Shalom, friends. Yarden here.

In Zechariah 12:2-3, we read:

Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it (ESV)

The history of Biblical interpretation tells us that prophecy has been viewed many different ways. It’s true that prophecy is not simple, but this is no reason to give up on trying to understand it, as many Christians do while teaching others to do likewise.

Sometimes, it is helpful to test our theories of how to interpret the Bible against the empirical facts of history and the observable world around us. This is particularly true when it comes to prophecies about the Jewish people and, more recently, the State of Israel, both of which have a history that confirms Biblical prophecies. For years, I was not convinced that the State of Israel was fulfilling Biblical prophecies (this view is widespread not only in most expressions of Christianity but even in some ultra-orthodox expressions of Judaism). But over time, growing hatred worldwide of the only Jewish state on earth caused me to reevaluate my views.

We should be wary of anything that purports to be a work of God while receiving worldly praise, and instead we should expect worldly opposition to God’s plans. This is the natural order in our fallen world. With this in mind, one of the strongest evidences that God’s hand is at work in the modern State of Israel is the unprecedented obsession with Israel and unequaled opposition towards it worldwide.

This is not a subjective claim: Israel came under assault by the Islamic world immediately after it became a state. In the decades thereafter, the UN established more resolutions against Israel than all other nations combined. And one day after October 7th, before Israel had even retaliated against Hamas for slaughtering more than 1,200 Israelis and abducting hundreds more, “Long Live the Intifada” and “We are Hamas” could be heard chanted throughout Western Europe, where Hamas and its vision of annihilating the only Jewish state on earth is becoming genuinely trendy. I spent a week in Europe prior to arriving in Israel in the fall of 2025, and was confronted every day with this type of messaging.

Of course, this is not unique to Europe; Hamas and its genocidal vision of wiping out the only Jewish state on earth are growingly trendy in America also. This may be most visible on campuses for the moment, but in certain parts of America you can find Hamas messaging to be growingly common on the streets as well.

But what is the reason for why the Lord is gathering the nations against Israel? Jeremiah 30:14-17 informs us:

All your allies have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you.
I have struck you as an enemy would
and punished you as would the cruel,
because your guilt is so great
and your sins so many…
Because of your great guilt and many sins
I have done these things to you.

So Israel’s sins are many, and the Lord is disciplining here. But lest the enemies of the Jewish people feel justified in hating Israel, God makes it clear that God does not take sides, and that He is still using the evil in people’s hearts to accomplish His righteous purpose, and His purpose is to restore Israel to Himself. The passage continues, with a word to all those who would seek to hate and destroy the Jewish nation:

“‘But all who devour you will be devoured;
all your enemies will go into exile.
Those who plunder you will be plundered;
all who make spoil of you I will despoil.
But I will restore you to health
and heal your wounds,’
declares the Lord,
‘because you are called an outcast,
Zion for whom no one cares.’