This shows that we are near the end of this age when the bible says the nations would join together against Israel.
The growing hostility toward Israel and Jerusalem shows the prophetic pattern Scripture describes about present-day political development against Israel.
WHEN THE NATIONS TURN AGAINST JERUSALEM
Bible Prophecy, Israel, and the Gathering of the Nations at the End of the Age
The central question
Why is Israel—and especially Jerusalem—becoming such a powerful point of international division? This growing hostility toward Israel is part of the prophetic picture Scripture gives us concerning the end of this age.
Scripture tell us what the world will look like as the end approaches. We are therefore commanded to watch.
Yeshua said:
"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come."
— Matthew 24:42
We are watching the world move toward the conditions Scripture says will exist at the end.
1. THE STRANGE PLACE ISRAEL OCCUPIES IN WORLD POLITICS
Judah, the modern nation called Israel today is a very small country geographically, yet events surrounding Israel and Jerusalem repeatedly become matters of international concern.
And that phenomenon is becoming especially visible today.
In September 2026, Britain imposed restrictions concerning trade with Israeli settlements, while France and Canada supported similar measures. Israel responded by taking diplomatic measures against Britain. Reuters described the situation as evidence of Israel's increasing international isolation. (Reuters)
At the same time, international institutions continue to focus intensely on Israel and the Palestinian territories. The United Nations continues to devote major diplomatic attention to the conflict and the "Question of Palestine." (UN Press)
And the Gaza war continues to generate enormous international controversy, with competing accusations concerning Israeli military actions.
That gives us an important observation:
Israel has become one of the most internationally scrutinized nations on earth.
Scripture tells us that Jerusalem and the nations will become intertwined in an extraordinary end-time conflict.
2. ZECHARIAH 12 — THE NATIONS AGAINST JERUSALEM
This is one of the foundational passages of this entire study.
Zechariah 12:2–3
Yahweh says that He will make Jerusalem a source of difficulty for the surrounding peoples.
Then comes the extraordinary statement:
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people."
And then:
"And all the people of the earth be gathered together against it."
This is an extraordinary prophecy.
Notice what Scripture does not say.
It doesn't say:
"Several Arab nations will attack Israel."
It doesn't say:
"Israel will have another regional war."
It says:
ALL THE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH
will be gathered against Jerusalem.
That is something far greater than an ordinary Middle Eastern conflict.
Zechariah 12 is describing an international crisis centered upon Jerusalem. (Bible Hub)
3. ZECHARIAH 14 TAKES IT EVEN FURTHER
Now turn to Zechariah 14.
This chapter gives us one of the clearest prophetic pictures in the Bible.
Zechariah 14:2
"For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle."
Notice who does the gathering.
Yahweh says, "I will gather."
That is extremely important.
The nations may believe they are pursuing their own political, military or ideological objectives.
But ultimately Yahweh is allowing the nations to come together for a purpose within His prophetic plan.
And then something extraordinary happens.
Zechariah 14:3
"Then shall Yahweh go forth, and fight against those nations..."
The nations think they are gathering against Jerusalem.
But ultimately they are confronting Yahweh's intervention and authority.
4. THE END OF THE STORY IS NOT ISRAEL'S DESTRUCTION
This is where this study needs to go beyond politics.
The ultimate story isn't:
Israel versus Palestine.
It isn't:
Israel versus Iran.
It isn't:
Israel versus the Arab nations.
It isn't even:
Israel versus the nations.
The ultimate conflict is:
HUMAN GOVERNMENT VS. YAHWEH'S GOVERNMENT
That is why Psalm 2 becomes so important.
5. PSALM 2 — WHY DO THE NATIONS RAGE?
Psalm 2 begins:
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?"
Then:
"The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his anointed..."
This is bigger than Israel.
The nations ultimately don't merely oppose a country.
They oppose the authority of Yahweh.
And what is Yahweh's response?
Psalm 2:6
"Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion."
Now we begin seeing the connection:
Jerusalem → Zion → the King → Yahweh's government over the nations.
The battle surrounding Jerusalem is therefore ultimately connected with the question:
WHO WILL RULE THE EARTH?
6. THE SAME PATTERN APPEARS IN EZEKIEL 38–39
Ezekiel describes another enormous end-time gathering.
Ezekiel 38:8
The prophecy describes a future time when a great military force comes against the land.
Ezekiel 38:15
It describes armies coming from distant places.
Ezekiel 38:16
Then Yahweh says:
"And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel... it shall be in the latter days."
