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XVI. Three Major End Time Battles. When, Where and Why
do They Happen.
There
are volumes of Old Testament scriptures that detail gruesome wartime
battles that take place during, before, and 30 days after Daniel’s
seventieth week. The Lord
directed several of these Old Testament prophets to prophesy about
these battles, concluding with the battle of Armageddon.
Let me try to describe these battles as to their timing,
the combatants, where they take place, and put them into perspective
as to their importance in God’s end time planning.
All of the land surrounding Israel,
and in particular Jerusalem,
will be a war zone during the last few months of the first 3½ years,
and will continue through most of the last 42 months, plus an additional
30 days. (1260 days plus 30, 1290 days, Daniel 12:11
“And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken
away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there
shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.)
There will be three major battles within this approximately
four-year period of continuous war which we will look at.
These three major battles will be referred to as Battle
One, Battle Two, and Battle Three.
BATTLE ONE.
Before
we look at the battle itself, let me introduce to you Satan’s designated
leader (prophesied of and approved by God) for the seven years known
as Daniel’s 70th week.
That leader is the beast, the Antichrist.
We will look at where he comes from and how he fits into
the picture. In Ezekiel 38:2,3
we are introduced to the name Gog, or supreme one, which is a name
given to the one we will eventually know as the Antichrist. (Ezekiel
38:2-3, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of
Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against
him, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against
you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.”’)
He is of the people or nation of Magog (verse 2), prince
(might be translated “chief prince”) of Rosh (could be a territory
or division of Magog), and he is the chief prince of Meshech and
Tubal. These three nations
can be traced back to Noah. Noah had three sons (Genesis 9:18 Now the sons of Noah who went out
of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father
of Canaan.) and the third
son, Japheth, had seven sons. (Genesis 10:2 The sons of Japheth
were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.) Three of these seven sons were Magog (2nd),
Tubal (5th), and Meshech (6th), and history
tells us that after the tower of Babel, these three sons, all their
families, and their succeeding generations, over the period of a
few thousand years, eventually migrated and populated eastern Russia
(Tubal, Tobolsk), central Russia (Meshech, Moscow) and western Russia
(central Europe, Magog, Germanic). They continued on to Germany,
Italy,
and perhaps to most of Europe, and eventually
to America
(Caucasians). Ezekiel 38:2,3
(above) also gives confirmation that these three nations, Tubal,
Meshech and Magog, are part of the ten-nation confederacy, the ten
horns, described to us in Daniel 7:7,8,20-26. (Daniel 7:7-8,20-26,
7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast,
dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth;
it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue
with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that
were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was considering
the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among
them, before whom three of the first
horns were plucked out by the
roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the
eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.” 20 “and the
ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn
which came up, before which three fell,
namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke pompous
words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows. 21
I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints,
and prevailing against them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came,
and a judgment was made in favor or the saints of
the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.
23 Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on
earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms,
and shall devour the whole earth, trample
it and break it in pieces. 24 The ten horns are ten kings
who shall arise from this kingdom, and another shall rise after
them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall
subdue three kings. 25 He shall speak pompous
words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most
High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the
saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times
and half a time. 26 But the court shall be seated, and they shall
take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever.”)
Gog (the little horn, Antichrist) overcomes these three nations
(verse 8, “before whom three of the first ten horns were plucked
out by the roots”) and takes control over them.
Gog uses this huge three-nation confederacy, which is perhaps
most of, if not all of, Europe as his base
of strength prior to Daniel’s seventieth week. He now becomes the pre-eminent power in the
entire world.
This
alignment of the above nations very likely takes place prior to
the beginning of Daniels’ seventieth week.
Backed by his huge European power base, this ‘little horn’
(Gog, and soon to be Antichrist) exhibits his false propensity for
peace by offering Israel
something it cannot refuse. We
read in Daniel 9:27 that
He shall confirm (lit. causes to prevail) his peace covenant with
many, Israel,
and he guarantees this covenant for one week, i.e., seven years.
(Daniel 9:27 Then he shall confirm
a covenant with many for
one week; but in the middle
of the week He shall bring
an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations
shall be one who makes desolate,
even until the consummation, which
is determined, is poured out
on the desolate.”) After seeking peace for years and years, the
Israelites will be full of exultation and renewed confidence with
their new guaranteed security, but it will prove to be a false security. The world will later come to know this peacemaker
at the 3½-year mark as Antichrist when he desecrates the temple
in Jerusalem. Perhaps as part of the peace negotiations, this
negotiator will also guarantee the Israelites protection and may
give them permission to build a temple on the temple mount to sweeten
the deal, since no nation surrounding Israel
will dare to challenge his authority and power.
The previous sentence is not supported in scripture, but
I like to think of it as a possibility.
If all the facts and assumptions of these two paragraphs
prove to be correct, you can understand why there could be a strong
possibility that a long period of time, perhaps hundreds of years
or more, could still elapse before the seven years can begin.
Where does Antichrist
come from, and who chooses him?
Jesus, through an angel, dictated and vividly previewed to
the Apostle John the entire book of Revelation when He caught him
up to Heaven in approximately 95AD. (Revelation 4:1 After these
things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven.
And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with
me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must
take place after this.) We
read in Revelation 17:9-11, and which is verified in historical
manuscripts, that five beast empires will have fallen prior to 95AD;
(1) Egyptian, (2) Assyrian, (3) Babylonian, (4) Medo-Persian, and
(5) Grecian. (Revelation 17:9-11, 9 “Here is the mind which has
wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits.
