Yeshua foretold the destruction of the Second Temple when he lamented: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, Barukh Haba Ba’shem Adonai: ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ Yeshua then left the Temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the Temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” (Matt. 23:37-24:2). Note well that we are not awaiting the construction of the “Third Temple” which will be hastily erected during the time of Jacob’s Trouble during the Great Tribulation, but we await the “Fourth Temple,” that is, the Temple that will be built by Tzemach Tzaddik (צֶמַח צַדִּיק), namely, the Messiah the Son of David (מָשִׁיחַ בֶּן־דָוִד) who will come again to establish the Kingdom of Zion upon the earth in fulfillment of the promises of God (Zech. 6:12; Jer. 23:5).At that glorious time the mourning of the Jewish people will forgotten, as it is written: “Thus says Adonai Tzeva’ot (יהוה צְבָאוֹת): The fast of the fourth month (Tammuz), and the fast of the fifth month (Tishah B’Av), and the fast of the seventh month (Gedaliah), and the fast of the tenth month (Asarah b’Tevet), will be to the house of Judah for joy and rejoicing and for pleasant appointed seasons. Therefore love truth and peace” (Zech. 8:19). In that coming day, “The LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one.”
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As I’ve mentioned repeatedly over the years, the word “Zion” (i.e., tziyon: צִיּוֹן) is mentioned over 160 times in the Scriptures. That’s more than the words faith, hope, love, and countless others… And since Zion is a poetic form of the word Jerusalem, the number of occurrences swells to nearly 1,000! It is therefore not an overstatement to say that God Himself is a Zionist…. “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth” (Psalm 50:2). Zion represents the rule and reign of God in the earth and is therefore synonymous with the Kingdom of God. The entire redemptive plan of God — including the coming of the Messiah Himself and our very salvation — is wrapped up in the concept of Zion. It is the “historiography” of God — His “philosophy of history,” if you will.
In a sense, the great vision of Zion is the heart of the Gospel message and the focal point of God’s salvation in this world. Zion represents our eschatological future — our home in olam haba (the world to come). Even the new heavens and earth will be called Jerusalem — “Zion in her perfection” (Rev. 21). “This is what Adonai Tzeva’ot says: I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure” (Zech. 1:14-15). “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch” (Isa 62:1). “The builder of Jerusalem is God, the outcasts of Israel he will gather in… Praise God, O Jerusalem, laud your God, O Zion” (Psalm 147:2-12).
We are presently living in the “days of the Messiah,” just before the time of great worldwide tribulation that will lead to the prophesied acharit hayamim (אַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים), or the “End of Days.” This is the age in which the spirit of the Messiah is available to all. These are “days of God’s favor” that are ending soon. According to traditional Jewish sources (Pesachim 54b; Midrash Tehilim 9:2), no one knows the exact time when the Messiah will appear — though there are some hints. The condition of the world during the end of days will be grossly evil (2 Pet. 3:3; 2 Thess. 2:3-4, 2 Tim. 3:1-5). The world will undergo various forms of tribulation, collectively called chevlei Mashiach (חֶבְלֵי הַמָּשִׁיחַ) – the “birth pangs of the Messiah” (Sanhedrin 98a; Ketubot, Bereshit Rabbah 42:4, Matt. 24:8). Some sages say the birth pangs will last 70 years, with the last 7 years as the most intense period — the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” / עֵת־צָרָה הִיא לְיַעֲקב (Jer. 30:7). Just before the second advent of Yeshua, a period of tribulation and distress for Israel will occur. After this “great tribulation” period, however, Yeshua will usher in Yom YHVH, the “Day of the LORD,” and the sabbatical millennium, the 1000 year reign of King Messiah will commence (Rev. 20:4).
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Although “Day of the LORD” (i.e., yom Adonai: יוֹם יְהוָה) is often associated with Tishah B’Av and the catastrophic destruction of the Jewish Temple, the words of the prophets were only partially fulfilled, and there awaits another Day coming when God will terribly shake the entire earth (Isa. 2:19). “For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Rev. 6:17). The prophet Malachi likewise says: “‘Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,’ says the LORD Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to them'” (Mal. 4:1). For those who are godless, the great Day of the LORD is a time of horrific judgment, but for those who belong to the LORD, it represents a day of victory and great blessing. Regarding that day the prophet Malachi said, “Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things” (Mal. 4:3).
Ultimately the Great Tribulation period is purgative and healing (sometimes called yissurim shel ahavah, or “the troubles of love”). The prophets wrote that Zion will go through labor and then give birth to children (Isa. 66:8). Thus the Vilna Gaon wrote that the geulah (national redemption) is something like rebirth of the nation of Israel. This accords with the prophetic fulfillment of Yom Kippur as the Day of Judgment and time of Israel’s national conversion. In the verse from prophet Jeremiah regarding the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble,” it’s vital to see the goal in mind – “yet out of it he is saved” (וּמִמֶּנָּה יִוָּשֵׁעַ). When Yeshua returns to Zion, all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26). The sages note that childbirth is a time of radical transition and struggle for the baby — from the time of relatively peaceful existence within the womb into the harsh light of day — and therefore a similar transition between this world and the Messianic world to come is about to take place…
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Stay strong, friends.
John