"And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." (Zechariah 12:3)

The Prophet Zechariah began his career in the second year of Darius some sixteen years after the return of the first exiles from Babylon. Zechariah is the eleventh of the twelve "minor" prophets and is a contemporary of the Prophet Haggai.

Zechariah's prophecies often looked far into the future, a future in which the Jews would again be exiled from their homeland and scattered throughout the world before being regathered in the last days.

He prophesied that the Jews would be persecuted worldwide, that Jerusalem would become a battleground of nations, and that ultimately, Jerusalem would become the religious center of the world.

His most relevant prophecy to our particular time is about Jerusalem and the destiny of those who 'burden themselves' with it.

The word translated 'burden' (amac) means to take a burden upon oneself and the phrase "cut in pieces" comes from the word 'sarat' meaning "to gash" or "to make cuttings".

So you can see that there is nothing figurative about Zechariah's prophecy concerning Jerusalem. All those who burden themselves with the issue of Jerusalem -- on either side -- will pay the price for interfering. God has His own plan for the redemption of Israel and the restoration of Jerusalem.

The Muslim world has fought five wars with Israel, each aimed at the destruction of the Jewish State and the recovery of Jerusalem. At the end of every war, the Arab states were a little smaller, and the Jewish State a little larger. By the mid-1970's, Israel controlled all the territory from the Golan Heights to the Jordan River to the Suez Canal.

Under President Carter, the United States took on a direct role in the Arab-Israeli peace process. The 1977 Camp David Accords made the United States a third partner in the quest for peace.

As a consequence of the Camp David Accords, Egypt's Anwar Sadat was assassinated. Egypt was suspended from the Arab League until 1989. The US economy stayed in the tank for almost a decade. The Palestinians felt that Egypt had betrayed their cause, ultimately resulting in the first intifada.

According to the Prophet Zechariah, at the time of the Lord's return, the burden of Jerusalem will have become so heavy, and the price paid for that burden so expensive, all the nations of the earth will have gathered themselves together on the plains of Megiddo to settle the question of who owns Jerusalem once and for all.

The Prophet offers no hint that Israel has any allies standing with her in that day.

Assessment:

In his first five months in office, President Obama has already done more than any US president in history to appease the Muslim world. His first one-on-one interview with any news organization was granted to al-Arabiya.

His first international speech was addressed to the Muslim world and delivered from a Muslim capital.

In his second speech delivered from Cairo, Obama practically ordered Israel to abandon its dreams of retaining undivided control of Jerusalem or any international recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Obama's speech was supposed to reassure both sides. It didn't.

Three-quarters of Israeli Jews think Obama's policies are bad news for Israel. Eighty percent think Israel is going to have to face Iran alone.

On the Arab side, Lebanon's Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah summed up the general Arab reaction saying Obama's affirmation of the "unbreakable" bond between the U.S. and Israel was a sign that nothing had changed.

"We have witnessed that despite every nice word he said toward Arabs and Muslims or Islam, he is still committed to the unbreakable bond toward the Zionist entity," Fadlallah said.

Obama's speech dominated the Arab media on Friday, with newspaper headlines like "A New Beginning" and most editorials and opinion pieces devoted to analyzing every word.

Regional news channels like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya continued to air excerpts from the speech, which dominated political chat shows for a second day.

The Associated Press noted in an editorial; "The likelihood of a policy clash between Israel and its most powerful ally seems certain to block a resumption of serious peace talks – the issue that Arabs across the region said was the most important for repairing U.S.-Muslim ties.

In Iran, Washington's adversary for 30 years, a sermon by a hard-line prayer leader revealed the depth of hatred felt by Muslims toward Israel as much as the magnitude of the task ahead if the Obama administration is to keep its support for Israel from poisoning relations with Muslims, as it has for decades." (emphasis mine)

"Israel causes tension and clashes in the Middle East, imposes oppression and kills innocent people," Ayatollah Ahmadi Jannati told worshippers in Tehran. "Israel does whatever evil she likes. What are you going to do about it? Will you answer this, Mr. Obama?"

In Iraq, Sheik Ahmed Hassan Taha told worshippers at Baghdad's Abu Hanifa mosque that Obama cannot be trusted, accusing him of abandoning his father's Muslim faith. "Anyhow, we cannot trust America either because it is Israel's main backer and it is difficult for us to believe that this will ever change."

Abdullah, King of Mecca is 'urging' Obama to "impose" (yes, impose) a solution on the Arab-Israeli conflict, 'if necessary'. From a different report from the Associated Press:

"King Abdullah told Obama during his visit to Riyadh last week that Arab patience was wearing thin and that a solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict would be the "magic key" to all issues in the region, al-Hayat said, quoting what it called informed sources.

"We want from you a serious participation to solve the Palestinian issue and impose the solution if necessary," the Saudi monarch told Obama, according to the paper, which is owned by a nephew of the monarch. It did not elaborate."

When the Prophet Zechariah prophesied that those who burdened themselves over the issue of Jerusalem would be 'cut in pieces' -- it wasn't a threat. It was an observation. Zechariah also called Jerusalem a 'cup of trembling' (Hebrew ra'al) which can also be translated as 'reeling' (from intoxication).

The quest to settle the question of Jerusalem has intoxicated every US president since Jimmy Carter, albeit some more than others. Bill Clinton and George Bush both hoped to put Mideast peace on their resumes as their ticket into the history books.

Their efforts resulted in the loss of most of Israel's military gains over five decades, a predictable consequence of holding the insane expectation that extortion on a national scale turns out differently than it does at the individual level.

Obama has made reconciliation with the Islamic world his number one international priority. And so, what do you think the odds are that the Obama administration is going to allow its Islamic initiative to be scuppered by US support for Israel?

I believe that Obama is looking for an excuse to throw Israel from the train, but he can't. Not as long as the Church is still here.

Which suggests to me that the Church isn't going to be here much longer.