End Time Outreach

THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM REBUILT BY GENTILES

CONSIDER: In the 6th century, B.C., Isaiah predicted that the walls of Jerusalem would be rebuilt by foreigners. About 2000 years later, the king of the Ottoman Empire fulfilled his prophecy.

ISAIAH 60:9-14

9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.
11 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.
12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious.
14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

    The context of this prophecy is the latter days. At this time, the “forces of the Gentiles” will come against Jerusalem (verse 11.) This is a reference to the end time, when the final battles of Jerusalem and Armageddon will occur. After this, all violence against Israel will cease, and all nations will worship the God of Israel. They will fall down at the feet of the Jews (vs 14) and every nation who will not serve them will perish (verse 12).

These are all end time events. The Bible teaches that peace will only come to Israel through the rule of the Messiah, who will defeat all of her enemies. Isaiah concludes by predicting of the return of his people to Palestine:

“Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.” (Isaiah 60:21-22)

This prophecy of Zion’s return is a key to understanding the context of the “walls built by strangers.” Isaiah wrote that the sons of Israel will “come from far” (Verse 9,) and tied this to the “sons of strangers shall build their walls” (verse 10.) The walls of the city that exist as the latter day Zionist movement is occurring are the walls “built by strangers.” Of course, this second return of the Jewish people has been occurring since the twentieth century.

THE IDENTITY OF THE "STRANGERS"

In Isaiah chapter 60, the word “strangers” (as it is translated by the King James Version) comes from the Hebrew word “nekar.” This word means “foreigners” or “aliens.” Many of today's English versions correctly use this definition, including the American Standard Version:

“And foreigners shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favor have I had mercy on thee.” (The American Standard Version)

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