Israel is the one nation and Jerusalem is the one city on the planet God personally reserves for Himself. He doesn’t equivocate; it is His nation and city, and anyone or anything that tries to wrest it from Him will suffer eternal consequences.

We ascertain this when we read verses like the following:

• “For the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me” (Leviticus 25:23).
• “Then I will uproot you from My land which I have given you” (2 Chronicles 7:20).
• “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 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 12:2–3).

The God of Creation, who in reality owns every atom of existence, clearly tells the inhabitants of planet earth that these are His geographical places. The Lord, in warning those who would harm Jerusalem, refers to that city this way:

For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. (Zechariah 2:8)

Jesus, the Messiah, said about this city, while weeping,

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37)

These and many other Scriptures make it undeniably clear that God loves Israel and Jerusalem. He considers them His personal earthly real estate. He loved them in the past and has great prophetic plans for them. Therefore, He loves Israel and Jerusalem today.

This being the documentable case, I’ve had a question for a number of decades: Why the following reference to this divinely designated real estate?

And their dead bodies [shall lie] in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. (Revelation 11:8)

The reference here is to the two witnesses who will preach to the earth-dwellers of the Tribulation era. The question that has always ruminated in my mind is why God calls this beloved city and nation, “spiritually,” “Sodom and Egypt”?

The people of Israel, before its dispersions and after its modern regathering in the land, have been wicked and done things contrary to God’s will. But so have every other city and nation that have ever existed.

The condemnation in this Revelation context seems to reference prophecy yet future. Jerusalem is destined to become as wicked as the ancient city of Sodom and the idol-worshipping ancient Egypt, in God’s holy view. This shouldn’t surprise, considering how the devil is working overtime everywhere in the world today. Satan wanted to usurp the throne of God—e.g., Isaiah 14:13–14. It stands to reason—and to scriptural analysis—that the wicked one would want to usurp Christ’s future earthly throne as well. And, for a fact, not even the unbelieving heathens of the world can deny that Jerusalem and the nation Israel are at the center of global conflict today. It is the most feared potential point for triggering nuclear conflagration on this old, troubled sphere.

Lucifer, the fallen one, is certainly working his devilish plan to bring all to Armageddon. This includes his all out-efforts against the apple of God’s eye—the city of Zion, Jerusalem. He will indeed succeed in making Jerusalem, spiritually, like Sodom. Proof that Satan’s plan is far along in its progress toward that goal is in today’s news.

Since 2006 the efforts have been ongoing to make Jerusalem the center or focus of the gay pride organizational drive in Israel. There continues to be resistance to that drive. The following report explains somewhat.

May 30 (Reuters)—Jerusalem on Thursday held its annual gay pride parade under heavy security and with a subdued vibe, given the solemn mood in Israel after months of war.

LGBTQ+ supporters marched the streets of Jerusalem carrying rainbow flags, Israeli flags and yellow ribbons, a symbol for hostages still held in Gaza. Absent were the vibrant cheers and music that usually accompany the event. Organizers estimated that 10,000 people marched. Police said some 2,000 officers were on guard.

The turnout was smaller than in previous years. Last year’s parade in Jerusalem was estimated to have drawn 30,000 people.

Netanel Shaler, executive director at Havruta, an LGBTQ+ group for those with a religious leaning, said the goal was to be sensitive to the overall security situation while still allowing people to march…

Some protesters appeared on the sidelines holding signs against the parade. There were no unexpected incidents or violence, the organizers said.

Yair Lapid, the opposition leader and former prime minister, took part in the event. “The march is more important this year than ever,” he said. “Here we are reminded that we are not only fighting for the life of the state of Israel but also for what kind of country it will be. What its values are. What it believes in.”

Things are prophetically setting up for the moment when the man of sin, Satan’s false messiah, Antichrist, sits in a temple atop Mount Moriah, precisely above the spot where the Ark of the Covenant once sat (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4). He might even sit upon the same Ark, if it is found, or a counterfeit one, declaring himself to be God, and demanding worship (Revelation 13).

So, the grand parade to pervert God’s order of things regarding sexuality will be on full display, no doubt, until the man of sin sits on Moriah declaring himself to be God.

They have given it the title “gay pride.” Here’s what God says about humankind’s pride–especially that which perverts His creation order: “The fear of the LORD [is] to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate” (Proverbs 8:13).

Can there be serious doubt that this generation—as witnessed through the events in Jerusalem—stands poised upon the precipice of these last days?