Prophecies
of Jesus Christ's 2nd Coming
Part I: General Survey of Old Testament
2nd Coming Prophecies (continued)
Jeremiah 3:11-18, "And the Lord said
unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more
than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward
the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith
the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you:
for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger
for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast
transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered
thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye
have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. Turn, O backsliding
children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and
I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and
I will bring you to Zion [This is a scary verse, "one of
a city and two of a family". Imagine one survivor of New
York City. The World Trade Towers were just destroyed by
Arab terrorists flying in two hijacked airliners. Almost
5,000 people died, it's too early for an accurate body-count
at this point. That's nothing compared to what this tiny
verse is saying, and this verse is a part of God's Word.]:
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which
shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. [Do you
really want your neighbors and friends to have to wait,
coming through all that's predicted, or maybe not coming
through it alive--just so they can have good pastors then,
when they could have them now?] And it shall come to pass,
when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those
days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of
the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind:
neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit
it; neither shall that be done any more. At that time they
shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord [cf. Zechariah
14:9]; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to
the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk
any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In those
days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel,
and they shall come together out of the land of the north
to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your
fathers." This prophecy shows the regathering of both the
house of Judah and house of Israel back into Palestine and
Jerusalem and the Lord living in Jerusalem. He promises
to put good pastors over all those who are regathered. Just
as in Ezekiel 36, we see different elements of this regathering
described, as the Lord sets up his millennial kingdom, the
Kingdom of God, over the whole earth, starting in Jerusalem.
Let's see where it all begins and look at a few more details
before we get into the chronological timing events. Turn
now to Daniel 7:13-14. Daniel 7:13-14, "I saw in the night
visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with
the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and
they brought him near before him. And there was given him
dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations,
and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that
which shall not be destroyed." This is a vision
Daniel was given of the very coronation ceremony of Jesus
Christ, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus is the future King of the
World, as we shall come to see from the Scriptures contained
in God's Word. Turn now to Psalm 96:11-13.
Psalm 96:11-13, "Let the heavens rejoice, and let
the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall
all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: for he
cometh, for he cometh, to judge the earth: he shall judge
the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth."
Isaiah 40:3-5, 10-11, "The voice of him that crieth
in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make
straight a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked
shall be make straight, and the rough places plain: [cf.
Rev. 16:17-18, 20, "And the seventh angel poured out his
vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the
temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And
there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there
was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon
the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great...And every
island fled away, and the mountains were not found."] and
the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it...Behold,
the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall
rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work
before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he
shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his
bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young."
Here again, we see half a verse, in verse 3 of
Isaiah 40 devoted to our Lord's first coming, prophecying
about John the Baptist. Then from verse 3b through 5, and
10-11 deals with his 2nd coming.
Micah 1:3-4, "For, behold, the Lord cometh forth
out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the
high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten
under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before
the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep
place." Pretty dramatic picture of the very power
of the Lord's presence upon the rock matter that makes up
the mountains. Remember the description of Mount Sinai when
the Lord God came down on it to deliver the Ten Commandments,
how the mountain smoked? Nothing different here. Curious
what Jesus looks like right now? Turn to Revelation 1:13-18
and read it for yourself. Jesus glows brighter than the
sun in its full strength. Daniel 12:2-3 says we Christians
in the resurrection to immortality will be like Jesus, glowing
like the very stars. Again, look it up and read it. 1 John
3:2 says we will be like Jesus is right now. Keep this in
mind when we get to Zechariah 14. Turn now to Isaiah 26:19-21.
Isaiah 26:19-21, "Thy dead men shall live, together
with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that
dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the
earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou
into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself
as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be
overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place
to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:
the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more
cover her slain." There are some pretty awesome
statements made in these three short verses. First, in verse
19 we see this is one of the two major resurrections predicted
in the Bible. Verse 21 shows it's the first resurrection
to immortality, since this verse shows it's the 2nd coming
of Jesus Christ. Verse 20 shows "my people" are somehow
hidden from the devastation to come upon the earth, predicted
in verse 21. Verse 21 shows not only that the Lord comes
back, but on this particular coming, he's coming to punish
the inhabitants of the earth, and that the earth shall "disclose
her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." To not cover
your slain indicates the slaughter will be so great that
normal burial won't be possible. A powerful lot is being
said in these three short verses. Turn now to Isaiah 9:6-7.
