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HOW DOES IT END? Scriptures Give Details "How" questions always seem to be the most intriguing. Certainly the question, "How does it end?" is no exception. We are given many details about the end of the world within the pages of the Bible, more than what many may believe. As we have seen, there are a considerable number of prophecies throughout God’s Word relating to this last day of man and the beginning of the 1,000-year Day of the Lord. Many more relate to how it ends. As we saw in Chapter Three, "WHEN," the end will take place on Tishri 10, on the festival of Yom Kippur, which is the highest holy day of the year for Jews. All faithful Israelites who are left after their purification through the tribulation, will on that day petition God with prayer.Earlier, we saw where God said He was going back to His place to hide until in their misery the Israelites would seek His face (Hos. 5:15). They will ask, "Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression" (Psalm 44:24)? REVEALED IN MIGHT The petition of the Jews at the end will be: "Do not hide your face from me… Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you" (Psalm 143:7-8). After praising God, they will add: "Part your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke. Send forth lightning and scatter [the enemies]; shoot your arrows and rout them" (Psalm 144:5-6). In 2 Samuel 22, and identical verses in Psalm 18, King David is shown as a type of future Israel. After the Jews offer the above prayer, we see God answering it. Below, the Word of God gives us the details: "In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. The earth trembled and quaked, the foundations of the heavens shook; they trembled because he was angry. Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind. He made darkness his canopy around him; the dark rain clouds of the sky. "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support" (2 Sam. 22:7-12, 17-19). We see at the close of the above passage that the setting for this is, "in the day of my disaster"—the day of the Lord. This will be the end day, and the end for Israel’s enemies. We see that at the Jews request to, "…part your heavens, O Lord, and come down," that indeed, "…he parted the heavens and came down"! EARTH TREMBLES As the Lord approaches the earth, it begins to tremble: "The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it" (Nah. 1:5). "The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken. The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls; never to rise again" (Isa. 24:19-20). Apparently, the earth begins to literally "rock and roll." Before the earth begins to shake, the nations begin to tremble, the mountains crumble (Hab. 3:6), and God comes from a place called Teman,53 a city in Edom (named after the descendents of Esau, at the southeast border of Palestine; see footnote). In Isaiah 63:1-6, we are told that the One coming from Edom comes in splendor, His garments stained with blood. This one is the Lord, who is coming in person against Israel’s enemies on His day of vengeance. BUZZARDS GATHER The vultures will darken the sky as they circle overhead (Rev. 19:17), surely filling the armies gathered against Israel with fear and dread. For this is the sacrifice that the Lord has prepared, and the vultures will be part of His "guests" (Zeph. 1:7). The Lord will cause the enemies of Israel to stumble like blind men before He pours out their blood and entrails (Zeph 1:17). The bloodshed is massive and sudden, so much so that it can only be described as grapes being trampled. DAY OF DARKNESS Most people associate the Lord with light, as it should be. But when He comes as a judge, He will be accompanied by darkness. "Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—pitch dark, without a ray of brightness" (Amos 5:20)? "Clouds and thick darkness surround him" (Psalm 97:2). GOD’S THUNDERING VOICE Before Omega steps onto the Mount of Olives, His voice comes from the temple in heaven (Rev. 17:17). The reverberating majestic voice will be none other than God’s. This voice is the same voice that cried out, "in a loud voice" 2,000 years earlier. There He had just completed His work of redemption, and from the cross cried, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Now in His glory, Christ appears to have a much stronger voice! For after the seventh bowl judgment hits the atmosphere of the earth, the voice from the throne in heaven shouts, "It is done" (Rev. 16:17)! Omega utters these conclusive words from heaven, just before returning to earth. At that time, the Lord will have no need to wait any longer before returning. At Calvary, He placed the judgement on Himself. Over the centuries, especially through the tribulation, He poured out ever increasing judgement; ever pointing sinners to His cross for salvation and escape. All that is left now is to return and physically remove the wicked from the earth. "See, the Name of the Lord comes from afar, with burning anger and dense clouds of smoke; his lips are full of wrath, and his tongue is a consuming fire. And you will sing as on the night you celebrate a holy festival… The Lord will cause men to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail. Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze" (Isa. 30:27, 29-30, 33). (Readers will note that the above passage suggests the event taking place on a holy festival day.) JUDGEMENTS REMODEL EARTH It is after Omega’s great shout that earth experiences the incomparably worst earthquake of all time. Since this seventh bowl is poured onto the surrounding atmosphere, all the earth is sentenced to the quake. The Old Testament prophets specifically foresaw this judgement: "In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel" (Ezek. 38:19). "I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come…" (Haggai 2:7). It is this final, worldwide earthquake that will change the entire earth’s topography. As mountain ranges all over the world sink, all the chief cities around the world will come tumbling down. Only Jerusalem will endure! "Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever" (Psalm 125:1). Through this cataclysm, God will make things beautiful for the Millennium. Zion is to be beautiful and lofty (Psalm 48:2). After the polluted cities are leveled, new, peaceful cities will be erected. The earthquake will eliminate the great mountain ranges and islands of the world. God will restore the gentle, more level topography that was present before the last great cataclysm of Noah’s Flood. "Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain" (Isa. 40:4). Because of the tribulation period, the heavenly bodies splashing down, worldwide drought, and the intensified solar radiation, much of the water vapor canopy will be restored. This will restore the tropical climates that the dinosaurs and Noah enjoyed before the Flood. This global greenhouse will again support abundant plant growth, and prevent mass movements of air such as hurricanes and tornadoes. Cool underwater subterranean springs will also be formed (Isa. 41:18). Surely the volcanic upheavals and the atmospheric bombardments will resupply the soil with nutrients and trace elements. The innumerable dead plants, animals, and yes, people, will (like Jezebel) become fertilizing agents, adding organic nutrients to the soils as well. Death will then yield life. LIGHTNING, THUNDERSTORMS, & TIDAL WAVES "The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great; and for destroying those who destroy the earth. Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm" (Rev. 11:18-19). The Psalms give us a description of how the revelation of the Omega will occur: "Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The Lord thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered [the enemies], great bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of breath from your nostrils" (Psalm 18:12-15). The book of Habakkuk expounds on the above passage: "Rays will flash from his hand where his power is hidden" (Hab 3:4). As the mountains sink, the deep (the sea) roars and lifts its waves, sending torrents of water (Hab 3:10). Great tidal waves will sweep across the land, as it rises and sinks (Amos 9:5). This, along with the earth changing its axial orientation54 (Isa. 24:20) will cause extensive flooding of coastlines and beyond. ANGELIC CLOUDS We have seen that the coming of the Son of Man will be accompanied with clouds; indeed it is assured by Christ’s own words (Matt. 24:30). He will mount the cherubim (the angels surrounding His throne) and come down. The cherubim/chariot (an immense cloud) is described in the first chapter of Ezekiel. God has a number of other chariots as well: "The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands" (Psalm 68:17). We are reminded by Enoch that, "…the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone" (Jude 14). Clouds, chariots, and angels are all closely associated (Psalm 104:3-4). When the Lord is revealed from heaven, it will be with chariots and blazing fire (Isa. 66:15), and with angels and flaming fire (2 Thess. 1:2). At the end, He will be with all His saints (1 Thess. 3:13). What a glorious procession it will be! Those of us who have been redeemed by Christ, along with the angels, will come back to the earth! THE SAINTS GO MARCHING OUT The saints will march out to execute judgement! "Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints" (Psalm 149:5-9). After the long "week" is finally over, during which the god of this age (the Devil) ruling with his principals, powers, evil spirits (Eph. 6:12), and Christ-rejecting human deceivers—it all ends. Moreover, God’s angels and those of us who are in Christ will become executioners. We will then be like the angels in the spirit realm. Angels have carried out God’s battles in the past, but this time, those who are in Christ, who will have been removed from the earth by death or rapture (taken away from the earth while alive, like