THE REMNANT

The Old Testament Prophets Explained

by David KIdd

Email churchofgodslove4@gmail.com for pdf version

Summary of Book

The exciting story told in this book of God’s restoration of the remnant of Israel in the days after the Assyrian captivity (approx. 720 B.C.) and Babylonian captivity (approx. 600 B.C.) will provide the reader with an important and eye-opening context for understanding of much of what God’s chosen prophets wrote. We will see the prophecies through the eyes of those who lived much nearer to the time of the prophecies. The common application of many Old Testament prophecies to our day, and the end of the world, will be put under the microscope and seriously challenged. The foundations for some of our prophetic scenarios for the future may be shattered in the process, but our faith in the existence of a loving God who doesn’t give up on His people will be strengthened.

Table of Contents

Chapter One - Introduction ................................................................................................... 6

Chapter Two - Imperial Favor ............................................................................................... 8

Imperial decrees between about 570 B.C. and about 450 B.C in favor of Israel’s restoration and exaltation .................................................................................................... 8

Nebuchadnezzar’s decree inspired by Daniel’s dream interpretation ................................ 8

Nebuchadnezzar’s decree inspired by Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-Nego ........................ 9

Cyrus commands the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem .............................................. 9

Confirmation of Cyrus’ earlier decree by King Darius’ decree ....................................... 10

Darius’ decree inspired by Daniel’s deliverance from the lion’s den .............................. 11

Contemplating the impact of the decrees .......................................................................... 11

Xerxes’ decree inspired by Esther and Mordecai ............................................................. 12

Artaxerxes’s decree (Son of Xerses 1) ............................................................................. 13

Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 14

Chapter Three - Great Revival of Israel .......................................................................... 16

1. High level foreign support for Israel ............................................................................. 17

2. Protection from enemies ................................................................................................ 19

3. Self governance ............................................................................................................. 20

4. Rebuilding of temple and Jerusalem ............................................................................. 21

5. World-wide awe of Israel’s God ................................................................................... 21

6. Purified hearts and knowledge of God’s law ................................................................ 22

7. Rebuilding of Israel as one nation ................................................................................. 23

8. Blessings concerning the land ....................................................................................... 29

9. The nation’s covenant with God ................................................................................... 30

10. Great rejoicing ............................................................................................................. 32

Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 32

Chapter Four - Historical Confirmation of Great Revival ................................................ 34

Judah’s Destruction ........................................................................................................... 34

Babylon’s Downfall ........................................................................................................... 35

The Imperial Decrees ......................................................................................................... 35

Israel’s Spiritual Restoration and Autonomy .................................................................... 35

The Centrality of the Rebuilt Temple for a United Israel and Jerusalem as a World Religious Centre ................................................................................................................ 37

Judah’s Population Increase .............................................................................................. 37

Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 38

Chapter Five – The Prophets in Context (minor) ............................................................... 39

Hosea ................................................................................................................................. 41

Joel ..................................................................................................................................... 43

Amos .................................................................................................................................. 47

Obadiah .............................................................................................................................. 49

Jonah .................................................................................................................................. 51

Micah ................................................................................................................................. 52

Nahum ................................................................................................................................ 54

Habakkuk ........................................................................................................................... 55

Zephaniah .......................................................................................................................... 56

Haggai ................................................................................................................................ 58

Zechariah ........................................................................................................................... 60

Malachi .............................................................................................................................. 67

Chapter Six – The Prophets in Context (major) ................................................................ 69

Isaiah .................................................................................................................................. 69

Jeremiah ............................................................................................................................. 94

Ezekiel ............................................................................................................................. 101

Daniel ............................................................................................................................... 107

Closing Comments on the Prophets ................................................................................ 114

Chapter Seven – Conclusion .............................................................................................. 116

Appendices (not provided below, but please email churchofgodslove4@gmail.com to receive them).........................................................................................

A. Zechariah 14 ............................................................................................................

Zechariah Fourteen - Future or Fulfilled? By Ralph E. Woodrow .................................

B. The ‘Day of the Lord’ Ralph E. Woodrow...................................................................

C. Ezekiel 38-39 – The Battle of Chapters 38 & 39 .......................................................

The Battle of Ezekiel 38 and 39 - Future or Fulfilled? By Ralph E. Woodrow ..........…

Further notes ................................................................................................................

Chapter 38 ....................................................................................................................

Chapter 39 ....................................................................................................................

D. Ezekiel’s Temple Ralph E. Woodrow......................................................................….

Ezekiel’s temple – Is it future? ......................................................................................

A Spiritual temple ........................................................................................................….

E. Sun, moon & stars darkened, Jacob’s trouble & ‘Latter days’ Ralph E Woodrow..…..

Sun, moon and stars darkened ......................................................................................

Jacob’s trouble & ‘Latter days’ ...................................................................................... ..

F. Daniel Eight and Nine ..............................................................................................….

Daniel Eight: ....................................................................................................................

Daniel Nine ...................................................................................................................….

G. British-Israel .................................................................................................................

H. Israel in Prophecy – God’s promises to His Chosen People .......................................

I. Nahum ..............................................................................................................................

J. Encouragement From Zephaniah ..............................................................................….

K. Encouragement For a Personal Faith - Knowing Your Eternal Destiny...................……..

Bibliography ........................................................................................................................

Chapter One - Introduction

Very often, in articles, books or sermons, a superficial approach is adopted when it comes to the prophetic books of the Old Testament. Usually a text or two is taken to support a current event or a futuristic scenario. The context of the prophetic verse or chapter under discussion is largely obscured or ignored as it is dogmatically asserted, or assumed, to find, or to soon find, fulfillment in our time. Old Testament verses are credited with predicting automobiles, aircraft, the Y2K Millennium Bug, American high rises falling in 9/11, Covid-19 – you name it.

A wealth of scriptures from the Old Testament prophets are also commonly applied (or rather misapplied) to modern day Israel, the battle of Armageddon, a rebuilt Jewish temple, the second coming of Christ, and an idyllic millennial age to follow on the earth (to name but a few subjects). That is why considerable time is spent below showing the context and meaning of many passages from the Old Testament prophets. This book will help you discern fact from fiction or speculation.

The remnant captives of Israel, according to the post-captivity prophet Zechariah, were the apple of God’s eye. The following is the story of the awesome way in which God returned His loving favor to them after their captivity by fulfilling many prophecies.

This story, however, starts with doom and gloom for the people of Israel (commonly referred to as The Jews today) who are in bondage to the Assyrians and Babylonians. All the pre-captivity prophets, such as Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, had prophesied concerning their exile had come to pass. The terrible curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 had been poured out on all the tribes of Israel, the chosen people of God.

Daniel, in the first year of King Darius (approx. 545 B.C. [see Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary re date of his rule]), acknowledges this and prays fervently about it. He laments in Daniel chapter 9:11-12:

Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

God’s people had been cast off – the northern kingdom, Israel, at the hands of the Assyrians and the southern kingdom, Judah, at the hands of the Babylonians. Many men, women, and children had been slaughtered mercilessly. Their homeland was desecrated and the holy city and holy temple lay in ruins.

