All Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV) of the Bible unless otherwise noted.
Introduction
In Part 1: The Coming Kingdom and Part 2: The Prophetic Pattern of the Ancient Jewish Wedding of the Essentials teaching, The Return of Jesus Christ, I provided the necessary Biblical context for understanding the prophetic timeline of the Lord’s return. The Essentials teaching, Death and Resurrection, also provides helpful supplemental information for this. I will now briefly lay out this timeline before expounding upon aspects of the latter stages of it.
- Rapture — the Rapture of the church, the bride of Christ, is imminent which means it can happen at any time. The church era believers who have already fallen asleep (physically died) will be resurrected at this time. I covered the Rapture in the Death and Resurrection and The Return of Jesus Christ—Part 2: The Prophetic Pattern of the Ancient Jewish Wedding Essentials teachings.
- Tribulation — sometime after the Rapture, the 7-year tribulation period detailed in chapters six to eighteen of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ (hereafter simply, “Revelation”) will transpire. This period is generally not a focus of the Essentials series.
- Millennial Kingdom — the tribulation period will end with the return of Jesus Christ at which time He will establish His Millennial Kingdom upon the earth after imprisoning Satan in the “bottomless pit” or Hell during this 1,000 year period. (Isaiah 14:15; Revelation 20:1–3). The Old Testament believers and the tribulation believers who physically died during the period will be resurrected at the onset of the Kingdom.
- Judgement — At the end of the 1,000 year Kingdom, Satan will be released. He will gather a large army to attack Jerusalem. God will quickly destroy them and they will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone forevermore. After this, the unbelieving dead will be raised for judgement.
- New Heaven and Earth — The holy city, New Jerusalem, including the tabernacle of God, will descend from heaven and God will dwell with the saints forevermore. Concerning this, the apostle John wrote, “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22).
The Warning
Now is a good time to further preface this Essentials teaching by reiterating the warning that John gave near the end of Revelation:
For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (22:18–19)
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, John inserted this warning to stress the seriousness of the judgement to come (wrath of “the plagues”) for unbelievers and the glory of the new earth (majesty of the “holy city”) to come for believers. Those who would foolishly endeavor to add or take away from this book—or any aspect of the word of God for that matter—are actually not serious about Him (faithless) and unworthy of the glory to come.
Heavenly Preparation
Jesus first came like a lamb but He will return as a lion. The real church that has endured wickedness with vexed righteous souls and blessed despite being persecuted for two millennia will reign over the earth with Him. There will be a new regime of righteousness and it is fast approaching.
What is commonly misunderstood about the 7-year tribulation period is that it is not only a time of judgement for Israel and the world, but it is actually an artillery barrage from the Lion before He launches His devastating attack. In many ways, the book of Joshua (Yehoshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus) contains typology that foreshadows Revelation. Satan, in his deception, uses the disarray of this time to mount his attack against the Most High God with his unholy trinity of the Dragon (anti-God), the Beast (anti-Christ), and the False Prophet (anti-Spirit). But before this, we are given an important glimpse into a ceremony in heaven that precedes this Godly invasion. Let’s step into it:
And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a scroll written inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?” And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it.
So I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open and read the scroll, or to look at it. But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.”
And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.
Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:1–10)
This scroll has been adequately described by Bible teachers as the title deed to the earth. By enduring the cross, the Lamb earned the right to “take the scroll, and to open its seals.” The seals unleash the artillery barrage of judgements that are the prelude to the Lion returning to take full possession of what is now lawfully His.
Notice here that the saints have been made kings and priests to God. This was God’s intention going all the way back to His instructions to Moses:
And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘… Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’” (Exodus 19:3, 5–6)
Jesus revealed through the Parable of the Talents that the faithful will reign during His Kingdom (see Matthew 25:14–30; Luke 19:11–27). The apostle Peter’s first letter declares that we have this status now, even though we have not yet realized it on earth:
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1 Peter 2:9)
The invading Lion will be accompanied by His church which will subsequently reign across the globe.
The Winepress of the Wrath of God
At the end of the tribulation period there is a culmination of preparatory events for the final confrontation between all the (deceived) nations of the Earth, led by Satan, and an invading Jesus Christ. An angel disclosed to John:
“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.” (Revelation 17:12–14)
When John later saw a vision of the attacking Jesus Christ, he noted that, “He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16).
