Lamentation Over Jerusalem and the Nations

I. Lamentation for Jerusalem

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem— You who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you.

To you the prophets were sent, generation after generation— and you rejected them.

To you and your children they spoke the word of YHWH, calling you to repentance— and you persecuted them, imprisoned them, killed them.

Isaiah you sawed in two. Jeremiah you cast into the cistern. Zechariah you stoned between the temple and the altar. The blood of the prophets cries from your soil.

Then the Lord Jesus came— the Prophet like Moses, the Son of David, the promised Messiah— and you rejected Him.

He wept over you: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I would have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!"

He taught in your streets. He healed your sick. He raised your dead. He declared the Kingdom of God.

And you delivered Him to be crucified. You chose Barabbas and rejected the Holy One. You cried "His blood be on us and on our children!"— and so it has been, for two thousand years.

Yet He rose from the dead. He ascended to the Father's right hand. And it is to you He will return.

Not to Rome. Not to Athens. Not to Babylon. Not to New York, Beijing, Mecca, Damascus or Moscow....But to Jerusalem.

When all your strength is shattered— when the power of the holy people is completely broken— when you are besieged and your enemies surround you— then you will look on Him whom you pierced.

Then you will mourn as one mourns for an only son. Then you will weep bitterly as one weeps for a firstborn. Then you will cry "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

And He will save you.

He will destroy your enemies with the breath of His mouth. He will repay them vengeance for all they have done to you. He will sit on David's throne in your midst. He will establish His kingdom from Zion.

But first, you will pay for your harlotry.

For you have made covenant with death. For you have trusted in the nations rather than in YHWH. For you have sought peace through alliances rather than through righteousness. For you have rejected the cornerstone and built on sand.

Your sins will visit you in retribution. The cup you have filled, you will drink to the dregs. The covenant with death will be annulled. The agreement with Sheol will not stand.

When the overwhelming scourge passes through, you will be beaten down by it.

II. Warning to Flee

O you who have eyes to see—mourn for Jerusalem! O you who have ears to hear—flee from her!

For though she is proud and lifted up, though the leaders of the world kiss her walls and flatter her with treaties, she will fall.

The very nations that make covenant with her will turn against her. The kings who promise peace will gather for war.

When you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place— let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Do not go back to get your cloak. Do not return to your house. Flee without looking back.

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.

Jerusalem will be trodden down by the nations until the times of the nations are fulfilled. Her dead will lie in her streets. Her glory will be brought low. Her pride will be humbled.

But the remnant will be saved.

Those who flee when warned, those who recognize the time of their visitation, those who call upon the name of the Lord— these will be delivered.

For YHWH has prepared a place in the wilderness. There, in the land that awaits her, there the woman will be nourished for 1,260 days.

The dragon will spew water like a flood after her, but the earth will help the woman. She will be given wings of a great eagle to fly to her place.

Flee to the refuge prepared. Hide until the fury has passed. For the Lord is coming out from His place to punish the earth for its iniquity.

III. Lamentation for the Nations

O nations—astray you have been! The truth you have rejected!

YHWH revealed Himself to you through creation— the heavens declare His glory, the skies proclaim the work of His hands— yet you suppressed the truth in unrighteousness.

He gave you conscience— the law written on hearts, bearing witness between right and wrong— yet you called evil good and good evil.

O'nations--was it not your Roman iron that was used to pierce the Lord of glory? Was it not your Roman cross onto which he was hung? Was it not your Roman justice that saw the innocent one--silent before his accusers--unjustly condemned? Was it not your Roman power that condemned the Holy One to die though innocent of any wrong? You share culpability; as does every soul among the nations that has rejected the good news of his resurrection and the redemption he gives despite our sins.

He sent you witnesses— disciples going to every nation, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom— yet you persecuted them, imprisoned them, killed them.

You have persecuted the possession of the Lord. You have trampled what belongs to Him. You have profaned His name and desecrated His people.