Elijah), will act in concert with the angels. We will perform supernatural things. Once God wills that supernatural beings are to be employed, the last day battle of Armageddon will be brief, but climactic. The Messiah of Israel has informed all that, at His request, He can muster more than twelve legions of angels (Matt. 26:53), which He will do on this final day battle. He will thus have more than sufficient "fire power." However, since even in his glory, man’s frame is from the dust, this end battle of good over evil will be over as soon as it starts. HISTORICAL TYPES TO BE FULFILLED Historical events and persons in the Old Testament are symbolic of things in the New Testament, even things that will occur years or millennia later. As previously shown, this is known as a "type" or "prototype." For example, Abraham offering Isaac is a "type" of God the Father offering God the Son. The prophet Zechariah spoke of men, "…who are men symbolic of things to come" (Zech. 3:8). The prophet Isaiah spoke of people who, "…are signs and symbols in Israel" (Isa. 8:18). The Apostle Paul informs us, "These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come" (1 Cor. 10:11). Therefore, once again history will repeat itself, at least in type, at the Battle of Armageddon. Furthermore, the Valley of Jehoshaphat (known today as the Kidron Valley) is the same valley in which the end-time battle will take place (Joel 3:2; 3:12). Inflicting Madness The armies attempting to march against Jerusalem will be struck with madness (Zech. 12:4). In the past, God sent a panic along with an earthquake (1 Sam. 14:15), and confused an opposing army, to the point that they began to strike each other with their weapons (1 Sam. 14:20). The ancient battles of Israel clearly show that Sovereign God has intervened with supernatural elements, and we can be assured that He will not hesitate to employ the same methods again. Sun Goes Out The Amorite Kings of long ago were thrown into confusion when hailstones came out of the sky; and something supernatural happened to the sun (Josh. 10:10-13). At the end, we see the fulfillment of this type. God will use hailstones once again (Rev. 16:21), and the sun will be supernaturally controlled at noon (Amos 8:9). Confusion and Terror God has thrown the enemies of Israel into confusion on a number of occasions. Gideon defeated the Midianites when the Lord caused them to turn on each other with their swords at the time Gideon’s men blew their trumpets (Judges 7:22). God again confused Israel’s enemies at the time of Jehoshaphat. The Israelites were so out numbered that singing praises and petitioning the Lord were all they could do. The Lord answered their prayer and confused the enemies so that they killed one another (2 Chron. 20:23). We saw earlier that the Angel of the Lord, the End or Omega (Jesus) put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in one night, before the sun rose (2 Kings 19:35). Also, God struck terror into the Arameans and caused them to flee at twilight when they heard the supernatural sound of chariots, and a great army (2 Kings 7:6-7). Supernatural Beings Will Battle Heavenly beings have long been employed by God in His armed forces. On one occasion, King David was able to hear God’s supernatural army that was to go out ahead of Him to fight the battle. "As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army" (2 Sam.5:24). After a prayer by Elisha, a servant was able to actually see the Lord’s supernatural army. "And Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17). The invading enemy forces were later struck with blindness. These Old Testament battles were all "types." All of the supernatural elements of these ancient battles of Israel will again be used in the brief battle at Armageddon, as shown later. As her judge, the Lord is terrible and fearful to Israel; as her defender, He is even more fearful! After the Antichrist and his forces have gone into Jerusalem and are ransacking houses and raping women (Zech. 14:2), the Lord decides to fight for Israel as in days gone by! "The Lord God will come, and all the holy ones with him" (Zech. 14:5). "Like dawn spreading across the mountains, a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be again. Before them fire devours; behind them a flame blazes" (Joel 2:2-3). "The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number…" (Joel 2:11). We who are in Christ (either by death or rapture) are in this formidable army. We will meet the army described in Isaiah 5:26 that, by earth’s standards, is certainly formidable. This earthly army will be the same army God will have used to purify/refine His chosen people, where the bodies of the Jews will be, "…like refuse in the streets" (Isa. 5:25). A BANNER OVER JERUSALEM A banner will attract the anti-Christian armies to Jerusalem (Isa. 5:26). At the same time, the Messianic Christian army from heaven comes (Isa. 13:3-5). This banner has to have a balance to it. It has to look powerful enough to attract all of the world’s