What of their future? Had this chosen and special nation now been cast out of God’s sight forever? Certainly not! An epic work of restoration was about to begin.

Chapter Two - Imperial Favor

Imperial decrees between about 570 B.C. and about 450 B.C in favor of Israel’s restoration and exaltation

Nebuchadnezzar’s decree inspired by Daniel’s dream interpretation

In approximately 570 B.C. King Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of the Babylonian world empire, challenged the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and his people to tell him what he had dreamed and to then interpret the dream for him. They protested, tell us the dream and then we will give you the interpretation. The King refused. However Daniel, the Israelite captive, was able to successfully meet this unfair challenge by the Spirit of his mighty God.

The early signs for the revival of the downtrodden Israelites, and the spreading of the worship of their God, are seen in the king’s awestruck and grateful response to Daniel in Daniel 2:46-49:

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel, and said, ‘Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.’ Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king [the king’s court].

Would the people who witnessed Daniel’s great and impossible God-given discernment have been greatly impressed and in awe? Of-course. Would they have marveled at the King prostrating himself before his servant Daniel? Certainly! Would word of Daniel’s deed and his promotion have spread throughout the empire? Undoubtedly! In fact King Nebuchadnezzar issued a decree to all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth extolling Daniel’s feat and glorifying his God (see Daniel 4:1-9). Would the Israelites have been renewed in spirit to hear of Daniel’s deed and his and Shadrach’s, Meshach’s, and Abed-Nego’s elevation to high positions of authority in the empire? Most certainly! Surely Israel’s God was on the move to restore them.

Nebuchadnezzar’s decree inspired by Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-Nego

However, not long after, the situation turned very sour for the young men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. They faced the horror of a burning fiery furnace for failing to worship an idolatrous image set up by King Nebuchadnezzar. They were cast into a fire that was so hot even the so called mighty men of valor who put them in there were killed whilst performing their unenviable task. The young men though, by the grace of God, miraculously survived the fiery furnace without so much as having a hair singed or even the smell of fire upon them.

King Nebuchadnezzar again blessed the God of Israel and made the following decree throughout his vast world empire:

Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon (Daniel 3:29-30).

More people of the empire surely would have been turned toward the God of these Israelites and the captive Israelites would have been strengthened further in spirit.

Cyrus commands the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem

God’s favor, and the favor of the new rulers of the empire – the Persians, toward Israel in 538 B.C. was remarkable. The time was right for Cyrus, whose commissioning by God to restore Israel was prophesied beforehand in Isaiah 45. The great city of Jerusalem and the most holy place in the city – the temple, the destruction of which the nations had gloated over, were to be exalted. Quite remarkably, and most significantly, the temple in Jerusalem was to be rebuilt. Perhaps the greatest symbol of the worship of Israel’s God was to be rebuilt, and it was to be rebuilt in most extraordinary circumstances. Its rebuilding was at the instigation, not of Israelites, but through the aegis of a God-inspired foreign ruler, and with the financial help of former enemies!

The scribe Ezra writes:

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me. And he has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all of his people? May his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house of God which is in Jerusalem’ (Ezra 1:1-4).

Confirmation of Cyrus’ earlier decree by King Darius’ decree

King Darius was also like-minded towards the Jews and toward their God. Opposition to the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple had arisen (see Ezra 4:4) and he flatly was not going to tolerate it. He honored the elders of the Jews, honored YHWH by referring to Him as the God of heaven and imposed strict and foreboding sanctions on any who would attempt to stand in the way of Israel and their God. [Note: the identification of King Darius outside of the Bible has been problematic].

Ezra writes:

Then King Darius issued a decree, and a search was made in the archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. And at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found, and in it a record was written thus:

‘In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem:

“Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits, with three rows of heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let the expenses be paid from the king’s treasury. Also let the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place; and deposit them in the house of God” …

Moreover I issue a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king’s expense from taxes on the region beyond the river; this is to be given immediately to these men, so that they are not hindered. And whatever they need – young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the requests of the priests who are in Jerusalem – let it be given them day by day without fail, that they may offer sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his sons.

Also I issue a decree that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house and erected, and let him be hanged on it, and let his house be made a refuse heap because of it. And may the God who causes his name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently (Ezra 6:1-5, 8-11).

Darius’ decree inspired by Daniel’s deliverance from the lion’s den

King Darius followed the wisdom of previous kings by exalting Daniel. He too saw an excellent spirit in Daniel and was considering appointing Daniel as ruler over the whole realm (Daniel 6:3). This angered some jealous and ambitious men who succeeded in having Daniel thrown into a den of lions. However, as we know, God intervened miraculously again for faithful Daniel. The result was another empire-wide decree extolling Daniel’s God:

Then King Darius wrote:

To all people, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth:

Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one that shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues and he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth who has delivered Daniel from the lions.

So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian (Daniel 6:25-28).

Contemplating the impact of the decrees

Just imagine if similar events happened in our day over a similar period of time. Imagine if Christians were involved in some miraculous events that were fully authenticated by a worldwide ruling power (or simply the leading world governments) and spread abroad through the media, and decrees were made by powerful bodies supporting and elevating Christ as Lord and the Christian faith throughout the whole world, and threatening sanctions against all those who would attack our faith. Many people would surely be turned toward Christ and the worship of God.

If one can imagine this happening in our modern and more secularist culture, then one could surely appreciate the far greater stimulating effect all these decrees had on Judaism and the worship of their God in an era when the worship of God, or gods, was given so much more importance. Yet there were even more weighty decrees in favor of the Israelites to come. God had promised through the prophets, as we will see in chapters five and six, Israel would be restored mightily after being severely punished. God had also promised that the nations who had basked mercilessly in Israel’s downfall would be ashamed and confounded. God kept His word. The imperial decrees kept right on coming.

Xerxes’ decree inspired by Esther and Mordecai

Consider also Esther in the reign of Xerxes, otherwise known as Ahasuerus, the Son of Darius the Great. Esther, a Jewish woman, was elevated to the illustrious status of Queen in the great Persian Empire. Haman’s evil plot against her people was divinely uncovered and we see in Esther 8 another remarkable decree by King Ahasuerus in favor of Israel. Although, as you will see below, the decree was sanctioned by King Ahasuerus, the king gave Queen Esther and Mordecai license to write the decree in favor of their people in what ever manner they pleased! Their decree was as follows:

Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew,

‘Indeed I have given Esther the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows because he tried to lay his hand on the Jews. You yourselves write a decree concerning the Jews, as you please, in the king’s name, and seal it with the king’s signet ring; for whatever is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring no one can revoke.’

So the king’s scribes were called at that time, in the third month … on the twenty-third day; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews, to the satraps, the governors, and the princes of all the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces in all, to every province in its own script and language (v7-9) … By these letters the king permitted the Jews who were in every city to gather together and protect their lives – to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province that would assault them, both little children and women, to plunder their possessions (v11) …The Jews had light and gladness, joy and honor. And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them (Esther 8:16-17).

