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CHAPTER 2
(From Mark Norris’ Manuscript, The Eschaton, A How-to Study of Revelation and the Hebrew Prophets)
The Eschatological Message of the Hebrew Prophets
 od’s Old Testament prophets had much to say about the “Day of the Lord,” and recorded several reveling glimpses of the Millennial and Eternal ages. But they had really very little to say about our Gentile age of the church. In fact, they seemed to have look right through it.
Daniel
Daniel 12:4
But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.
Daniel’s renowned “Seventy Weeks” and “Heavenly Son of Man” revelations of chapters 7 and 9 put the Messiah in a rebuilt Jerusalem at the time of His first visitation, and even revealed the glory of His resurrection (12:2) and second visitation (7: ). But he included nothing of any substance concerning our present day of the church.
Prophetic disclosures of the Antichrist in Daniel’s writings are the most revealing in Scripture. Yet with as much, and in some cases even more prophetic insight into the Eschaton’s tribulation era as the New Testament prophet John (Daniel 7, 9, 11), Daniel was commanded to “seal up” the words of his prophecy. But they wouldn’t remain sealed forever. As we will see in coming studies, they would be unsealed some six hundred years later by the New Covenant prophet John.
Daniel 12:1-4
1 "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
2 "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. 3 "And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4 "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."
Isaiah
Isaiah 53:11b
By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.
Isaiah’s eschatology announces the virgin birthed “Suffering Servant,” exposes a glimpse of the resurrection (26:19) and the Millennial and Eternal ages; (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6,7; 11:6-9, 53; 60:18,22, 65:17; 66:22). But he, too, included nothing of any substance to say about our present day of the church.
Isaiah 26:19
19 Your dead will live; their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, for your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.
Jeremiah & Ezekiel
Jeremiah 31:31
Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
Jeremiah’s and Ezekiel’s announcements of a “new heart” and “new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:24-28) gave no indication of the Gentile inclusion of today’s New Covenant church, but did illustrate a physical Jerusalem reign:
Jeremiah 31:38
Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord....
Ezekiel connects the nation’s “new heart” with a permanent, physical placement on their promised home land. (Israel is presently inhabiting only a tiny portion of Abraham’s original allotment):
Ezekiel 36:28
28 And you will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.
Jeremiah connects Israel’s New Covenant to a world renown kingdom in which every living soul will have a knowledge of the Lord:
Jeremiah 31:34
34 And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘know the Lord’, for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them”, declares the Lord.
Micah
It was Micah’s famous Bethlehem prophecy that was referred to by Herod’s scribes when the star leading the Magi brought them into Judea during their search for the new Jewish king:
Micah 5:2
2 But as for you, Bethlehem Ephratha, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.
Micah on “Kingdom Come”
And it is Micah who provides the best political view in Scripture of the Millennium’s global rule:
Micah 4:1,2
1 And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it.
2 And many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Zechariah 13:7
7 Awake, O sword, against my Shepherd, and against the man, My associate, declares the Lord of hosts. Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn My hand against the little ones.
The prophecies of Zechariah in Chapters 12-14 provide the best overall view of Christ’s earthly kingdom in the age to come, providing powerful glimpses of Christ’s Second Coming, and His thousand year Jerusalem reign.
The Second Coming of Christ At the Battle of ArmageddonThe Valley of Megiddo, also known as Har-Magedon, is the predicted site in Zechariah’s prophecies of a cataclysmic battle that will “conclude” our age of the church. “In that day,” Zechariah writes: “there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo (Zechariah 12:11).
John’s New Testament revelation connects the Second Coming of Jesus with this key prophetic event. In fact, the combination of Revelation chapters 16 and 19, and Zechariah chapters 12, 13 and 14, provide the Bible’s eschatology with the clearest presentation of this rapidly approaching event:
The Battle of Armageddon
Zechariah1
1 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.
2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. 5 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him! 6 And it will come about in that day that there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 7 For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light. 8 And it will come about in that day that living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. 10 All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin's Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's wine presses. 11 And people will live in it, and there will be no more curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security.
