Jacob’s Trouble continued
Once again we note Ezek 38:19, 20 as it describes one of the ways in which God will be revealed during this trouble.
“For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.”
An actual or literal earthquake of such mammoth proportions and intensity will take place in that selective area, that the birds, insects, fish, animals, and people will feel its effects reverberating all throughout the world. All will shake at God’s presence.
The symbolic fulfillment of Ezek 38:19, 20 however is this, “The violence begun there will spread like a cancer, as the armies assembled against the Lord’s people turn one upon another, “every man’s sword against his brother” so too will this same sentiment spread throughout the world, “so that the fish of the sea (the unrestrained masses of humanity), and the birds of the heavens (the powers of spiritual control, both the seen and the unseen), and the beasts of the field (Gentile governments of the world), and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains (governments, kingdoms of this world) shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and EVERY wall (every shelter or place of seeming security and refuge, every man-made institution and/or organization whether secular or religious) shall fall to the ground.”
The Dome of the Rock and the city of Jerusalem, both new and old, will be leveled to prepare the topography for the Temple platform in the Kingdom. When the Mount of Olives splits, the Holy Remnant will find the valley that opens to be a place of refuge and safety. They will rush into that valley and be protected, while all around will be utter destruction. God’s method will be similar to the Israelite's protection when the Red Sea opened and they crossed dry-shod in the Exodus. The “dry land” of the future will be the valley of safety between the two halves of the Mount of Olives.
Question: The end of Verse 19 defines the earthquake as being in the land of Israel, but Verses 20 and 21 sound as if the earthquake affects the whole earth. Doesn’t the qualification of Verse 19 apply to all three verses?
Answer: Yes. Zech 14:4, 5, 10, 11 confirms the selectivity.
“And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. 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 him… All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. The people shall dwell in it; and no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.”
Zech 14:10 and 11 shows that Jerusalem will be rebuilt, Gog and Magog will come down to Jerusalem; they will not be interested in Tiberias or Haifa, for example, but the main capital.
“The city shall be taken” (Zech 14:2)—what city? Jerusalem. All the land in that environs will be lifted up and the land completely reallocated. A literal earthquake will occur in the future as it was a literal earthquake in the days of Uzziah (Zech 14:5; Amos 1:1).
So specific shall the judgments be that near the end the inhabitants of earth will know positively that it is the Day of the Lord.
“Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come” (Joel 1:15). “And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward [to me in that day, saith the LORD] ” (Isa 8:21).
“And I will call for a sword against him (Gog) throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” (Ezek 38:21)
The particular intent is the destruction of Gog and those with him, as well as the unholy Jew, the “rebels” (Ezek 20:38) and not necessarily of Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish especially (the various peace-keeping forces on the scene in and around Israel at the time). “Every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” This statement indicates that utter confusion and panic will cause Gog’s own “sword,” the very weapons of destruction and violence, to be turned against one another. We are reminded of the Gideon-Midianite account where God gave Israel a great victory by causing the enemy to become so confused that they slaughtered each other.
We continue with our next post.
Once again we note Ezek 38:19, 20 as it describes one of the ways in which God will be revealed during this trouble.
“For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.”
An actual or literal earthquake of such mammoth proportions and intensity will take place in that selective area, that the birds, insects, fish, animals, and people will feel its effects reverberating all throughout the world. All will shake at God’s presence.
The symbolic fulfillment of Ezek 38:19, 20 however is this, “The violence begun there will spread like a cancer, as the armies assembled against the Lord’s people turn one upon another, “every man’s sword against his brother” so too will this same sentiment spread throughout the world, “so that the fish of the sea (the unrestrained masses of humanity), and the birds of the heavens (the powers of spiritual control, both the seen and the unseen), and the beasts of the field (Gentile governments of the world), and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains (governments, kingdoms of this world) shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and EVERY wall (every shelter or place of seeming security and refuge, every man-made institution and/or organization whether secular or religious) shall fall to the ground.”
The Dome of the Rock and the city of Jerusalem, both new and old, will be leveled to prepare the topography for the Temple platform in the Kingdom. When the Mount of Olives splits, the Holy Remnant will find the valley that opens to be a place of refuge and safety. They will rush into that valley and be protected, while all around will be utter destruction. God’s method will be similar to the Israelite's protection when the Red Sea opened and they crossed dry-shod in the Exodus. The “dry land” of the future will be the valley of safety between the two halves of the Mount of Olives.
Question: The end of Verse 19 defines the earthquake as being in the land of Israel, but Verses 20 and 21 sound as if the earthquake affects the whole earth. Doesn’t the qualification of Verse 19 apply to all three verses?
Answer: Yes. Zech 14:4, 5, 10, 11 confirms the selectivity.
“And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south. 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 him… All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. The people shall dwell in it; and no longer shall there be utter destruction, But Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.”
Zech 14:10 and 11 shows that Jerusalem will be rebuilt, Gog and Magog will come down to Jerusalem; they will not be interested in Tiberias or Haifa, for example, but the main capital.
“The city shall be taken” (Zech 14:2)—what city? Jerusalem. All the land in that environs will be lifted up and the land completely reallocated. A literal earthquake will occur in the future as it was a literal earthquake in the days of Uzziah (Zech 14:5; Amos 1:1).
So specific shall the judgments be that near the end the inhabitants of earth will know positively that it is the Day of the Lord.
“Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come” (Joel 1:15). “And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward [to me in that day, saith the LORD] ” (Isa 8:21).
“And I will call for a sword against him (Gog) throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” (Ezek 38:21)
The particular intent is the destruction of Gog and those with him, as well as the unholy Jew, the “rebels” (Ezek 20:38) and not necessarily of Sheba, Dedan, and Tarshish especially (the various peace-keeping forces on the scene in and around Israel at the time). “Every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” This statement indicates that utter confusion and panic will cause Gog’s own “sword,” the very weapons of destruction and violence, to be turned against one another. We are reminded of the Gideon-Midianite account where God gave Israel a great victory by causing the enemy to become so confused that they slaughtered each other.
We continue with our next post.