There is our time marker:
THE LATTER DAYS
And again, Yahweh intervenes.
Ezekiel 38:23 concludes:
"Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations."
Once again, the nations gathering against the land ultimately becomes a demonstration of Yahweh's power and authority.
7. REVELATION BRINGS THE PROPHECIES TOGETHER
Now go to the New Testament book of Revelation.
Revelation 16:14
It describes:
"the kings of the earth and of the whole world"
being gathered together for the great day of Yahweh.
And where are they going?
Revelation 16:16
"And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."
Now notice the progression:
Psalm 2
The nations and rulers oppose Yahweh.
↓
Ezekiel 38
A great international military gathering occurs.
↓
Zechariah 12
The nations gather against Jerusalem.
↓
Zechariah 14
All nations gather against Jerusalem.
↓
Revelation 16
The kings of the whole world are gathered for the final confrontation.
This is why we need to study these passages together rather than isolating one verse.
8. WHY WOULD NATIONS COME TOGETHER?
This is one of the most fascinating questions.
Scripture gives us several indications.
Human beings have a persistent desire to establish their own government.
Psalm 2 essentially says:
"We don't want Yahweh ruling over us."
That same attitude appears throughout Scripture.
Humanity wants:
- its own governments
- its own laws
- its own morality
- its own definition of good and evil
- its own religious systems
- its own authority
But Yahweh's coming Kingdom challenges all of it.
That is why the end-time conflict is ultimately much bigger than Middle Eastern politics.
9. WHY IS JERUSALEM SO IMPORTANT?
Because Jerusalem is connected with Yahweh's government.
Jerusalem isn't simply important because of its modern political status.
It has a prophetic destiny.
Yahweh says:
Zechariah 8:3
"I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem."
And then comes an extraordinary statement:
"And Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth."
The Bible therefore gives Jerusalem a future role in Yahweh's Kingdom.
That helps explain why Jerusalem becomes such an extraordinary point of conflict.
10. THE MODERN WORLD IS ALREADY FIXATED ON JERUSALEM
This is where we bring current events into the study.
We can observe the direction of events.
Today:
- Israel is the subject of intense international diplomatic pressure.
- Jerusalem remains one of the most disputed cities on earth.
- Israel's military actions in Gaza have produced enormous international condemnation.
- Western governments that historically supported Israel are increasingly divided over Israeli policy.
- International institutions remain heavily focused on Israel and the Palestinian question.
- Diplomatic relationships between Israel and some Western nations have deteriorated.
- The question of Palestinian statehood continues to generate international diplomatic pressure.
- Demonstrations, political movements and disputes over Israel have become major domestic political issues in numerous countries.
For example, Britain recently announced measures against trade connected with Israeli settlements, while Israel responded with diplomatic retaliation. (Reuters)
And on September 14, 2026, Portugal publicly accused Israel of undermining the possibility of a Palestinian state through settlement expansion and economic pressure. (Reuters)
Zechariah 12 and 14 are beening fulfilled.
The Israel/Jerusalem question continues to pull nations into confrontation with one another.
11. WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO CALL THEMSELVES “CHRISTIAN”?
This is where this study becomes especially interesting.
A person's political label does not necessarily tell us what that person believes about Scripture.
Someone may call himself:
- Christian
- conservative
- evangelical
- nationalist
- progressive
- liberal
- traditional
But the question Scripture asks is:
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
There is a danger on both sides.
Some people defend everything the modern Israeli government does simply because they believe Israel has biblical significance.
Others reject everything connected with Israel because they oppose Zionism or Israeli government policies.
Neither approach is sufficient.
The Bible itself repeatedly corrected Israel.
Israel's biblical identity does not mean that every action performed by an Israeli government is automatically approved by Yahweh.
At the same time, biblical prophecy cannot simply be dismissed because modern Israel is politically controversial.
We need to let Scripture interpret Scripture.
12. THE CRITICAL DISTINCTION
This study makes this distinction very clear:
The modern State of Israel
is a modern political nation.
Biblical Israel
is part of the prophetic story revealed throughout Scripture.
Those two concepts overlap historically, but they should not automatically be treated as identical in every question.
This study is not a political defense of every Israeli policy.
Instead, the study remains focused on prophecy.
(See my study on the lost 10 tribes of Israel)
13. THE REAL WARNING: DON'T LET POLITICS REPLACE SCRIPTURE
Start with Scripture.
Then examine the world.
Not:
Start with the news.