This confrontation begins with the sixth bowl judgement:
Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. …
And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were noises and a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth. Now the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath. Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hail from heaven fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great. (Revelation 16:12–14, 16–21)
Here we have the sixth and seventh bowl judgements near the very end of the tribulation. Notice that it is God who dries up the Euphrates. It is His plan to draw them into “the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 19:15). The winepress of the wrath of God is a term used several times to depict the final judgement that God has prepared for the Lord Jesus Christ to execute when He will tread over His enemies in anger and fury (Isaiah 63:3). The parenthetical chapter of Revelation 14 reveals the heavenly preparations for this event:
And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.” So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs. (Revelation 14:17–20)
Here we can see that God has a battle plan to destroy His enemies.
Satan will gather his armies in the Jezreel Valley or Valley of Megiddo (Armageddon in English) which is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) north of Jerusalem. There is no such thing as the battle of Armageddon. This is simply a staging ground for an attack on southern Israel (ancient Judea) and Jerusalem. As we shall see, the battleground will stretch across Southern Israel and Southern Jordan. 1,600 furlongs is 200 miles which is roughly the distance from Megiddo, Israel to Petra, Jordan or from Jerusalem to Aqaba in Southern Jordan.
The highlight of this final battle is the national salvation of Israel. The following prophecy from the apostle Paul clarifies this and also provides a helpful framework for understanding this scenario:
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 all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.” (Romans 11:25–27)
Paul was referencing the following prophecy from Isaiah:
Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice. He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
So shall they fear
The name of the LORD from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.“The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgressions in Jacob,”
Says the LORD.“As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.” (Isaiah 59:15b–21)
Notably, Isaiah gave us a picture of the Lord Jesus arming Himself for battle, preparing to launch His invasion.
Paul noted, “blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” The “in part” points to the fact that individual Jews can and do follow Jesus now (in the church era) and are thus part of the true church. The nation of Israel, however, will remain blind to the Messiah until after the Rapture, the climax of the church age.
There is an interesting dichotomy between Paul stating that Jesus (the Deliverer) will “come out of Zion, and … turn away ungodliness from Jacob,” and Isaiah declaring that He (the Redeemer) will “come … to those who turn from transgressions in Jacob.” How do we reconcile this? Paul’s translation of Isaiah implies that Jesus may woo the nation to Him—away from “ungodliness” to faith in Him—through an action He takes on their behalf “out of Zion,” whereas Isaiah paints the same picture, but with a different brush—Jesus comes to a nation that is finally ready to receive Him.
This brings us to God’s declaration after the supernatural destruction of Gog and his multinational invading force in the mountains of Northern Israel, as depicted by Ezekiel in the 38th and 39th chapters of prophetic book:
"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. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward. 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. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.
“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—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. 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, 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. 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.” (Ezekiel 39:21–29)
Here God says that, “the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward.” This leads me to conclude that this is the point in time at which God will remove Israel’s blindness. Moreover, God’s declaration implies that the Gentiles will also recognize that God is reengaging His focus on Israel.
The angel Gabriel told Daniel that the Antichrist (“the prince who is to come”) will “confirm a covenant with many for one week” (Daniel 9:27a; one week equals seven years in that context) and it is this covenant which marks the start of the 7-year tribulation period. It is curious that Ezekiel mentions that Israel will use the weapons from the destroyed armies for energy for seven years (39:9–10). The destruction of Gog’s invading armies could be the event that leads to the Antichrist confirming a covenant with many for seven years. Perhaps a side benefit of God’s action on behalf of Israel is an unceasing energy source in a time of global chaos.
Isaiah prophesied that this covenant with the Antichrist will be a covenant of death:
Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.”Therefore thus says the LORD GOD:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily.
Also I will make justice the measuring line,
And righteousness the plummet;
The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
Your covenant with death will be annulled,
And your agreement with Sheol will not stand;
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
Then you will be trampled down by it.
