8. The Day of Destruction
Isa 2:12, Isa 13:6, Amos 5:20, Zeph 1:2, Zeph 1:15
Jesus described the fear that would grip men’s hearts in the last days: “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”Luke 21:25-26
The “Day of the Lord” is the day of destruction. Isaiah said, “The Day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon the proud and lofty … it will come as destruction.”Isa 2:12
When God has completed His salvation plan, He will destroy this world. He will punish those who refuse to repent. Just as the earth had a beginning, it will also have an end, on a day already known to God. On that day, He will punish the nations, the Gentiles, who reject His truth.
After the fifth angel poured out his bowl of wrath on the throne of the beast, the nations “did not repent of their deeds.”Rev 16:11 Then, the “sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates”Rev 16:12 to call the nations together at Armageddon.
Satan will be released from the abyss and given authority to perform great signs and wonders, to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Joel called the Day of the Lord “a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness.”Joel 2:2 The prophet Amos said, “The Day of the Lord will be darkness and not light.”Amos 5:20 And Zephaniah wrote, “The great Day of the Lord is nearZeph 1:7 …. It will utterly consume everything.”Zeph 1:2 “That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness.”Zeph 1:15
The sixth seal, sixth trumpet, and sixth bowl of wrath all describe the Great Day of God’s wrath: the battle of Armageddon, which ends man’s existence.
9. A Unique Day, Known Only to the Father
Zech 14:7, Matt 24:36, Rev 9:15, Rev 16:15
Zechariah said that the Day of the Lord would be a unique Day, known only to God.Zech 14:7 Jesus said, “Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son. Only the Father knows.”Matt 24:36
In the Book of Revelation, John told us that the angels bound at the great river Euphrates were prepared by God “for the hour and day and month and year.”Rev 9:15 On that day, our Lord Jesus Christ will return to rescue His saints. But even our Lord does not know when He will return.
Many have foolishly tried to predict the day of His return, even selling all their possessions, believing that they were useless. But Paul said, “Let no one in any way deceive, [for that Day] will by no means come until the man of lawlessness has been revealed … who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship.”2 Thess 2:3-4
Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son. Only the Father knows.
Matthew 24:36
Today, the man of sin has been revealed, and it seems that we know the number of years that remain. But we need to heed the words of the apostle Peter, who said, “Do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness.”2 Pet 3:8-10 The Day of the Lord seems far off, but for all of us, it will come “in a moment, and a twinkling of an eye…”1 Cor 15:52 When we breath our last breath, the Day of the Lord will come as a twinkling of an eye.
Jesus warned us that He would return as a thief in the night.Rev 16:15
10. The Salvation of Israel
Zech 12:10-11, Matt 24:26-33, Rev 1:7, Rev 16:16
Many people believe that the last war will be at a place called Armageddon, which is otherwise known by the Hebrew name Megiddo. This belief comes from the literal reading of Rev 16:16, which says, “and they gathered them together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.”
The real meaning of Armageddon is found in Zech 12:11—“In that Day, there shall be mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.” John is telling us that Israel’s repentance must precede Christ’s return. When Israel realizes that they have crucified their God, they will mourn as they did at Megiddo.
In that Day, there shall be mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
Zechariah 12:11
The apostle Paul said that when the fullness of the Gentiles has come, all of Israel will be saved.Rom 11:25-26 Zechariah said that after Israel repents, they will see Him returning on the clouds: “then they will look on Me whom they pierced.”Zech 12:10 John described this in the first chapter of the Book of Revelation, saying, “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced Him.”Rev 1:7
Jesus said, “When the fig tree puts forth her leaves … this generation shall not pass away.”Matt 24:26 The prophet Joel described Israel as God’s “fig tree” in the Day of the Lord.Joel 1:7 Isaiah said the end-time gathering of Israel would be the day of Israel’s salvation.Isa 10:20-23 Ezekiel described the restoration of Israel and the outpouring of the holy spirit on Israel in the last days, saying, “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves; and bring you into the land of Israel … I will put My spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land.”Ezek 37:12-14
Israel will be the last, but the last will be the first.