Isaiah 9:6-7 "For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given: and the government shall
be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince
of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there
shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his
kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment
and with justice form henceforth even for ever. The zeal
of the Lord of hosts will perform this." Just half
a verse relates to Jesus' first coming, 6b and 7 relate
to Jesus 2nd coming and his attributes and heavenly titles.
Anyone who doubts that Jesus is also God need only look
at these titles--The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 11:1-16, "And there shall come forth
a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow
out of his roots: and the spirit of the Lord shall rest
upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit
of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the
fear of the Lord: and shall make him of quick understanding
in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge
after the sight of his eyes neither reprove after the hearing
of his ears: but with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he
shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with
the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness
shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle
of his reins. [these next verses, 6-16 describe the beginning
of his millennial kingdom being set up on earth at his glorious
return] The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the
leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the
young lion and the fatling together; and a little child
shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their
young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat
straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on
the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his
hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of
the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall
stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles
seek: and his rest shall be glorious. [Now verses 11-16
get into a little of the mop-up battle to take place after
Jesus' return. It mentions two different tribes of Israel
here, one of which has not been seen since the deportation
of Israel in 721 B.C.--one of the "Ten Lost Tribes of Israel"
according to the Jews.] And it shall come to pass in that
day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time
to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left,
from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from
Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and
from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign
for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel,
and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four
corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart,
and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall
not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they
shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the
west; they shall spoil them of the east together; they shall
lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon
shall obey them. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the
tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall
he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in
the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there
shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which
shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in
the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt."This
next one shows a Babylonian system existing at the end time,
and I don't think it has anything to do with the ancient
people of Iraq or the territory of ancient or modern Iraq.
We will come to see this later when we get into the book
of Revelation, chapters 17 & 18.
Isaiah 13:1-19, "The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah
the son of Amoz did see. Lift up a banner upon the high
mountain, exalt the voice unto them, shake the hand, that
they may go into the gates of the nobles. I have commanded
my sanctified ones, I have also called my mighty ones for
mine anger, even them that rejoice in my highness. The noise
of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people;
a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together:
the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle. They
come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the
Lord, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the
whole land. Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand;
it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore
shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
and they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold
of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth:
they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be
as flames. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both
with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and
he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the
stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not
give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going
forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine [that
was Isaiah 13:10, which directly cross-references with Revelation
16:10 and Matthew 24:29. Rev. 16:10, "And the fifth angel
poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his
kingdom was full of darkness: and they gnawed their tongues
for pain." Matthew 24:29, "Immediately after the tribulation
of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall
not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken..."].
And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked
for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the
proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the
terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold;
even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. [i.e. men would
become as scarce as a bar of gold is for the average person
to possess.] Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the
earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the
Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger [Matthew
24:29 again.]. And it shall be as the chased roe, and as
a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn
to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.
Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every
one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their
children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes;
their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.
Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall
not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight
in it. [The Medes are now living and make up some of the
races living in the C.I.S. states that were under Soviet
domination around the Caspian sea region and beyond, and
into Russia as well, so this may refer to the Russian people
being stirred against this "Babylonian Empire" of the end
times.] Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces;
and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their
eye shall not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of
kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall
be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah." This
is an end-time prophecy for sure, dealing with and tying
directly into the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. Turn quickly
now to Revelation 18 to see this Babylonish system being
referred to, and that system having just been described
in Revelation 17 is not one coming out of Iraq as we shall
see later. Revelation 18:2, "And he cried mightily with
a strong voice, saying, 'Babylon the great is fallen, is
fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the
hold of every foul spirit..." Do you notice how these prophecies
are taken from the midst of prophetic texts, as if they
are all scattered around these texts in random? God inspired
their random placement, and described how some Bible doctrines
are to be discerned in Isaiah 28:9-10, which states, "Whom
shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand
doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn
from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept; precept
upon precept; line upon line; line upon line; here a little,
and there a little..." In these Old Testament prophecies,
we have been garnering these details "here a little, there
a little, precept upon precept"--like scripture added to
like scripture. We will come to see these Scriptures all
tie into a very unified description of the end-time battle
of Armageddon and the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, given
in the book of Revelation.
