Zech 14:16-19   And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came againstJerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, YHVH of Hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.  And it shall be that whichever of the families of the Earth do not come up toJerusalem to worship the King, YHVH of Hosts, on them there will be no rain.  If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall not have rain; they shall receive the plague with which YHVH strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Booths.  This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Booths.

There is a battle in the spiritual realm over the nations. 

God has always had a plan for the nations, and He is the one who has established their borders, WITH THE INTENT THAT THEY SEEK HIM, THE GOD OF gods, AND FIND HIM WHO IS OUR VERY LIFE (Gen 10:32; Acts 17:26-28).  On the Day of Atonements the Jewish people read in the synagogues every year the book of the prophet Jonah.  It is interesting that that is the book from the Bible which is read, since the Messiah Yeshua told the Jews, who were demanding from Him another sign from Heaven to prove who He was, that He would give them no other sign than Jonah, who was,  by the way, a prophet from Galilee.  In the book of Jonah we learn that God sent him to preach repentance and judgment to an enemy people, to the city-state Nineveh.  The king of Nineveh used his authority to call ALL of those living in the great city to seek mercy from the God of Heaven and Earth: the God of Israel who is also the true God over all the nations.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is proclaimed to everyone everywhere, because ALL authority has been given to the Son of God, and He calls nations to repentance.  Those persons within each nation who hear and believe today can have their sins forgiven, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the free gift of eternal life.  Those who do not believe today have no guarantee for tomorrow, but the Lord will have mercy on a remnant in every nation who fear YHVH and do good to those who are Jews or Christians especially, and bring them into His Kingdom at His coming again.

When God the Father chose Abram (Abraham), from whom eventually came the nation ofIsrael, YHVH revealed Himself to Israel whom He called to be His special treasure in the Earth among the nations.  He also acknowledged that the other nations had their gods, and that His people were not to go after them or to worship them, even when God scattered the Jewish people into the other nations as a judgment for unfaithfulness to Him, the God of gods and the Creator and Redeemer.  Remember last week we spoke of the marriage covenant which reflects God’s covenant withIsrael.

Satan had authority over the kingdoms of this world, which he received when Adam sinned.  But Jesus, through His sacrificial death on the cross to take away the sin of the world, has bought back for the one true living God ALL the creation – including the nations – and now has been given ALL authority in Heaven and on Earth.  We pray, “…lead us not unto temptation, but deliver us from the evil [one], FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM AND THE POWER AND THE GLORY, FOREVER AND EVER.  AMEN!”

Ps 72:17-19   His name shall endure forever; His name shall continue as long as the sun.  And all shall    be blessed in Him; All nations shall call Him blessed.

Blessed be YHVH God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things!
And blessed be His glorious name forever!  And the whole Earth will be filled with His glory!
Amen and amen!