As often as it goes out it will take you;
For morning by morning it will pass over you,
And by day and by night;
It will be a terror just to understand the report.” (Isaiah 28:14–19)
Isaiah tells us that this covenant will be annulled and followed by an “overflowing scourge” that will terrorize the Jews. This “overflowing scourge” will be a time of judgement from God upon the Jewish people. Concerning this, Gabriel told Daniel:
“Then he [Antichrist] shall confirm a covenant with many for one week [7-year tribulation in this context];
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.” (Daniel 9:27)
The Hebrew word transliterated, samem, and translated here in English as “desolate” means “to be desolate, be appalled, stun, stupefy in horror.” In this context, the Jews will likely be stunned in horror by what the Antichrist will do. Jesus warned the Jews that the Antichrist’s “abomination of desolation,” will start the great tribulation (the second half of the tribulation) and that they should then, without hesitation, flee Jerusalem:
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. … For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24:15–16, 21)
What exactly is this abomination of desolation? Based on what Paul told us, it is mostly likely the Antichrist himself, entering the holy place of the temple and declaring himself God:
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, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4)
The Jewish people will suffer extreme persecution during the latter half of the tribulation. Concerning this, Zechariah prophesied:
“And it shall come to pass in all the land,”
Says the LORD,
“That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,
But one-third shall be left in it:
I will bring the one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ”The LORD is my God.’" (Zechariah 13:8–9)
Returning to the above passage from Ezekiel, in the second paragraph, God said that He “will bring back the captives of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel … 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.” The great tribulation will be a crucible of judgement for unfaithful Israel leading to a final reconciliation of the nation with the reality that Jesus Christ is Lord.
A dual examination of the following passages from the book of Daniel and Revelation reveals the events in the angelic realm that will lead to this dramatic persecution of the Jews:
And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 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. …
Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 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. 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. 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. 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. (Revelation 12:7–9, 13–17)
Then the king [Antichrist] shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
"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. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. … But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 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.
“At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.” (Daniel 11:36–41, 44–45; 12:1)
During the tribulation, the archangel Michael and his angels will attack Satan and his angels with the end result being that Satan will lose access to heaven and God’s throne where he accuses believers before God day and night (see Revelation 12:10). Moreover, Michael will then take a stand to protect the Jewish believing remnant seeking refuge in the wilderness during the great tribulation.
The angel told Daniel that the Antichrist will not “regard any god … But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses … Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory … .” I suspect that this “god of fortresses” will be Satan whom he will call upon for strength against his enemy’s strongholds. Because the Antichrist will be possessed by Satan, he will in effect be exalting “himself above them all [other gods]” which Daniel told us is his real ambition. In a false, counterfeit way to Jesus Christ, I can see the Antichrist pointing to Satan as his rock that he is in and that is in him, empowering him to military victories.
The Lion Returns with Vengeance
This final persecution of the Jewish people during the great tribulation and the supernatural protection of the believing remnant leads to a national repentance and a climactic intervention of deliverance by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The examination of these events begins with the following prophecy of Zechariah:
The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel. Thus says the LORD, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. In that day,” says the LORD, "I will strike every horse with confusion, and its rider with madness; I will open My eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem are my strength in the LORD of hosts, their God.’ In that day I will make the governors of Judah like a fireman in the woodpile, and like a fiery torch in the sheaves; they shall devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left, but Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place—Jerusalem.
"The LORD will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall not become greater than that of Judah. In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the one who is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the LORD before them. It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadid Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. (Zechariah 12:1–11)
Here we have a situation where God defends Judah and Jerusalem against a multinational attack by supernatural intervention and by empowering the Jews with a Spirit of might. Moreover, this is followed by an outpouring of grace upon the nation that opens their eyes (blindness removed) to the painful reality that they killed their Messiah the first time He came. Judah will mourn like they mourned at the death of their last great king, Josiah, when he was shot by Pharaoh Necho’s archers in the Valley of Megiddo (2 Chronicles 25:20–25). God will fulfill His promise, prophesied by Ezekiel: “I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel.”
At His return, the Lord Jesus will also be impassioned to save a repentant nation of Israel, part of which is in Jerusalem and part of which fled to Bozrah (modern Jordan). Under extreme distress at the end of the tribulation, what is left of the nation, fully repentants and accepts Jesus as its Messiah. Psalm 80 captures this repentance:
Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong for Yourself.
It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
Ad we shall be saved! (Psalm 80:14–19)
There are many Bible passages that depict the ultimate invasion of Christ at the end of the tribulation. Here is a selection of the key ones:
And then the lawless one [Antichrist] will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. (2 Thessalonians 2:8)
“Immediately after the 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. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:29–30)
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” (Jude 14–15)
Come near, you nations, to hear;
And heed, you people!
Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,
The world and all things that come forth from it.
