Jerusalem, the Heavy Stone

It is difficult not to discern in our time the “last days” announced by the prophets. More than ever, Jerusalem appears as “the heavy stone,” according to the word of Zechariah: “I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all peoples; all who lift it will surely injure themselves” (Zech. 12:3).

This word is strikingly relevant today. All nations are concerned—not only Israel’s declared enemies. The “wound” does not come from any aggression on Jerusalem’s part, but from the persistent attempt of the nations to redefine or control it. In reality, they are the ones who wound themselves.

Feet of Iron and Clay

Another prophet, Daniel, describes in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream a statue made of different materials representing a succession of empires. In a prophetic and eschatological reading, this statue symbolizes the world system as a whole.

Yet the weak point of this statue lies precisely in its feet, made of an unstable mixture of iron and clay. A stone, cut out without the help of any human hand, strikes them and brings about the total collapse of the structure (Daniel 2). Daniel specifies: “Iron does not mix with clay.”

This is an unnatural alliance. The text speaks of a final kingdom in which the peoples will be “mixed by human alliances, yet will not be united.” Many commentators identify the iron with the Western nations, particularly Europe, while the clay represents ideological forces incompatible with them. Daniel does not name Europe, the United Nations, or Islam. But the prophetic principle itself is clear.

Muslim Immigration

Muslim immigration to Europe, as we know it today, is not a recent phenomenon but a process unfolding over several decades. After the Second World War, many European countries called upon “guest workers” to rebuild their economies. Many came from countries with large Muslim populations (Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, etc.).

A sharp acceleration occurred between 2011 and 2016, following the conflicts in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. In 2015, the European Union registered approximately 1.3 million asylum applications, the majority from countries with predominantly Muslim populations.

Even though the flow slowed after 2016, there has been no real reversal.

Thus, the clay is now deeply mixed with the iron. Several tens of millions of Muslims live in Europe today, reshaping the cultural, spiritual, and civilizational balance of a continent historically shaped by Judeo-Christianity.

The Stone Placed in Zion

The stone that brings down Nebuchadnezzar’s statue is of divine origin. It is placed in Zion and is inseparable from Israel. “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” (Isa. 8:14; 28:16).

All those who reject the biblical legitimacy of Israel stand before this stone. Since the establishment of the Hebrew state, Jerusalem has never truly been accepted by the nations as Israel’s eternal and indivisible capital.

The persistent determination of the United Nations and the international community to impose a Palestinian state and a divided Jerusalem, combined with the ideological project of radical Islam aimed at the elimination of the Jewish people, constitutes a destructive convergence of thought.

And Iran Today…

Regarding Western hesitation in the face of Iran, Pierre Rehov writes that the real danger lies not so much in the collapse of the Iranian regime as in the ideological consequences of decisive action, which would compel many Arab states to abandon their strategic ambiguity.

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran has not merely been an unstable regional actor. It constitutes the ideological and operational core of modern militant Islamism in the Middle East. Despite internal religious divergences within Islam, the regime of the ayatollahs serves the broader interests of the Muslim world in its stance toward Israel.

Thus, the nations—united in their desire to impose a political solution leading to the erasure of Israel—and Islam, driven by the ideological desire to see the disappearance of the Jewish state, take part in these “human alliances” announced by the prophet Daniel.

But the Word is unequivocal: the mixture of iron and clay cannot endure. This alliance is unstable, fragile, destined to fail. In time, it will break apart.

For the stone placed in Zion remains. And it is not the nations that will judge Jerusalem, but Jerusalem that will test the nations.