10 There are also seven kings. Five have fallen,
one is (Roman,
95AD), and the other has not
yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short
time. 11 The beast that was, and is not, is himself also
the eighth, and is of the seven,
and is going to perdition.”) One exists at 95AD, the sixth beast empire,
(6) Roman, and one, the seventh beast empire, is yet to come after
95AD and last for a short time.
The seventh beast empire must be a hater and exterminator
of the Jews as were the prior six, which explains the term “beast-empire”,
and why the Antichrist is referred to as the “beast” throughout
Scripture. This seventh (7)
beast empire, obviously, must exist between 95AD and 1948, and we
are told it must last only a short time. Perhaps there were a few empires between those
years that matched this description and exterminated Jews, but none
matched or exceeded the ferocity of the Third Reich. This empire lasted a short time, and killed
approximately six million Jews.
The leader of one of these first seven (7) beast empires
just mentioned, a leader who was killed in battle with a wound to
the head, and whose deadly wound will be healed, will be given new
life (13:3) and will indwell or be Gog, the Antichrist. (Revelation
13:3 And I saw one of his heads
as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly
wound was healed. And all the world marveled
and followed the beast.) That
person will then become the leader of the eighth (8, revived Roman
Empire) and final satanic beast empire at the midpoint
of Daniels’ 70th week when he desecrates the temple.
This eighth beast empire will last 3½ years.
If there were one terrible Jew-killer from each of the first
seven beast empires, this would make seven ruthless killers from
which God will choose, or allow, one to become the Antichrist.
Most of those seven killers would not meet God’s qualifications
as set forth above. Thus,
a strong possibility exists that this leader, out of several possibilities,
could be Nero or Hitler. Sounds
very scary, doesn’t it?
So
that you might have a better understanding of what the earthly conditions
are during the first half of Daniel’s 70th week that
could provoke Battle One, let us briefly look at the first
four seals. In previous sections
of this study (Section VIII), we described Satan’s activities
during the opening of the first four seals. No matter what we may have been taught, the
opening of the seals is Satan’s time to start dealing his wrath
on earth. No less an authority than Jesus Himself dictated
to John the Apostle that the time for Jesus to begin His Day-of-the-Lord
wrath begins at Revelation 6:16,17,
after the opening of the sixth seal, and after the great worldwide
earthquake, and after the heavenly upheaval. (Revelation 6:16-17,
16 and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from
the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath
of the Lamb! 17 For the great day
of His wrath has come, and who
is able to stand?”) Jesus
opens the seals, and patiently endures and bides His time to begin
His wrath judgment, and allows the four horses to leave Heaven. It is necessary to understand what Satan and
Antichrist do after the signing of the “peace covenant” on through
the first 3½ years before you can understand the significance of
what Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet do in the second
3½ years. After the first seal is opened in Revelation 6, Satan, or one of his designees, exits Heaven on a white horse representing
unparalleled peace on earth, a false peace. Instead, he immediately begins to conquer the
remaining portions of the earth, which he doesn’t already control,
verse two. The
second seal is opened, and a red horse and its rider (these horses
and riders likely represent forces rather than specific individuals)
exits Heaven and takes peace from the earth and people all over
the earth will be killing each other, or worldwide wars, verse four. The third seal is opened,
and a black horse and its rider exits Heaven signifying worldwide
famine, likely as a result of the upheaval caused by the worldwide
wars, verse 6. The fourth seal is opened
and a pale horse exits Heaven and the rider is Death, “and power
was given to them (from our Lord) over a fourth of the earth, to
kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the
earth,” verse 8, or possibly 1½
billion souls. Seals 5, 6,
and 7 are opened in the last 3½ years.
This will not be a pleasant time to be alive any place on
earth, and especially in the area surrounding Jerusalem. But God will provide for His chosen Israelites
and the Church, His precious elect, to survive and overcome. We can be positive of this.
For
several months prior to the end of the first 3½ years of Daniel’s
seventieth week, Gog, the future Antichrist, as part of his devious
plans, and also following the commands of God Himself, starts gathering
his troops in Magog, Meshech and Tubal. (Ezekiel 38:4 I
[the Lord God] will turn you [Gog] around,
put hooks into your jaws, and
lead you out, with all your army, horses, and
horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers
and shields, all of them handling swords.)
This large army comes out of the far north. (Ezekiel
38:15 Then you will come from your place out of the far north,
you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great
company and a mighty army.) God then directs Gog and his army from Magog,
Meshech and Tubal toward the land
of Israel for his involvement
in Battle One. Ezekiel
38:5 further states that in addition to the three nations just mentioned,
troops from Persia,
Gomer and Togarmah also become a part of Gogs’ armies. (Ezekiel
38:5-6, 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them
with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer and all its troops; the house
of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people
are with you.) When Gogs’ threatening armies start approaching
the area of Israel, the king of the South (Egypt and perhaps Libya,
Ethiopia and Sudan) decides to challenge Gogs’ intrusion into what
they consider “their” territory, and they go north to make war against
Gog. (Read about this in Daniel 11:40-45, 40 “At the time
of the end the king of the South shall attack
him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind,
with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter
the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall
also enter the Glorious
Land, and
many countries shall be over thrown; but these shall escape
from his hand: Edom,
Moab,
and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand
against the countries, and the land
of Egypt
shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold
and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt;
also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels.
44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore
he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.
45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and
the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no
one will help him.) Gog
and his armies overwhelm the king of the South like a whirlwind
and he takes treasures of gold, silver and precious things of Egypt. After Gogs’ great victory, verse 43 tells us
Egypt,
the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels, or, in other
words, join Gog’s fighting force.
