Shabbat Shalom. Today we are going to continue in the study of the book of Micha, Micah, the prophet of Israel, who prophesied concerning the nation of Israel, both the northern tribes Israel and the southern tribes Judah. And he went beyond the time when both nations will be taken captive. And he also was speaking concerning the future days in which Israel, the nation, will be ultimately restored. Micah's name, as we have mentioned already earlier, is the Hebrew word, Mi-ke-ya, who is like unto Jehovah. And indeed, we can say, who is like the Lord? He is a great God, a Savior, a Redeemer, who loves us, and who cares for us.

He loved the nation of Israel. He loved the body of Messiah. And he gave his son, Yeshua himself, in order to redeem us from our sins. We have arrived to Micah chapter 4, and we are going to read Micah chapter 4, verses 1 to 13. I would like you to follow with me as I am reading the text. Micah chapter 4, verse 1. But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains. And it shall be exalted above the hills, and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come and say, come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob.

And he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his path. For the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid. For the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it. For all people will walk, everyone in the name of his God, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble hair that halteth, and I will gather hair that is driven out, and hair that I have afflicted, and hair that I have afflicted. And I will make hair that halted a remnant, and hair that was cast far off a strong nation. And the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth even forever. And thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come even the first dominion. The kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem. Now why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee?

Is thy counselor perished? For pains have taken thee as a woman in travail. Be in pain and labor to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail. For now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon. There shalt thou be delivered. There the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, let her be defiled, and let her eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord. Neither understand they his counsel. For he shall gather them as sheaves into the floor.

Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion. For I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass. And thou shalt beat in pieces many people. And I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. And I will stop here with the reading of the text of Micah 4 verses 1 to 13. Now if I would be the one that would write this text in the present day time in which we live in, I will probably put this chapter in a different order in which it is written. Because the natural man cannot grasp the ways in which God presents the word.

The Holy Spirit of God is the one that has given us the scripture. And we have to understand and accept the fact that he doesn't make any mistakes. The Holy Spirit of God is giving us the word by inspiration. And we can trust the word of God as it is being presented to us in God's word in the Hebrew scriptures. If I would have write this chapter, I would write it a little bit in a different order. Because Micah takes us to the future day when Israel will be regathered. When God is going to establish the Messianic kingdom. And then for some reason, he is going back and he tells us of the tribulation that our people, the Jewish people, will experience before the Messianic kingdom.

So if I will write this text of Micah chapter 4, I will really begin from the end and move on to the beginning. But God, by divine design, gave us this chapter in such a way. We have already covered chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3. In chapter 1, we could see how the prophet is accusing our nation Israel. And the condition that existed among our nation Israel. Both the northern tribes and the southern tribes. In chapter 2, Micah is the one that challenged and showed us how the condition among the leaders of Israel that have not behaved in a proper way. And if you remember, he was saying to them, "Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds." In chapter 3, he was really challenging the leaders of Israel.

We have the prophets here. And we have the seers and the diviners who should have led Israel in the right way. But they haven't led our people of old in the right way. And because of their conduct and leadership, Israel, Judah, will end up to go into captivity. And if you remember, we have closed chapter 3 with this statement. Listen to this, beloved brothers and sisters. In verse 12 of chapter 3, look what we read concerning Judah. "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house will become as high places of the forest." And indeed, when Micah was prophesying, about a hundred years later, approximately, the city of Jerusalem were taken captive, the temple had been destroyed, the Jewish people have gone down to Babylon, and the house of God had been totally desolate.

It was Nebuchadnezzar who destroyed the temple in Jerusalem and the whole city while he was carrying the Jewish people in 586 BC to the rivers of Babylon. But it is so interesting that as we turn the page from chapter 3 in verse 12 into chapter 4 in verse 1, the prophet Micah takes us beyond the time of the suffering of the Jews, of the people of Israel, by the hand of the Babylonians. He takes them over the years, and he brings us now actually to the millennial age, to the kingdom age, to the messianic age, when our Lord Yeshua the Messiah will rule and reign over Israel, a restored nation.