11. The 144,000
The end-time salvation of Israel is described as the sealing of 144,000—12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. “An angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God,”Rev 7:2 seals the servants of God, who are numbered 144,000. The angel from the east is the end-time Church, which will bring salvation to Israel before Jesus returns.
In fact, the 144,000 represent all the elect who have the seal of the living God. In Revelation 7, God’s elect are divided into two groups: those who came out of the Great TribulationRev 7:14 and those who have the seal of God. The spirit of God is the seal on God’s elect. The apostle Paul compared the Spirit of Christ to a guarantee or scroll sealed by the spirit of God. Our speaking in tongues is proof that we have been sealed by God.
Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees until we have sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads.
Revelation 7:3
In A.D. 180, Irenaeus said that all who were baptized were born into the kingdom of God.1 But only those who had received the spirit of God as evidenced by speaking in tongues have been made “perfect”2 because they are sealed. Irenaeus said this when he made the last testimony regarding the true evidence of receiving the holy spirit—before the place of God’s sanctuary was cast to the ground.
In Revelation 14, the 144,000 are described as a Lamb on Mount Zion. This is the mountain of the Lord’s House prophesied by Isaiah. In verse 2, we hear the sound of harpists and much water. These are the sounds of prayer in the holy spirit. The 144,000 “follow the Lamb wherever He goes.”Rev 14:4 They follow the commandments and example of Jesus. John said they had never been defiled with womenRev 14:4 —the false teachings of the great harlot.
12. Is the Battle of Armageddon a Real Battle?
Dan 11:40-45, Zech 12:2-14, Rev 9:16
Before Israel was re-established as a nation in 1948, very few Bible commentators believed there was going to be a real battle in the last days, when Israel would be attacked by countries from the north. Nor did anyone believe that the armies of 200 million men recorded in Rev 9:16 were possible. Most people thought that the restoration of Israel, described by Ezekiel, was only an allegory of the end-time Church. Today, however, you can take a tour of Israel and they will show you the valley of Armageddon. Armies of 200 million men are now a real possibility.
And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself —the house of Nathan by itself . . .
Zechariah 12:12
The prophecies of Zechariah 12 make it clear that the city of Jerusalem is the target of Satan’s attack. Verse 6 tells us that God will make “the governors of Judah like a firepan in the woodpile … for 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.” The attack on Jerusalem comes after the repentance of “the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” Here, the house of David represents the end-time Church, but it is only one house of the “inhabitants of Jerusalem” who repent in Zechariah 12.
We can also see that the Battle of Armageddon is a real war in Daniel 11, which lists Egypt, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Libya, and Ethiopia as other countries in the battle. It is difficult to imagine symbolic meanings for all these countries.
Rev 16:18 describes this battle as “a great earthquake.” The earthquakes prophesied in Rev 8:5 and Rev 11:13 were real wars, and we have no reason to doubt that the earthquake describing the Battle of Armageddon is a real war. The weapons of war are described. The riders on the horses have fire and brimstone proceeding from their mouths, the sky is split back as a scroll, and hailstones of a hundred pounds fall to the earth. The meanings of these cannot be explained as figurative by other Bible passages.
13. An Attack on a Peaceful People
In the Book of Ezekiel, God said, “I will seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.”Ezek 34:12 Today, we are all familiar with the atrocities of the Holocaust—the cloudy and dark day that restored Israel as a nation.
But before the final attack on Israel, there will be time of peace and safety.
Isaiah said, “In the latter days, the mountain of the Lord’s House will be established above all the mountains.”Isa 2:2 “He will judge between the nations and rebuke many people. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.”Isa 2:4
beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears
Joel 2:11
However, Joel informed us that suddenly the command will come to “beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears.”Joel 2:11 Ezekiel said the attack would be on “a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and neither bars nor gates.”Ezek 38:11 He described the enormous army that would attack Israel: “You shall ascend, you shall come like a storm, you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.”Ezek 38:9
The Book of Revelation describes these armies “as the sands of the seashore” and numbers them as 200 million.
In Rev 20:9, we read that the armies “surrounded the camp of the holy.” This is the camp of the Angels of Yihvah described by Joel: “Yihvah gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great.”Joel 3:9-10
Zechariah said, “Yihvah, my ELOHIM, shall come, and all His holy ones (angels) with Him.”Zech 14:5 He will then judge the nations.
