The Study of Revelation

“And it (the “leanness”, pestilence spoken of in Verse 16 along with other natural events) will consume the glory of his (Gog’s) forest and of his fruitful field, both soul and body; and they will be as when a sick man wastes away. Then the rest of the trees of his forest will be so few in number that a child may write them.” (Isa 10:18, 19)

“Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and *leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel.” (Ezek 39:1, 2 KJV)

Only 1/6 of Gog will survive. The forces of Gog will come down like a cloud upon the tiny land of Israel, but when God delivers the Holy Remnant the “trees” of the “forest” of Gog will be decimated. Very few of the enemy will survive when God fights for His people as in days of old.

It should be understood that not all those who were residing in the Middle East at that time were actively engaged in the conflict. Tarshish, Sheba, and Dedan picture the bystanders or onlookers from Europe and the United States (Ezek. 38:13) possibly U.N. peace keeping forces still residing in the area following Israel’s last war with her neighbors (a war which Psa 83 indicates hasn’t taken place yet, but is even now upon the horizon).

Those who survive will be like the journalistic element; they will return to their homelands and give eyewitness accounts of the great drama. In other words, the survivors of Tarshish, Sheba, and Dedan will run back to their various nations, as will the survivors of Gog, so that the whole world will know something has happened in Israel. The enemy will come down from the north into Israel and surround Jerusalem. Hence most likely the allied forces, who will be eyewitnesses, will probably of had been pulled back and stationed south of Jerusalem when Gog attacks, nevertheless they too will suffer loses in this conflict.

In regards to Ezek 39:12 in which it is stated that it will take seven months for the remnant of Israel to bury the dead we also note in the following verse that “all the people of the land will be burying” the dead, the people of the land obviously being in reference others who likewise survived the great battle many of whom who reside in the Middle East.
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*leave but the sixth part of thee

“The various translations have different thoughts for this part of verse 2, not even agreeing with each other. For example, the King James margin has alternate thoughts, but note that the number six is there (although it is lacking in some other translations). “Six plagues” cannot be the correct thought because, according to the different prophets, more than six calamities will come upon the enemy host. The thought of only one sixth of the enemy surviving seems to be the most accurate based on parts of the Books of Isaiah and Zechariah. A tremendous horde will come against Israel, and this chapter later shows a huge number of bodies (carcasses) will require burial, so a five-sixths destruction ratio would seem to be correct. Of the enemy host (not of the onlookers, not of the peacekeeping force), only one-sixth will survive.”

Some translators disagree with this proposition concerning the sixth part altogether.

“And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel.” (Ezek 39:2 AV)

“In this text "turn thee back" is meaning to cause to come in, indicating the actual advance to the attack. The expression rendered in the Authorized Version "leave but the sixth part of thee” is made by a false etymology in which shasha was read as shashash, (a sixth), whereas the correct rendering should be "lead thee on" which confirms the earlier part of the verse.

“And I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel.” (Ezek 39:2 NKJV)

Regardless of the true meaning of this verse, Isa 10:18, 19 confirms the thought that there will indeed be survivors in Gog’s forces after the battle.

In our next post we will take a look at some of the text you supplied for further enlightenment.

“Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelite's be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.” (Rom 9:27)

Rom 9:27 is a quote from Isa 10:22.

God has always had a faithful remnant devoted to His cause, both within the natural house, Israel after the flesh, and in the spiritual (or Gospel) house. There are three incidents in which it is stated that only a remnant were saved or returned (to the Lord) out of the fleshly house. The first were those Israelite's, a remnant who returned from captivity in Babylon, the second were those Israelite’s, a remnant who at the Lord’s first advent were found possessed of the faith of Abraham, and were thus saved to the Gospel dispensation accepted by our Lord as members of the new house of sons (the spiritual house, John 1:11,12), and the third is that remnant of the fleshly house, which will be saved during the Time of Jacobs Trouble and who will make up the nucleus of the earthly phase of the kingdom.

It is specifically to this last class that we apply our text: “For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, a remnant of them will return; the destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness.” (Isa 10:22)
This verse suggests that a great majority of the Jews will die or be taken during Jacob’s Trouble and that the remnant who survives will be hand-picked and relatively small in number.

Zech 14:2 supports this thought: “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.”