Zechariah 14:1-1
Revelation16 And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon. 17 And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.” 18 And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty.
Revelation 16:16-18
11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army.
Revelation 19:11,14,19
In 12:9,10 the prophet Zechariah also unveils a distinct Hebrew eschatology for the Jews dwelling in Jerusalem on the day of the battle. All of Israel and others living in Jerusalem at that time will receive God’s Holy Spirit and acknowledge Jesus as Lord:
9 And it will come about in that day that I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.
Paul confirms the prophet’s writing in Romans 11:26-29:
26 and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 27 “And this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.” 28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
Finally, Zechariah adds to the prophetic record an amazing political glimpse of a Kingdom Come foreign policy involving the annual Feast of Booths:
16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Zechariah 14:16-19
The “Day of the Lord”Other Old Covenant prophets were given varying revelations of Zechariah’s Judgmental Jerusalem war. Receiving differing views of its coming, they did share one thing in common. They were shown that its coming would fulfill on a (heb, yom: “ 24-hour solar period”) day on which God would destroy His earthly enemies in a terminating rage. They were also given a common name to identify its coming: The “Day (heb, yom: used repeatedly as a 24 hr period) of The Lord.” In fact, Zechariah 14 reveals the exact 24 hour timeframe on which it will occur:
Zechariah’s Infamous “Day” In Jerusalem1 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished, and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. 5 And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!
6 And it will come about in that day that there will be no light; the luminaries will dwindle. 7 For it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but it will come about that at evening time there will be light.
Zechariah 14:1-7
Isaiah On The Day11 The proud look of man will be abased, and the loftiness of man will be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 12 For the LORD of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty, and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be abased. 13 And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, against all the oaks of Bashan, 14 Against all the lofty mountains, against all the hills that are lifted up, 15 Against every high tower, against every fortified wall, 16 Against all the ships of Tarshish, and against all the beautiful craft. 17 And the pride of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be abased, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day. 18 But the idols will completely vanish. 19 And men will go into caves of the rocks, and into holes of the ground before the terror of the LORD, and before the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble. 20 In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, 21 In order to go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs, before the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble.
Isaiah 2:11-21
9 Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation; and He will exterminate its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; the sun will be dark when it rises, and the moon will not shed its light.
Isaiah 13:9,10
Joel’s Day of the Lord1 Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; surely it is near, 2 A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is 10 Before them the earth quakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness. 11 And the LORD utters His voice before His army; surely His camp is very great, for strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, and who can endure it?
Joel 2:1,2,10,11
Zephaniah’s Living Sacrifice That Will Be Offered On That DayThe Hebrew prophet Zephaniah received special Day of the Lord revelation that disclosed “human for animal” sacrifice that would be fully revealed in prophecies given Ezekiel and John: s near, for the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests. 8 “Then it will come about on the day of the LORD’S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, and all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. 9 “And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit. 10 “And on that day,” declares the LORD, “There will be the sound of a cry from the fish Gate, a wail from the second quarter, and a loud crash from the hills.
7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD i
Zephaniah 1:7-10
8 “Therefore, wait for me,” declares the LORD, “For the day when I rise up to the prey. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them My indignation, all My burning anger; for all the earth will be devoured by the fire of My zeal.
Zephaniah 3:8
17 "And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, "Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood.
Ezekiel 39:17
Comparing the prophecies of Zephaniah, Ezekiel, and John together, an ironic “payback” of mankind’s redemption unfolds. On the Day of the Lord, says Zephaniah, the creatures which for centuries provided mankind’s ceremonial atoning blood, will be offered the sacrificial flesh and blood of Jesus’ hateful antagonizers drawn to Armageddon, who have chosen to remain unredeemed:
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God; 18 in order that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great."
Revelation 19:17,18
The Day According to JohnIn its total revelation, the Bible’s Book of Revelation is God’s final word of warning on this coming event:
7 “BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen.”
Revelation 1:7
11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
12 And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are
many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no
one knows except Himself.
13 And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His
name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen,
white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
15 And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it
He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron;
and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the
Almighty.
