Jerusalem is set in the midst of hostile nations.

Ezekiel 5:5

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

 “Thus says the Lord God: ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her.” Ezekiel 5:5

In the previous verses, God showed Ezekiel how Israel would be shaven from the face of the earth. There would be attacks within Israel, around her borders, and all across the globe. In today’s verse, God shows Ezekiel how Jerusalem has been set in the middle of hostile nations.

When the State of Israel was established in 1948, she was set in the middle of nations with countries all around her. Today, she is surrounded by the hostilities of the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, Iran, etc. (Not to mention the hostilities towards Israel from the members of the United Nations). Because the Jewish people rejected Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, God gathered them to Israel to unleash His judgment on them. As quoted, “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went.” Ezekiel 36:22

The Jewish people are meant to be Christian, and if they were, the Jewish State of Israel would not exist. As Christians, we do not have a nation to call our own on this earth, our nation is the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and earth.

In Isaiah 8:11-15, God warned the Jewish people not to think that belief in Jesus Christ was a conspiracy against the Jewish culture. He came to save not to destroy. They were cautioned not to be afraid of the threats of the Pharisees, who made belief in Jesus a literal crime. They feared. The Jewish people were warned that Jesus Christ would be an offense to them, and they would stumble. They were offended and stumbled. They were told that Israel would be broken because of their rejection of Him. They are being broken.

As it stands today, the independence of Israel is an obstacle to the United Nations (government of the beast) from establishing itself as the one world government. They want nothing more than the destruction of the State of Israel.

Jerusalem also represents the capital of the soul where God sits within us to govern by His Spirit. Today, we who dedicate our body to be the home of the Holy Spirit are set in the midst of a world that denies God, discards the need for the remission of sin through Jesus Christ, and oppresses the presence of the Holy Spirit.

This present world system has made the body (the temple of God) the home of the entity that governs through people’s thoughts, feelings, words, and behaviors. This is the one “…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Click here for a post on the “man of the sin”. This entity enlivens the image of the beast to live and speak through people in every city and nation around the world. The global culture is groomed to the mark of the beast by what they say and do.

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11