code: public static java.util.Date parseJUDate(final String date, final String format, final TimeZone timeZone) {
          if (N.isNullOrEmpty(date) || (date.length() == 4 && "null".equalsIgnoreCase(date))) {
              return null;
          }
  
          return createJUDate(parse(date, format, timeZone));
      }
docs: Converts the specified <code>date</code> with the specified {@code format} to a new instance of java.util.Date.
  <code>null</code> is returned if the specified <code>date</code> is null or empty.
  
  @param date
  @param format
  @throws IllegalArgumentException
  if the date given can't be parsed with specified format.