16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written,
"KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
Revelation 19:11-16
The Infamous Battle of Ezekiel 38 & 39One other significant battle prophesied in Scripture is the infamous battle of Gog, recorded in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Some believe its coming will be synonymous with Armageddon’s Second Coming. Others believe it will happen before the Great Tribulation as the catalyst for that event.
Is Gog Russia?There used to be undisputed agreement based on Ezekiel’s genealogical facts that Gog of the land of Magog was Russia. And that her military allies would include the former Iron Curtain countries of Russia’s Warsaw pact and other fundamentalist Islamic countries joining in with their anti-Israeli cause.
But since the dismantling of the Iron Curtain, some commentators hedged on Ezekiel’s genealogy and tried to fit Gog into only those Islamic states that will remain subservient to Moscow (Kazakhstan, Turkestan, and Uzbekistan). The new interpretation also claims Ezekiel’s battle will be a culminating Islamic jihad.
A third and less traveled path of interpretation, which I am probably the prime advocate and research advocate of, postulates the possibility that Ezekiel’s Gog identity is a genealogical connection to the lineage of Japheth who fathered the Caucasian race. And that Gog, who sprung from Japheth and Magog’s loins, could be a prophetic reference to the European antichrist. If this is true, and I think it is, Ezekiel's 500 BC battle could be his view of the Second Coming of Christ.1
1 Read, “Will the Real Gog Please Stand UP?” in our Eschatology Today link section.
In Ezekiel’s Gog scenario, Magog and other descendents of Noah’s grandson by Japheth, are all mentioned.
Ezekiel 38:1-6
2 "Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3 and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4 "And I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops-- many peoples with you. Ezekiel 39:6 6 "And I shall send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the LORD.
Researching Magog’s family roots in Genesis 10 reveals his ancestry makes up the white or Caucasian races that grew out of Mt. Ararat’s regions northward following the flood.
Genesis 10:1-5
1 Now these are the records of the generations of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and sons were born to them after the flood. 2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras. 3 And the sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah. 4 And the sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. 5 From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations.
Historic lands these ancient descendants of Japheth founded were originally known by their personal names.
Since then Japheth’s seed has spread throughout Europe and into America. There is even a mountain range in the region named the Caucasian Mountains. Gomer is believed to be the founder of Europe through his son Riphath. Verse 5 expands the descendants of Magog along “the coastlands of the nations” where Japheth’s descendants were “separated into their lands, every one according to his language (200 European languages are spoken today) according to their families into their nations."
Making allowance for the years that have passed since Ezekiel’s prophecy, the descendants of Magog today make up the European peoples who have evolved over the past 2500 years. Today they populate the entire European and American continents. So Magog of Ezekiel's day could be Reinhart Scmidt of Frankfurt, John Phillips of London, and Bill Jones of Chicago in our day, and again, Gog could be the antichrist.
Regardless of the interpretation (Russia or Europe…both interpretations are equally possible), and whether his listed Islamic allies will join in with him for their own purposes—for one ultimate Jihad — God will draw them down to their own destruction, and GOG will lead the Israeli attack.
God Will Bring It AboutEzekiel prophesied that God will put a “hook into the Jaw” of this last days northern leader to bring him down upon His people to crush Gog and all his hordes. It will come upon an eschatological Israel, apparently at ease, enjoying a regional peace.
Three ViewsThree views of the battle’s timing are commonly held.
MidtribThe first view places Gog’s “pulling” in the middle of Daniel’s Seventieth week (midway through the tribulation), which will be inaugurated by the antichrist’s peace treaty, producing Israel’s regional peace.
PrettribA second view believes the battle will kick off the antichrist’s tribulation event.
PosttribThe third view holds that Gog’s battle —and the battle of Armageddon — are one and the same.
PostmillennialA fourth view holds that Ezekiel’s battle will take place after Christ’s one thousand year earthly reign as earth’s final listed battle in Revelation 20:8.
1 And the word of the LORD came to me saying,
2 “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog,
the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am against
you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal.