Now you and I don't see it in the text, but you can see the difference where it says in verse 12, Zion and Jerusalem shall become as heaps. The mountain of the house, this is the Har Habayit, the temple mount, will become like a forest. Destruction is going to happen. But then he began in chapter 4 in verse 1, and he used the word but. You notice that how chapter 4 began? It says but. And then he says in the last days. The Hebrew word, the last days, is Be'acharit Hayamim. In the days that are far ahead. He's passing all the way, including the church age in which we live.

And he takes us over to the last days, at the end of the tribulation period. And he tells us of the kingdom program that God has in mind for the people of Israel. And I would like you to listen to the first five verses. The question immediately being asked, what will the messianic kingdom that had been promised to our people Israel of old will be like? And he gives us here three things to point to in these first five verses. First of all, he shows us that the house of the Lord, the mountain of the house of the Lord, meaning the temple mount, the house of God, the city of Jerusalem, will be established in the future day.

It will be established, notice verse 1, but in the last days. It shall come to pass the mountain of the house of the Lord. Notice this word, the mountain in the Hebrew is Har. And then it says of the house of the Lord. Har habayit shal Jehovah, the house of the Lord, the house of Jehovah. It shall be established in the top of the mountains and it shall be exalted above the hills and people shall flow unto this mountain. The word for mountain can be clearly replaced here by the word kingdom. Many times when you read in the Hebrew prophets, when God is speaking about a mountain and a mountain shall rise and a mountain shall be established.

He is speaking much more than just merely a mountain, but he is speaking about a kingdom that will come in the coming days and especially the kingdom of the Messiah. It was Daniel who said in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 44. We read, "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." If you go back to verse 35, there he is speaking about a great mountain. It says in Daniel chapter 2 and verse 35, "Then was the iron and the clay and the brass and the silver and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like a chaff of the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them.

And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." This great mountain speaks about the great kingdom that will rise up in the future day. And so what really we see here, beloved brothers and sisters, that the very same city of Jerusalem, and the very same city of Zion, the very same mountain of the house of the Lord that have been judged by the Babylonians, and have been taken captive the Jewish people and destroyed the city, the very same mountain, the very same city will one day become as a kingdom, a mountain, and it shall be established on the top of the mountains.

There will be many kingdoms in the millennial age, but this mountain, this kingdom will be established, the promised kingdom to the nation of Israel. And so this is verse 1, and you notice what it says also in verse 1b, that it shall be exalted above the hills, but then it says, and people shall flow into it. You know, when I'm thinking about the fact that people are flowing to the nation of Israel, the city of Jerusalem, we know that today people reject Jerusalem, the God of Israel. Oh yes, our Jewish people love the city, want to live in that city, but the world at large is rejecting the city of Jerusalem as the capital city of the nation of Israel.

We just came back from Israel a few days ago. We also notice very clearly that all the nations of the world that have a consulate in Israel, instead of placing the consulate embassy in the city of Jerusalem, they place it in another city, in the city of Tel Aviv, which means that they reject the fact that Jerusalem is the capital city of the Jewish people, the Jewish people of the nation of Israel. And you can see that there is coming a day, beloved brothers and sisters, that all the nations, all the nations, all the people will flow into the city of Jerusalem, to that kingdom established in the future day by God himself, who will fulfill the promises that he have given to the people of Israel.

Israel, just watch the news, and you will notice that just yesterday, there was so much disturbance on the mountain of the house, on Temple Mount. There was stone being thrown. There were bullets being shot. There were people getting wounded. There were conflict between the Muslims and the Jewish soldiers, the Israeli soldiers. Why? Because there is a conflict that is existing today, and for many, many, many years already, since the captivity of the people of Israel by the Babylonians. So this verse is taking us to the glorious future day when Israel will be restored. In the last days, God's kingdom will be established and being exalted above all other nations.

And then in verses 2 and 3, he tells us a second thing about this glorious day. The nations now will call each other, and will invite each other to come to the house of the God of Jacob. This is an amazing prophecy to read here in verses 2 and 3. You notice it says, Many nations shall come and say, Come. Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. There will be an invitation. Nations will call other nations, and they will invite and encourage each other to come to the mountain of the Lord, to Har Adonai, to the house of the God of Jacob.