Those called by His name—you mocked them, marginalized them, martyred them.

You have made His possession desolate. You have desecrated what is His.

The place He chose— revealed to David, established by Solomon, where His name would dwell— twice you have burned it.

Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC. Titus in 70 AD. Now a third destruction approaches like a flood.

You come with wickedness in your wings. You gather against Jerusalem with evil intent. You seek to divide the land. You plot to erase His name from the earth.

But your evil will be your undoing.

The Lord shall rise up against you. He shall break you like clay pots struck with rod of iron. The King of all the earth shall lay waste the nations. The Judge of all creation shall render verdict.

All who have rejected the truth and held fast to lies— All who worship abominations and serve idols— All who persecuted His people and desecrated His name— The destroyers shall be destroyed.

IV. The Fourth Seal and the Coming Devastation

O earth—a fourth of you shall be laid waste!

The fourth seal has opened. The pale horse rides. Death and Hades follow. Authority is given over a fourth of the earth.

To kill by sword: Nation rises against nation. Kingdom against kingdom. Wars and rumors of wars multiply. The sword devours without restraint.

To kill by famine: Food systems collapse. Supply chains break. Bread is measured by weight. Hunger stalks the earth.

To kill by pestilence: Plague follows plague. Excess mortality climbs. Medical systems overwhelm. Death spreads through populations.

To kill by wild beasts: Whether literal predators or bestial empires, whether creatures or systems, the fourth vector completes the quartet— the Song of Moses executes its verdict.

A quarter of humanity by the quartet named in the Song of Moses

The blind refused to see. The deaf refused to hear. They were warned and would not repent. They were called and would not come.

Death and Hades take their fill. A fourth of humanity falls. The earth mourns. Creation groans.

Mourn over the earth, O you who have eyes to see! Weep for those who rejected the truth! But do not be surprised—for this was declared from the beginning.

V. The King Emerges

Yet in the midst of judgment, mercy. Yet in the midst of wrath, redemption. Yet in the midst of death, life.

For the King of the Universe shall emerge from His heavens— Jesus the Lord, the Lamb who was slain, the Lion of Judah, the Root of David, the Bright Morning Star.

He comes not as suffering servant but as conquering King. He comes not in humility but in glory. He comes not to die but to reign.

His eyes are like blazing fire. His voice is like rushing waters. His face shines like the sun in full strength. From His mouth comes a sharp sword to strike down the nations.

He will shepherd them with rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. He will judge the living and the dead. He will establish His kingdom forever.

And on His robe and on His thigh is written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

VI. Doxology of the Redeemer

Blessed be the God who redeems— who paid the price for sins, who purchased humanity with His blood, who offers salvation to all who will come.

Blessed be the God who reproves— who chastens those He loves, who disciplines for our good, who does not leave us in our sin.

Blessed be the God who saves— who delivers from death, who rescues from destruction, who preserves through tribulation.

Blessed be the God who comes to rule— who establishes justice, who brings peace, who reigns forever.

To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!

The twenty-four elders fall down. The four living creatures cry "Holy, holy, holy!" Every creature in heaven and on earth sings:

"Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

VII. The Final Call

Church of Jesus Christ: The Bridegroom approaches. Trim your lamps. Have oil ready. Watch and pray.

Israel: Your Messiah comes. Look for Him whom you pierced. Prepare to mourn. Prepare to be saved.

Nations: The Judge stands at the door. Bend the knee now while mercy remains. Repent now while today is called today. For the day of vengeance approaches.

All who have ears, let them hear. All who have eyes, let them see.

The testimony has been given. The warning has been issued. The timeline is specified. The summons is declared.

The King is at the door.

Repent and live. Or refuse and perish.

The choice is yours. The time is now. The clock is running.

Let heaven record and earth bear witness: the summons stands, the testimony is entered, the clock is running. Choose life—bow to the Lord Jesus and live; harden your heart and perish.

Even so, come Lord Jesus. Maranatha.