armies, but not so powerful as to make them flee prematurely. Certainly all the armies of the world will not be needed to finish crushing the few remaining Jews in Israel. Perhaps the banner will be the 144,000, sealed supernaturally from physical harm, for they are seen at the end on Mount Zion with the Lamb, the Messiah of Israel (Rev. 14:1). On the other hand, it’s hard to believe that if the Messiah of Israel (Who is God Himself) is there, that any army or armies would be foolish enough to come against Him with any number in their ranks or sophistication of weaponry! Perhaps Christ will at first be unrevealed of His eminent glory by the surrounding darkness (Psalm 97:2) in order to permit the Antichrist’s armies to gather up for their impending annihilation. In the Old Testament, a thousand Israelites had fled from the threat of one (Isa. 30:17). Soon it will be time to reverse the role. As in the days of Joshua, a thousand of the enemy will be routed by one Israeli (Josh. 23:10). Once the Jews realize that their Messiah will have arrived to fight for them, they will acquire a boldness beyond description: "On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord going before them" (Zech. 12:8). God has set precedents in the way He acts on the earth. Once the Israelites see that the Holy One is with them, they will boldly move out. Just as David waited until he heard the marching of the troops in the tops of the balsam trees, and then moved quickly (2 Sam. 5:24), the Israelites will do the same. When they hear and perceive the supernatural army, who will then be in the spiritual realm over Jerusalem, and know that we are ready to fight for them, they will move out fearlessly! In order for the battle to be over as quickly as it is foretold, it is possible that the Jews there will only have to do so much as point a finger at someone, and we (the heavenly Army of Christ) will slay them. Great Ball of Fire "The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers" (Isa. 10:17). The Holy One is the coming Messiah of Israel. Since Romans tells us that none is righteous and that all have sinned (3:10, 23), it shows that in accordance with Isaiah 9:6, this Holy One is the God-Man. There is only One Whom it could be—the Lion from the tribe of Judah, their true Messiah, Who returns to fight for His beloved Israel. The Messiah personally takes care of His worn-out servant, the Antichrist. This false messiah, along with Satan, has enjoyed great earthly "success"—particularly against the Jews. However, that success will have come to an end as the Messiah is to destroy him, "…by the splendor of his coming" (2 Thess. 2:8). With such unveiled splendor, no one on earth will doubt that it is God Almighty, King of the Jews, who has come to claim the ultimate victory. "God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden" (Hab. 3:3-4). The beast (Antichrist), the kings of the earth, and their armies will be gathered together to make war against the King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:19). The beast (their leader) will be snatched up and swiftly escorted alive to Gehenna, the lake of fire (Rev. 19:20, 20:10, 14, 15). In addition to having been a place of idolatrous sacrifice,55 Gehenna served in Jesus’ time as a receptacle of refuse outside of Jerusalem. Jesus used its perpetually burning fires as illustrations of the coming judgements. Gehenna is not to be confused with Hades, an intermediary place of the wicked. (For a more detailed discussion, see the sections, "Hades Will Play Its Part" and "Lake of Fire" in Chapter Four.) The name is derived from Ben Hinnom, a valley in Israel. An area in the valley of Hinnom was Topheth, and its association with the Antichrist king is made clear: "Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its fire pit has been made deep and wide, with an abundance of fire and wood; the breath of the Lord, like a stream of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze" (Isa. 30:33). It is at this time that fire will come down from heaven and devour the world’s army (Ps. 97:3; Rev. 20:9), fulfilling a promise in Hebrews 10:27, "…a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." JEWS ARISE FOR VICTORY "The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame" (Obad. 1:18). "Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’ On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place" (Zech. 12:5-6). Some are burnt on the tops of their heads (Jer. 48:45). Others will be seized with terror: "They will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame" (Isa. 13:8). "The peoples will be burned as if to lime; like cut thornbushes they will be set ablaze" (Isa. 33:12). INSTANTANEOUS NECROSIS The Lord also describes what is more than just fire. "Therefore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his [Antichrist’s] sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame" (Isa. 10:16). Here the Lord associates a wasting disease with fire, but this fire is, "like a blazing flame." A