After this major victory, Gog is given news from the east
and the north (from Jerusalem),
which troubles him greatly. With
great fury he destroys and annihilates many.
This annihilation likely occurs at least in all of the Arabian
Peninsula, eastern Jordan,
Lebanon,
Syria,
and Iraq
at the minimum. All of these
battles are a part of Battle
One. However, the small territories of Edom
(southeast of the Dead Sea), Moab
(east of the Dead Sea), and Ammon (northeast
of the Dead Sea) escape his hand!
God is again working His miracles.
This is the specific area, east thru Jericho and south on
the east side of the Dead Sea, thru which perhaps millions of Jews
will likely soon flee to the caves in Petra to seek protection,
food and water for 1260 days
As
was detailed above, Battle One starts during the few months
preceding the midpoint of the 70th week and lasts perhaps
only a matter of several days or a few weeks at the most into the
last 3½ years. The main part of the battle takes place in the
land surrounding Israel,
and concludes with perhaps a speedy coup when Gog, with his overwhelming
force, captures all of Israel
and Jerusalem itself. This part of the battle is detailed in Ezekiel
38:8-16a. I find no evidence
that Jesus and the Father challenge him at this time, but the Lord
God warns Gog and his followers in Ezekiel 38:18, as we will see
in Battle
Two. (Ezekiel 38:18 “And it will come to pass at the same time,
when Gog comes against the land
of Israel,”
says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face.”) We read in Daniel 11:45 that Gog, at this midpoint,
“shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas (Mediterranean
Sea and Dead Sea) and the glorious
holy mountain,” meaning in Jerusalem.
(Daniel 11:45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between
the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his
end, and no one will help him.)
Satan and Gog will already have determined that Jerusalem
and the temple mount are going to be one of their headquarters,
one among many likely major bases of their worldwide operations,
and must therefore be captured.
At this point in time, we know from scripture that armies
will surround the City of Jerusalem.
(Luke 21:20
“But when you see Jerusalem
surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.”) Luke says that Desolation is at hand. Luke also writes that these will be Antichrist’s
days of vengeance, specifically against God’s people the Israelites,
and also the elect. Matthew
and Mark describe this same period as the beginning of the time
of the Great Tribulation, and they also write that this is the time
of abomination of desolation (or perhaps more correctly, abomination
by the desolator). In Matthew 24:21, Jesus describes this period
of time and the several or more months that follow as the worst
tribulation since the beginning of the world or ever shall be. (Matthew
24:21, For then there will be great tribulation, such
as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time,
no, nor ever shall be.)
The
Heavenly War of the Angels is also being fought in Heaven
at this midpoint of the seven years.
God and His angels defeat Satan and his angels in the Heavens,
and Satan and his angels are hurled down to earth, forbidden forever
from entering Heaven again. Satan likely goes into a killing rage after
this terrible defeat in Heaven. (Revelation 12:7-9, 7 And war
broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon;
and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail,
nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great
dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan,
who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his
angels were cast out with him.) At this seven-year midpoint, Satan now directs
Antichrist to desecrate God’s Holy Temple, and Antichrist then sets
himself up as the only god to be worshiped in the Jerusalem temple
as well as in every temple or place of worship on all the earth. God the Father and Jesus give Satan and Antichrist
a short time to reign on the earth and spread their Great Tribulation
and terror, 3½ years total. (Revelation 13:5 And he was given
a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given
authority to continue for forty-two months.)
This is also the moment the true identity of Antichrist is
revealed. (II Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any
means; for that Day (the day of
RAPTURE) will not come unless the falling
away comes first, and the man of
sin is revealed, the son of perdition,)
Someone, perhaps God the Father Himself, sounds an alarm
and warns His people the Israelites, all those living in Jerusalem
and the surrounding area who would heed His call, to flee as fast
as they can. (Matthew 24:16 “then let those who are in Judea
flee to the mountains.”) God
avails to those who heed His warning, as it were, two wings of a
great eagle to fly into the wilderness, to the place God has prepared
for them, likely the caves of Petra.
(Revelation 12:14 But the woman was given two wings of a great
eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where
she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the
presence of the serpent.) It would seem God’s only intervention in Battle
One is to protect and fight for those who chose to flee. This escape could involve some one to two million
Israelites. Perhaps two-thirds
of the Jews living in Jerusalem
will choose to remain, accept Antichrist as ruler, and many will
even take his mark and worship him.
After all, he is the one who brought and falsely guaranteed
them their wonderful peace. The following assumption is controversial, but
this period is very likely the time of the ‘falling away first’,
one of the greatest “falling-aways” of His chosen children from
their God to a false god ever, which event must occur before the
God’s day of RAPTURE. (II Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one deceive
you by any means; for that Day will
not come unless the falling away
comes first, and the man of sin
is revealed, the son of perdition,)
Much, if not all in this paragraph, takes place in one day.
Satan
and Antichrist will try to kill all of the Jews fleeing the area
around Jerusalem, but
Gods’ protecting hand will prevail.
As a last resort the serpent, Satan, will spew water from
his mouth (a deluge of rain), sending a killing flood to the deep
crevices of the mountains and caves of Petra
to drown the fleeing Jews. But, miraculously, God the Father will
make the earth open its mouth and swallow up the flood. (Revelation
12:15-16, 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a
flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away
by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened
its mouth and swallowed up the flood
which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.) Then God will protect and give food and drink
to this fleeing throng for 1260 days.
Satan proceeds to make war against the remaining Jews in
Jerusalem as well as
Jews and Christians throughout the world. (Revelation 12:17 And
the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with
the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and
have the testimony of Jesus Christ.)
