Israel is the one nation, and Jerusalem is the one city on the planet that God personally reserves unto himself. He doesn’t equivocate; it is His nation and city, and anyone or anything that tries to wrest it from Him will suffer eternal consequences.

We ascertain this when reading verses such as follows:

“…for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me” (Lev. 25:23).

“…then I will uproot you from My land which I have given you…” (2 Chron. 7:20).

“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” (Zech. 12:2-3).

The God of Creation, who in reality owns every atom of existence, clearly tells the inhabitants of Planet Earth that these are His geographical places He reserves for himself. The Lord, in warning those who would harm Jerusalem, refers to that city this way: “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye” (Zech. 2:8).

Jesus, the Messiah, said about this city while weeping, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not!” (Matt. 23:37).

These and many other Scriptures make it undeniably clear that God loves Israel and Jerusalem. He considers them His personal earthly real estate. He loved them in the past and has great prophetic plans for them. Therefore, He loves Israel and Jerusalem today.

This being the documentable case, I’ve always had a question within the mix of eschatological consideration in which I’ve engaged for a number of decades.

The question: Why the following reference to this divinely designated real estate?

“And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified” (Rev. 11:8).

The reference here is to the two witnesses who will preach to the earth dwellers of the tribulation era. The question that has always ruminated in my mind is why God calls this beloved city and nation “spiritually Sodom and Egypt”?

The people of Israel, before their dispersion and after their modern regathering in the land, have been wicked and done things contrary to God’s will. But so has every other city and nation that has ever existed on Planet Earth.

The condemnation in this Revelation context seems, to my mind, a reference to prophecy yet future. Jerusalem is destined to become as wicked as the ancient city of Sodom and the idol-worshipping ancient Egypt, in God’s holy view. This shouldn’t surprise, considering how the devil is working overtime in every city and nation of the world today.

Satan wanted to usurp the throne of God, e.g., Isa. 14:13-14. It stands to reason –and to scriptural analysis–that the wicked one would want to usurp Christ’s future earthly throne as well. And, for a fact, not even the unbelieving heathens of the world can deny that Jerusalem and the nation of Israel are at the center of global conflict today. It is the most feared potential point for triggering nuclear conflagration on this old troubled sphere.

Lucifer, the fallen one, is certainly working his devilish plan to bring all to Armageddon. This includes his all-out efforts against the apple of God’s eye –the city of Zion –Jerusalem. He will indeed succeed in making Jerusalem spiritually like Sodom. Proof that Satan’s plan is far along in its progress toward that goal is in today’s news.

Since 2006, the efforts have been ongoing to make Jerusalem the center or focus of the Gay Pride organizational drive in Israel. There has and continues to be resistance to that drive. The following report explains somewhat.

May 30 (Reuters) – Jerusalem on Thursday held its annual gay pride parade under heavy security and with a subdued vibe, given the solemn mood in Israel after months of war.

LGBTQ+ supporters marched the streets of Jerusalem carrying rainbow flags, Israeli flags and yellow ribbons, a symbol for hostages still held in Gaza. Absent were the vibrant cheers and music that usually accompany the event. Organizers estimated that 10,000 people marched. Police said some 2,000 officers were on guard.

The turnout was smaller than in previous years. Last year’s parade in Jerusalem was estimated to have drawn 30,000 people.

Netanel Shaler, executive director at Havruta, an LGBTQ+ group for those with a religious leaning, said the goal was to be sensitive to the overall security situation while still allowing people to march…

Some protesters appeared on the sidelines holding signs against the parade. There were no unexpected incidents or violence, the organizers said.

Yair Lapid, the opposition leader and former prime minister, took part in the event. “The march is more important this year than ever,” he said. “Here we are reminded that we are not only fighting for the life of the state of Israel but also for what kind of country it will be. What its values are. What it believes in.”

Things are prophetically setting up for the moment when the man of sin, Satan’s false messiah, Antichrist, sits in a temple atop Mount Moriah, precisely above the spot where the Ark of the Covenant once sat (2 Thes. 2:3-4). He might even sit upon the same Ark, if it is found, or a counterfeit one, declaring himself to be God, and demanding worship (Rev. 13).

So, the grand parade to pervert God’s order of things regarding sexuality will be on full display, no doubt, up until the man of sin sits on Moriah, declaring himself to be God.

