Jacob’s Trouble continued

It is conceivable that many of the great literal occurrences of the Old Testament will have a brief, concentrated, literal, limited application in Israel in Jacob’s Trouble to show it is the God of nature and the God of Israel who is manifesting power.

Remember God’s promise, “Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst.  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. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle (i.e., as he did in the days of old).” Zech 14:1-3

It will soon become very obvious that a miraculous power is protecting each of the Holy Remnant. For example, if one of the Holy Remnant is in a building under attack and the building collapses, killing all of the others, that one individual will survive. Many of these may escape death several times over and over again during the period of this trouble. When this mutual class realizes they are being protected and then get into the valley between the split Mount of Olives, they will know they have been saved, covered, by the Lord’s hand. And the surviving eyewitness, Gentiles will discern this miraculous protection.

“And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.” (Ezek 38:22)

God will plead against Gog in various ways. Some will die by “pestilence” (disease) and others by “blood” (violence—war, battle, accidents, and etc.). Overflowing rain suggests a flood; a torrential downpour will occur reminiscent of the Deluge in Noah’s day, drowning some.

This is a very distinctive possibility recall what we had mentioned in one of our previous post with regards to “The Healing waters and Trees”, and the bringing of life back to the Dead Sea, that either by canal (under peaceful conditions) or earthquake water from the Mediterranean Sea could rush in to the low lying areas reaching from a point about 20 miles south of the Dead Sea to a point about 10 miles north of the Sea of Galilee flooding the entire area. If this were caused say by an earthquake this could happen almost instantly without warning cutting off and drowning a large proportion of Gog’s band of followers.

The hailstones that will fall upon Gog and his band will be like that which fell upon the armies of Gibeon in which more of the enemy perished from the hailstones than were killed by the sword, thus suggesting the sheer size of some of these hailstones, See Josh 10:11. Fire and brimstone (i.e. sulfur) indicate the earthquake will spew out lava, which will fall destructively as in the demise of Sodom and Gomorrah. What happened to Lot’s wife may very well happen again. These occurrences will disprove the idea that the Old Testament accounts were merely fables devised simply to judge the ungodly and to instill good morals upon mankind, that they never really i.e. literally took place.

All of these calamities will happen to Gog and to “his bands,” the many people confederate with Gog. The inauguration of Christ’s Kingdom will be one of the most dramatic occurrences of history as there will be sample reenactments of the various miracles that occurred in Israel’s past. In all of the confusion and destruction, those whose names are written in the book of life (the remnant of Israel) will survive. Each one will know he has been specially spared and will thus repent and mourn for Jesus as for an only son. The Holy Remnant will mourn as being responsible, as a people, for Messiah’s death (Zech 12:10–13).

“Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezek 38:23)

Thus will God magnify and sanctify Himself and be known in the eyes of many nations.

So much for those who think the Kingdom will gradually come in! Ezekiel 38 is very STRONG and SPECIFIC in its language. To say the Kingdom will glide in means that such are not really reading Scripture and that they are babes in understanding. The nominal system has had the view that the Kingdom will come when everybody is converted. Go out and evangelize, they say, and eventually, when enough are evangelized, the world will know Christ. But the reality is far more DRAMATIC! (“The Book of Ezekiel” by Brother Frank Shallieu, Pages 222-224)

Continued with next post.