Why? It tells you here more than one reason, because it says here in verse 2, He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His path. You see, today, beloved brothers and sisters, the vast majority of the nations do not want to walk in the way of the God of Jacob. They do not want to go in the path that He teaches us in His word, in the scripture. In fact, beloved brothers and sisters, we know very well that the sinner, the wicked ones said there is no God. There is a rejection of the God of the Bible. But in the millennial age, in the messianic kingdom, many nations shall come and say come.

There will be that invitation. Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. Why are they going to do so? Because in that period of time of the kingdom age, there will be a sincere desire to learn from the house, the people of God, from the God of the nation of Israel. They say, He will teach us of His ways. We will walk in His path. We are going to learn from God's word. We are going to learn from this God of the people of Israel. He will teach us. He will instruct us. And we are going to walk in His path.

And then they will declare, notice in verse 2b, "For the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Yerushalayim." Years ago, when I was young in Jerusalem, going with my grandfather to the synagogue, I'll never forget, when we were going into the ark to take the Torah from the ark, the song had been sung by all those those who were in the Beit Knesset, in the synagogue. "Ki mitzion tetzet Torah, u dvar Adonai mi Yerushalayim." "For out of Zion shall the word of the Lord will come." In other words, "The law shall go forth out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." What a statement!

It will be said by the nations of the world, "Let us go to Jerusalem. Let us go to the Temple Mount." Why? Because out of Zion will go the Lord, the Lord will come out of Zion, and the word of the Lord will go forth out from the city of Yerushalayim. When God's word will be used through the nation of Israel, a restored nation, to be presented to the world, and to teach the world, and to teach the world instruction concerning the things of the Lord. Beautiful! So you can see it will be a universal kingdom, where the whole universe will be blessed through the God of Israel, who will restore the people of Israel to himself.

This reminds me of Romans, where the Apostle Paul said in Romans 11:15, when he wrote to the Romans believers, He says, "I speak unto you Gentiles, inasmuch that I am an apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry. For if by any means I will provoke to emulation them which are of my flesh, that I might save some of them, if the casting away of them be a reconciliation to the world." Speaking about Israel, "What shall be the receiving of them but life from the dead?" If Israel was rejected, brought salvation to many of the nations of the world who became part of the assembly of the church, what's going to happen to the whole world when Israel as a nation will be restored." So the nations will come to the city of Jerusalem and they're going to say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.

We are going to learn from him. He will teach us his ways. We will walk in his path. For the law, the Torah, shall go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord will come out of the city of Jerusalem." He is taking us to the future kingdom when Israel is being restored and the Messianic kingdom will be established. So it will be a universal kingdom in verse 2, but notice in verse 3 it will be a peaceful kingdom. You know, we are all talking about shalom. In Israel we say shalom when we come, we say shalom when we go, and we long to have shalom, peace.

The world is talking a lot about peace. There are peace agreements. There are all sorts of peace arrangements that are being made today in this world and yet there are really not true peace existing today in this world. But there will be a day of peace because look what it says here in verse 3. There will be a peaceful kingdom. It says, "He shall judge among many peoples, and He rebuke strong nations." "Far off, they shall beat their swords into plowshears, and their spears into pruning hooks." "Nation shall not lift up a sword against nation." "Neither shall they learn war any more." Micah takes us to the kingdom age again in this text and he tells us, "Listen, in the kingdom age, not only is it going to be a universal kingdom, but it will be a peaceful kingdom.

A kingdom where there will be true shalom, true peace." Why is it going to be? Because the judge is going to judge right. Who is the judge? According to the scripture, we know that the judge here is none else but the Messiah Yeshua himself. New Testament shows us that God had placed him to be the judge of the living and the dead. When he's going to come back in the second coming, it says that he will judge among many people and he rebukes strong nations afar off. Now, how important it is to have a true judgment? We just read earlier in Isaiah chapter 11 that he will not judge merely after the hearing of his ears, but he will judge in righteousness.

You know, brothers and sisters, this world today have so much unrighteous judgment that is going on today in this world. But when the Messiah is going to come and he will establish the promised kingdom to Israel and to the nations of the world, it's said that he will judge among many people and he will rebuke strong nations afar off. He is a just judge. Nothing is hidden from him. He is a fair judge and he will judge in righteousness. The scripture tells us in Isaiah that a king shall reign and rule in righteousness. He, the Messiah, will rule in righteousness. And then he said, notice that in verse 3b, they shall beat their swords into plowshears and their spears, they will beat them into pruning hooks.

