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Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Those who love you will prosper.
Psalms 122:6
To be able to pray for the peace of Jerusalem we first must
understand what the Word of God has to say on the subject. The Bible is very clear on it's
teaching concerning Israel, the Jewish Nation and Jerusalem. So if we want to pray according
to the will of God then we must first find out what the will of God is.
Jerusalem's future can be found in many passages in Scripture, and of course they compliment
one another. In the latter part of the book of Zekharyah / Zechariah there are two passages which speak
of the future of Jerusalem: Chapter 12:1-9 and Chapter 14:1-21.
1 An oracle. The word of the LORD concerning Israel. the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, and lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him says:
2 "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of reeling to all the surrounding peoples, and on Judah also will it be in the siege against Jerusalem.
3 It will happen in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it.
4 In that day," says the LORD, "I will strike every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open my eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
5 The chieftains of Judah will say in their heart, 'The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of Hosts their God.'
6 In that day I will make the chieftains of Judah like a pan of fire among wood, and like a flaming torch among sheaves; and they will devour all the surrounding peoples, on the right hand and on the left; and Jerusalem will yet again dwell in their own place, even in Jerusalem.
7 the LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem not be magnified above Judah.
8 In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He who is feeble among them at that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them.
9 It will happen in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
Zekharyah / Zechariah 12:1-9
1 Behold, a day of the LORD comes, when your spoil will be divided in your midst.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city will be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city will go out into captivity, and the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 His feet will stand in that day on the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west, making a very great valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 You shall flee by the valley of my mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azel; yes, you shall flee, just like you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. The LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with you.
6 It will happen in that day, that there will not be light, cold, or frost.
7 It will be a unique day which is known to the LORD; not day, and not night; but it will come to pass, that at evening time there will be light.
8 It will happen in that day, that living waters will go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter will it be.
9 The LORD will be King over all the earth. In that day the LORD will be one, and his name one.
10 All the land will be made like the Arabah, from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; and she will be lifted up, and will dwell in her place, from Benjamin's gate to the place of the first gate, to the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananel to the king's wine-presses.
11 Men will dwell therein, and there will be no more curse; but Jerusalem will dwell safely.
12 This will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem: their flesh will consume away while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will consume away in their sockets, and their tongue will consume away in their mouth.
13 It will happen in that day, that a great panic from the LORD will be among them; and they will lay hold everyone on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand will rise up against the hand of his neighbor.
14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered together: gold, and silver, and clothing, in great abundance.
15 So will be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the donkey, and of all the animals that will be in those camps, as that plague.
16 It will happen that everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, and to keep the feast of tents.
17 It will be, that whoever of all the families of the earth doesn't go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of Hosts, on them there will be no rain.
18 If the family of Egypt doesn't go up, and doesn't come, neither will it rain on them. This will be the plague with which the LORD will strike the nations that don't go up to keep the feast of tents.
19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that don't go up to keep the feast of tents.
20 In that day there will be on the bells of the horses, "HOLY TO THE LORD"; and the pots in the LORD's house will be like the bowls before the altar.
21 Yes, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of Hosts; and all those who sacrifice will come and take of them, and cook in them. In that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of Hosts.
Zekharyah / Zechariah 14:1-21
In verse 8 of chapter 12 we read
that on that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem; in verse 2 of chapter 14 we
read that the city [Jerusalem] will be captured, the houses rifled, and the women ravished;
also that half of the city will go into captivity. From verse 16 it is also clear that this is the
beginning of the 1,000 year reign of Messiah as we read that the surviving nations will go up
to Jerusalem every year to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. These two passages obviously
cannot be referring to the same event; so what does it mean? Other verses within the two
passages make it more clear: Verse 4 of chapter 14 shows us that this passage is to take place
at the second coming of Messiah, that Yeshua Himself will fight against the nations that have
captured the city. However it is to be noted that the city has already been plundered (v.2).
In the passage in chapter 12: 1-9, the account is quite different, the Lord not only protects
Jerusalem, but empowers the inhabitants, "so that the feeblest among them will be like David",
thus enabling them to fight against and consume their attackers. From verse 5 it is plain that
the Jewish people are in faith, having accepted their "King Messiah" Yeshua, "The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of Hosts their God.". This then puts this event at the end of the Millennial Kingdom (1,000
year of Messiah on earth) when, according to Rev. 20:7-9, Satan will gather all those
that have rejected the Kingship of Messiah to make war on Jerusalem.
7 And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison,
8 and he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 They went up over the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. Fire came down out of heaven from God, and devoured them.
Rev. 20:7-9
The only effective way to pray for the peace of Jerusalem then
is to pray for the return of Messiah so that:
24 Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
1 Cor 15:24-26
Amen. Come, Lord Yeshua.
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