fire is something that releases complex matters like hydrocarbons, leaving simple compounds like carbon dioxide. It is essentially an extremely rapid oxidation process. By using the term blazing, the Lord is using an analogy for the fastest method of oxidation known to the people of Isaiah’s day. Those of us who are chemists and researchers in this area look for ways to alter the oxidation process. It is through altered oxidation that one’s teeth can be lightened, or that corrosion can be slowed. It is through slow oxidation that we age. If the aging process goes on long enough, what is living is oxidized to the point of becoming necrotic, or dead. The above fire plague is expounded upon in Zechariah 14:12: "This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths." For something to rot while one is on his feet, and before he can fall over—is sudden death indeed! In milliseconds then, living tissue will oxidize, rot, or become necrotic. The author asks readers to bear with him while he relates a story that illustrates what happens with necrotic tissue. When I was studying pathology at the Medical College of Georgia, we students had to examine organs from autopsies and conjecture about what had led to the person’s demise. Prior to his death, one man being autopsied had been told by his physician not to do any exercise. He had suffered a heart attack, and was told that certain areas of the heart’s tissues had to repair themselves before he could slowly begin any exercise program. Instead of listening to the doctor, the patient decided to go jogging! As he was jogging, his heart began to build up pressure, and the area of the heart that had become necrotic simply gave way, causing his heart to explode like a balloon. This area had a consistency of cheese, and one could have easily put one’s finger through it. I didn’t even have to guess what had happened to the poor fellow. His heart had ruptured, due to caseous necrosis. The tissue had died and become very soft. When the extra pumping force from the good portion of his heart had exerted pressure above what the weak area could support, his heart literally exploded. I haven’t said all this just to be morbid, but in order to offer a clear picture of what will happen when the Lord inflicts the armies of opposition with mass necrosis. For example, if the tissues in ones veins and arteries suddenly become necrotic, the internal blood pressure will cause the blood to burst out everywhere. It certainly would take a supernatural trigger to cause an instantaneous necrosis like this, but the physical result is very clear. One can only imagine the results of instant necrosis of the entire body. The Bible reminds us that the secrets of the universe are held in the mind of Christ: "Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). The word knowledge means science! He holds then, all the mysteries of science.…but there is more. "He is the image of the invisible God…For by him all things were created… He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Col. 1:15-17). "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word" (Heb. 1:3). Not only is Christ the possessor of all knowledge, and all science, but it is Christ who HOLDS or SUSTAINS all things together. He is then the power behind what we in science call the great nuclear binding force. It is Christ who keeps all those "+" plus charges of the protons in the nucleus together. They therefore don’t repel from one another, causing things to come apart. Since it is Christ that holds all things together, including the connective tissues of man, then it is a simple matter for Him to let go; producing instantaneous results.
Let us take a final look, through the prophet Habakkuk, as he describes the Revelation of the Lord and associates the end time "plague" of Zechariah 14:12 with Him: "His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. Plague went before him" (Hab. 3:4-5). Thus, the plague comes from the Lord, and not a neutron bomb. GRAPES OF WRATH The bodies of God’s enemies will literally explode, and the blood will burst from their arteries and veins. It will be as it was predicted, like grapes when trampled, as described in Revelation 14:18-20. God’s enemies have shed His own blood; now His long awaited vengeance will have arrived. Consider this chilling description by author Henry Morris, in, The Revelation Record: "The bloodshed is so massive and so quick that the only apt comparison is the spurting of the juice from tremendous clusters of ripe fruit beneath the feet of the grape tramplers in a winepress. The hordes of civilians, many riding horses, no doubt many on foot, perhaps others on vehicles of one sort and another, thronging together as in a great trough, unable to flee, their gaze transfixed on an amazing scene in the heavens, suddenly explode like bursting grapes, and the blood pours from a billion fountains."56 Since the horses and all the animals in the camps are stricken with this same "plague" of instantaneous necrosis (Zech. 14:14), the