Isaiah 30:26-33, "Moreover the light of the moon
shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun
shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day
that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth
the stroke of their wound [cf. Revelation 16:8-9, "And the
fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power
was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were
scorched with great heat, and blashemed the name of God,
which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not
to give him the glory."] Behold, the name of the Lord cometh
from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof
is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue
as a devouring fire: and his breathe, as an overflowing
stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the
nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle
in the jaws of the people, causing them to err. Ye shall
have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept;
and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to
come into the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of
Israel. And the Lord shall cause his glorious voice to be
heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with
the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring
fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones [cf.
Revelation 16:21, "And there fell upon men a great hail
out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent:
and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail;
for the plague thereof was exceeding great." Also see Revelation
11:15-19, esp. vs. 19.]. For through the voice of the Lord
shall the Assyrian be beaten down, which smote with a rod
[some historians believe that parts of the German race are
directly related to and descended from the ancient Assyrian
race. This would mean that end-time 2nd coming prophecies
that mention Assyria could be talking about Germany. Proof
isn't conclusive on this, though, like in so many fine details
of prophecy, we'll have to wait and see--from a safe vantage
point, I sincerely hope.]. And in every place where the
grounded staff shall pass, which the Lord shall lay upon
him, it shall be with tabrets and harps: and in battles
of shaking will he fight with it. For Tophet is ordained
of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it
deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood;
the breath of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth
kindle it." Isaiah 24:1-23 is another Day of the
Lord prophecy. In all these Old Testament prophecies we're
looking at, the general description of the battle is given,
but the order of the events isn't clear, nor is the timing
of the events. After we get finished viewing this survey
of Old Testament "Day of the Lord" prophecies, we'll zoom
in on the two major books of the Bible that show the historic
context of when these prophecies are to come to pass. Then
in Part III we'll look at Revelation 16 & 19 and start
to see a clear picture emerge of what these prophecies are
showing, and the shear magnitude of this event. After that
we'll give the description of this event given by Jesus
in Matthew 24.
Isaiah 24:1-23, "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth
empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down,
and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall
be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the
servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her
mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with
the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usary,
so with the giver of usary to him. The land shall be utterly
emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this
word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth
and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof;
because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance,
broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse
devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate:
therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few
men left [cf. Revelation 16:8-9, which we've already read.].
The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted
do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them
that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall
not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter
to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down:
every house is shut up, that no man may come in. There is
crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the
mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation,
and the gate is smitten with destruction. When thus it shall
be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall
be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning
grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their
voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they
shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify ye the Lord
in the fires [valleys], even the name of the Lord God of
Israel in the isles of the sea. From the uttermost part
of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous.
But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! The treacherous
dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers
have dealt very treacherously. Fear, and the pit, and the
snare, are upon thee, O inhabitants of the earth. And it
shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of
the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh out
of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for
the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of
the earth do shake [cf. Revelation 16:18-21 pinpoints this
as the time of the seventh last plague of the seventh trumpet,
the very time of Jesus Christ's arrival and the resurrection
of the righteous dead in Christ.]. The earth is utterly
broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is
moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like
a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the
transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall
fall, and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that
day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones
that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered
in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after
many days shall they be visited [or, found wanting]. Then
the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when
the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem,
and before his ancients gloriously." This is a
definite picture of the period of the seven last plagues,
filling in some of the details of that scary event which
is believed to occur within the span of one or a few days
at most--as Jesus and the saints are descending from the
upper atmosphere. The book of Revelation, chapters 16 and
19 fill in the time sequence of this awesome event. As we
see, the Lord gave the Old Testament prophets the finer
details of the events. His gave the timing sequence of events
to Daniel and the apostle John (in Revelation). We have
a few more prophecies to go in the Old Testament before
we look at Daniel and Revelation to see the actual sequence
of events and where we are in the historic context of all
this. We'll turn now to Isaiah 33.