They have given it the title “Gay Pride.” Here’s what God says about mankind’s pride –especially that which perverts His creation order:

“The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate” (Prov. 8:13).

Can there be serious doubt that this generation –as witnessed through the events in Jerusalem –stands poised upon the precipice of these Last days?

 

Most serious students of Bible prophecy—at least those who study from the pre-Trib perspective—agree that the most prominent indicator of where we are on God’s prophetic timeline is God’s chosen nation, Israel.

Again, the prophet Zechariah gives a clue to this being the case:

“The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. 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 12:1-3).

Here, God’s Word, through the prophet, states that ultimately God Himself will bring all nations to account by presenting Israel as an offense that will bring their wrath against His chosen nation.

This hatred for Israel–for the Jew—will be manifest in the eyes of all God’s creation as time moves forward. The nations, infected with the sin-spawned reprobate mindset inflicted by the father of lies, Satan, will seek to destroy God’s chosen nation and people.

Jesus spoke to this prophecy while on the Mount of Olives answering His disciples’ question: “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3).

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” (Matthew 24:9-10).

I believe that while Israel and the Jews have been hated and persecuted through the eons of time, the above prophecies speak specifically to the conditions when Christ’s return is nearing.

I have wondered why the Lord said: “And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.”

While the reason He said this might be different than I imagine, I’ve concluded that it might have at least something to do with what we see now in the United States of America.

Why do most Jews in the big blue cities seem to join with the leftist, radical Muslim rants against Israel and even the Jews as a race? This is a mind-bender—or maybe a Spirit-bender matter. Israel-hating ideological evil infects even the Jewish people themselves. So much so that they will come against, or betray, their own race just to join the madness that seeks to wipe Israel off the map of the world.

This reflects Jesus’ words about the time when everything moves toward the era of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7)–a period Jesus said will be the worst in all of human history (Matthew 24:21).

It appears, according to hourly news, that the world today is well into that powerful movement toward the fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy that Israel and the Jews would face great persecution—even greater than that of Hitler’s Holocaust. Here are some examples of the build-up toward that time of Jacob’s trouble.

“Fine Scholar”: UC Berkeley chancellor praises professor who expressed solidarity with Oct. 7 attacks

Richard K. Lyons, who assumed the chancellorship in July 2024, issued the unmitigated praise while being questioned by members of the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, which summoned him and the chief administrators of two other major universities to interrogate their handling of the campus anti-Semitism crisis.

Ontario teacher called six-year-old student “half-human” for having a Jewish parent

An Ontario teacher referred to a six-year-old student as “half-human” for having a Jewish parent. This is only one incident among many that are happening in Ontario, home to 30,000 Jewish children.

“Kill all Jews”—Beloved children’s character goes off script, calls for genocide of Jews

On Sunday, the official X account of Elmo, a Muppet character from the television show Sesame Street, was hacked and used to post anti-Jewish, anti-Trump, and Jeffrey Epstein-related posts. “Kill all Jews,” one post read. “Elmo says ALL JEWS SHOULD DIE. F*** Jews,” read another.

An Israeli nuclear strike on Yemen won’t stop us: Houthi official

A senior Houthi official confirmed that the Yemen-based terror group will continue attacking Israel even after the fighting in Gaza ends, pledging that it is fully committed to destroying the Jewish state.

Iran targeting UK Jews for abduction, assassination, intel panel reports

A July 10 report by the British parliamentary committee that oversees the United Kingdom’s intelligence agencies, including Mi5 and Mi6, revealed that Iran is targeting British Jews for killing and kidnapping in the U.K. Intelligence agencies told the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament that physical threats by Iranian Intelligence Services (IIS) against U.K.-based individuals has “significantly increased recently both in pace and with regard to the number of threats.”

These headlines were posted on Rapture Ready News July 14 through July 16 of this year. Many more such anti-Israel, anti-Semitic news items flow across my attention daily, as I’m sure they come before your eyes constantly.

The evidence that we are nearing the time of the Tribulation era shouldn’t be missed by those who look up in anticipation of the “Blessed Hope.” Israel is at the heart of the signals the Lord Jesus Christ gave us to observe. That evidence couldn’t be more blatant.

Here’s what Jesus told us to do as we observe the end times:

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for our redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:28).