Jerusalem and the ingathering of the nations 
29 September 2023

Last week, we witnessed the annual spectacle of the United Nations General Assembly - a place where heads of states and their representatives meet in many different settings. It has become a market-place of political power and economic interests. 
 
Iranian President Raisi used the UN platform to threaten to murder U.S. officials in revenge for the 2020 assassination of Qassem Soleimani, head of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Raisi taunted America over its powerlessness in the world, claiming that the hegemony of the West is “over”. He declared that the sanctions policy has “failed” and the Iranian nation has “won.” Stressing Iran’s commitment to regional cooperation, he stated that “any foreign (ie. western) interference in the region from the Caucusses to the Persia Gulf is not only not a part of the solution, it is the problem itself.”
 
In contrast, Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel stated that Israel is "at the cusp of an historic peace with Saudi Arabia. It will encourage a broader reconciliation between Judaism and Islam, between Jerusalem and Mecca, between the descendants of Isaac and the descendants of Ishmael."
 
It is interesting to note that this coming week also marks the 50^th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War of 1973 – a turning point in the history of the Middle East. According to Jonathan Spyer, it marked the end of Arab nationalism, and the start of Islamic revival that led to the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. 
 
Fifty years later, we are now seeing a fresh realignment of interests in the Middle East and more broadly. One aspect of this is the decline of the West in the region, and the alignment of nations like Saudi Arabia, Israel, and India against what they see as the increasing threat of Iran and China. 
 
The nations are shaking, and increasingly Jerusalem is the centre of attention. 
 
In this context, it is significant that this week the Jewish people celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. Commemorating the exodus of the Jewish people out of the slavery of Egypt, when they had to travel through the desert protected only by God, it also marks the harvest season, when the full harvest is brought in. Sukkot, or the feast of “Tabernacles”, thus speaks prophetically of the final restoration (harvest) of the Jewish people to the land and to the harvest from amongst the Gentile nations, which will be gathered by the Lord. 
 
Those ingatherings, in turn, are deeply connected with Jerusalem, which becomes the focal point at this stage of history. 
 
As the prophet Zechariah indicated, the shaking will lead to the nations attacking Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a stumbling block that the nations fall over. But some nations themselves will align themselves with God’s purposes and will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. In Zechariah 15 we read: 
 
“Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.”
 
Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem, the ingathering of Jews and Gentiles into God’s kingdom, and the speedy coming of the King who will judge the nations. The law of the Lord shall go forth from Jerusalem. 
 

The moral bankruptcy of the world 

According to Melanie Philips, “Raisi’s triumphalism at the U.N. is a result of the West’s surrender. 
Iran has responded to Western appeasement of Iranian aggression by supplying drones to Russia to use against Ukraine, has barred around a third of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s most experienced inspectors from overseeing nuclear sites in the country and has ramped up terrorism against Israel from within the disputed territories. It has also stepped up its aggression against America.”

The Yom Kippur War 1979 changed the history of the Middle East 

According to journalist and analyst Jonathan Spyer, the Yom Kippur War 1973 was a watershed in the Middle East. It was the point at which the climactic battle between Jewish Zionism and Arab nationalism took place, “with the Jewish side emerging as the clear victor. The proof of the victory is that the conventional armies of the Arab states never came back again.  On a more complex level, Arab nationalism entered a phase of terminal decline at this point, to be replaced by a number of other projects – most importantly, local state patriotisms, and movements of Islamic revival.”