(my emphasis)

Esther chapter 9 continues:

The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahaseurus to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them fell upon all people. And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and all those doing the king’s work, helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them (v2-5) …The remainder of the Jews in the king’s provinces gathered together and protected their lives, had rest from their enemies, and killed seventy-five thousand of their enemies; but they did not lay a hand on the plunder (v16) … Therefore the Jews of the villages who dwelt in unwalled towns celebrated the fourteenth day of the month of Adar with gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and for sending presents to one another (v19).

Mordecai’s appointment to high office had certainly been to the Jew’s great advantage. God certainly blessed His people through Mordecai. Esther 10:2-3 says:

Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the books of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahaseurus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all of his countrymen.

Artaxerxes’s decree (Son of Xerses 1)

The following decree is the last recorded decree in the Bible of a foreign power and empire-ruler aimed at re-establishing Israel and establishing its religion. It came approximately 120 years after the first one quoted above of King Nebuchadnezzar’s.

Ezra, in chapter 7, records it as follows:

Artexerxes, king of kings,

To Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven: Perfect peace and so forth. I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go up with you (v12-13). … [A]nd whereas you are to carry the silver and gold which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel whose dwelling is in Jerusalem; and whereas all the silver and gold that you may find in all the province of Babylon, along with the freewill offering of the people and the priests, are to be freely offered for the house of their God in Jerusalem (v15-16) … Also we inform you that it shall not be lawful to impose tax, tribute or custom on any of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the river, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them. Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment (24-26).

Conclusion

Try to imagine once more if similar events happened in our time over a similar period of about 120 years. Imagine if Christians were involved in some miraculous events that were fully authenticated by the leading world governments and spread abroad through the media.

Imagine if decrees were made by powerful bodies supporting and elevating the Christian faith to the point where Christianity was heralded above all religions. Imagine if some of our pastors were promoted as Daniel and Mordecai were. Just try and picture the revival in Christianity that would be experienced.

You should then be able to appreciate the wonderful stimulus all these decrees gave Judaism and the worship of YHWH in an era when the worship of Deity was given so much more importance than it is in our day. In the next two chapters we will see from the few surviving sources we have for this era that indeed God smiled greatly upon His people.

Chapter Three - Great Revival of Israel

For those who enjoy hearing of great spiritual revivals and the move of God amongst His people, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah make for sumptuous reading. All the ingredients for successful revival and restoration, and more, are present. Ten select aspects of Israel’s momentous revival are highlighted below.

It’s important though to firstly set the scene for these historical books so we can see how they tie in with the decrees described above which preceded and partly overlapped them. It is also important to note that although Ezra and Nehemiah were placed in the Bible chronologically before the prophets, they actually post-date The Prophets. So if the books of the Bible were arranged chronologically by date, Ezra and Nehemiah (and Esther too) would appear after Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and the other prophets discussed in this book.

Ezra was an Israelite priest and scribe. He was a descendant of Moses’ brother Aaron. He left Persia and returned to Jerusalem in about 458 B.C. with a copy of King Artaxerxes’ decree giving him significant power and authority in Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11-26). His work focused on the encouragement of the rebuilding of the temple and the restoration of true spirituality and holiness amongst God’s remnant people according to the laws of God.

Nehemiah was a contemporary of Ezra who had the honorable and trusted position of being King Artaxerxes’ cupbearer. Cupbearer’s were often taken into the king’s confidence and had a small amount of influence on their master’s decisions [see Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 2003, p.373]. Nehemiah visited Jerusalem in approximately 445 B.C. and provided the people with great help and motivation in the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The four major sections of the book of Nehemiah, according to the Holman Dictionary, deal with the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls (chaps. 1-7), the Great Revival (chaps. 8-10), population and census information (chaps. 11-12), and the reforms of Nehemiah (chap. 13) (my emphasis).

Israel had been severely battered by the Assyrian captivity, which saw the northern part of their kingdom being captured from approximately 720 B.C., and by the Babylonian captivity, which took the southern part, Judah, from approximately 600 B.C. Israel would certainly need the hand of God to ever be restored to glory.

The marvelous divine help outlined in chapter two which God had given her after her 70 years of punishment in Babylon indeed was significant in restoring her to being the light and banner to the nations she was intended to be, and in restoring her to prosperity and favor among the nations. The following ten select aspects of Israel’s restoration from the historical books of Ezra and Nehemiah confirm this, and indeed show God had returned to His special chosen people who were, as Zechariah 2:8 records, still the apple of His eye.

1. High level foreign support for Israel

Perhaps the first necessity for a scattered people, taunted and dominated by the nations, if they are ever to be restored as a nation, is the favor of the powerful. The outstanding support given to Israel by great kings has already been seen in the form of the world-wide decrees. Quoted below are some further examples of this support not thus far canvassed from Ezra and Nehemiah:

Ezra

King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the House of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and put in the temple of his gods; and Cyrus king of Persia brought them out … and counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. This is the number of them: thirty gold platters, one thousand silver platters, twenty-nine knives, thirty gold basins, four hundred and ten silver basins of a similar kind and one thousand other articles. All the articles of gold and silver were five thousand four hundred. All these Sheshbazzar took with the captives who were brought from Babylon to Jerusalem (Ezra 1:7-11).

So the elders of the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished it [the temple], according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxses king of Persia … And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy; for the Lord made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel (Ezra 6:14 & 22).

(my emphasis)

The significance of the highlighted reference to the heart of the king of Assyria being turned toward the work of the house of God should not be missed. Remember it was the northern tribes of Israel who were scattered throughout the once powerful Assyrian empire. If the king’s heart was so changed, then the remnant of the Israelites scattered throughout the Assyrian empire who wanted to help in the work of the temple, or who wanted to return to their homeland, a strong and natural yearning for some, were likely free to do so and encouraged to do so. Indeed it would be most uncommon for exiled nationals to choose to move to a land other than their land of origin when the path for such a move is cleared so wonderfully. (See Appendix G – British-Israel)

Nehemiah

Nehemiah, another Jew who was raised to an important position in the empire, was also able to solicit further high level foreign support for Israel. The support Nehemiah obtained is recorded in Nehemiah. 2:5-8:

And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the cities of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Then the king said to me …, “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.

A green light for revival was blazoning. The stage was set. King Artaxerxes had equipped God’s chosen vessel, Nehemiah, to do great service to God in orchestrating the rebuilding of Judah. God granted divine protection to Nehemiah through King Artaxerxes. However, much more protection would be needed for the Israelites to be confident in approaching the awesome task at hand.

2. Protection from enemies

The prophets Zechariah and Haggai were sent by God to encourage the returned and returning exiles in the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple. Zechariah prophesied the Lord would be:

… a wall of fire all around [Jerusalem] … “Up, up! Flee from the land of the north says the Lord, for I have spread you abroad like the four winds of heaven … Up Zion! Escape, you who dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus says the Lord of Hosts: He sent me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake my hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants …” (Zechariah 2:5-9).

Ezra and Nehemiah, who wrote over 60 years after this prophecy, describe some of the protection Israel received from the God who was a wall of fire around them. We read earlier in King Darius’ decree of Ezra 6:11-12:

And we read in King Artaxerxes’ decree in Ezra 7:26:

Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.

And from the highest level of protection of all - God, Nehemiah adds:

And it happened, when our enemies heard … that God had brought their plot to nothing, that all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work (4:15).