They're going to use the very swords and spears that they used in the past for to fight and to make a war against one another. They are going to use it as a plowshears and as a pruning hooks. They're going to use the very tools tools that they used to kill with, to sow and rip with, to work the ground with, and to flourish, and to grow, and to build. Again, I would like to say, just now, just listen to the news and see what's going on today. North Korea is getting ready to have a ballistic missile. Iran is getting ready to have a nuclear warhead.

And all the nations are preparing themselves for a coming war, which will come. But here, Mika, take us beyond the tribulation period. Beyond the church age. Beyond all the trials that Israel, our people have experienced. Into the messianic kingdom. Where there will be no more war, beloved brothers and sisters. It says here, nation shall not lift up a sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore. When a person in Israel become 18 years of age, he has to go to the military. And he has to learn how to fight a war. To be ready because the enemy is going to come and they need to protect the land, the people of Israel, the nation.

And many other countries are learning today. How they're going to get ready to fight another nation. And look at the chaos that's going on today in this world. But in a messianic kingdom. Where the program of God's plan for Israel and the nations of the world. The nations will no longer need to fight each other. It will be a peaceful kingdom. A universal kingdom for all nations. Because all will come to Jerusalem to worship the king. But it's going to be a peaceful kingdom. Nations shall not lift up a sword against another nation. Neither shall they learn war anymore. What a great day. That will be, by the way, the prophet Isaiah is prophesying the very same words that we have here in Micah chapter 4.

Isaiah, it is in chapter 2, verses 1 to 5. And Micah here in chapter 4, verses 1 to 5. The same prophecy. Both of them are by divine design, guided by the Holy Spirit of God to present the same method. And both of them speak to the same nation of Israel concerning the future day of the messianic kingdom. Now, listen to this, brothers and sisters. So, in verse 1, we have God's kingdom will be established. In verse 2 and 3, we have the nations will appeal and call each other to come to the mountain of the house of the Lord and war will be no more. But then notice, when it's come to the nation of Israel, it will be a prosperous nation.

And the world will be a prosperous world. It will be a kingdom with much prosperity. You know, when Adam and Eve have sinned in the Garden of Eden, it took away from them all the prosperity that God had intended for them. Sin had brought judgment upon them and a loss of prosperity. But through the Messiah, Yeshua, in the kingdom aid, he will restore the prosperity that he promised mankind. And it will be Israel as well as the nations of the world that will enjoy prosperity. Look at this. In verse 4, first of all, Israel will finally enjoy rest and security. They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree.

And none shall make them afraid. Now, it's interesting that Michal used these two trees, two plants, the vine, the gefen in Hebrew, and the other one, the fig tree, the te'enah. These two trees or plants are description of the nation of Israel. Israel, a time, is called as the vine. And Israel, a time, is called as a fig tree. It is a description of the nation of Israel, who is right now in the kingdom age under the reign of the Messiah. They will dwell in safety and security. If there is anything that Israel is looking today for is safety and security. But no safety and no security is coming to Israel today.

You will notice that in every discussion that our people Israel, the government of Israel is speaking about, is constantly of safety and security, because throughout our history there was no safety and there was no security. Since the age of King Solomon, when Solomon Shlomo HaMelech, the king of Israel, reigned over Israel in the earliest stage of his kingdom, since the time when he disobeyed the Lord and God had taken the kingdom away from King Solomon, up till the future Messianic kingdom, Israel have never enjoyed neither safety nor security. But now, beloved brothers and sisters, in the Messianic age, in the Messianic kingdom, they, this is Israel, every man under his vine and under his victory, and no one shall make them afraid.

Now please turn back for a moment to 1 Kings chapter 4, and there you will see in connection with King Solomon, 1 Kings chapter 4 and verse 1 says, So King Solomon was king over all Israel. Verse 20, Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. It says in verse 24, For he, this is King Solomon, had dominion over all the region, on this side of the river, from Tip Sa, even to Azah, over all the kings on this side of the river. He had peace on all sides round about him. Verse 25, And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

The only time, beloved brothers and sisters, these 40 years of King Solomon's reign over Israel, there was a measure of safety and security. But when Solomon, in his violation of the word of God, disobeyed God, and the kingdom was taken from his son, then we find out that there was no peace and no security, no shalom and no bitachon for the people of Israel, up till the time today, and it will include the tribulation period. The only time that Israel as a nation will dwell safely, it will be in the kingdom age, in the reign of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. So verse 4 tells us, They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid.