“The destruction decreed [predicted, prophesied]” would be Jacob’s Trouble, the last holocaust experience, which God, in His providence, considers necessary for Israel to go through. The destruction will “overflow with righteousness”: (1) Blessings of the Kingdom will follow Jacob’s Trouble. (2) The Holy Remnant will be a righteous and joyful class, a fit nucleus for the Kingdom on the earthly plane. (3) God’s righteousness will be vindicated. When people in the Kingdom look back at God’s permission of evil, they will see that it was necessary for man’s ultimate good. The people will then have the answers to questions such as: Why did God permit Jesus, His dear Son, to suffer? Why did He permit Israel to go through so many hard experiences?

The “remnant” spoken of who are saved during this time are those only of the faith of Abraham, Israelite’s indeed, those who will recognize Jesus as Messiah, the rest will be weeded out for the time.

“I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; I will purge the rebels from among you (those not having the proper heart condition), and those who transgress against me…” (Ezek 20:37, 38)

The “rod” is based on the practice of tithing under the Law. As the animals passed by, every tenth one was pulled aside by a rod. Like that method, God will make the Jewish people pass under a figurative rod, and He will select the ones to comprise the Holy Remnant.

“I will bring you [Israel] into the bond of the covenant (the New Covenant)” Jer 31:31. As the Jews pass under the rod, God will select those (the Holy Remnant) who are to be brought into the New Covenant. Hence the “rod” is not only a counting device but a disciplinary rod, a rod of judgment. Those who successfully go through the experience will enter the bond of the New Covenant. All other Jews will die—temporarily.

The Apostle Paul having quoted Isa 10:22 in Rom 9:27-28 then to emphasize the fewness of the remnant adds in Verse 29, a quote from Isa, 1:9.

“Unless the Lord of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah”.

In other words, except for a small seed remnant, Israel would have been completely destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah. Isa 4:3, 4 brings out that the remaining seed class that is left alive after Jacob's Trouble has purged Israel will be called holy.

“And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.”

We are not to get the idea that these alone are the only Jews who will be ultimately saved, these are just those who will survive Jacobs Trouble due to their faithfulness to the Lord. Initially the New Covenant will start with only this little holy remnant class, but it will grow very rapidly to include all of Israel even as the Apostle Paul so eluded in Rom 11:26, 27:

“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

Thus ultimately under the general arrangements of the New Covenant all Israel will be saved. That is they will all be saved from the Adamic curse or condemnation which resides upon the world just as it does upon all mankind, by being raised from the tomb during the times of restitution of all things, and will have their blindness and ignorance of Messiah removed.

“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved (from the Adamic curse) AND to come to the knowledge of the truth (the truth about the Lord).” 1 Tim 2:3, 4

At which time they will all be placed on trial for life, this trial unlike the first in which all were judges in the one man (Adam) will consist of an individual trial in which each individual will be judged according to his or her own merits.

Another text which was mentioned:

“You shall be brought down, You shall speak out of the ground; Your speech shall be low, out of the dust; Your voice shall be like a medium’s, out of the ground; And your speech shall whisper out of the dust.” (Isa 29:4)

Verses 1-3 in this Chapter speak of God’s judgments against Israel all throughout their existence, in which he has continually encamped about them rendering judgements when deemed necessary.

Prophetically Verse 4 is a vision of God’s final judgement against them during the Time of Jacobs Trouble when He will bring down upon the land of Israel the “rod of his anger”, the Assyrian (Isa 10:5) Gog and his allies from the north. Having witness how Gog and his hoard decimated most of Europe and foreseeing their own impending destruction by this same great hoard they will be “brought down” (humbled), their speech no longer one of haughtiness and confidence in the their own might will be as one speaking from the dust, lowly and broken.

Nevertheless Verse 5 assures us that this great “multitude of terrible ones” will receive as they have given and in an instant (that is in the Lord’s time) they will be made as dust, “like chaff that passes away” upon the threshing floor.

And then there is Jeremiah 19:11

“And say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury.”

In the preceding Chapter the Lord used an illustration of a Potter and his works to illustrate Israel. Jeremiah was cause to visit a Potter and to observe his work viz.

“Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel!

The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.” (Verses 3-10)

“What impressed Jeremiah the most was the absolute dominance of the potter over his clay. He also marveled at his creative skills. After watching the potter Jeremiah went on to indicate that the nation of Judah, notwithstanding its boastful strength, was as fragile as the clay. They were as subject to the will of God as was the clay to the potter’s will. In the parable, somewhere in the potter’s operation the vessel became marred, out of shape. When this happened the potter took the vessel and kneaded the clay once again, for it was still soft, not having been fired. He took the clay, placed it onto the wheel and formed it anew.

