The European Union in Prophecy The EU in Prophecy I | Page 14

The European Union in Prophecy
revealed their iniquity; and they accused Him of being the cause of all the troubles
which had come upon them in consequence of their sins. Though they knew Him to be
sinless, they had declared that His death was necessary to their safety as a nation. "If
we let Him thus alone," said the Jewish leaders, "all men will believe on Him: and the
Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation." John 11:48. If Christ
were sacrificed, they might once more become a strong, united people. Thus they
reasoned, and they concurred in the decision of their high priest, that it would be
better for one man to die than for the whole nation to perish.
Thus the Jewish leaders had built up "Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with
iniquity." Micah 3:10. And yet, while they slew their Saviour because He reproved
their sins, such was their selfrighteousness that they regarded themselves as God's
favoured people and expected the Lord to deliver them from their enemies.
"Therefore," continued the prophet, "shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and
Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of
the forest." Verse 12.
For nearly forty years after the doom of Jerusalem had been pronounced by
Christ Himself, the Lord delayed His judgments upon the city and the nation.
Wonderful was the long-suffering of God toward the rejectors of His gospel and the
murderers of His Son. The parable of the unfruitful tree represented God's dealings
with the Jewish nation. The command had gone forth, "Cut it down; why cumbereth
it the ground?" (Luke 13:7) but divine mercy had spared it yet a little longer. There
were still many among the Jews who were ignorant of the character and the work of
Christ. And the children had not enjoyed the opportunities or received the light which
their parents had spurned. Through the preaching of the apostles and their associates,
God would cause light to shine upon them; they would be permitted to see how
prophecy had been fulfilled, not only in the birth and life of Christ, but in His death
and resurrection. The children were not condemned for the sins of the parents; but
when, with a knowledge of all the light given to their parents, the children rejected
the additional light granted to themselves, they became partakers of the parents' sins,
and filled up the measure of their iniquity.
The long-suffering of God toward Jerusalem only confirmed the Jews in their
stubborn impenitence. In their hatred and cruelty toward the disciples of Jesus they
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