God’s two witnesses who take up residence in Jerusalem
at this same moment of time are powerful adversaries to Antichrist’s
control. Antichrist has now captured and will now control
all of the earth through his ‘mark of the beast’ and the spirits
of the False Prophet. An
overwhelming majority of those who dwell on earth will accept this
mark and worship him. However, there will be some who will choose
to avoid taking his seal in addition to those whose names are written
in the Book of Life of the Lamb. (Revelation 13:8 All who dwell
on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written
in the Book of Life of the Lamb
slain from the foundation of the world.) The preceding sentence implies that the Church,
the elect, is still present on earth at this moment in time, which
fact we have proved irrefutably in prior sections.
The army of the Antichrist will capture and gain control
of the Holy land, including the Temple
Mount, will take “booty,
silver, gold, livestock and goods,” and make it one of his world
capitals and one of his main bases of operations. (Ezekiel 38:12-13,
12 to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against
the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a
people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and
goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 13 Sheba, Dedan, the
merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you,
‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take
booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and
goods, to take great plunder?’”)
The Antichrist will keep at least some armed force in the
area throughout much of the last 3½ years.
These moments are the terrible beginnings of Jacob’s (Israel’s)
trouble, a time of Great Tribulation. (Jeremiah 30:7 “Alas! For
that day is great, so that none is like it; and it
is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall
be saved out of it.”) I would not be so bold as to say all the above
is exactly how this battle unfolds since only God knows all the
final details and timing. However,
based on all the scriptures that have been referenced, and you should
verify what they all say, it would seem reasonable that this is
how one could perceive and describe what takes place in Battle
One.
BATTLE TWO.
(
TAKE NOTE--What you are reading here about end time battles,
especially regarding Battle Two, was written in the spring
and summer of 2003. In January 2003, I listened to a 90-minute dissertation
on the end-time battles described in Ezekiel and other Old Testament
books, and afterwards I asked the speaker just when he thought these
battles would take place. The
answer I received was, “I have no idea”.
That answer sparked considerable interest on my part to study
these books in depth for myself to see if the Lord might have given
any prophecy instructions to these prophets that would give some
hint or indication as to just when and where these battles would
occur during Daniels’ 70th week. On the following pages is a description of how
I believe God enlightened my thinking regarding when and where and
why Battle Two takes place, and also a description of Gods’
apparent New Covenant relationship with the Israelites starting
with the beginning of the Day of the Lord wrath judgment [from that
day forward, Ezekiel 39:22] and continuing through all eternity.
(Ezekiel 39:22 So the house of Israel
shall know that I am the Lord their God from that
day forward.)
Many others that have studied these passages likely must
have arrived at the same conclusion, but I personally have never
read or heard of anyone taking this position. Therefore you should study it very, very carefully,
and thoroughly absorb every scripture reference to help you arrive
at a proper conclusion as to whether or not you would agree with
the facts that I will give you to back up my position.
Traditionalists will say the conclusion I arrived at does
not fit with their understanding of the writings of Isaiah 65:11-17,
or Ezekiel 39:9-12, or Daniel 9:24, or Romans 11:25-26, or Revelation
20 and 21. Most would also tell you the wartime descriptions
in Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah really refer to the Battle of Armageddon
[about which I will give you many scriptures proving that to be
wrong] and that the many promises given to the Jews will only become
effective starting with the Millennium.
I have studied all of the above references very carefully
and find no conflict with what I have written.
Gods’ end time plans will be perfect as we will see someday,
but just how He executes every minute detail is not revealed to
us. What I have written regarding
Battle Two is, in my thinking, in perfect agreement with
the above scriptures. The
conclusion I arrived at seems to fit perfectly with what God the
Father prophesied His plan would be for both the New Testament elect
and His people, His chosen remnant of Israelites.
He rescues both groups, and gives them salvation [deliverance]
from the Great Tribulation, and this happens just immediately prior
to His terrible Day of the Lord Wrath judgment.)
Of
the three battles that we will describe for you, Battle Two is
the only one to which we cannot assign a specific moment in time
at which it takes place within the seven years, or more specifically
seven years plus 30 days. The reason for this is because there are many
references as to the timing of this terrible battle, but almost
everyone makes a precise reference that it is identified with immediately
“preceding” the Day of the Lord.
So now we must try to come to an agreement as to just exactly
when the terrible Day of the Lord begins.
We described at length in Section VIII, under 6B,
just what is and when is the Day of the Lord.
It is NOT a 24-hour period, but a period of time starting
immediately after the rapture of the elect and after Battle Two,
both of which likely happen almost simultaneously. You should study my reasoning for that assumption,
which is explained in XVII. Revelation
14, and Blood Flowing 184 Miles? This period of time is referred to as Jesus’
“parousia” (Jesus’ coming and staying to carry out God the Fathers’
plan of great wrath), when He will release his pent up anger and
spread His terrible “Day of the Lord” wrath trumpet and bowl judgments
on Satan, the Antichrist, and the nations of the earth.
Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 1:10 that Jesus, God’s Son,
is going to deliver the Christians, the elect, from this wrath by
way of the rapture. (I Thessalonians 1:10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom
He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us
from the wrath to come.)