Nehemiah recognized it was God who fought for them. He said, Our God will fight for us (4:20). The God of Israel neither slumbered nor slept.

He is the same God today, and His promise of old given through Moses to Israel that He would never leave them or forsake them is echoed in the New Testament in Hebrews 13:5 for all who would trust in Him through Christ now. God also provides us with defensive and offensive spiritual armor to enable us to stand against all of our enemies (Ephesians 6). God still fights for His people, and if God is for us who can be against us?

3. Self governance

In China, question marks have often been raised over the official Christian church – The Three Self Church. Many would not describe its creation in about 1954 as a sign of revival. Some claim it is essentially a puppet of the communist regime. For example, www.billionbibles.org formerly reported on their web-site that in this church, and in China:

•The Communist Party decides who can preach and what can

be preached.

• Preaching should focus on the social rules and the social

benefits of Christianity.

• Preaching outside the Three Self church buildings is

forbidden.

• Evangelizing or giving out tracts is forbidden.

• Importing Bibles is forbidden, even if they are given away for free.

• Printings Bibles without authorization is forbidden, even if they are given

away for free.

• Government officials cannot be Christian.

• School teachers cannot be Christian. …
• Children and teenagers cannot be Christian.

Not all sources are so negative about the Three Self Church and Christianity in China. However, if the above claims are true, then the church could hardly be called autonomous. Its creation could not be characterized as a true revival.

For true revival to flow the people of God must have freedom to worship as God ordains, not man. This important plank, in Israel’s case, God put in place through King Artaxerxes. He decreed:

And you, Ezra, according to your God-given wisdom set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the river, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach those who do not know them (Ezra 7:24-25).

Nehemiah likewise, as governor, was given a free ranging commission to restore Israel as he saw fit according to the will of God. To the glory of God, the people of Israel, although part of the Persian Empire, were at least free to govern themselves. They could hardly be called Puppets of Persia. Persia encouraged the worship of YHWH, wanted to see Israel flourish, and trusted the native people of Israel knew how best to make this a reality. Let’s thank God if we have the same freedom today and pray for those who don’t.

4. Rebuilding of temple and Jerusalem

Strong foundations are essential if any revival is to gather momentum and have longevity. Ezra records in chapter 6:15 how the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius and speaks of the measure of revival God had granted the remnant in chapter 9:9 as follows:

For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

Nehemiah adds:

So we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work (Nehemiah 4v6) … So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days (Nehemiah 6:15).

From slaves to master-builders in next to no time. Ezra and Nehemiah have described a remarkable turnaround. The wall was finished in only 52 days! With the temple in place, and a strong foothold in the city of God’s choosing, the people would have regained their sense of identity and confidence in God and His prophets, who had proclaimed great restoration after sore captivity. Sure foundations had been laid.

5. World-wide awe of Israel’s God

The Israelites were not the only ones in awe of the move of their God. Immediately after recording the wall was finished, Nehemiah adds:

And it happened when all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations around us saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; for they perceived that this work was done by our God (Nehemiah 6:1).

Great revivals are noised abroad. They are heard about from afar. Often this adds momentum as more people within the region, and sympathetic people from afar, now want to be part of it. Critics and enemies also arise, but the momentum is hard to quell, especially as God’s people rally closer to Him. In chapters five and six we will see how the prophets prophesied much about how Gentiles would even want to be part of what was happening in Jerusalem.

6. Purified hearts and knowledge of God’s law

Indeed the people of God were now ready for transformation. Their hard hearts which had driven them into captivity were ready for softening. Their hearts of stone were becoming hearts of flesh, just as Ezekiel prophesied in chapters 11 and 36.

This is the true essence of revival. If hearts are not turned toward God in sincerity and truth, then any physical manifestations of revival, such as a restored temple, are nothing but dross. Ezra records:

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek Him in the right way for us and our little ones and all our possessions (Ezra 8:21).

Ezra prayed:

O Lord God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this! Now while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very bitterly (Ezra 9:15 -10:1).

So Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. Then he read from it in the open square … from morning until midday … and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law … Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground … And Nehemiah, who was the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law … And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them (Nehemiah 8:2-12).

This widespread fasting and weeping was a sure sign of the people’s sincerity. But what was just as encouraging, if not more encouraging, was why they wept. They wept over their sins. This augured well for real life-changing repentance. Also encouraging was that all the people understood God’s Law (note also Ezra 7:25) and were willing to listen to it being read at great length. They did not need great music, entertainment, or gimmicks, to stay in the presence of the Lord. They were interested in receiving instruction from the throne of God. They wanted to hear God’s word and to obey it. Their hunger and thirst for God, and their repentant hearts, provide a great example for all generations.

Understanding is another important foundation for true revival. Without understanding, what often occurs is little more than a short term high or emotional experience. However, when we truly understand our own sinfulness, God’s infinite mercy toward us, and His new path for us, we will be set on a rock which can withstand the greatest storms of life. Many in Israel had reached such a place and were now ready to enjoy the fruit and blessing that flow automatically from being humble in God’s sight.

7. Rebuilding of Israel as one nation

Jeremiah prophesied:

The word that the Lord spoke against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. 2 “Declare among the nations, Proclaim, and set up a standard; Proclaim—do not conceal it— Say, ‘Babylon is taken, Bel is shamed. Merodach is broken in pieces; Her idols are humiliated, Her images are broken in pieces.’ 3 For out of the north a nation comes up against her, Which shall make her land desolate, And no one shall dwell therein. They shall move, they shall depart, Both man and beast. 4 “In those days and in that time,” says the Lord, “The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; With continual weeping they shall come, And seek the Lord their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion, With their faces toward it, saying, ‘Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord In a perpetual covenant That will not be forgotten.’ … “Israel is like scattered sheep; The lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria devoured him; Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.” 18 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of Assyria. 19 But I will bring back Israel to his home, And he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan; His soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and in that time,” says the Lord, “The iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I preserve. … Thus says the Lord of hosts: “The children of Israel were oppressed, Along with the children of Judah; All who took them captive have held them fast; They have refused to let them go. 34 Their Redeemer is strong; The Lord of hosts is His name. He will thoroughly plead their case, That He may give rest to the land, And disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon (Jeremiah 50:2-5,17-20, 33-34).

God was ready to restore Israel. One important step to this end was their unification. They had been divided into the northern and southern kingdoms since the days of Jeroboam and Rehoboam around 900 B.C.

Ezra and Nehemiah focused, admittedly, on the tribes of Judah, Benjamin and Levi, the southern tribes, in the rebuilding of Judah and Jerusalem. The ordained starting place for the rebuilding of Israel as a strong and united nation clearly had to be Jerusalem, the holy city of the temple. This was the area of Israel where the aforementioned tribes were prominent. They were the tribes-people who were closest in proximity to the historic events unfolding in Jerusalem. However, we do see several clear indications the rebuilding was intended as a foundation for Judah and Israel as a united nation. Below, you will see some explicit evidence and also inferences of the northern tribes’ presence in Israel after their Assyrian captivity. There is also the inference of Israel’s ongoing return with Judah from Babylon. The evidence and plausible inferences will establish that the covenant God made in Nehemiah was indeed with all Israel who had been reunited as a nation.

