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Showing posts with the label Zechariah

Middle East At War? Insights from Zechariah 12

We have been exploring the topic of today's Middle East war and how it compares with end-time prophecy. One of the prophetic signs Jesus predicted in the days before His second coming was ‘ wars and rumours of wars ’ (Matthew 24:6). Tragic as it may be, on the positive side it is part of the birth pangs of the coming kingdom. One of the key prophets regarding the last days and Armageddon is Zechariah, He gave some great prophecies of the first coming of Jesus (like the triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey and His betrayal for thirty pieces of silver). Here is a key prophecy about the events leading to the second coming of Christ: 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...

IN A MATTER OF MONTHS: A BRIEF MIDDLE EAST UPDATE

    What a difference a few months can make. In the first half of 2021, there has been changes of government in the United States and Israel, and Iran has a new president. This part of the world, once dominated by great empires, then slumbering as a quiet backwater, has come front and centre in international attention. IRAN: Let’s take a moment and focus on Iran, the world’s leading Shia Muslim country (the Shia represent 15% of global Islam and Sunnis 85%). This proud ancient nation has hegemonic ambitions in the region. Its means of gaining power is to make a ‘Shia crescent’ from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. In one sense, it has already succeeded: four countries, to various decrees, are under Iranian oversight, including Yemen, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. The latter two countries are on the Mediterranean. Ultimately, Iran wants to export their revolution to the Sunni Arab nations. Ebrahim Raisi is the newly-inaugurated president of Iran. His critics call him a ...

The Coming King: Why Study the Book of Zechariah

  INTRODUCTION TO          ZECHARIAH   A returnee from the Babylonian captivity, Zechariah teamed up with the mature prophet Haggai to encourage the Judeans to rebuild the God’s temple in Jerusalem. Its construction was halted and it took the prophets to restart it, both by word and action. Years later Zechariah continued his written prophecies focusing on Messiah Himself. To the disappointment of many, Messiah had not yet appeared. Zechariah gave insight on the conditions surrounding the coming King of kings and Lord of lords. Apart from Isaiah, no Old Testament prophetic book has more Messianic references than Zechariah. That’s why we call the Book of Zechariah ‘The Coming King.’ HEBREW NAME OF ZECHARIAH Known in the original Hebrew as zekar-yah or ‘God remembers.’ Because God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He will also remember to bless their descendants, the children of Israel. AUTHOR OF ZECHARIAH The author of Ze...