Then force Scripture to fit it.
That distinction matters enormously when studying prophecy.
14. ARE WE AT THE END OF THE AGE?
We cannot establish the date.
Yeshua gave us signs.
Matthew 24 describes:
- wars
- rumors of wars
- nations rising against nations
- increasing deception
- religious confusion
- persecution
- lawlessness
- worldwide proclamation of the gospel
- tremendous upheaval
Then comes the end.
The lesson is:
WATCH.
15. THE MOST IMPORTANT PROPHECY IS WHAT COMES AFTER THE WAR
This is where the study should ultimately lead.
Zechariah 14 doesn't end with destruction.
It ends with:
Yahweh becoming King over the whole earth.
Zechariah 14:9:
"And Yahweh shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Yahweh, and his name one."
Now the entire prophetic picture comes into focus.
The nations gather.
Jerusalem becomes the focal point.
Yahweh intervenes.
Yeshua establishes His Kingdom.
And human government gives way to Yahweh's government.
16. THE NATIONS WILL EVENTUALLY LEARN A DIFFERENT WAY
Isaiah gives us another remarkable prophecy.
Isaiah 2:2–4
It describes the latter days when the nations go to Jerusalem to learn Yahweh's ways.
And what happens?
"They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks."
Then:
"Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
That is the real ending to the story.
Not endless war.
Not endless hatred.
Not endless political division.
Not one human government replacing another.
Yahweh's Kingdom.
17. A VERY IMPORTANT PROPHECY CONNECTION
This gives us a remarkable contrast:
BEFORE YAHWEH'S KINGDOM
Nations gather against Jerusalem.
AFTER YAHWEH'S KINGDOM
Nations come to Jerusalem to learn Yahweh's ways.
That's an enormous prophetic transformation.
The same Jerusalem that becomes the center of international conflict becomes the center from which Yahweh's law and government go out to the nations.
18. WHAT SHOULD WE WATCH FOR?
Several prophetic watch points.
WATCH POINT #1
Increasing international involvement in the Israel/Jerusalem question
WATCH POINT #2
Increasing international pressure concerning Jerusalem
WATCH POINT #3
Increasing hostility toward Israel
WATCH POINT #4
Increasing division even among people who identify themselves as Christians
WATCH POINT #5
International alliances and military coalitions
WATCH POINT #6
The continuing centrality of Jerusalem
WATCH POINT #7
Growing rejection of biblical authority
WATCH POINT #8
The eventual emergence of a political/religious system capable of influencing the nations
WATCH POINT #9
The fulfillment of the specific signs Yeshua gave
WATCH POINT #10
The ultimate gathering of the nations described by the prophets
19. Take all the signs into consideration
This should actually be one of the strongest warnings in the study.
Prophecy students have repeatedly made the mistake of looking at one major event and declaring:
"This is it!"
Then history moves on.
Our job isn't to sensationalize prophecy.
Our job is to understand it.
20. THE BIGGER PICTURE
Put all of the passages together:
Psalm 2
The nations resist Yahweh's rule.
↓
Isaiah 2
The nations eventually come to Jerusalem to learn Yahweh's ways.
↓
Ezekiel 38–39
A massive end-time military confrontation occurs.
↓
Zechariah 12
The nations gather against Jerusalem.
↓
Zechariah 14
Yahweh intervenes.
↓
Revelation 16
The kings of the earth are gathered for the final confrontation.
↓
Yeshua returns
↓
Yahweh's Kingdom is established
↓
Jerusalem becomes a center of Yahweh's government
↓
The nations learn Yahweh's ways
↓
War eventually gives way to peace.
THE MESSAGE OF THE PROPHECY
The real message isn't:
"Support Israel."
Nor is it:
"Oppose Israel."
The message is much bigger:
WATCH WHAT YAHWEH IS DOING.
The nations may believe they are determining the future through politics, military power, diplomacy, ideology and international organizations.
But Scripture says human governments ultimately cannot save mankind.
The world is moving toward a confrontation between man's system of government and Yahweh's coming Kingdom.
And Jerusalem becomes one of the central focal points of that confrontation.
The current hostility surrounding Israel and Jerusalem therefore deserves our attention—not because every headline is a prophecy being fulfilled, but because Scripture specifically tells us that the nations will ultimately gather around Jerusalem at the end of the age.
And the final outcome is not in doubt:
"And Yahweh shall be king over all the earth."
— Zechariah 14:9
WATCH ALWAYS