In 1 Chronicles (probably written by Ezra), leading up to a critical text in 1 Chronicles 9:1-3, we find historical and genealogical information written after Judah was taken into captivity and including information right up to that time and beyond. For example, in 1 Chronicles 3:17-24, we see genealogical information about King Jeconiah of Judah (who was taken into Babylonian captivity), Zerubbabel and Shechaniah (both mentioned in the book of Ezra – post-captivity). We see in 1 Chronicles 4:43 evidence of members of the tribe of Simeon living in the Mount Seir region of Edom at the time of writing. In Chronicles 5:26, we are told where Assyria had taken the Reubenites, Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh – Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan. We are also told they were still there as at the late time of writing of 1 Chronicles.

1 Chronicles 9:1-3 below, shows that various references in Ezra and Nehemiah to Israel as distinct from Judah or the Jews, can be read as references to the allegedly lost ten tribes:

So all Israel was recorded by genealogies, and indeed, they were inscribed in the book of the kings of Israel. But Judah was carried away captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. 2 And the first inhabitants who dwelt in their possessions in their cities were Israelites, priests, Levites, and the Nethinim. 3 Now in Jerusalem the children of Judah dwelt, and some of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim and Manasseh.

(my emphasis)

Note how Judah and Israel are distinguished in these verses. Therefore, both were living in Israel post-captivity. The return of Israelites to Judah’s cities, even before the 70 years of captivity of Judah, would have enabled them to have significant population growth in Israel before the later returns associated with Ezra. This phrase Israelites, priests, Levites and the Nethinim is repeated in Ezra and Nehemiah, and in light of 1 Chronicles 9:1-3 can therefore surely be taken to be referring directly to Israelites of the ten tribes.

For example:

So the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, some of the people, the Nethinim, and all Israel dwelt in their cities (Nehemiah. 7:72).

And the rest of Israel, of the priests and Levites, were in all the cities of Judah, everyone in his inheritance. 21 But the Nethinim dwelt in Ophel … (Nehemiah. 11:20)

Ezra 3:1 says:

And when the seventh month had come, and the children of Israel were in their cities, the people gathered together as one man to Jerusalem.

(my emphasis)

Whilst in Ezra 3 Jerusalem and the southern tribes are necessarily the focus, Jerusalem indeed being the place where the nation gathers together as one man, Ezra considers it apt in Ezra 2:70 to describe the people involved in this rebuilding as all Israel. They at least are given as a representation of such.

One might argue that since the southern tribes of Israel are part of Israel, Ezra might only have them in mind when he is referring to all Israel given that in context he’s describing what’s happening in their part of Israel. This is likely to be more than a matter of terminology though (given the information above), and the following important comments from Ezra 6:15-22:

Now the temple was finished … Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. And they offered sacrifices at the dedication of this house of God, one hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel … Then the children of Israel who had returned from the captivity ate together with all who had separated themselves from the filth of the nations of the land in order to seek the Lord God of Israel … [and] the Lord made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. (my emphasis)

The mention of the sacrifices and offerings at the dedication of the temple being for the twelve tribes, and the additional reference to the supportive king of Assyria, who had scattered the northern tribes throughout his territories, is instructive. It is important symbolism for this new movement in Israel being undoubtedly the foundation of the rebuilding of the twelve tribes as one nation!

Note also Ezra 8:35:

The children of those who had been carried away captive, who had come from the captivity, offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a sin offering. …

Support for this is also found in Artaxerxses’ great decree for the return of the captives. It relates to Israel as a whole. King Artaxerxes wrote:

‘I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in my realm [a large empire including areas where all tribes were scattered], who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go up with you’ (Ezra 7:13).

Nehemiah, as Ezra does, likewise naturally focuses on the southern tribes, the House of David, in his discussion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its temple. These were the people most able and most likely to attend and take part in the momentous events at Jerusalem. In addressing them on the occasion of a great fast and rededication of the people, the priests in chapter nine recount to them many key aspects of the history of Israel. They recount how God had multiplied their children as the stars of heaven and brought them into the promised land (Neh. 9:23) [i.e. all Israel, not just Judah]. They recount to them how they rebelled and were disobedient to God, and how God cast them off as a nation from the days of the kings of Assyria (v32). Nevertheless, the representatives of the returned remnant had now come to a time and place where they were to turn back to their God and make a covenant with Him on behalf of the whole nation. No differentiation between southern or northern tribes is evident. Chapter 10 describes their covenant.

Note also, on the topic of Israelites from the northern tribes returning, the prophecy in Isaiah 10 that the arrogance of the King of Assyria would eventually cause God to send rapid destruction upon Assyria (v12-17). The book of Nahum describes this rapid downfall, and Isaiah 10:20-26 says in that day a remnant of Israel would return and depend not on Assyria (the one who defeated them) but on the Lord their God.

There is no such expression in the Bible as the lost tribes of Israel or the lost house of Israel. Rather, Jesus refers in Matthew 10:6 and 15:24 to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In considering the context of Jesus’ use of the phrase the lost sheep of the house of Israel, hopefully the reader will see Jesus is simply referring to their spiritual state of lost-ness, for no issue is raised in these passages as to the location of the lost sheep. The people of Israel clearly had strayed spiritually and were therefore figuratively referred to as lost sheep. The fact of their known whereabouts is even implicit in these verses, for the disciples are sent out on a mission to them in Matthew 10:6, and in Matthew 15:24, Jesus indicates He had been sent to them. Therefore, Israel, where Jesus ministered, was where many of the lost sheep of the house of Israel were. It would therefore be unsafe to take Jesus’ use of the expression lost sheep of the house of Israel as a reference only, or predominantly to, the lost sheep of the house of Judah or to Israeli tribes living in Britain or Europe, or other parts of the world as some do. The 12 disciples who were sent to Israelites certainly did not have time during Jesus’ short ministry for missionary journeys to such far away regions.

Bearing in mind the great destruction poured out on the northern tribes of Israel during their Assyrian captivity, and recognizing the infamous ruthlessness of the Assyrians, it does not seem realistic that some of the remnant would have become great nations far, far away, as the British-Israel theory goes. See, for example, Amos 5:2-3, Amos 9 and Hosea 7:1,11-13, 9:11-12, 13:1-9 which illustrate the great magnitude of the northern kingdom’s prophesied demise. Further, as mentioned earlier, during Nehemiah’s time the king of Assyria gave the Israelites a bright green light to return to their homeland. Since returning to one’s homeland is a natural yearning for many, a significant number would have returned.

The foundation for the rebuilding of the whole nation of Israel, laid predominantly by the rulers of the House of David at Jerusalem, we believe is likely what the inspired prophets, such as Ezekiel in Ezekiel 37, meant when they prophesied both the house of Judah and the house of Israel would return and David would be their King. This proposition will be strengthened in chapters five and six where the prophets are considered in context. It is also proposed this is how those living around Ezra and Nehemiah’s time would have most likely interpreted such prophecies.