4 “And I will turn you about, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords; 5 Persia, Ethiopia, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6 Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops-- many peoples with you.
Ezekiel 38:1-6
Modern day equivalents of the nations listed by Ezekiel in 600 BC as Gog’s twenty-first century allies include:
Ezekiel 38:5-6
5 Persia (modern Islamic Iraq [1] and Iran [2]), Ethiopia (northwest Africa including Islamic Algiers [3] , Tunisia [4], and Morocco [5] ), and Libya [6] with them; all of them with shield and helmet: 6 Gomer (Europe and all his bands [7]; the house of Togarmah (son of Gomer: Armenians of Turkey and Tukistan) of the north quarters and all his bands [8]: and many people with thee.
* Persia: modern Islamic Iraq and Iran
* Ethiopia: Northwest Africa including Algiers, and Libya
* Put: Modern day Africa from Sudan down
* Gomer: Europe
* Beth-togarmah: Turkey
10 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan, 11 and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls, and having no bars or gates, 12 to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’
Ezekiel 38:10-12
God’s Fury Over Gog’s Involvement Will Produce a Swift Supernatural Destruction of Gog’s War Machine16 and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It will come about in the last days that I shall bring you against My land, in order that the nations may know Me when I shall be sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.” 17 ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them? 18 “And it will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord GOD, “that My fury will mount up in My anger. 19 “And in My zeal and in My blazing wrath I declare that on that day there will surely be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. 20 “And the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all the creeping things that creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the face of the earth will shake at My presence; the mountains also will be thrown down, the steep pathways will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21 “And I shall call for a sword against him on all My mountains,” declares the Lord GOD. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 “And with pestilence and with blood I shall enter into judgment with him; and I shall rain on him, and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 “And I shall magnify Myself, sanctify Myself, and make Myself known in the sight of many nations; and they will know that I am the LORD.”’ 29/Zech12:9- 11).
Ezekiel 38:16-ff
The Weapons of the Battle Will Be Burned for Seven Years8 “Behold, it is coming and it shall be done,” declares the Lord God. “That is the day of which I have spoken.” 9 “Then those who inhabit the cities of Israel will go out and make fires with the weapons and burn them, both shields and bucklers, bows and arrows, war clubs and spears and for seven years they will make fires of them. 10 And they will not take wood from the field or gather firewood from the forests, for they will make fires with the weapons; and they will take the spoil of those who despoiled them, and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,” declares the Lord God.”
Ezekiel 39:8-10
The Bodies of the War Dead Will Be Buried in Israel Over a Period of Seven Months At “Hammon-Gog”11 “And it will come about on that day that I shall give Gog a burial ground there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea, and it will block off the passers-by. So they will bury Gog there with all his multitude, and they will call it the valley of Hamon-gog. 12 For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them in order to cleanse the land”
Ezekiel 39:11,12
Others of the War Dead Will Be Offered As a Sacrifice to the Birds of the Air17 “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every king of bird and to every beast of the field, “Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. 18 “You shall eat the flesh of mighty men, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19 “So you will eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.”
Ezekiel 39:17-19
The Hebrew Nation in Israel Will No Longer Be God Rejectors from the Date of the Battle On“And I shall set My glory among the nations; and all the nations will see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. And the house of Israel will know that I am the Lord their God from that day onward.”
Ezekiel 39: 21,22
The Holy Spirit Will Be Poured Out Upon the Nation Because of the Coming Event“And I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I
shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,” declares
the Lord God.”
Ezekiel 38: 29
Arguments Opposing Ezekiel’s Battle Fulfillment as the Second Coming of Christ:I. Only the certain nations listed in the prophecy are said to be included in the event. (vvs. 1-6)
II. In contradiction to the disheveled world of Satan’s antichrist in the last days just prior to Christ’s second coming, the Israel that Gog is said to swoop down upon will be living securely and at ease. (vs. 11)
III. The weapons of the battle will burned in Israel upon its conclusion for a period of seven years; something critics maintain would be unlikely during the MILLINNEAL reign.