Isaiah 33:7-17, "Behold, their valiant ones shall
cry without: the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly.
The highways lie waste, the wayfaring man ceaseth: he hath
broken the covenant, he hath despised the cities, he regardeth
no man. The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed
and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and
Carmel shake off their fruits. Now will I arise, saith the
Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.
Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your
breath, as fire, shall devour you. And the people shall
be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they
be burned in the fire. Hear, ye that are far off, what I
have done; and, ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised
the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring
fire? [i.e. who will dwell with the Lord, Jesus Christ,
who is a devouring fire?] who among us shall dwell with
everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously [in righteousness],
and speaketh uprightly [uprightnesses]; he that despiseth
the gain of oppressions [deceits], that shaketh his hands
from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing
of blood [bloods], and shutteth his eyes from evil; He shall
dwell on high [heights or high places]: his place of defence
shall be munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his
waters shall be sure. ["munitions of rocks" is thought by
some Bible scholars to refer to Petra, a place of safety.
There are two interpretations as to who ends up in this
region or place of safety called "munitions of rocks". One
interpretation amongst some evangelical circles is that
those who are allowed to dwell there are the righteous Jews
dwelling in Israel. Others interpret those who are allowed
to dwell there are Christians, the Christian Church, due
to the description of verse 15--he that walketh righteously,
speaketh uprightly, despiseth the gain of oppressions, shaketh
his hands from holding of bribes, stoppeth his ears from
hearing of blood, shutteth his eyes from seeing evil--this
some interpret as the basic qualities of a Christian. This
sort of messes up the "Rapture" theory, if Christians are
to be protected in a place of safety, but then again, maybe
the Lord will "Rapture" the church to the "munitions of
rocks" instead of heaven. Our focus as Christians is to
live up to verse 15 in the power of the Holy Spirit, not
through our own ability, and to focus on the job the Lord
has given us to accomplish (Matthew 28:18-20; 24:14; Acts
1:6-9), and trust him for whatever protection we're to receive.
As far as I'm concerned, we as Christians waste far too
much of our time on rapture or safety theories and not enough
time trying to do the Lord's will for us in our lives. 99
percent of all Christians who have ever lived are in the
grave or will be, and will be coming up in the resurrection
of the righteous at the Lord's return, never having been
raptured or put in a place of safety. Time to get the proper
perspective on this subject, and then get off it entirely.
We have a job to do. Let the Lord worry about how, when
and where he's gonna protect us. He's capable, don't you
think?]. Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they
shall behold the land that is very far off. [Interestingly
enough the narrow entrance of Petra is about 50 miles from
Jerusalem as the crow flies.]"
Zechariah 6:12-13, "And speak unto him, saying,
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose
name is The Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place,
and he shall build the temple of the Lord: Even
he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear
the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne: and the
counsel of peace shall be between them both." As
we see again, verse 12 describes Jesus Christ in his first
coming. Verse 13 gets into his second coming.
Zechariah 9:10-17, "Rejoice greatly, O
daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold,
thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation;
lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal
of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim,
and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be
cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and
his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the
river even to the ends of the earth. As for thee also, by
the blood of thy covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners
out of the pit wherein is no water. Turn you to the strong
hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that
I will render double unto thee; When I have bent Judah for
me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons,
O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the
sword of a mighty man. And the Lord shall be seen over them,
and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord
God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds
of the south. The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they
shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall
drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall
be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. And
the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock
of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown,
lifted up as an ensign upon his land. For how great is his
goodness, and how great is his beauty! Corn shall make the
young men cheerful, and new wine the maids." Again,
one verse, verse 9 describes Jesus Christ's first coming,
and his triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey
the foal of a donkey, just before his crucifixion. Verses
10-17 describe final elements of his second coming, as he
uses Ephraim and Judah in mop-up operations against their
enemies. In one previous prophecy we saw he uses these same
two tribes to "fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines.
Now it is against "thy sons, O Greece." For some evangelical
denominations, Jews and Messianic Jews all these events
fall into the symbolic meaning of the Feast of Trumpets.