The Apostle Peter and the Apostle James in Acts 2:30-36 and Acts 15:13-17 respectively, also provide us with an important spiritual application of the kingship of David today. The Son of David - the Lord Jesus Christ, now reigns over the rebuilt tabernacle of David, which sadly needed rebuilding again hundreds of years later when King Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

8. Blessings concerning the land

A further blessing enjoyed by the returned captives, which Ezra and Nehemiah record, is the possession of fruitful lands. In light of the desolations they had experienced, this was quite remarkable. It was prophesied the captive’s land would be desolated by their enemies, but it would again yield its increase abundantly. A few examples of these prophecies are provided here.

Isaiah writes of the departure of Judah’s prosperity as follows:

For behold the Lord … takes away from … Judah the stock and the store, the whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water (3:1) … Her gates shall lament and mourn, and she being desolate shall sit on the ground (Isaiah 3:26).

In chapter 30, however, he prophesies renewed prosperity:

… For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry … Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “this is the way, walk in it” … Then He will give the rain for your seed … and bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful … (Isaiah 30:19-25).

Jeremiah speaks to the land’s desolation as follows:

For thus says the Lord: “The whole land shall be desolate; yet I will not make a full end” … (Jeremiah 4:27).

… [T]his whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11).

He speaks to its restoration in chapter 40:12 as follows:

[T]hen all the Jews returned out of all places where they had been driven … and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance.

Nehemiah testifies to the fulfillment of these prophecies when he describes the fruitfulness of the land to which the captives returned in chapter nine. He records in Nehemiah 9:37 the land indeed yielded much increase, albeit to foreign kings.

Zechariah prophesied in chapter 3:10:

In that day … everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree.

Nehemiah confirms the blessing of enjoying one’s own plot of land when he records:

[I]n the cities of Judah everyone dwelt in his own possession in their cities – Israelites, priests, Levites, Nethinim, and descendants of Solomon’s servants. (Nehemiah 11:3). (my emphasis)

Dwelling in one’s own possession would certainly equate to sitting under one’s own vine or fig tree. How marvelous was the Lord to the apple of His eye! How marvelous is He still!

9. The nation’s covenant with God

What occurred in Israel at this time was not something we are accustomed to seeing, and it’s very hard to imagine such would have happened very often, even in ancient times. What happened was nothing short of amazing. The leaders and representatives of the nation committed themselves to God, devoting themselves to holiness. They did this on behalf of the entire nation of Israel.

They did not do it lightly, or half-heartedly. They did it tearfully and reverently. Nehemiah writes:

Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month [the seventh month] the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, with dust on their heads. Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquity of their fathers. And they stood up in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for one-fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshipped the Lord their God (Nehemiah 9:1-3).

Recently, in 2008, Australia experienced a day that was greatly heralded when the leaders apologized to the indigenous people of its land for the wrongs committed against them over many generations. We can appreciate just how significant such a day was to Australia, and especially to the indigenous people. Realizing the great significance of such an historic event, we can begin to relate to the even greater magnitude of this separation for holiness in Israel.

To fully appreciate this, we need to reflect on chapter seven and eight of Nehemiah. In chapter seven we read of a great assembly of 42,360 Israelites (plus their servants) who assembled in Jerusalem to be registered by genealogy. Then, chapter eight, in verse one, states all the people gathered as one man in the open square to hear Ezra the priest read to them from the Book of the Law. They did not sit as Ezra read, but remained standing, and he read from morning until midday. This was on the first day of the seventh month. Verse 6 says the people bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground. The people wept.

Upon hearing of the long forgotten fast of the seventh month (the feast of booths) mentioned in the law read by Ezra, they reacted swiftly:

So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths … Also day by day, from the first day until the last day, he [Ezra] read from the book of the Law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day there was a sacred assembly, according to the prescribed manner (Nehemiah 8:17-18).

When they heard in the Law no Ammonite or Moabite should ever come into the assembly of God they also responded swiftly by separating the mixed multitude from Israel (Neh. 13:1-3). The people’s new commitment was born out of many days of devotion. The covenant they made, with God Himself, after much fasting, confession and worship, is set out in part below:

… [W]e make a sure covenant and write it: Our leaders, our Levites, and our priests seal it. … Now the rest of the people – the priests, the Levites, the gate-keepers, the Nethinim, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, and everyone who had knowledge and understanding – these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law … We would not give our daughters as wives to the peoples of the lands, not take their daughters for our sons; if the peoples of the lands brought wares or any grain to sell on the Sabbath day, we would not buy it from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day, and we would forgo the seventh year’s produce and the exacting of every debt. Also we made ordinances for ourselves, to exact from ourselves yearly one-third of a shekel for the service of the house of our God … And we made ordinances to bring the first fruits of our ground, and the first fruits of all fruits of all trees, year by year, to the house of the Lord; to bring the firstborn of our sons and our cattle, as it is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and our flocks, to the house of our God, to the priests who minister in the house of our God … and to bring the tithes of our lands to the Levites … For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, of the new wine and the oil, to the storerooms … and we will not neglect the house of our God (Nehemiah 9:38 … 10:1-32).

The majority of the remnant people of Israel were serious. Their commitment was a demanding one, but their hearts were true. Their past sins genuinely pained them, they were swift to repent, and they were resolute in their determination to see they respected God and His laws. The true remnant today will do the same. The law of God will be written on our hearts by the Holy Spirit as we enter God’s new covenant through Christ (Hebrews 10:16-22).

10. Great rejoicing

Of course rejoicing accompanies great revivals as there is much to rejoice about! The completion of the temple brought great celebration. Ezra records:

When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord … Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid (Ezra. 3:10).

Similarly, at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, one of the greatest days of celebration and rejoicing recorded in the entire Bible is described by Nehemiah. There were thanksgiving choirs singing thanksgiving psalms, besides trumpets and much else. Nehemiah records:

Also that day they offered great sacrifices, and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and the children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard afar off (Nehemiah 12:43).

Conclusion

Israel’s restoration was not done in a corner. Ezra and Nehemiah have described the awe of other nations over what took place. The doom and gloom and statelessness of the scattered Israelites had turned into rejoicing. They could once again take their place among the nations of the world and hold their head up.

God had worked mightily for them through Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Darius, Artaxerxes, Daniel, Esther, Mordecai, Ezra, Nehemiah, and others. They had been restored magnificently. God had declared it. He speaks things beforehand, just as Amos testified when he wrote in Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. A great multitude of prophecies had been fulfilled concerning Israel. Chapters five and six will highlight these fulfilled prophecies. However, before we get to these chapters (the crux of this book), for those of us who may need more than scripture to accept something as historical, the next chapter will briefly show how secular historians confirm several key aspects of Israel’s tremendous restoration.

Chapter Four - Historical Confirmation of Great Revival

One could spend a long time in libraries reading the great volume of secular historical material dealing with the history of Israel after its captivity in Babylon. Just a cursory study however of some of the material considering this period reveals much consistent with Israel’s great rejuvenation, and much consistent with the biblical record concerning important facts of the era. The secular historians, it must be said, rely predominantly on Ezra and Nehemiah as their primary sources (due to the paucity of other sources), but generally show a healthy respect for the reliability of such.