Afterward, Jeremiah was instructed to warn the people that God was framing a disaster against them. “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now everyone from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” (Verse 11)

In the parable of the potter, there is the thought of construction. The marred clay, still soft, could be reshaped into a desirable form. In this parable, the evident theme is that of destruction.

Israel was so confirmed in sin and rebellion against the Lord that she seemed to be beyond any hope of recovery. Remolding was impossible, and being unfit for its designed use, there was no other course but to destroy it. What a solemn, striking symbol of Israel’s inflexibility, which resulted in the breaking up of her nationality, polity and religious system!

The elders or ancients who were called to witness the acted out parable were the elder statesmen of the people and the priests, representatives of the civil and ecclesiastical rulers. “Thus says the Lord: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. And go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you.” (Jer 19:1, 2) After explaining what the Lord would have them here (See verses 3-9) The Lord states to Jeremiah:

“Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury.” (Verses 10, 11)

Nevertheless according to the Apostle Paul’s statement in Rom 11:25-27 the Lord assures us that at the appointed time the Lord will regather the fragments of Israel and fashion them once again into a vessel of greater honor, saying:

“For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel UNTIL the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so (or then) all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, there shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.”

“Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts, “Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts.” (Isa 22:14)

This Chapter is a prophecy against “the valley of vision.” It concerns Judah. The “valley of vision” being in reference to that spoken of by the Prophet Ezekiel in Ezek 37:1-14.

“Judah was exultant, prosperous, and joyous but should have been paying attention to warnings of a coming judgment. Judah had seen the judgment come on the ten tribes through Sennacherib and was now gloating that they were spared, considering themselves favored of God. Instead they should have been repentant and gotten down on their knees. The time between the defeat of the ten tribes and the trouble on Judah in 606 B.C. was an opportunity for Judah to repent, but they failed to act.

“Thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.” Judah seemingly escaped certain judgments, but it was actually just a temporary reprieve.

Verses 1-3 are a spiritual picture. Down through history Catholicism has experienced many vicissitudes, but the system has seemingly weathered the storm. Both natural Israel and Catholicism have felt secure, protected, and safe, but judgment came and is coming.

In Verse 4 Isaiah is talking. He was attempting to communicate a warning to the people at large, but being joyous, celebrating, and satisfied in their own efforts, they did not have a hearing ear. So too in antitype the professing church today, both Mother (Catholics) and daughters (Protestants) are confident in their own efforts believing themselves to be rich and wealthy (both in the truth and in its spirit), and as such have need of nothing (Rev 3:17). They too lack the hearing ear.

“For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord God of hosts In the Valley of Vision— breaking down the walls and of crying to the mountain”. (Verse 5)

In the type, this was “a day of trouble” for Judah. In antitype it is “a day of trouble” for Christendom. The Temple was in Jerusalem, the capital city. And the Roman Catholic Church, located in Rome, the spiritual capital of the world, is considered to be the mother church. Doom is pending despite the festivities and rejoicing. Similarly, Babylon was feasting and felt secure, even though the enemy was just outside the broad walls, when suddenly there appeared handwriting on the wall and capture.

“And in that day (that is the days before the day of trouble came) the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sackcloth. But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” (Verses 12-13)

The people should have mourned and repented, praying for deliverance. Instead they feasted with joy and celebration.

“Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die” was Isaiah’s way of expressing that the people were just interested in having a good time and were not listening to his warning. The people did not really believe they would die the next day. The people should have been weeping, but instead Isaiah wept (verse 4), for despite their temporary deliverance from the Assyrians, he foresaw the coming destruction.

In the antitype the professing church today likewise refuses to heed the warning of the impeding trouble coming and to repent and so they too will be caught unawares.

“Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts, “Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts.” (Verse 14)

Isaiah knew the judgment against Judah was irrevocable, but he would not live to see it fulfilled. He died having faith that the prophecy would come true. Judah was given a space (Chronos: 360 years) to repent as was Mystical Babylon (Rev 2:21 360 years from the beginning of the Reformation in August 1517 A.D. to August 1877 A.D. when Babylon was cast off). After the opportunity to repent is ignored, the judgment (with both, the nominal fleshly house and the nominal spiritual house) becomes irrevocable.