This is in verse 4a. Notice the second part of verse 4. It says, For the mouth of the Lord of hosts had spoken this. God made a promise to Israel. God made a promise to Israel. And God is going to keep the promise to the people of Israel in the kingdom age, in the messianic age. In verse 5 now, Israel will be a changed nation. Israel will have a commitment to the Lord. It says in verse 5, All the people will walk, everyone in the name of his God, but we will walk in the name of our Lord, our God forever and ever. Now, of course, in the messianic kingdom, all nations will walk after the true and living God, but you can see the commitment of the nation of Israel.

Even though all other nations will follow after his own God with a small G, Israel said, But we will walk in the name of Jehovah of the Lord, our God forever and ever. Israel have made a commitment. When the new heart will be given to the nation, when Israel will be restored ultimately, here is a devotion to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Here is a devotion to the God of the Bible, to the God of the nation of Israel. Israel will be a nation that will commit themselves to the God of the Bible. And so this is verses 1 to 5. What will the messianic kingdom be like?

It will be a time where God's kingdom will be established above all other nations. It is a time when the nations will flow and come to Jerusalem follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It is a time where the whole world will experience peace and security. Shalom and bitachon as the world is seeking for today. But then notice, beloved brothers and sisters, here is not only the promised kingdom. Here we see now God is telling Israel what he is going to do for them. He promised now in the next verses 6, 7 and 8. He is going to fulfill what he promised earlier in the law of Moses and in earlier prophecies that he gave to other prophets.

We see the restoration of the people of Israel by God himself. Look at it. First of all, in verse 6, we see he will assemble and gather the people of Israel from all the four corners of the universe. It says in verse 6, In that day. Again, now that day is in reference to the time of God's gathering Israel to himself. In that day, says the Lord, I will assemble hair that halteth. And I will gather hair that is driven out. And hair that I have afflicted. Here's the promise of God to the people of Israel, to the remnant of Israel, to the nation. He says, I will assemble hair.

I will gather hair. And I will be the one that will bring her back, the one that I have afflicted. You notice he used the word at the end of verse 6. And hair that I have afflicted. You know, sometimes we don't realize that when God's people are being under persecution and discipline, it is not only that the world does it, or Satan does it, or the flesh does it, but it is God himself who chastens his people. He is afflicting his people. You remember what we read in the book of Proverbs and also in the New Testament. Whom the Lord loveth, he chastens, and he scourges every child that he received.

And God, as a father, have to discipline the very same one that he loves so dearly. So he says, I will assemble hair. She was halted. I will gather hair that have been driven out. The one that I have afflicted. He's talking about Israel in a feminine way. You notice he used the word hair three times in verse 6. Israel is the wife of Jehovah. Just the same like the church in the New Testament is called the bride of Christ, the bride of the Messiah. So here is the Lord as a husband that have disciplined, of course, Israel, his wife whom he loves so much because Israel disobedience.

Here he is saying now, I'm going to assemble you, to gather you, Israel. I was the one that afflicted you, but I will be the one that will bring you back unto myself. In a sense, what you can see here, the love relationship that God, the Jehovah, has with the nation of Israel. I've afflicted you, but I'm going to restore you back to myself. There are many verses that we can read in the prophets of Israel. One of the verses that I think can be read here is the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 31 and verse 10. Jeremiah is pointing out, he says, listen, hear the word of the Lord, all ye nations, and declare it in the islands afar off, and say, he that scattered Israel will gather him, and he will keep him as a shepherd doth his flock.

God is going to gather Israel, the very one who has disciplined the nation, he will gather the nation, verse 6. Then verse 7 of our chapter, the Lord not only will gather the driven one, but he will reign over Israel forever and ever. In verse 7 he says, I will make her that halteth a remnant, and her that cast far off a strong nation, and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from hencefore and even forever. God promised that he will ultimately reign over Israel as a nation, the one that now calling her a remnant. That remnant will be the leftover that will remain of the tribulation period, when many will lose their lives, many will suffer at the end and lose their lives, but there will be a remnant.