Judah’s Destruction

It would be premature to talk of the evidence for restoration without mentioning evidence for Judah’s destruction. Hayes and Miller write:

Archeological excavations at many Judean sites show evidence of destruction which scholars have related to Nebuchadrezzar’s campaigns. Evidence for destruction extends from Tell ed-Duweir (Lachish) in the west, to Arad in the south, to En-gedi in the east. This is not to suggest, however, that every Judean city was left in ruins. Primarily those cities that served as fortress towns would have been the most likely targets for the Babylonians. Cities north of Jerusalem, in the traditional territory of Benjamin, apparently did not suffer much destruction. These may have surrendered to the Babylonians early. … Because soldiers profited from the spoils of war, plundering was the conqueror’s privilege and the conquered’s fate. Thus one must assume that much of the people’s possessions became Babylonian spoils of war. Many cities, like Jerusalem, that had once been thriving centers were left as depleted, subsistence-level villages. The primary economy of the country was probably reduced to a purely agricultural base … A fair percentage of the manpower and leadership was killed off. There is no way to estimate the number of casualties who died at the hands of Babylonian troops, but it certainly would have been a sizeable portion of the population even though the Babylonians had no reputation for needless destruction and excessive killing. Nebuchadrezzar had taken a lenient attitude toward the country in 597 B.C.E., but no ancient ruler was very hospitable to a rebellious subject on the second military visit.

Hayes & Miller, A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (1st ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Westminster Press, 1986, p.438 approx.)

Babylon’s Downfall

The historian J.M. Cook whilst reflecting on the relatively peaceful state of the world from 605-561 B.C., before the Persian Empire, writes:

By the 560s the Great Kings in Asia were growing old; and the ancient civilizations had become set in their ways … Turbulence such as had followed the Cimmerian and Scythian incursions was forgotten. The ruthless aggression that had sustained Assyrian rule had happily disappeared, and military efficiency seems to have declined … It had become an international age with conservative attitudes and wide-ranging commerce that is well reflected in Chapter XXVII of Ezekiel on the merchandise of Tyre. It was a world that must have begun to seem eternal. Yet in a quarter of a century (550-525 B.C. exactly) each of the four great powers was to collapse in turn under the onslaught of the remote and little known Persians.

J.M. Cook, The Persian Empire (London, Dent & Sons, 1983, p.11-12)

Miller confirms at p.426 [op. cit. above] there were four major powers at the end of the seventh century before the Persian Empire, and they were Babylonia, Egypt, Media and Lydia.

The prophet Jeremiah had predicted Babylon would only rule over Judah for seventy years. The historian J.A. Soggin confirms the Babylonian empire lasted less than a century (J.A. Soggin, A History of Israel from the Beginnings to the Bar Kochba Revolt, AD 135 (SCM Press 1985), p.261).

The Imperial Decrees

The majority of scholars accept the authenticity of the decree of Cyrus concerning the restoration of the Jews. Concerning the decrees Hayes and Miller (op. cit) write at p.445:

There is no real reason to doubt their historical value, although their wording may have been shaped by biblical editors.

Israel’s Spiritual Restoration and Autonomy

Hayes and Miller further write:

For over two centuries, from the Persian capture of Babylon in 539 B.C.E. until the fall of Tyre to Alexander in 332 B.C.E., Palestine and the Jewish community in Judah were under Persian Hegemony (p.437) … [H]istory has remembered Cyrus as a great liberator of captured peoples. … The portrait of the good ruler as ‘the gatherer of the dispersed’ and the ‘restorer of the god’s and their sanctuaries’ was a common feature of Near Eastern royal ideology (p.440).

Hayes and Miller, confirming the good degree of autonomy enjoyed by Judah, state:

[There] seems to be no reason to doubt that Zerubbabel served for a time as governor of Judah [p.456] … Except when Persian affairs were directly involved, self-government was apparently enjoyed by the province [Judah], with governors appointed from local people. … Both Ezra and Nehemiah… conducted their reforming and restoration work with the permission and under a commission from the Persian authorities … Their activity, therefore, was not only condoned but also encouraged by the ruling government and thus must have been viewed as in the best interests of the Persian [p.462].

J.A. Soggin (op.cit, p.284), on this point, adds:

We know from Josephus XI … that Alexander continued the religious policy begun by the Persians. Judah was left alone and the inhabitants were allowed to live in accordance with the law [Pentateuch (Mosaic/God’s law)]; and it is probable that this continued to be the law of the state.

Martin Noth concerning this also writes:

Above all, however, the Persian period was important because it saw the beginnings of the canonization of a particular literature. It is certain that it was in this period that the Pentateuch not only acquired essentially its definitive form but also became a holy book which was binding on the whole Jerusalem religious community.

Noth, M, The History of Israel 2nd Ed. (London: A & C Black, 1960, p.341)

With respect to the character of the remnant who returned to Judah, Hayes and Miller state most of them were strict followers of Yahweh.

George Adam Smith adds:

Nehemiah had secured for his nation the full practice of their Law, and there is no reason to suppose that their Persian lords seriously interfered with this. G.A. Smith, Jerusalem: The Topography, Economics and History From the earliest Times to A.D. 70 (London: Hodder & Stoughton MCMVIII, p.362)

The Centrality of the Rebuilt Temple for a United Israel and Jerusalem as a World Religious Centre

J.A. Soggin (op.cit.) states the temple of Jerusalem was an important centre of economic power in the country, if not the only one (p.294) and writes of the markedly missionary and proselytic (sic) attitude in Judaism (p.297), which was also evident hundreds of years later in Matthew 23:15. He also refers to the great importance of the rebuilt temple as a central sanctuary and it being visited regularly by pilgrims (p.311-312). Acts 2 provides an indication of such, as there we see devout Jews and proselytes from every nation under heaven gathered at Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. Acts 8:27 also records how an Ethiopian Eunuch of great authority went to Jerusalem to worship.

As to the reunification of Israel, and Jerusalem becoming a world religious centre, Martin Noth (op. cit. p.394) writes:

It is true that the events of the Persian period had reunited Israel as a great community gathered around the Temple cultus in Jerusalem linked with ancient traditions, and had given all Israelites a binding rule for daily life in the ‘law of the God of heaven’ (p.394)

After Cyrus had given instructions for the rebuilding of the sanctuary, Jerusalem became the religious centre not only for the Israelites living in the vicinity but for those scattered throughout the world … In Jerusalem there ruled a priestly hierarchy with the ‘High Priest’ … at its head and a closed priesthood who derived from the Zadokite families of the Davidic period … (p.338-339)

Drane J, in his book Introducing the Old Testament (2000, Rev, ed. Lion, Oxford, UK) at p.204-205 even states Judaism was to be increasingly important in many parts of the Mediterranean world, not the least in Egypt. He also refers to evidence of there being a Jewish-like temple there.