This wrath of God the Father, directed by His Son Jesus,
starts at Revelation 6:16-17 and the opening of the seventh seal,
and lasts thru the seven trumpets, plus an extra 30 days for the
seven bowl judgments and the Battle of Armageddon. (Revelation
6:16-17, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and
hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the
wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great
day of His wrath has come, and who is
able to stand?”) The Day of the Lord is immediately preceded
by God’s gathering His elect, the born again Christians. (Matthew
24:31 And He will send His
angels with a great sound of
a trumpet, and they will gather
together His elect, from the
four winds, from one end of
heaven to the other.) The dead
in Christ will rise first. Then
those who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
them (those who were dead) in the clouds, and all will meet their
Savior in the air and be taken to Heaven where those who were previously
dead will be reunited with their souls. (I Thessalonians
4:16-17, 16 For the Lord
Himself will descend from heaven
with a shout, with the voice
of an archangel, and with the
trumpet of God. And the dead
in Christ will rise
first. 17 Then we
who are alive and
remain shall be caught
up together with them in
the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air. And thus we
shall always be with the
Lord.) Following the rapture, the Day of the Lord is
also immediately preceded by Battle Two, as will be shown
conclusively in the following pages.
From
the above paragraph it is quite evident that God did not reveal
to us exactly when God’s chosen moment of rapture occurs, which
He described in verses 30-31, since only He knows this moment in
time. (Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour no
one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father
only.) Starting
on day one of the Antichrist’s and the False Prophet’s 3½-year reign
with great terror under the supervision of Satan, and which God
the Father is allowing, the Antichrist will control the world economy
thru his marking on the forehead or on the right hand, the mark
of the beast. (Revelation 13:16-17, 16 He causes all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive
a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or
the name of the beast, or the number of his name,)
Satan causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free
and slave to receive this mark, all except those whose names are
written in the Lamb’s book of life and those who will stubbornly
resist this pressure. (Revelation 13:8 All who dwell on the earth
will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book
of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.) Great pressure will be put on the Jewish people
and the Christians worldwide, and many will be killed. This is why this period is called the “Great
Tribulation”, the greatest period of horror the world will ever
know. It will become so bad that Jesus told His disciples
in Matthew 24:22 that the number of those days would have to be
shortened, cut off, amputated, or no flesh (Christian elect and
Jews) would survive. (Matthew 24:22 And unless those days were
shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the
elect’s sake those days will be shortened.)
“But for the elect’s sake,” the exact words Jesus
spoke, “those days would be shortened.”
So
how long will it be from the beginning of the second 3½ years until
God’s Day of the Lord wrath judgment begins?
Only God the Father knows, not even His Son Jesus, nor the
angels. (Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour no one knows,
not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.)
This Day of the Lord might not start for some 6 months into
the Great Tribulation portion of the last 3½ years, 12 months, or
18 months or more. However,
there is one thing I can guarantee you, and that is “that Day” of
the Lord will not come one day before or one day later than God
has already planned. Scripture
does tell us God and Jesus His Son have strong reasons to not let
too much time elapse before it begins because Jesus has massive
plans that must fit into this 1260 day window of time.
The first reason is His chosen lineage and people, Israel,
is being terrorized even worse than at any time in all previous
history. Jeremiah 30:8 tells us that they have, as it
were, a yoke around their neck, they are in bonds, and are enslaved
by foreigners. (Jeremiah 30:8 ‘For it shall come to pass in
that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘That I will break
his yoke from your neck, and
will burst your bonds; foreigners shall no more enslave them.’)
God’s reason for Battle Two is to overwhelmingly
defeat Antichrist and his armies and stop Satan from ever mistreating
His precious nation of Israel
and the Jewish people again worldwide, at least those in His chosen
remnant.
The second reason
for beginning His Day of the Lord wrath is the elect, the Christians,
who have suffered greatly throughout history and will be martyred
during this Great Tribulation period for the name of Jesus they
claim. (Matthew 24:9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation
and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My
name’s sake.) Hundreds of millions of Christians, the elect,
have died as martyrs in the last two thousand years, but let me
assure you, any suffering we experience will be worth it all when
we see Jesus. Just before the Day of the Lord begins, Jesus,
the Son of God, is going to have His angels gather His elect together
(as described above) from the four winds, from one end of the Heaven
to the other. (Matthew 24:31 And He will
send His angels with
a great sound of a trumpet,
and they will gather
together His elect, from
the four winds, from one end
of heaven to the other.) Do not let anyone ever persuade you that the
word elect in the previous sentence refers to the Jewish people
and not to the church, which is one of the main points for Pre-tribulation
teaching. In Matthew 24:5 it says “many will
come in My name, saying,
I am the Christ (Jesus),”
and verse 9 reads “you will be hated
by all nations for My
name’s sake (Jesus),”
and we read in verse 14 “And this ‘gospel’
of the kingdom will be preached
in all the world,” and in verse 23 “Look,
here is the Christ (Jesus).”
All these references are New Testament church, elect, references. Jewish people who are not born again believers
would not be caught dead accepting any of the teaching regarding
‘Jesus’ in the previous verses, so you cannot jump ahead to verse
31 and conclude that everything is now changed and the word ‘elect’
all of a sudden refers to only the Jews.
The
third reason to start the Day of the Lord is to not prolong the
beginning of God the Father’s terrible
day of wrath and judgment against Satan, the Antichrist and the
nations of the earth, and complete the seventh trumpet judgment
exactly on the last day of the last 3½ years. At this seventh trumpet, there are heard loud
voices in Heaven saying, “The kingdoms of this
world have become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of His
Christ, and He shall reign forever
and ever!” You can read about this beautiful account in
Revelation 11:15-18. Jesus
is victorious and takes back earth, but 30 more days of the terrible
bowl judgments and defeat at Armageddon are still awaiting Satan,
the Antichrist, the false prophet, and the nations of the earth.