A she'erit, we call it in Hebrew, he will make that remnant a strong nation, and he will reign over them. And where he is going to reign over them, according to verse 7, is on Mount Zion. This is the city of Jerusalem, and the length of his reign over Israel, according to verse 7, will be forever. There will be never end to the reign of the Messiah over the nation of Israel. Now, the reign of the messianic kingdom, of course, from Revelation chapter 20, is a thousand years. But even, beloved, after the thousand years, what we're going to have in the eternal order, the Lord will reign over the whole world, and he will have these unique companies, if you will.

The church in a unique place. Israel in a unique place. And others, in various places, in the eternal order, that God is going to reign. But in the eternal order, there will be no more sin. And therefore, the reigning and the ruling are going to be out of a relationship between God and his very own people. So, God will restore Israel. Verse 6, he will gather them. Verse 7, he will rule over them. And finally, in verse 8, the Messiah of Israel will enjoy the promises and the dominion of that kingdom. It says, in verse 8, and thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion, the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.

One of the titles of the Messiah in this verse is, the tower of the flock. You know, the word tower in Hebrew is migdal. A migdal is like a tower that is rising, and from the tower you can see all the flock in the field. And the location here, Migdal Eder, is actually a place not too far from the city of Bethlehem, and it is in Bethlehem that the Messiah, Yeshua, was born. And he was the one that will be the tower that belonged to the flock. He can watch over the flock, over the nation of Israel. He is also called, in verse 8, a stronghold of the daughter of Zion.

The stronghold, in Hebrew, is Ophel. He will be the one that will be a place of protection for the nation of Israel. He is the tower of the flock. He is the stronghold of the daughter of Zion. And to him shall it come, even the first dominion. In other words, what Israel should have enjoyed through the Messiah already a long time ago, and they did not enjoy it because they did not accept the Messiah in the first coming. In the second coming, Israel, as a nation, will enjoy the kingdom together with the Messiah. Yes, it says, the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem, verse 8 of Micah, chapter 4.

So, beloved brothers and sisters, we see the kingdom will be established, verses 1 to 5. The nation of Israel will be restored, verses 6, 7, and 8. And now, for some reason, God, by divine design, takes us back to that which is prior to the kingdom age, that which is prior to the restoration of Israel. He takes us now back to the tribulation period. Again, as I mentioned before, if I would have write this, I would first put the tribulation period, then the restoration of Israel, then the Messianic kingdom. That's the way the order is really actually flowing. But in this chapter, we see it in the reverse order. The kingdom first, and then how Israel will be restored in order to enter into the kingdom.

But then it tells us what Israel is going to go through before they will be restored, before they will enter into the Messianic kingdom. This is verses 9 to 13 of Micah, chapter 4. The tribulation that Israel will experience before the glorious kingdom. And look how sad, in one sense, it will be. In verses 9 and 10, we see the Babylonian captivity becoming a picture of the tribulation period in the future day. Look at this, verse 9, first of all. It says, Now, why dost thou cry out aloud? Is there no king in thee? Is thy counselor perished? For pains have taken thee as a woman in travail. Verse 10, Be in pain and labor, to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail.

For now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon. There shalt thou be delivered. There the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. Now, what the prophet does here, it's very interesting. Because, as I mentioned earlier, within about 100 years of the prophecy of Michah, Judah is going to be taken captive to Babel, to Babylon. Jerusalem will be destroyed. The temple will be burnt and totally destroyed. And the Jewish people are going to spend time in Babylon for 70 years. But what Micah does here, in connection with the context, he makes this Babylonian experience of 70 years, and he makes it as a picture of what is going to happen later on in the tribulation period.

The reason that Bible teachers believe it, take it in this way, because of the context. The context here is just before the time of the reign of the Messiah. Just before Israel will be gathered back to the land, he is now showing the pain, the sorrow that Israel will experience, doing Jacob's trouble. And that's why he says in verse 9, that which will lead to the kingdom, there will be that Israel will have no king, because at that time Israel did not have yet a king. And that's why he says, You see, Israel will experience a time of tribulation, just the same like a woman, before a child is come forth into this world, what we would call today labor.