For others, they carry no such significance. Each to his
own. Let's allow each to his own sincere beliefs in these
secondary matters of fine interpretation without vexing
each other, which goes against unity in the body of Christ.
Next in Zechariah 12:1-9, these same Feast of Trumpets analogies
hold true for some--and then in Zechariah 12:10-14 is seen
by some again to be a literal enactment of the Day of Atonement,
just after the Lord's glorious return. And the Day of Atonement
does follow right after the Feast of Trumpets. Some see
this significance in these verses, and others don't. Again,
no big deal, each to his own. It won't change the events
themselves, attaching or not attaching significance on specific
Hebrew Holy Days.
In these verses in Zechariah 12:1-9, the reaction of the
"governors of Judah" and "the house of David" is described,
their reaction to the coming of the Messiah in great power
to save them. Jesus has come and set them free. Now they
fight like they never fought before. Try to picture the
scene as you read this. Zechariah 12:1-9, "The burden
of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which
stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation
of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all
the people round about, when they shall be in the siege
both against Judah and against Jerusalem. [This is the same
event as what is described in Zechariah 14, but from a slightly
different vantage point.] And in that day will I make Jerusalem
a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves
with it shall be cut to pieces, though all the people of
the earth be gathered together against it. In that day,
saith the Lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment,
and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon
the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people
with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in
their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength
in the Lord of hosts their God. In that day will I make
the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the
wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall
devour all the people round about, on the right hand and
on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her
own place, even in Jerusalem.
The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that
the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants
of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. In
that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as
David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel
of the Lord before them. And it shall come to pass in that
day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come
against Jerusalem. [These verses 1-9 directly cross-reference
into Zechariah 14:1-15 which we will get into shortly.]
Now, verses 10-14, which tie into the theme of the Day of
Atonement, which the Jews call The Fast. Jesus' sacrificed
atoned for the sins of mankind (John 3:16). He is the embodiment
of the Day of Atonement. Now the Jews in the whole nation
of Israel hold a fast honoring Jesus' atoning sacrifice,
recognizing him as the one they pierced, and thus as their
Messiah, for the first time in their long history. Just
as the Day of Atonement comes right after the Feast of Trumpets,
so this national fast comes right on the heals of Jesus
Christ's 2nd coming. For some, these verses signify a modern
or prophecied fulfillment of the Day of Atonement. Zechariah
12:10-14, "And I will pour upon the house of David, and
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and
of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they
have pierced, and they shall mourn [Hebrew term for fasting]
for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be
in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for
his firstborn. In that day shall there be a great mourning
in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley
of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart;
the family of the house of David apart, and their wives
apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their
wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and
their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their
wives apart; all the families that remain, every family
apart, and their wives apart." One of the requirements
of fasting for the Jews was that they weren't to have relations
with their wives while fasting. This is undoubtedly a national
day of fasting being described and prophecied here. The
symbolism of Atonement continues in Zechariah 13:1-6.
Zechariah 13:1-6, "In that day there shall be a
fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants
of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness. And it shall come
to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will
cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they
shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets
and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land. [One interpretation
for Atonement, attached to Leviticus 16's Atonement ceremony,
of putting the Azazel goat out into the wilderness, is that
just after the Messiah's coming Satan is put away, and the
sins of Israel are covered. In his first coming, the power
of Satan was broken for those coming under the blood of
Christ, symbolized by the blood of the sacrificed goat in
Leviticus 16. Just after Jesus 2nd coming, it shows us in
Revelation 20:1-3 that Satan is put away, locked up, and
all his demons with him, as Zechariah 13 shows. This chapter
also shows the end of false religion. Let's pick up in verse
3.] And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy,
then his father and his mother that begat him shall say
unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in
the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that
begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
And is shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets
shall be ashamed every one of his vision, when he hath prophesied;
neither shall they wear a rough garment to deceive: but
he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man
taught me to keep cattle from my youth. And one shall say
unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he
shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house
of my friends." This theme on a grander scale is
reflected in Revelation 20:1-3, where Satan himself is locked
away for the whole period of the 1000 year reign of Jesus
Christ. As Satan is locked away, so are the demons. And
as Zechariah 13:1-6 shows, those that continue to teach
religious lies are killed as well. This period of time is
just after the return of Jesus Christ. In Revelation 19
the 2nd coming is depicted, and in Revelation 20:1-3, this
putting away of Satan is depicted, just after Jesus' return.