The
exact term “Day of the Lord” can be found in 25 places in Old Testament
scripture, and 5 places in New Testament scripture.
A similar reference to this moment in time is “in that Day”,
and there are 109 verses with that exact phrase, with at least half
referring to the Day of the Lord or the days just preceding the
Day of the Lord, and most of these are in the Old Testament.
Thus you can see that God put a great deal of emphasis on
this subject when He was giving prophecy instructions to the Old
Testament prophets. The author
of Hebrews tells us in the first two verses that God spoke in times
past through the prophets, and since the time of Christ, in these
last days, has spoken to us by His Son.
I would interpret that as meaning only through His Son, not
through men who have lived since that time who claim “God told me”.
Therefore, even though some 2,500 years or more have elapsed
since the Old Testament prophets penned these books, God must have
had a wonderfully designed plan that had to be told regarding this
pre-Day-of-the-Lord period, Battle Two, which takes place
during the last days of the Great Tribulation.
Antichrists’ Great
Tribulation is not aimed at those who follow after him, but specifically
at these two groups: one, God’s old testament and current chosen
people the Israelites, and two, the church, the new testament elect.
These are also the two groups to whom the Lord seems to give
equal concentration to in His pre-Day of the Lord plans.
The first group, the Israelites, at least those who call
upon the name of the Lord, will be granted a special, new, protected
relationship with God after the conclusion of Battle Two.
In the Old Testament books of Ezekiel, Joel and Zechariah,
God makes many unconditional promises to His chosen people and they
seem to be an affirmation of the New Covenant given to the Israelites
from the Lord in Jeremiah 30-33. These promises will become effective just before
the beginning of the Day of the Lord.
In Joel 2:31-32, He tells them “whoever calls on the name
of the Lord shall be saved”, and He gives this invitation and promise
just prior to the beginning of the Day of the Lord. (Joel 2:31-32,
31 “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
before the coming of the great and awesome day of
the Lord.” 32 And it shall come to pass that whoever
calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount
Zion and
in Jerusalem
there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has
said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls.)
Many verses will be referred to in the next several pages
that reflect these new promises to the Israelites.
God the Father in His infinite wisdom knows every Jewish
person living at that time who will accept these new promises and
this special new relationship and protection, His remnant.
Those names will be written in God’s book of life.
During Battle
Two, half the city shall go into captivity, and this half could
be comprised of those who refused God’s appeal to call on His name,
some could be atheist Jews, and some could be those who took the
mark of the beast and worshipped the Antichrist. (Zechariah 14:2
For I will gather all the nations to battle
against Jerusalem;
the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant
of the people shall not be cut off from the city.)
In present day Israel,
the population is almost 50% Jewish and 50% Palestinian, approximately
six million of each. Those
taken into captivity by Antichrist’s army likely would not be Palestinians,
generally his Muslim followers, but those Israelites who rejected
God’s invitation to flee or “call on the name of the Lord.”
As a result of God’s victory in Battle Two, the other
half, the remnant (also in verse 2) will remain for some time in
Jerusalem under God’s
protection. This protection
in the Jerusalem area
will last at least through the seventh trumpet judgment.
Zechariah 14:5 seems to infer that after the seventh trumpet,
God will perhaps provide safety and protection for this remnant,
plus the 144,000, and plus those who sought refuge in the caves
at Petra, in a place called Azal, God’s place of safety for the
thirty days of the bowl judgments and the Battle of Armageddon.
(Zechariah 14:5 Then you shall flee through my mountain
valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes,
you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah
king of Judah.
Thus the Lord My God will come and all the saints with You.) These will be the “sheep” of the sheep-goat
judgment as Matthew recorded in Matthew 25:31-46, and will enter
the millennial kingdom alive. (Matthew 25:32-33, 32 All the nations
will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on
the left.) The second
group mentioned in sentence one of the previous paragraph, the elect,
will be gathered, raptured, and taken to Heaven forever, likely
just prior to Jesus’ victory over Antichrist in Battle Two, and
just before God commences His Day of the Lord wrath judgment as
He promised in I Thessalonians 1:10. (I Thessalonians 1:10
and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead,
even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.)
The reasoning for my timing of the rapture just prior to
Jesus’ victory in Battle Two can be found in section XVII Revelation 14, and Blood Flowing 184 Miles?
After the 1,000 years, Heaven, the New Jerusalem,
comes down to earth, and both groups will be with the Lord through
all eternity.
In
most Old Testament references to Day of the Lord, reference is repeatedly
made that the sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give its
light, and the stars of Heaven and the constellations thereof shall
not give their light. Some of these verses that make this solar reference,
many of which are interspersed with references to Battle Two
and/or the Day of the Lord, are Isaiah 13:10, (all
are very similar to this, Isaiah 13:9-10, 9 Behold, the day
of the Lord comes, cruel, with
both wrath and fierce anger, to lay
the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. 10 For
the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their
light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon
will not cause its light to shine.) Ezekiel 32:7,8, Joel 2:2,10,30-31,
3:15, (Joel 2:30-31, 30 And I will show wonders in the heavens
and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars
of smoke. 31 “The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and
awesome day of the Lord.”)
Amos 5:8,20, and Zephaniah 1:15.
This exact same solar phenomena, and which appears at the
same moment of time on God’s calendar during the last 3½ years as
described above in the Old Testament, is also written about in the
New Testament. This confirms
that the conclusion of Battle Two and the time of the rapture
very likely happen almost simultaneously, and ties these two major
events together as to timing and prominence.