A woman will go through the time of a labor, just before the child is coming into this world. And so the word for travail, it's the birth pain. Before Israel is going to be born as a new nation, Israel will experience what is known to be as Jacob's trouble. And so much trial and sorrow before Israel will ultimately be restored into the promised messianic kingdom. So here we have a reference really to the tribulation, to the birth pain before the coming kingdom. Go to the prophet Jeremiah here. It's very important to look at Jeremiah chapter 30 and verses 5, 6, and 7. Look what the prophets of Israel have spoken about.

Jeremiah chapter 30 and verse 5, 6, and 7. For thus says the Lord, We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of shalom, not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man does travail with a child. Why do I see every man with his hands on his loyens, as a woman in a travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. The question had been risen. When Jeremiah was prophesying, he asked the question, Look, is it possible, why is it that we see men holding their hands like a woman would hold her hands when she is pregnant, expecting to have a child?

He says, Why do we see every man with his hands on his loyens, as a woman in travail? He says in verse 6b, and all the faces are turned into paleness. And then he says, For that day is a great day, so that no day like this. He's speaking of the tribulation period, and he calls it, it is a time of Jacob's trouble. You know, Israel have experienced a lot of trouble. Our nation have never had peace for many, many generations. In fact, when we read about every man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, can you imagine? We read it in 1 Kings chapter 4, when Solomon reigned over Israel.

Do you know how many years passed since the kingdom of Solomon was at that time more than 3,000 years that Israel have not experienced any shalom? But now he's heading towards the tribulation period and he's speaking about the worst experience that our people Israel will experience according to the Hebrew prophets. A time of Jacob's trouble. Revelation 6 to Revelation 19 point to this time of Jacob's trouble. When Jacob, as a nation, Israel, our people of all, will experience such a terrible experience in those days. That's why he's calling it in this verse 9, he says, For pains have taken thee as a woman in travail. The sorrow, the suffering, and the persecution of the nation of Israel by the rising of the Antichrist, the counterfeit Messiah, the false prophet, and Satan himself who will be cast down from heaven as we read in Revelation chapter 12.

The counterfeit Godhead who will persecute the woman as we read of it in Revelation chapter 12. And the people of Israel will experience such tribulation that the Lord Jesus says such as never been before since the foundation of this earth. Matthew chapter 24, Yeshua pointed out to it. And so, what will lead to the restoration of Israel? What will lead to the kingdom of Israel? It will be the tribulation period. And notice that, brothers and sisters, I am here again in verse 10 of chapter 4. Israel will ultimately flee. Here again, he's using Babylon as a picture of the future nations of the world. And notice that it says in verse 10, He be in pain and labor and bring forth O daughter of Zion like a woman in travail.

For now, listen to this, shall thou go forth out of the city and thou shalt dwell in the field and thou shalt go even to Babylon. And now notice that, there shall thou be delivered. There the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of his enemies. Again, while Michal is speaking about 100 years from the time of his prophecy when the Jewish people will be carried to Babylon, but he takes us beyond the time of the 70 years Babylonian captivity into the tribulation period where Israel will flee from the armies of the Antichrist who will gather against Israel and against Jerusalem and they will flee to the present-day Jordan, the area that is called Bozrah or Boshrah in the land of Edom.

And notice it says in verse 10b, there thou shalt be delivered. The deliverance that will come to the nation of Israel in a future day at the end of the tribulation will be there. Here it speaks of Babylon, but prophetically it takes us beyond to the place that is called Edom Bozrah mentioned in Isaiah 34 in Isaiah 63 which is a present-day Jordan, the place that is a desert, is a mountain, the place where God will protect Israel who will flee to the area that is called Edom. Again, brothers and sisters, I know it's difficult to grasp, but in verses 9 and 10 he's speaking about Israel going to Babylon.

But the context about the future restoration of Israel could not be Babylon. It only could apply to the last day of the tribulation period where the daughters of Zion will be like a woman in travail, the tribulation period. Verses 9 and 10 speaks about the future day when Israel will be redeemed and delivered there and it is to there that the Messiah will come to Bozrah and to there he will redeem the people of Israel from their enemies. Again, I want to mention verse 10b, there you will be delivered and there the Lord shall redeem me from the hands of thine enemies. And it will be at that time in the future day when Israel will be delivered by the Lord in the land of Edom.

