The Coming Arab Takeover of East Jerusalem

https://www.thetrumpet.com/article/14142.18.0.0/the-coming-arab-takeover-of-east-jerusalem

Prophetic Implications

The Trumpet has watched for years for Hamas to maneuver into a position where it would govern the West Bank as it does the Gaza Strip. This is based off a powerful prophecy found in the biblical book of Zechariah.

The prophet Zechariah actually had a role in rebuilding Jerusalem after the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity, and yet he wrote that it would be destroyed once again. This was an unpopular message at the time, and some believe it got him killed by his own people.

However, Zechariah wasn’t writing about a takeover that was to happen in this time, nor was he writing about the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. He was writing about the time that we are living in right now, and it has everything to do with the coming Palestinian elections.

Zechariah 14:2 states:

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explains this verse in Zechariah—The Sign of Christ’s Imminent Return:

Note the big overview Zechariah gives us. There are three phases to this crisis. Zechariah starts at the Second Coming of Christ, the third phase, and works his way backward chronologically.

The verse starts with Christ conquering the European and Asian powers that are gathered together for battle. Then there is a semicolon,which means all these events in verse 2 arelinked and closely associated.

The first semicolon introduces the second phase of this violent time. The city shall be taken, houses rifled and women ravished. This is when the king of the north (Europe) conquers the whole city of Jerusalem (also America and Britain), shortly after he conquers the king of the south (Daniel 11:40-41).

But notice how this whole procession of events to the return of Christ begins. Mr. Flurry continues, “Then there is another semicolon. This is the first phase, when half of Jerusalem goes into captivity—suggesting some violence in the process.”

Given that the West Bank borders East Jerusalem, it is likely that the fall of half the city is preceded by the West Bank coming under Palestinian control, especially that of the more violent Hamas faction.

In the lead-up to the elections in October, continue to watch for Hamas to become a more viable alternative to Fatah leadership in the West Bank. Watch for the international community to pressure Israel to allow the elections to take place, even though they will involve a terrorist group that has sworn to bring about Israel’s destruction. Recognize, however, that a Hamas takeover of the West Bank and later East Jerusalem is just the first step of a three-step prophecy.

This is why the Trumpet closely watches Jerusalem, specifically events tied to half of the city falling. It triggers a massive chain reaction of world events that culminate in the return of Jesus Christ, an event that will finally bring peace to Jerusalem and the whole world.