New Testament references are recorded in Matthew 24:29, (after
the Great Tribulation of those days but prior to the Day of the
Lord); this is an example but all are very similar and are found
in Mark 13:24-25, Luke
21:25, Acts 2:20,
and in Revelation 6:12-13
at the opening of the sixth seal. (Matthew 24:29 Immediately
after the tribulation (the
Great Tribulation) of those days the sun will be darkened, and
the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.)
All these solar references happen
just prior to the great day of God’s Wrath judgment.
In Ezekiel 38
and 39, which
were written
approximately 590BC,
it
takes a considerable
amount
of discernment
to determine just
what Battles are
being referred to
and when they
take place.
In chapter 38,
the first six
verses are an
introduction to Gog
(see Battle One), where he
comes from and
the peoples he
leads. There
is
mention made
in I Chronicles
5:4 of a father
naming his
son Gog, (I Chronicles 5:4 The sons of Joel were Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,) but
nowhere else in
the Old Testament
is there mention
of the name
Gog except in
Ezekiel 38 and
39, and in
these two chapters
the name is
mentioned ten times. Jesus
makes
the only
New Testament reference
to
Gog in
Revelation 20:8,
describing when Satan
is released
for “a
short time”
at the end
of the millennium.
(Revelation 20:8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.) This
could
be an
indication that Gog
is not the
actual name of
a person (it could
be the ‘title’
of a person),
but a “nickname”
which would describe
a very potent,
spirit led, evil
force of power. In
Ezekiel
38:4, note
that it is
God that directs
Gog to gather
his army, horses
and horsemen, along
with other nations
to the land of
Israel, where the
Israelites have been
brought forth out
of the nations,
and now dwell
safely, verse 8. (Ezekiel
38:4 I [the Lord God] will
turn you around,
put hooks into
your jaws, and lead you out,
with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them
handling swords.) The Israelites
live in unwalled
villages, they are
at rest, they
dwell safely without
walls, having neither
bars nor gates,
and all of
this is primarily
the result of
the peace Gog
guaranteed them.
This sounds like
much of present day
Israel.
Then
from verse 7 thru
16a, Battle One
is described.
Verses 16b thru 39:7
describe Battle
Two. In verse 15, it
says Gog comes “out of the far north, you and many peoples
with you,….a great company and a mighty army.” He might also have assembled the other seven
nations (in addition to Tubal, Meshech, and Magog, being most if
not all of Europe) in the 10-nation confederacy
to fight in this battle, which we will look at a little later.
In verse 16, we again see, as we did in verse 4, that God
will bring Gog (now the Antichrist) against the land
of Israel, so that the
heathen in the entire world will see God the Father sanctified
in His victory over Gog before their eyes (television?). In verse 17, God rhetorically asks the question,
is this the Gog, the Antichrist, that God the Father spoke of thru
His servants, the prophets of Israel,
which God “in those days” would bring against Israel,
and the answer is yes. In
verse 18, when it comes to pass that Gog does come against the land
of Israel, God says,
“My fury will show in My face.” In verse 19, God the Father says that in His
jealousy (for His chosen people Israel
and His Holy name) and in the fire of His wrath has He spoken. Those are strong words. Then take note of the next sentence, that “in that day,” just before the Day of
the Lord, “there shall be
a ‘great earthquake’ in the land of Israel.” This
is the exact same “great earthquake” mentioned in Revelation 6:12,
about which we studied earlier, but with many more additional details
as to its power and destruction.
In the book of Revelation, there is mention made of five
earthquakes: (1) great earthquake 6:12, which immediately precedes
The Day of the Lord and His day of wrath judgment, [this earthquake
is also the only one to take place prior to the solar phenomena
of the sixth seal in Revelation 6:12 and Matthew 24:29]; (2) earthquake,
8:5; (3) great earthquake, 11:13; (4) earthquake, 11:19; and (5)
greatest earthquake since men were on earth, 16:18. Isaiah 2:12 also makes mention of the Day of
the Lord, (Isaiah
2:12 For the day of the Lord of hosts
shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything
lifted up—and it shall be brought low--) and further in Isaiah
2 he writes in verses 19 and 21 that the Lord “arises to shake the earth mightily,”
which is a reference to the same earthquake. This earthquake is
also mentioned in Isaiah
13:13. (Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and
the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of
the Lord of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger.).
Jesus’
New Testament description of this particular great earthquake, as
he dictated it to an angel, and from the angel to John the Apostle
in Revelation 6:14-16 reads, “every mountain and island was moved
out of its place. And the
kings of the earth (all over the earth),
the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every
slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the
rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, ‘fall
on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and
from the wrath of the Lamb’.” Even the heathen, every man on earth, knew the
wrath of God had not come before that time, but was soon to follow. It was still very fresh in the minds of the
‘kings and all the men on the earth’ in the Revelation account,
since they very likely recently saw the victory on television in
Israel by Jesus over Antichrist, and heard Him say “so that [all]
the nations may know Me, when I am hollowed in you, O Gog, before
their eyes” from Ezekiel 38:16. (Ezekiel 38:16 “You will come
up against My people Israel
like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the
latter days that I will bring
you against My land, so that the nations may
know Me, when I am hollowed in you, O Gog, before
their eyes.”)
In
Ezekiel 38:20, God, through His prophet, describes this same earthquake
as “the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts
of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all
men who ‘are on the face of the earth’ shall shake at My presence.
The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall
fall, and every wall (buildings?) shall fall to the ground.”
