226    The Bible and the Future of the World 

    The  clans of Judah  will realize that the  inhabitants of Jerusalem  have 

strength from God. Christians are the spiritual inhabitants of the Church, 

which is the new Jerusalem. Catholics will realize that God is offering this 

gift to all faithful Christians. The Church will move towards greater unity. 

Those Who Reject the Gift 

      `On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all 

who lift it will grievously hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth 

will come together against it.'   (Zech 12:3). 

    Some sinful persons will reject this gift from God, this call to repentance. 

They will prefer to cling to their sinful ways. They will react with fear and 

abhorrence. And when they try to fight against Christianity, they will 

 grievously hurt themselves.  These will become even more sinful, because 

they reject God's gifts of love and forgiveness. 

    Recall that when the sinful scribes and Pharisees rejected Jesus Christ as 

true Savior, their sinfulness increased to the point that they would even put 

an innocent man to death. Thus, some who reject this gift will react by 

wishing to do harm to those who convert and repent. But these will not 

succeed, for Christianity shall be like a heavy stone they hurt themselves 

who try to lift it, but the stone remains unharmed. 

Panic and Madness 

      `On that day, says the L

ORD

, I will strike every horse with panic, and its 

rider with madness. But upon the house of Judah I will open my eyes, when 

I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.'   (Zech 12:4). 

    Some people will react to the Day of Repentance with panic. Some will 

lose their sanity; many will feel lost and confused and frightened. Some 

people will even commit suicide, as Judas Iscariot did (Mt 27:3 5). But 

faithful Christians will have the light of faith to guide them, so that they may 

not be overcome on that day. God's servants will have His special favor on 

that day, especially faithful Catholics (the house of Judah). 

    Notice that this day has an effect on  every horse of the peoples.  People 

used to depend on horses for transportation or to do work. But today we rely 

on machines and vehicles in place of horses. So this event will have some 

effect on vehicles, electronic devices, and other kinds of machinery, perhaps 

making them temporarily unusable. 

    In these passages, God's Holy Infallible Scripture repeatedly uses the 

phrase  on that day  (cf. Zech 12:3     13:4). Thus, this event of repentance 

and conversion occurs on one special day. Other events described in 

subsequent passages also occur each on one particular day.