IV. Carcasses of the war dead will be buried in Israel for a period of seven
months; another unlikely occurrence, say critics, of the MILLINNEAL reign.
Arguments in Favor of Connecting Ezekiel’s Battle and The Battle of Armageddon as Being One and the Same Event:I. The similarity of key descriptions occurring in both eschatological events:
A. Earthquakes and meteor showers (Ez 38:19/Rev16:17- 21).
B. Predatory birds eating flesh of battle dead (Ez 39:17-21/Rev 19:17,18).
C. Spirit poured out on Israel in receiving of Jesus Christ (Ezek 39:22
D. Because death will continue for those choosing to reject the reign of Jesus throughout the Millennium (Isaiah 65:20; Zechariah 14:16-19), there is no eschatological conflict with the burning Gog’s weapons, and the burying of Gog’s dead.
ConclusionsThat Magog and his allies only are mentioned in his war, doesn’t necessarily exclude other nations from being drawn into the event. Gog’s could be a specifically directed prophecy as other Gentile nations were dealt with in Ezekiel 25-29. It could deal with just one group of people that will be drawn to Miggedo’s plain.
Also, it is not inconceivable that the burning of Armageddon’s weapons and the burying of its dead could go on throughout the first seven years of the Millennial reign. Though it will be greatly checked, death will still be a reality throughout the kingdom’s entire one thousand year span.
But there is a real problem in reconciling a peaceful land of Israel with the state of persecution and chaos that will exist at the end of the Great Tribulation when the battle of Armageddon begins:
8 "After many days you will be summoned; in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; but its people were brought out from the nations, and they are living securely, all of them.
Ezekiel 38:8
22 “And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.” (Matt 24:22)
It is possible that Jerusalem’s secular government will be cooperating in harmony with Satan’s anti-Christian regime. But the particulars and timing of this great conflict are simply yet to be seen. Watch Russia, the EU, and the UN.
The Bible’s final prophesied battle that Gog and Magog are literally mentioned in (Rev. 20:8) also poses an interpretive problem. That the remains of Gog’s armies will be left for burying in Ezekiel’s account pretty much disqualifies the two battles from being one and the same. In Revelation, fire from heaven is said to devour (GK KATESTHIO: “completely consume”) in the fury of His fire as a sacrifice for Himself. In Ezekiel’s Gog battle, they are fed to the birds and buried in Hamon-gog.
Why a Millennium?Theological reasons vary concerning God’s purposes in bringing about the Millennium. The period will finally fulfill the promised Davidic Kingdom (2 Sam 7:12). And it will wonderfully fulfill Jesus’ prophecies of shared dominion with the faithful of His church:
17 Well done good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities. Luke 19:17
During Christ’s thousand year millennial reign, true global peace will be the order of the day. But that Satan is not destroyed along with his antichrist and followers at the battle of Armageddon is a major eschatological concern. That he will be locked in the abyss to be later unleashed at the end of the era leaves some room for speculation.
Why not hurry into the Eternal Age of an uncursed, sin-free planet?
Why not bring about the complete and ultimate triumph of good immediately at Christ’s return?
One view of the Millennium’s probationary nature is that God has predestined it to prove a redemptive point. The point being that it is man and his fallen sin nature — not his external environment — or even primarily the devil
— that is responsible for the maniacal evil that plagues man’s fallen earth.
Those holding to this view say the proof of man’s evil inner nature will unfold during Satan’s incarceration within a satanless kingdom over which Christ’s love will rule the world.
It is an eschatological fact that the unconverted who don’t perish from the Eschaton’s plagues or at the Battle of Armageddon (those destined to or not is a mystery of His will) will be free to serve or rebel against God’s Millennial kingdom rule (Zechariah 14).
Equally mysterious is the fact that while the church will be living eternally during this resurrection period, others will die as mortals to await the Great White Throne of Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). Could it be that those converted during the Millennial reign will inherit an instantaneous glorified body? When a soul is won today, a human being’s spirit is recreated according to God’s invisible kingdom plan of inner re-birth (Luke 17:20,21). But in the physical kingdom to come, resurrection life will be God’s redemptive order superceding mere new birth (Matthew 22:30). Fantastic!