This is worldwide, and God now has the attention of every
inhabitant on earth, just preceding the Day of the Lord, when He
cometh with both cruel wrath and fierce anger. (Isaiah 13:9 Behold,
the day of the Lord comes, cruel,
with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the
land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it.) Ezekiel writes in verse 21, the Lord God says
“I will call for a sword against Gog, (the Antichrist)
throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God, “Every man’s sword
shall be against his brother.”
Note carefully God the Father mentioned in “all My Mountains,”
and soldiers will be killing their brothers.
To me, this again gives positive confirmation that this battle
is not the battle of Armageddon, which many claim it is,
since that battle will take place in the flat Plain of Esdraelon,
in the Valley of Jezreel, at Megiddo, and Jesus alone is going to
kill everyone there who comes to that battle, with a sharp sword
(the Word of God, Hebrews 4:12) from out of His mouth. (Revelation
19:15 Now out of His mouth goes
a sharp sword, that with it He should strike
the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He
Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God.) At Armageddon,
out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, and with it He strikes the
nations. And He Himself rules them with a rod of iron. He Himself
treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Further in Ezekiel 38, verse 22 says God will bring judgment
in Battle Two on Antichrist and his troops with pestilence
and bloodshed. And God will bring flooding rain, great hailstones,
fire and brimstone on them. Then
in verse 23, God says, “Thus will I magnify Myself and sanctify
Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations” (the
whole world). “Then shall they know that I am the
Lord.”
In
Ezekiel 39, God again reiterates He is against Gog.
Verse 2 tells us God is going to bring Gog from the far north,
all his troops and the nations that are with him, against the mountains
of Israel. In verse 3 we read, there God the Father will
knock the bow out of his left hand, and cause the arrows to fall
out of his right hand. All
of Gog’s troops and peoples will fall upon the mountains
of Israel,
and in verse 4 God says He “will give you to birds of
prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field
to be devoured.”
This
is a sidelight relative to ‘birds of prey.’
On a Monday evening, just three days before He would die
on the cross, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives with His
disciples, and could have been gazing west over the Kidron Valley
(Valley of Jehoshaphat) toward the Temple in Jerusalem in the late
afternoon sun. In response
to questions from His disciples, He was prophesying end time events
in sequence that were going to happen, and He reached that point
in His prophesying which would be immediately prior to when the
Day of the Lord would occur. In
Matthew 24:25 Jesus tells them “See, I have told you beforehand,”
many of the secrets of the future that would be taking place on
earth before, during, and after Daniel’s 70th week.
Jesus is also prophesying to us, the elect, through the writing
of Matthew. These disciples
are intently listening to every word from the King of kings and
Lord of lords, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, their
Master and our precious Savior and Redeemer.
This cannot be verified with scripture, but it could be a
likely possibility that at that moment mentioned above, as He was
looking out over the Kidron Valley, He recalled what He and the
Father had prophesied through Old Testament prophets about inviting
“birds of prey of every sort and to the
beasts of the field” to feast on the tens of millions Jesus
will kill in Battle Two (Ezekiel 39:4). Jesus almost seems to be contemplating His future
victory over Antichrist when the Kidron
Valley will be full of
blood from the dead bodies in His slaughter of the “surrounding
nations”, and then in verse 28 he changes from prophesying and says
“wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”
In Ezekiel 39:6 we are told that ‘God’, (many teach that this is a nuclear
retaliation, but I personally do not believe God will need man’s
devices) at this time, is also going to attack Gog in his homeland
and send fire on Magog (Europe) and on those who live in security
in the coastlands, and then they, the world, will know that He is
the Lord. In verses 7 and
8 the Lord God promises that He is going to make His Holy name known
in the midst of His people Israel,
and He will not let them profane His Holy name anymore. (the Third
Commandment, Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the
Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless
who takes His name in vain.) And the nations shall then know that I am the
Lord, the Holy One in Israel. In verse 8 the prophet Ezekiel prophesied that
surely these things are coming, and it shall be done, says the Lord
God. “This is ‘the day’
of which I have spoken,” and this is what God the Father had
related to several of His prophets to record regarding this spectacular
period in Daniels seventieth week.
In verses 9-20, God tells of the conditions in Israel
following this huge victory over Antichrist in Battle Two.
In
verses 17-20, the Lord God describes the feast for the birds and
beasts. In verses 21-29, just before the Day of the
Lord and from that day forward, God reveals His special new commitment
and relationship to His Jewish people, His New Covenant. As we look at these verses, try to feel and
absorb Gods’ love, His promises, and His deep desire for a like
response to His invitation from His people, the Israelites.
We read in Ezekiel 39:21-29, 21 “I will set My
glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My
judgment which I have executed, and My hand which
I have laid on them. 22 So the house of Israel
shall know that I am the Lord their God ‘from
that day forward’. 23 The Gentiles shall know
that the house of Israel
went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful
to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies,
and they all fell by the sword. 24 According to their uncleanness
and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them,
and hidden My face from them. 25 Therefore thus says the
Lord God: ‘Now I will bring back the captives
of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I
will be jealous for My holy name—26 after they have borne
their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful
to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one
made them afraid. 27 When I have brought them back from the
peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I
am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, 28 then they shall
know that I am the Lord their God, Who
sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them
back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. 29
And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for
I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of
Israel,’
says the Lord God.”
He is the Lord their God, and He promised that ‘from
that day forward’ He will
not hide His face from them anymore, “for I shall have
poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,
says the Lord God.”
This is what Ezekiel prophesied would take place immediately
prior to and throughout the length of the Day of the Lord wrath
judgments and what the conditions would be between God and His remnant
of Israelites for this ensuing time period.
On some of the previous
pages, ment |