Now, let's conclude here with chapter 4 of the book of Michah. Not easy to grasp and yet it is possible with the help of the Spirit of God. Here it is in the last three verses, 11, 12, and 13, we have the defeating of Israel's enemies at the end of the tribulation period. Notice that three things we're going to mention here in verses 11 to 13. Number one, God will gather all the nations to come against Israel. Notice it says in verse 11, now also many nations will be gathered against thee that say, let her be defiled and let our eyes look upon Zion. You see, it says that many nations will gather against Israel.

That reminds us of many passages. Zechariah chapter 12, Zechariah chapter 14. God will gather the nations that they're going to come against the people of Israel. But then notice that. It says in verse 12, look at the purpose of the gathering of these nations. The purpose of the gathering of these nations against Israel will be in order of God defeating them and ultimately destroying Israel's enemies. In verse 12, but it says, they do not know the thought of the Lord. Neither do they understand his counsel. For he has gathered them as the sheaves into the floor. Notice that when the nations will gather against Israel in the time of the tribulation period, they would think that they would gather to destroy Israel, to consume the people of Israel.

But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord. The Lord's thoughts is completely different. He wanted to gather them in order that they will be defeated by the hand of himself and the nation of Israel. That's the purpose of the gathering of the nations. God will gather them. God will bring them to the nation of Israel to what we know today as Har Megiddo, Armageddon, and they will come against the people of Israel. God will gather them against Jerusalem, but it will be God who purposed in his mind to gather those nations in order to defeat them and to destroy them, to use as well the people of Israel to defeat those nations.

you know that verse where it says, they do not know the thoughts of the Lord. Remind me of the prophet Isaiah who said, my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither my ways are your ways. As the heavens is higher than the earth, so are my thoughts are higher than your thoughts and my ways are higher than your ways. the mind of the Lord. Who can know that? The plan of God. Who can search the mind of the Lord? And so they thought they are gathering to defeat Israel, but they were actually being used by the Lord to be brought into, as he called it here at the end of verse 12, he shall gather them as sheaves into the floor.

What is the sheaves? The sheaves that are rising in the field and they need to be cut at the bottom and be placed into the threshing floor. That is exactly what God is going to do with Israel's enemies who will seek to destroy the people of Israel. That is at the end of the tribulation period of time. And finally, at verse 13 of this chapter, it says that God calls his people, Israel, to rise up and thresh. You see this? It says in verse 13, Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion. I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass, and thou shall beat in pieces many people, and I will consecrate their grain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth.

God called his people, Israel, the daughter of Zion, bat Zion, rise, and I am going to make your horn iron, I'm going to make your hoofs like brass, and you shall beat in pieces many people. In other words, God is ultimately going to use Israel to defeat the very nations who gather against them, seeking to destroy this nation from being a nation. And at the end it says I will consecrate their grain unto the Lord and their substance, all what they have, all the grain and all the substance, all the possessions of this nation will ultimately be consecrated unto the Lord. it will be the Lord who will defeat the nations who gather against Israel.

And you notice at the end of the chapter it says here unto the Lord of the whole earth. The Hebrew word is Adon Kol Haaretz. You know that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, is really the Lord of all the earth. He is the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. today he is rejected. Today he is despised and he is not acknowledged. But in the coming days at the end of the tribulation he will be acknowledged as the Lord of the whole earth. As the Bible tell him, you remember in Philippine that every knee should bow and every tongue will confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

That takes us to the time of the kingdom age when Israel will be restored and God will have his rightful place here in this world. Now beloved brothers and sisters you see why I said right at the start that if I would write that I would put first of all verses 9 to 13 the time of the tribulation period and Israel's suffering and then I would put verses 6 to 8 God regathering Israel back to himself and then ultimately verses 1 to 5 the messianic kingdom and the glorious future day that will come upon the face of this earth but again God by divine design set the order in the reverse he promised the kingdom but he showed how he will gather Israel but before he will gather them Israel will have to go through Jacob's trouble to a time of distress that will cause them to look and to recognize that they need the Messiah and they will turn their hearts ultimately to the Lord and a nation will be established in the coming days