In Zechariah 13:7 is a prophecy about Jesus just before
his crucifixion, and then verses 8-9 give an overview of
the total destruction to come on the people living in the
area of Palestine, the Jews, during the tribulation period
leading up to the 2nd coming. Zachariah 13:7-9,
"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man
that is my fellow, saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd,
and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand
upon the little ones. And it shall come to pass,
that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein
shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will
refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold
is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them:
I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord
is my God." At the end of this trying period comes
Zechariah 14:1-15, the 2nd coming, to rescue those being
tried and refined as silver and gold. While the actual timing
elements of the 2nd coming are very well laid out in the
book of Revelation, some of the best descriptions of that
event occur in these Old Testament prophecies, and Zechariah
14 is one of those.
Zechariah 14:1-15, "Behold, the day of the Lord
cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle;
and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and
the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth
into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not
be cut off from the city. [As Revelation 19:11-21 shows,
Jesus is returning with the army of God (which if you study
further on, is made up of those saints just made immortal
cf. 1 Cor. 15:49-54). He is descending to earth on a white
horse, as are all the saints--the army of God. Zechariah
14 picks up the story as he alights on the top of the Mount
of Olives.] Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against
those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And
his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives,
which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of
Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east
and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley;
and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north,
and half of it toward the south. And ye shall flee to the
valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains
shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled
from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of
Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints
with thee. [That's us, folks! ] And it shall come to pass,
in that day, that the light shall not be clear nor dark:
But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord,
not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening
time it shall be light [cf. Joel 2:1-11 describes this battle
as well.] And it shall be in that day, that living waters
shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former
[or eastern] sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea:
in summer and winter shall it be [cf. Ezekial 47:1-12--the
land of Israel gets a new river system]. And the Lord shall
be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one
Lord, and his name one. All the land shall be turned as
a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall
be lifted up and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's
gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate,
and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.
[Geba is about 10 miles north of Jerusalem, Rimmon is about
30 miles south of Jerusalem. The mount of Olives splitting
and the two halves moving north and south has created a
giant plain on top of the mountain range Jerusalem sits
on top of. So what is being stated in verse 10 is that the
Lord has just created a flat plain on top of a mountain
range, and this will become the foundation of the Jerusalem
of the Millennium, the future capital of the King of the
world, Jesus Christ [vs 9]. As Jesus in his radiance glows
brighter than the sun [Rev. 1:13-18] and we will glow like
the stars [Daniel 12:1-3], this future Jerusalem will be
seen glowing in the night for miles around, a forty mile
long city, five to ten miles in width running east and west,
40 miles long running north and south, on top of a mountain
range.] And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no
more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite
all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; their
flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,
and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their
tongue shall consume away in their mouth. [An apt description
of what happens to a human who stands in front of the radiance
of Jesus Christ in all his glory, and perhaps the saints
as well, as they shine as the stars of heaven. In John Hershey's
famous book Heroshima a Japanese anti-aircraft
gunner in a gun-emplacement on one of the mountains overlooking
the city happened to be looking down into the city when
the atomic bomb went off. The shear intensity of the light
of the fireball caused his eyes to melt in their sockets.
This seems to be what's being described in Zechariah 14:12.]
And it shall come to pass in that day, that a tumult from
the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every
one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise
up against the hand of his neighbour. And Judah also shall
fight at Jerusalem [cf. Zechariah 12:1-9]; and the wealth
of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together,
gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance. And so
shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel,
and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these
tents, as this plague."
This first section has just given most of the major Scriptures
in the Old Testament that describe the 2nd coming of Jesus
Christ in power and glory. Part II will contain a description
of the Scriptures that give us the historic context of where
we are right now in prophecy. Part III will then go on to
lay out the specific timing order of these events as they
unfold as the seven last plagues, and Jesus Christ's 2nd
coming.
