Some speak of the Day of the Lord as though the armies of destruction are the saints holy anointed. But as Joel will describe, this army refers to the prophetic seventieth week that brings devastation and destruction, evidencing instead the acts of the destroyer.
The Day of the Lord is forewarned in the beginning of Joel's prophetic message saying Joel 1:15 "Alas for that day! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty."
The Lord is not the one that despoils, Joel is forewarning of the prophetic seventieth week army, continuing to describe the army of Satan that does despoil until conquered and destroyed by the Lord. It is the heavenly army of the Lord that defeats Satan and his army of lost souls, these along with all wicked are cast back into the Fiery Lake of Burning Sulfur in the pit also called Hell or Hades, and Gehana, then follows final judgment when the Lord destroys all the wicked as Death and Hades are cast into the Lake of Fire called the second death and as punishment.
This Gog and Magog army of destruction is described in Joel 2:2 "...Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come... Before them the land is like the garden of Eden, behind them, a desert waste- nothing escapes them." It is after the army of disasters that the Lord and His heavenly army shall meet and conquer the destroyer, told of in Joel 2:11 "The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?" The Lords army are conquerers, Satans army of Gog and Magog are the despoilers and destroyers.
The seventieth week prophecy occurs in two parts, in the first 3½ years it is commonly called the 'Great Tribulations' or with emphasis 'The Tribulations', in the last 3½ years it is called the apacolyptic 'Desolations' not seen since the beginning of creation, and never to be seen again. Whether those yet living are both Gentile and Jewish saints is not clear. However it is clear the faithful people called Israel are yet living in this prophetic time and scattered among the nations, a remnant that remain faithful gathered immediately after the first 3½ years described as the 1325 days, described in Revelations 7:14-15 "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation..." These last coming out of the Great Tribulations are the chosen people gathered out of all the nations, beginning in the man made State of Israel and symbolic Jerusalem of today. This we are told in Luke 21:20-22 "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near… For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written." This is the time a remnant of the elect turn to God anointing the Most Holy, finding sanctuary described as grace God pours out upon them.
The wrath of God begins within the second half of the 3½ years, a time when peace has left this earth and only the wicked remain, this promise found in Romans 5:9 "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" The Day of the Lord has it's beginning after Satan is released from the abyss, released Satan becomes ruler upon earth for a short time known as the 'Seventieth Week Prophecy'. Satan commits an abomination beginning the second half of the prophetic seventieth week, Satan then gathers his Gog and Magog army beginning wars and desolations. The wrath and curses of God are then poured out upon the wicked, after this Gods' army conquer Satan and his army, all of the wicked are temporarily cast back into Sheol called the 'Burning Lake of Sulfur' where earlier the Beast and False Prophet had been cast alive to await Satan. This composite of Sheol is now called Death and Hades, these at last are cast into the 'Lake of Fire'. This Lake of Fire is final judgment as punishment eternal, what remains is symbolic, their suffering n Sheol before lasting day and night forever, now ending described as the 'smoke of their suffering rising for eternity'.
Of the people Israel sometimes called Zion scattered among the nations, they had waited for the gathering told of in Isaiah 1:27-28 "Zion will be redeemed with justice, her penitent ones with righteousness. But rebels and sinners will both be broken, and those who forsake the LORD will perish." This tells us in the final days before the end it is only a remnant of the elect after those that rebel and revolt against God are purged, leaving a remnant that will be gathered back into covenant and into eternal Israel as foretold in Ezekiel 20:37-38 "I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, yet they will not enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the LORD."
This is the time the chosen of God called the rebellious are redeemed, not by works of sacrifice or self-purification, but by faith and obedience receive grace that begins in Jerusalem as told in Joel 2:32 "And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls." Now the remnant elect of the chosen are re-grafted back into the whole house of Israel now called the Family of God as foretold in Joel 3:1-2 "In those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land."
The apocalypse after the last of saint's removed will leave a spiritual time and condition fulfilled by the unredeemed, a calamity of destruction most cannot envision, even as described in Revelation 19:17-18 "And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, "Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great." Of the birds midair, surely these are the spiritually unclean and detestable birds.
In the valley of Jehoshaphat will be final judgment, and here we learn of the alien symbolically allotted a place in the Promised Land by God, these called the Family of God. About the Family of God best described by Paul in Romans 9:6-7 "For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children." And finally Paul describes who are Gods Israel or spiritual children of promise in Romans 9:8 "In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring."
Notice that the Promised Land referred to in part as the land called Israel is described as not belonging to the chosen, but belongs to God, this is made clear in Leviticus 25:23-24 "The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants." The new land of 'Righteousness' is not of the old order of heaven and earth or Jerusalem, only a shadow of that in heaven, this New Jerusalem promised by the Messiah saying I am making all things new, foretold in Isaiah 65:17-19 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more."
After final judgment there will be fulfilled all the promises of God, all that has been written will be fulfilled when suffering and death will no longer exist, God wanted a people told of in the prophetic message saying Joel 2:26-27 "...And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame. Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel: I am the LORD your God And there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame." God now makes a new covenant with the faithful, God then establishes His Temple or Sanctuary made by His hands among His people for eternity told in Ezekiel 37:25-27 "I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people."
It is the Lord and heavenly host of angels that carry out Gods wrath upon the wicked of earth, the saints will be among the Lords army when judgment commences, it is in judgment the saints are told they have a part. God wanted a people and so chose a people, the children of God are told of in Matthew 25:32 "All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Afterward for eternity there will no longer be division between peoples told of in Psalms 10:16 "The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land." And so is answered how is accomplished this bringing all into one people Revelation 22:2 "... And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."
No comments:
Post a Comment