A less complicated view of the Millennium believes that God is simply redeeming His man in His own way and time. According to this view, a new opportunity for repentance on a higher life plane will be ordained as a sovereign part of His plan. And it points out that from the fall of Adam — through to the Millennium — mankind’s chances of renewed fellowship with God have improved from grace to grace.
Isaiah’s Millennial ViewAs is true in Micah, Isaiah prophecies the Millennial era as one of unprecedented global peace. But to this he adds an amazing revelation concerning millennial length of life. It will last for those still mortal, says Isaiah, the lifetime of a tree. For those of his chosen who choose to serve Him: they will wear out the work of their hands.
20 For the youth will die at the age of one hundred and the one who does not reach the age of one hundred shall be thought accursed.
Is 65:20b.
22 For as the lifetime of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and my chosen ones shall wear out the work of their hands. vs.22
Isaiah tells us further that it will be an unprecedented time of earthly peace when dangers common today will be a thing of the past.
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the kid, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. 7 Also the cow and the bear will graze; their young will lie down together; and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. 9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
10 Then it will come about in that day that the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a standard for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious.”
Isaiah 11:6-10
25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain, says the Lord.
Isaiah 65:25
Micah’s Millennial Mountain1 And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above the hills, and the peoples will stream to it. 2 And many nations will come and say, “Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths.” For from Zion will go forth the law, even the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 3 And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war. 4 And each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. 5 Though all the peoples walk each in the name of his god, as for us, we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.
Micah 4:1-5
Zechariah’s Millennial View9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.
16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth that does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them.
23 Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.
Zechariah 8:9,16,17,23
Evangelism in the MillenniumEqually fantastic in the Old Testament prophet’s brief glimpse into millenniumlology are some brief scenes of Millennium soul winning. And listen, if you don’t think the idea of supernaturally witnessing Jesus in this coming epoch with the results of your hearer’s receiving both a recreated inner-spirirt and resurrection body, is exciting, you haven’t thought much about it.
19 "And I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, put, Lud, Meshech, Rosh, Tubal, and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations. 20 "Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the LORD, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the LORD, "just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. 21 "I will also take some of them for priests and for Levites," says the LORD. 22 "For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So your offspring and your name will endure. 23 "And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before me," says the LORD. 24 "Then they shall go forth and look On the corpses of the men who have transgressed against me. For their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be an abhorrence to all mankind."
Isaiah 66:19-24
Finally, Isaiah, only gives us a parallel view of John’s New Covenant revelation of the recreated heavens and new earth.
Isaiah on the Recreated Heavens and Eternal Age of Earth19 "No longer will you have the sun for light by day, nor for
brightness will the moon give you light; but you will have the
LORD for an everlasting light, and your God for your glory.
20 "Your sun will set no more, neither will your moon wane; for
you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, and the days of
your mourning will be finished.
Isaiah 60:19,20
Without the Old Testament prophets we couldn’t know most of what the Holy Spirit revealed concerning the Second Coming of Christ or the ages to come. I am personally convinced Paul’s antichrist eschatology written in 2 Thessalonians 2 was due to his knowledge of Daniel chapter 11. I’m also convinced that Daniel saw most of what John saw, but was forbidden to reveal it, just as John was forbidden to disclose the seven thunder events he witnessed in Revelation. Because of the last trumpet that blows later in that chapter and other key words connnections I also believe the book holding angel told John of the Rapture event. Once his seal is unvelied on the other side of this age beyond their fulfillment, I’ll see if I’m write. But that is how God has breathed into mankind’s existence His prophetic text. Sometimes five-hundred years of headlight, sometimes more. Evangelism, not escapism is the theme of the Bible’s prophetic text. Now, since you have your reading glasses on, take a deep breath and read through and around everyone of the passages cited in this chapter. Then make plans to read our ET commentary on Daniel, and Revelation 11. Eschatology Today is here to teach you. So, please, continue to be taught.
Keep studying, and keep looking up!
Mark
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