For the indignation of the LORD is against all nations,
And His fury against all their armies;
He has utterly destroyed them,
He has given them over to their slaughter.
Also their slain shall be thrown out;
Their stench shall rise from their corpses,
And the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
All the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll;
All their host shall fall down
As the leaf falls from the vine,
And as fruit falling from a fig tree.
For My sword shall be bathed in heaven;
Indeed it shall come down on Edom,
And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
The sword of the LORD is filled with blood,
It is made overflowing with fatness,
With the blood of lambs and goats,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.
For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,
And a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
The wild oxen shall come down with them,
And the young bulls with the mighty bulls;
Their land shall be soaked with blood,
And their dust saturated with fatness."For it is the day of the LORD’s vengeance,
The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
Its streams shall be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone;
Its land shall become burning pitch.
It shall not be quenched night or day;
Its smoke shall ascend forever.
From generation to generation it shall lie waste;
No one shall pass through it forever and ever. (Isaiah 34:1–10)Who is this who comes from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah,
This One who is glorious in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength?—“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
Why is Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?"I have trodden the winepress alone,
And from the peoples no one was with Me.
For I have trodden them in My anger,
And trampled them in My fury;
Their blood is sprinkled upon My garments,
And I have stained all My robes.
For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
And the year of My redeemed has come.
I looked, but there was no one to help,
And I wondered
That there was no one to uphold;
Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me;
And My own fury, it sustained Me.
I have trodden down the peoples in My anger,
Made them drunk in My fury,
And brought down their strength to the earth." (Isaiah 63:1–6)“Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;
For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, go down;
For the winepress is full,
The vats overflow—
For their wickedness is great.”Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
The sun and moon will grow dark,
And the stars will diminish their brightness.
The LORD also will roar from Zion,
And utter His voice from Jerusalem;
The heavens and earth will shake;
But the LORD will be a shelter for His people,
And the strength of the children of Israel.
“So you shall know that I am the LORD your God,
Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain.
Then Jerusalem shall be holy,
And no aliens shall ever pass through her again.” (Joel 3:12–17)You divided the earth with rivers.
The mountains saw You and trembled;
The overflowing of the water passed by.
The deep uttered its voice,
And lifted its hands on high.
The sun and moon stood still in their habitation;
At the light of Your arrows they went,
At the shining of Your glittering spear.You marched through the land in indignation;
You trampled the nations in anger.
You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For salvation with Your Anointed.
You struct the head from the house of the wicked,
By laying bare from foundation to neck.
(Habakkuk 3:9b–13)Then the LORD will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
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 You.
(Zechariah 14:3–5)Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 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. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS.Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”
And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:11–21)
I chose to array all of these Scriptures concerning the return of the furious Lion because of the awesome inspiration and encouragement they give to the believer, but also because the combined depth of these prophetic Scriptures in this order reveals the following noteworthy takeaways:
- The Lord will have had enough of man’s wickedness at this point. Isaiah referred to it as “the day of the LORD’s vengeance” and through him the Lord declares, “the day of vengeance is in My heart.”
- All natural light (sun, moon, stars) will be suspended (or there will be an absence of light) potentially so that all the people on the earth can “see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Also, we are told quite poetically: “The sun and moon stood still in their habitation; at the light of your arrows they went, at the shining of your glittering spear.” Finally, the Antichrist will be destroyed “with the brightness of His coming.” This absence of light hints at a deeper revelation concerning the return of the Lord at this future time, especially considering that Jesus once declared: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).
- The Lord will return “with ten thousands of His saints.” The Greek, myrias, translated here as “ten thousands,” actually means myriad or an innumerable number. We are also told that “the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” These “armies” will be the church saints. That is a lot of white horses.
- The Lord will apparently start His attack in Edom (modern Jordan): “For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; indeed it shall come down on Edom, and on the people of My curse, for judgment.” Then it will proceed to Jerusalem where He will arrive with blood stained robes.
- The Lord marvels the there is no one from the nations there to fight with Him. He declares: “I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples no one was with Me. Also, ”I looked, but there was no one to help, and I wondered that there was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; and My own fury, it sustained Me."
The return of the Lord will be the climax of the world as we have known it. It will truly be a magnificent storybook ending with the ultimate “knight in shining armor.” There is none like the Lord. The KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS will then establish His blessed kingdom and reign over the Earth for 1,000 years.
