeli government and their military leadership by calling down fire upon them. In other words the anti-Christ and false prophet will decapitate both the Israeli government and their military in one devastating blow. All of this will take place on live TV, which is one of the reasons why the various nations of the world will declare “who is able to make war with the beast”. Prior to this event, the armies of the various Islamic states on Israel’s borders would have been covertly preparing for an invasion of Israel. And so this event will act as a prearranged signal for the Muslim armies of the surrounding nations to invade the state of Israel. The combined effect of Israel’s army being taken by complete surprise and the loss of most of their leadership will paralyze Israel’s military and they will very quickly be overrun. In other words Israel will be conquered in less than a few days, which is why the Lord Jesus admonishment to the saints to flee to the mountains is so urgent. The above quoted passage of scripture gives us a vivid account of what will take place in the city of Jerusalem during that conflict. For in this passage the Lord says that He will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem and the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Obviously what will take place in Jerusalem, will also take place throughout Israel at that time. It is interesting to note that God says that He is the one who will do this. And so clearly God will be judging the nation of Israel at that time and He will use the anti-Christ as His instrument of judgement. We will not discuss the reasons for Israel’s judgement in this series as that falls outside the scope of this teaching. This passage goes on to say that half of the city will go into captivity, thus clearly implying that the rest of the Jews will be destroyed. Nevertheless even the half taken into captivity will ultimately be destroyed, for the anti-Christ’s agenda will be the total destruction of the Jewish nation. This passage tells us that the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. So what does that statement mean? The remnant of the people refers to the Lord’s saints (Romans 11:5). And so the reason the saints will not be cut off from the city is because they would have already left, and will therefore not experience the tragedy that will befall the rest of the Jews. Some have mistakenly thought that this passage refers to the destruction of Jerusalem that took place in the year 70 AD. We know that this passage refers to the destruction of Jerusalem at the end of the age however, because it describes the Lord Jesus returning to take vengeance on the nations that will invade Israel at that time, i.e. at the battle of Armageddon.
Psalms 79:1-13 “O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. (2) The dead bodies of Your servants-- They have given as food for the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. (3) Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them. (4) We have become a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and derision to those who are around us. (5) How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire? (6) Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, and on the kingdoms, that do not call on Your name. (7) For they have devoured Jacob, and laid waste his dwelling place. (8) Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us, for we have been brought very low. (9) Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, For Your name's sake! (10) Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let there be known among the nations in our sight the avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed. (11) Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are appointed to die; (12) And return to our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord. (13) So, we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations.”
The above quoted passage of scripture is another account of what will transpire when the armies of the anti-Christ invade Israel at that time. This passage declares that the invading nations will defile the Lord’s temple and they will lay Jerusalem in heaps. This passage goes on to describe a multitude of dead bodies lying all around the city, and it describes Israel’s enemies scornfully deriding the remaining Jews who are taken into captivity. Some have thought that the above quoted passage refers to the destruction of the first Jewish temple in the year 587 BC, when the Jews were taken captive to Babylon. And some have thought that this passage refers to the destruction of the second Jewish temple in the year 70 AD, when the Jews were taken captive by Rome. Neither of those assumptions is correct however, for this passage actually refers to the defiling of the third Jewish temple at the end of the age, when the Jews will be taken captive by the armies of the anti-Christ. There are two main keys in this passage pointing to the fact that this event is still to take place. Firstly, although this passage says that these invading armies will lay Jerusalem in heaps it does not say that the temple will be destroyed; only defiled. On both occasions in 587 BC and 70 AD, those temples were completely destroyed however. Secondly, this passage refers to the Lord taking vengeance on Israel’s neighbours for her destruction. On both occasions in 587 BC and 70 AD, Israel was not invaded by her neighbours but rather by foreign powers from distant lands. It is only when the armies of the anti-Christ invade, that Israel will be invaded by her Muslim neighbours.
Psalms 83:1-13 “Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, and do not be still, O God! (2) For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. (3) They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and consulted together against Your sheltered ones. (4) They have said, "Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more." (5) For they have consulted together with one consent; they form a confederacy against You: (6) The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; (7) Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; (8) Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. … (13) O my God, make them like the whirling dust, like the chaff before the wind!”
The above quoted passage of scripture is yet another account of the invasion of Israel by the armies of the anti-Christ. This passage is of interest to us in this section for two reasons. Firstly, it confirms the anti-Christ’s agenda of the complete annihilation of the Jewish nation, for it speaks about the anti-Christ’s armies cutting Israel off from being a nation so that the name of Israel may be remembered no more. Secondly, it confirms the identity of the ten Islamic states that make up the anti-Christ’s kingdom, for it refers to ten nations who have formed a confederacy to destroy the nation of Israel. Geographically, the ten ancient nations mentioned in this passage i.e. Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, the Hagrites, Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistia, the inhabitants of Tyre, Assyria and the children of Lot, equate to their modern counterparts of the ten Islamic states today. As an aside, it is important to note that during the second half of his reign, the anti-Christ will be successful in annihilating the Jewish nation; in other words there will be no more Jews in the earth by the time his reign comes to an end.
Michael E.B. Maher
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