torrent of blood will drain to the valley where, as specifically prophesied, it will literally reach to the horse’s bridles (Rev. 14:20)! DARK HIGH NOON We saw earlier that the coming of the Lord was with clouds of darkness (Psalm 18:9, 11). These clouds of darkness will cover up the sun, hiding people for protective purposes. "‘In that day,’ declares the Sovereign Lord, ‘I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight’" (Amos 8:9). God will also be answering the petition in the book of Isaiah: "Make your shadow like night; at high noon. Hide the fugitives, do not betray the refugees" (Isa. 16:3). END OF JEWISH JUDGEMENT By this time, the Jews will have finished drinking from the cup of God’s wrath (Isa. 51:22), and then it will be their enemies’ turn (Isa. 51:23)! The Lord prepares to strike: "O Lord, your hand is lifted high, but they do not see it. Let them see your zeal for your people and be put to shame; let the fire reserved for your enemies consume them" (Isa. 26:11). The Lord reassures Israel that the fire will not harm them: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze" (Isa. 43:2). The flames will be thick, but as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found they were immune to the fiery furnace under the protection of the Son of God (the Messiah), so will the Israelites experience divine protection while her enemies are consumed. "At the time of your appearing, you will make them like a fiery furnace. In his wrath the Lord will swallow them up, and his fire will consume them" (Psalm 21:9). TURN ON THE LIGHTS—THE PARTY’S OVER Again, it will be at noon on the end day—Yom Kippur—that the sun will go out. The stars will fall from the sky (Matt. 24:29; Isa. 13:10; 34:4). As the heavens tremble, the earth will shake from its place (Isa. 13:13). 57 At evening time, when darkness normally falls, the light comes on—man’s 6,000 year "party" of rebellion is over. "When evening comes, there will be light" (Zech. 14:7). The whole world will see light that many man-made nuclear explosions couldn’t even begin to touch. "His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth" (Psalm 97:4-5). When the light of God is revealed, His enemies will flee like cockroaches. When the great earthquake strikes, it will be more damaging than all previous earthquakes in mankind’s history (Rev. 16:18). Great hail stones will be generated by the collapsing mountains and the resulting volcanic explosions. "From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible" (Rev. 16:21). The giant hailstones will produce intense cyclic waves of altering atmospheric high and low pressures, creating great vacuums. Simultaneously, those who have been struck with the instantaneous necrosis plague will create a river of blood as their blood vessels will be vacuumed dry. It will be a terrible and fearful day indeed, but the prayer of the psalmist will have been answered, "Let burning coals fall upon them; may they be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, never to rise" (Psalm 140:10). As in the days of old, the armies of these anti-Christian anti-Semitists will be struck supernaturally with madness (Zech. 12:4) and blindness (Zeph. 1:17), even before the Lord’s fire and sword is called upon. "For with fire and with his sword the Lord will execute judgement upon all men, and many will be those slain by the Lord" (Isa. 66:16). The flesh of kings, generals, and great and small men alike (Rev. 19:18) will have been prepared as the great and terrible "supper" of God, upon which the fowls of the air will gorge themselves. Man’s "week" of doing things his way, will have come to THE END! SUMMARY The nations, along with the Antichrist, are led to Jerusalem by different forces. The city is captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped (Zech. 14:2). Cosmic disturbances appear everywhere. As the Omega approaches the earth, the mountains and hills begin to melt, and the earth and man begins to shake. Mountains and islands disappear. Earthquakes, volcanic upheavals, thunderstorms, lightning, and tidal waves wreak terror. At 12:00 noon, the light goes out as the Lion of God, with flames in His eyes, comes in thick darkness to take His long awaited vengeance. At evening, the glory of God with unbelievable light appears. The Antichrist is bound by Jesus’ brightness, snatched up alive, and escorted by angels at unseen speed to the Lake of Fire, while the world’s armies look on. The vast armies then begin to flee as the Jews begin to chase. As in the battles of old, supernatural beings and elements are employed. Mighty men, kings, generals, and all the people who were gathered against Jerusalem will flee; their bodies explode with their own blood, like grapes being trampled. Countless vultures excitedly fly overhead, and contemplate a feast such as they have never imagined. It all ends very quickly!
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Copyright © 1997-2010 For comments and/or suggestions, send mail to Dr. George Madray |