Home Articles Current Events The Battle for Jerusalem
     
 
The Battle for Jerusalem Print E-mail
Written by Victoria Radin   

“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. 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 against it.” (Zechariah 12:2-3)

The final battle for Jerusalem will come from within Israel on three different battlefronts, according to Rabbi Hillel Rivlin, an 18th-century Torah scholar. He believed that Israel would battle against the descendants of Ishmael, the descendants of Esau, and the “mixed multitude” (Erev Rav) that Israel failed to eradicate in the Sinai desert. Erev Rav, he said, would rise up again in an attempt to defeat those who believe in the Torah and look forward to the coming of the Messiah in the End of Days. Today, an Israeli rabbi who has studied Rabbi Rivlin’s works believes that the battle for Jerusalem has now begun. 

  • Ishmael is believed to be the Muslims who self-identify as descendants of Ishmael.
  • Esau is thought to be Western culture.
  • The “mixed multitude” or “Erev Rav” are those who have joined themselves to Israel with impure motives. We would call them liberals or “the political left”, mostly atheistic Jews who have returned to the Land from around the world, some of them being those who established the State of Israel.

The war against Ishmael is being fought mainly on the home-front since many descendants of Ishmael live in the midst of Israel (the so-called Palestinians) or in the surrounding nations of Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. This war began even before the Nation of Israel was re-born and will end before the Messiah comes. It is being fought militarily and through civilian warfare as well.

There is also a worldwide war being fought to delegitimize Israel’s very existence through propaganda, Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), and through ‘rulings’ in the United Nations. From 1955 through 2013, the UN has passed seventy-seven resolutions against Israel and only one against Palestine with regard to the conflict in that area. The UN continues to show extreme bias against Israel.

On November 30th of 2016, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to adopt six outrageous anti-Israel resolutions. These resolutions address a wide variety of issues including “a two-state solution” and a “lasting solution to the question of the City of Jerusalem.”

The first resolution calls for an “intensification of efforts” to bring about a “two-state solution” that permanently divides the land of Israel into two separate nations. A total of 153 countries voted in favor of this resolution. It calls to mind John 21:11 in which 153 fish were caught in the fisherman’s net at Yeshua’s command. Likewise these 153 nations that voted to divide the Nation of Israel will find themselves opposing G-d Himself.

Another notable resolution calls for the city of Jerusalem to be permanently divided between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The international community (the UN) has ‘gathered against’ Jerusalem as Zechariah’s prophecy records:

“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 against it.” (Zechariah 12:2-3)

The UN represents the ‘net’ where all the nations of the earth are gathered. The 153 nations voting to divide Israel will be “cut in pieces”.

“I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; they have also divided up My land.” (Joel 3:2)

The war against Esau is a spiritual war described as the Captivity of Edom. Edom epitomizes man’s final exile from G-d. The L-rd said of Esau’s heritage, Edom:

“…Jacob I have loved; but Esau I have hated…. they shall be called the Territory of Wickedness, and the people against whom the L-rd will have indignation forever.’” (Excerpts from Malachi 1:2-4)

The Captivity of Edom is internal, spiritual exile from G-d. It causes individuals to be internally split, holding onto two conflicting, diametrically opposed cultures: Western culture vs. the ethical and moral beliefs of Judaism. Esau/Edom has succeeded in destroying many Jews through inward assimilation to Western culture. As a result of this war, barely a remnant will survive.

The final aspect of this war will be the war against the “mixed multitude”, Erev Rav. It will be between the surviving remnant of believing Jews and those who are firmly gripped by Western Culture and the World. It is said that Erev Rav exists in each generation and is believed to be the major cause of most of the problems experienced by the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Another rabbi who lived in the eighteenth century wrote extensively about the Erev Rav and the evil they possess. He believed Erev Rav would discourage or prevent people from returning to Israel. They would be argumentative and egotistical, running after money and honor. In Israel today, they are the liberals or “the political left”. Their worldview is ‘globalism’ and they actively seek to delegitimize their own country in that quest.

Israeli politics revolves around conflicting opinions about the Nation’s relation to Arabs, the borders, and Israel’s character as a Jewish state. “The left” tends to define the Jewish people as an ethnic group and Israel as a secular state having a common language and loyalty to agreed-upon social and political arrangements; whereas, much of “the right” views the Jewish nation as being guided by religious belief, subject to religious law with a biblical mission.

“The right” draws its strength from its biblical understanding of Israel’s destiny. It interprets the establishment of the Nation of Israel against extraordinary odds as proof that the Jewish people will prevail. They regard the failure of “the left” to take Israel’s side as a betrayal of the Jews’ divine calling.

In Israel today, there are 15 political parties with seats in the Knesset and 28 more without seats. They represent the broad array of citizens having come out of many nations of the world from various cultures. Most know nothing about Judaism but were seeking instead to escape the misery of life in a third-world country, or were seeking refuge from oppressive nations to enjoy the personal liberty that exists in Israel. Like the “mixed multitude” of Egypt, they are primarily concerned with their own comfort and not the survival of the Nation of Israel, nor are they concerned about having the freedom to worship the G-d of Israel.

The defeat of the descendants of Ishmael is certain, but overcoming the Captivity of Edom and the Erev Rav will be accomplished only through much prayer and involves not only Jews, but also Christians as well. The magnet of Esau –the wealth and material comforts of Western culture– draws man away from G-d. And, the influence of Erev Rav –godless or worldly friends and family– can lead many down the path of carnality, regardless of whether one is a Jew or a Christian.

The battle for Jerusalem will be won by a remnant of zealous believers in the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For the Christian, it is primarily a spiritual battle against being drawn into carnality and worldliness; but it is also a call to pray for Israel in its physical war against the descendants of Ishmael and the Erev Rav that live in the midst of the Jewish people seeking to fuse Israel into the ‘global society of mankind’.  

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of [Yeshua].” (1 Peter 1:13)

“…for the LORD your G-d is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.” (Deuteronomy 20:4)

The enemies of Israel “Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not stand, for G-d is with [Israel].” (Isaiah 8:10)

“Thus says the L-rd: ‘I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, the Mountain of the L-rd of hosts, the Holy Mountain.’” (Zechariah 8:3)

1. It is taught that the "mixed multitude" consisted entirely of one people, all the members of which spoke one language: namely all the sorcerers of Egypt and all its magicians who sought the power of Moses' G-d.

2.  The Knesset is the governing body of Israel, comparable to the Parliament of Britain or the Congress of the U.S.

 

 
 
 
 
©2024 HaDerek Ministries - All rights reserved.   Website Design by Further Design Group