In That Day...
Zechariah 12:3
"And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy (burdensome) stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it."
The day Israel became a nation, declared sovereign by the United Nations, immediately it was under attack by Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. And in just six days of fighting, they were able to repel these enemies and became a heavy burden for all its neighbors ever since. Their lands have been cut into pieces. And the tides of battle have continued to heave and ebb back and forth for more than half a century.
Zechariah 12:4-5
“I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the Lord of hosts, their God.’"
Countless times throughout the years since the six days war, Israel's fate has been maintained by a delicate balance. Many battles and intrigues, feelings of invincibility and feelings of fear. The U.N. Resolutions condemning their actions, and the neighboring Arab leaders using oil influence to pressure the U.S.A and other western nations to dramatically alter their relationship with Israel. At times it seems as if the whole world is gathered against them.
And God chose Jerusalem as the place where He will set His name forever (2 Chronicles 6:6; 33:7; Psalms 46:4; 48:1-8; 87:3). And in the days since Zechariah's time, Jerusalem and its surrounding region has been hotly contested by many warring empires, oil rich nations, people of many different nationalities, and several faiths, for many centuries.
In 1967 Jerusalem again became a united Israeli city in its own place. Bringing about the fulfillment of Zechariah's prophecy...
Zechariah 12:6
"In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem."
Today however, there remains a vast hatred against Zionism, and the Jewish State. It remains a heavy burden for many. But all these culture clashes aside, what's really happening here is God is exercising his divine judgment against the enemy of his creation. And Jerusalem is the focus of that purpose. He's laid the foundations for his recreation in Jerusalem. And he's bringing his people together there to finally decide this prewritten history of all mankind.
In Zechariah 12 we see time after time God making this statement...
"I will..."
"I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples"
"I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness"
"I will make the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile"
And ultimately the most amazing "I will" moment...
"I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced."
...in that moment a great outpouring of strength and might will defend Jerusalem, it will be an outpouring of the Spirit – but of grace and supplication as Jerusalem is supernaturally defended by Jesus Christ, the One they pierced. They will finally turn away from the foolish, and worthless shepherd, focusing now on the Good Shepherd. God chose Jerusalem as the place where his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, would suffer, die, be buried, rise from the dead, and ascend into heaven. And now, many centuries later, Jerusalem will be drawn to Him in humble repentance (John 12:32).
It has long been a mistake made by many religious people to imagine that their thoughtful reflections and confessions of sin produces an audience with the Savior, somehow authorizing a look at Jesus. But know this, the scripture is plain and clear, it is for all people to first look upon Jesus whom they've pierced, and then weep for their sin that caused that terrible death on His cross. The same eye looks and weeps for what they've done to him. His Salvation comes and THEN mourning.
"They will look on Me"
The Father, Yahweh, sends the Spirit and they look upon Adonai, Jesus the pierced One. The triune God evidenced here in Zechariah's prophecy.
And God said, "I will"
And "in that day" they will remember he said that.
They will remember the Old Testament prophecies. In the midst of this World War blood bath being played out in Jerusalem, they will relearn their God's word. In that day there shall be a great mourning and remembrance in Jerusalem, a revival of the Spirit and repentance.
The Bible prophecy clearly states that EVERYONE "in that day" will know the Lord Jesus. And a great revival of the Messiah's Spirit will arise in all the people of Jerusalem. They will repent of their sin and defend their faith in his Spirit. Jerusalem delivered and restored by the power of God in the arrival of the Messiah himself. He comes and "in that day" he conquers both the enemies of God and the hearts and minds of the people of Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:9
"It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem."
A great victory, but no one is cheering and celebrating the battle being won.
No.
Instead, they mourn over the One they had pierced. They weep over their rejection of his first coming. They sorrow over the grace they delayed. They repent and mourn and cry over their lost time with their Savior. This isn't some fantastic, glorious moment in human endeavor, conquering forever the forces of evil by their faith. This is Salvation has come. Mass conversion. The people immediately return to the word of God upon seeing their rejected Messiah, and they open up a fountain out of Jerusalem that washes away their sin as the "look on me" (referring to Christ). They immediately turn to him in mourning.
A sudden conversion.
What about us gentiles?
God commands all people to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6).
Let us all now and until the end of days, and in that day, pray for the Salvation of Jerusalem to come soon. For in that day Salvation is victorious once and for all.
This can't happen unless first they strike the Shepherd. God said it can't until they strike the Shepherd with a sword.
And they did, in the first advent of Christ they did.
And in that day, they will finally see it for what it really was.
That day is for them, that sudden conversion is for them in that day, but for you, today is the day. Now is the time. Your Salvation and day has come. Your conversion can and should be today.
Don't wait, don't delay grace and supplication. Repent and be saved. Look upon him whom you pierced.
And be saved.