One of my favorite Scriptures about the Millennium which shows what conditions will exist in Jerusalem in the future, is in the eighth chapter of the book of Zechariah, verses 3-5:
“Thus says the LORD: ‘I will return to Zion, And dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called the City of Truth, The Mountain of the LORD of hosts, The Holy Mountain.’ Thus says the LORD of hosts: ‘Old men and old women shall again sit In the streets of Jerusalem, Each one with his staff in his hand Because of great age. The streets of the city Shall be full of boys and girls Playing in its streets.'”
Christ promises here that He will return to Jerusalem, and we also get a glimpse of conditions there when old men and women will sit in the streets and young boys and girls will play there without fear of harm.
What a contrast as to what we see there today, with terrorists attacking citizens, setting off bombs which kill innocent men, women and also children, while young Palestinians are not only taught to hate the Jews, but also, how to stab them to death.
Things will only get worse until the return of Christ, when a new mindset will be instilled in people, causing totally different conditions.
Jeremiah 30:18-20 tells us:
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents, And have mercy on his dwelling places; The city shall be built upon its own mound, And the palace shall remain according to its own plan. Then out of them shall proceed thanksgiving And the voice of those who make merry; I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as before, And their congregation shall be established before Me; And I will punish all who oppress them.”
Eventually, there will be peace in the region which has been impossible to achieve under the current rulers in the area, because of the absolute hatred for the Jews and the desire of some of the surrounding Arab nations to completely annihilate the state of Israel.
But this will change, as we read in Jeremiah 31:33-34:
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
For conditions to improve in the Middle East, a change of heart and attitude is needed for all the nations in the area, and then, and only then, will there be peace in that part of the world, and in all countries. Let us pray that those wonderful days are not too far in the future.
