CHAPTER 12

(487 B.C.)

BURDEN FOR ISRAEL: SIEGE OF JERUSALEM BY THE ANTICHRIST

¹The burden of the Word of the LORD for Israel, says the LORD, which stretches forth the heavens, and lays the foundation of the Earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. (The burden of the first phrase concerns wholly the future, as the first burden [9:1] concerned both the present and future. As well, it foretells Israels deliverance by Him Whom they rejected and pierced, their consequent conversion, and Zions resultant glory.

Which stretches forth and lays the foundation of the Earth, portrays the force of three Hebrew verbs as both past and present. Immanuel made and maintains all things [Col. 1:16]. His Power as Creator and Sustainer assures the fulfillment of His Promises; consequently, the Holy Spirit opens this section proclaiming the certitude of the coming action.

And forms the spirit of man within him, proclaims one of two Hebrew words translated spirit in the Bible. The one is spirit as common to man and the animal creation; the other is an emanation from God possessed only by man, and ever existing, i.e., the Holy Spirit.

The spirit of man within him, and, thus, formed by God, proclaims mans spirit as higher than the spirit of animals. In fact, man is in a class by himself, i.e., in the Image of God [Gen. 1:26].)

²Behold, 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. (The Holy Spirit uses the word Israel in Verse 1, while using the word Judah in this Verse. Both are interchangeable and mean the same thing.

The first phrase pictures this city, Jerusalem, as the focal point of the nations of the world. This will take place in the coming Great Tribulation. When they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem, concerns the Battle of Armageddon.)

³And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all who burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the Earth be gathered together against it. (The first phrase refers to a stone which is difficult to lift or to move. The efforts of the Antichrist to displace it will cause his own destruction, for the Stone of Daniel, Chapter 2, will fall upon him from Heaven.

All who burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, concerns any and all nations of the world which join with the Antichrist in his efforts to destroy Jerusalem and Judah at the Battle of Armageddon.)

MESSIAHS SECOND ADVENT; JUDAH AT ARMAGEDDON

⁴In that day, says the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open My Eyes upon the House of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. (In that day, says the LORD, refers to the Battle of Armageddon. I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness, pertains to a frenzy inspired by terror. In fact, the last phrase is the same as the first, but repeated to emphasize its certitude.)

⁵And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of Hosts their God. (This Verse portrays, possibly, the very first collective faith of the leaders and people of Israel in the Lord their God since the days of Josiah, if even then. This will no doubt be at the instant of the Lords Return, with Israel in the process of repenting at that very time.)

⁶In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. (Concerning the first phrase, the idea is: the Lord, upon His Return, will give the governors of Judah wisdom and strength respecting the closing hours of the battle to a degree that possibly man has never known. The phrase, And Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem, refers to the city being saved from the onslaught of the man of sin. It being inhabited again concerns the rebuilding by the Messiah. It will, no doubt, be the most beautiful city on the face of the Earth.)

⁷The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the House of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. (The idea of this Verse is: Judah recognizes and confesses as a source of strength the Faith of Jerusalem; the Messiah will reward this humility by rescuing Judah first; thus, will there be equality of glory to both. Judah refers to the entirety of the area given to the Tribe of Judah during the time of Joshua. The reason for this is because Jesus came from the Tribe of Judah [Gen. 49:10].)

⁸In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he who is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the House of David shall be as God, as the Angel of the LORD before them. (This refers to the coming Battle of Armageddon. And he who is feeble among them at that day shall be as David, refers back to Verse 6. David was Israels greatest warrior and was that because of the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon him for this purpose. Likewise, the Holy Spirit tells us here that, at that coming day, the most feeble among them will have the strength of a mighty David.

And the House of David shall be as God, has to do with the Tribe of Judah. As the Angel of the LORD before them, pertains to Jehovah, Who led Israel through the wilderness after their Deliverance from Egypt.)

⁹And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (Once again, this is the Battle of Armageddon.)

MESSIAH REVEALED TO ISRAEL

¹⁰And I will pour upon the House of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (And I will pour..., refers to the Lord pouring out fire upon Zions adversaries, but the Holy Spirit upon her inhabitants [II Thess., Chpt. 1]. If one is to notice, the Messiah Himself is speaking in the entirety of this Chapter as far as the word pierced; then the Holy Spirit points to the moral effect produced by the revelation. Upon the House of David, proclaims the Promise originally given to David concerning his seed upon the Throne of Israel [II Sam. 7:12-16].

The phrase, I will pour upon them the Spirit of Grace, concerns the goodness of God and means they are no longer trusting in their Law, but instead the Grace of God, which is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. And I will pour upon them the Spirit of Supplications, speaks of Israel supplicating the Lord and the Lord supplicating the Father on their behalf. The word means to ask humbly and earnestly.

And they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, identifies who and what they are and Who He is. And they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, now proclaims the moral effect produced by this Revelation, as given by the Holy Spirit. They will then make their supplications to Him for Mercy and Forgiveness. And shall be in bitterness for Him, means a sense of intense shame. It speaks of True Repentance.

The last phrase, As one who is in bitterness for his firstborn, refers to the loss of an only son, the firstborn. In effect, they killed their own son, and the firstborn at that, which meant that the family line could not continue; it was, in fact, destroyed, at least as far as the Covenant was concerned; however, this Son, or Firstborn, rose from the dead. Even though they would not accept it then, they will accept it now and because He lives, they shall live also!)

ISRAELS REPENTANCE

¹¹In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. (As Verse 10 proclaims, there is personal mourning, with national mourning in Verse 11, and domestic mourning in Verses 12 through 14. Every man will feel himself guilty of piercing Immanuel, which is the way they should feel.

The last phrase refers to King Josiah being killed in this place [II Chron. 35:22-25]. His reign was the one gleam of light in the gloom that covered the nation from Manasseh to the captivity. Consequently, there was great mourning respecting his death.)

¹²And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the House of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;

¹³The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart (the House of David and Nathan speaks of the princely line of Israel, while the family of Levi and Shimei speaks of the Priests. Consequently, these two Verses proclaim a personal and general Repentance on the part of both the civil and Spiritual leadership);

¹⁴All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart. (All the families that remain, speaks now of the balance of Israel. Judahs repentance and conversion will not be motivated by fear of punishment, but by the overwhelming sense of guilt affecting the heart, when they recognize that their Deliverer is Jesus Whom they crucified, and that all along, despite their hatred and their conduct, He kept on loving them!)