Judah’s Population Increase

George Adam Smith adds some further interesting conclusions regarding the restoration of Israel in the Persian period:

… [T]here can be no doubt that during the last century of the Persian dominion, the Jewish nation developed considerably in numbers, in resources and in institutions. As to the numbers, we have seen that the population of Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s time proved too small for the restored City, and that a levy was made upon Jews of other townships to supply what was lacking. But by the beginning of the Greek Period, we have evidence, both from the Chronicler and other sources, that the population was comparatively large and fairly prosperous, and that there prevailed among them the spirit of a people which not only felt itself worthy of its great past, but was quietly confident of the future. Still, we must not suppose that the vast numbers, in which the Chronicler indulges, are correct. A quarter of a million would be a generous estimate for the population of Judah at this period.

G.A. Smith, Jerusalem: The Topography, Economics and History From the earliest Times to A.D. 70 (London: Hodder & Stoughton MCMVIII, p.361-362) (my emphasis)

Practically nothing is known about the history of the Jewish community between Ezra and Nehemiah’s time and the conquest of Alexander the Great.

Conclusion

History confirms how a plundered, exiled, remnant people were given the opportunity to return and rebuild their desolated homeland. The opportunity was grasped, and the most sacred pillars of their nation, such as the temple (where their God dwelt) and the holy city, were restored. The people were free to resume their lives and the worship of their God, and were largely unhindered by their Persian overseers. Jerusalem and its temple became a focal point of worship for pilgrims from many nations.

The Israelites participating and rejoicing in the accomplishments and repentance of those days would have marveled at the restoration and revival God had wrought for them, and would have had their faith restored in a loving God as a consequence. Many of them would surely have connected the remarkable events of their era with the prophecies that are about to be interpreted as being fulfilled in their day. Now, see if you do, as you consider below these prophecies in context, in light of Israel’s extraordinary revival, and through the eyes of the returned Israelite exiles.

Chapter Five – The Prophets in Context (minor)

We now come to what is essentially the crux of this book. The foundations have been laid. A lens for viewing The Prophets through has been formed and sharpened. Now we must apply the lens and see if we agree with the proposition the Old Testament prophets’ writings pertained much more to the events of the exile and return from exile, and much less to the events of the end of the world than is commonly understood. If you agree, you will be able to safely steer clear of the deception and fear created by modern day prophetic teachers who you will see have mistakenly applied many Old Testament verses to days of gloom ahead.

Understanding The Prophets is admittedly difficult for a variety of reasons, including the colorful and poetic language of the Hebrew prophets. However, taking the time to analyze these beautiful scriptures is very rewarding as great insights into the human condition can be found. Our understanding of God’s holy nature will also be enhanced. He cannot endure wickedness forever, but He is loving and quick to forgive those who humble themselves before Him.

Due to the great scope of the undertaking of this chapter and the next - namely attempting to summarize in context the Old Testament prophetic books, some of the key portions of prophecy which relate to the remarkable restoration and revival of Israel described thus far will be highlighted with underlining. It is hoped the reader, having acquainted themselves with the propositions of this book thus far, will understand the significance of the underlined passages without the need for specific remarks or cross-references to be made. Some of the more difficult passages will be dealt with in notes or appendices.

Whilst the contextual approach adopted below is not in the nature of an in-depth commentary, we hope it will raise sufficient interest in the thesis of the book to stimulate further study and to raise serious concerns about the way many of us have liberally applied The Prophets to various end-time events. The reader is also encouraged to remind themselves of the fundamentals of interpreting The Prophets by referring to Bob Deffinbaugh’s excellent on-line article Understanding the Writing Prophets at http://bible.org/seriespage/understanding-writing-prophets .

Israel’s return from captivity was so significant we think the reader would indeed expect the true prophets of God would have foretold it in great detail. In this chapter and the next we will see just how extensively they did!

The minor prophets are considered first below because they give the reader a clear and concise snapshot into the main messages of the Old Testament prophets concerning Israel’s captivity and restoration.

In contrast to Holman below, which clearly sets these prophecies in the context of their time, many preachers and teachers seem to ignore or downplay their historical meaning, and see tremendous significance in them for the end of the world and beyond. See if you agree with Holman’s summaries and our comments. See if you sense the risk of many Christians being deceived in the end times because of the false expectations they have due in part to their unduly futuristic views of these prophecies.

Hosea

The Setting

The northern kingdom had attributed its prosperity under Jeroboam II to Baal and the fertility religions rather than to Yahweh, their God. Judgment loomed and came. About 745 B.C. Hosea called God’s unfaithful people to repentance – a people who had broken His covenant and served other God’s in the face of God’s discipline and judgment could again experience His love relationship.

(Holman Experiencing God Study Bible Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1994, p.1299)

Summary of various chapters

Hosea chapter one tells us Hosea prophesied in large part during the same kings of Judah as the prophet Isaiah did (v1). He prophesied of God punishing and bringing an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel (v4), but also of the subsequent gathering together of the children of Judah and the children of Israel (v11). Hosea is to love a harlot wife so he can understand to some degree the love of God for an unfaithful and adulterous people.

Chapter two speaks of this punishment and the reason for it, but it also shows God will yet have mercy. He shall save her for Himself in the earth and have mercy upon her whom had not obtained mercy. He shall call them His people and they shall call Him their God (v23).

Chapter 3:4-5 say:

For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days.

Since this is written/prophesied to Israel before they went into captivity in Assyria it makes perfect sense the dwelling many days without a king, prince or sacrifice reference applies to the exile period in Assyria about to befall them when they were without their own king etc. The afterward of v5 would then logically refer to their return from this exile. The rulers of the house of David were prominent over all Israel after this return. Hence, it can be said David was Israel’s king. Their fearing the LORD in this period of return is consistent with the spiritual transformation Ezra and Nehemiah wrote of.

Chapter four continues to recount Israel’s pre-exile sins, especially their idolatry/harlotry against God. Hosea writes during this time of the divided kingdom, Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Let not Judah offend.

In chapters five-thirteen it seems as if God will not return His favour to Israel because of their harlotry and dependence on Egypt and Assyria. Assyria will be their king because they refused to repent (11:5) and the Assyrian’s sword shall slash in their cities and consume them (11:6). Nevertheless, because God is God and not a man, and because He can therefore still love adulterous Israel, He will let the survivors return from Egypt and Assyria to dwell in their houses in Israel (11:8-11). Despite Israel’s destruction, God is still their help and King, as He has been ever since the land of Egypt and from times past (13:4, 9-10).

Chapter 14:4-8 speaks of their revival after their return from Assyria thus:

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily,

And lengthen his roots like Lebanon. 6 His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon. 7 Those who dwell under his shadow shall return; They shall be revived like grain, And grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon. 8 “Ephraim [commonly applied to Israel, not Judah] shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’ I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me.”

O what a merciful God we have to love, forgive and restore his unfaithful and adulterous people!

Joel

The Setting

Drought and infertility combined with military threat to take hope away from God’s people, but they made no connection between their conditions and their faithfulness to God and His expectations. Joel called Judah to repentance in face of God’s judgment using a foreign invader. He pointed to God’s future day of salvation in which He would give His people His Spirit.

(Holman Experiencing God Study Bible Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1994, p.1318)

Chapter by Chapter

Chapters one & two speak of a day of the LORD being at hand for Zion (see Appendix B showing the day of the LORD is an expression referring to punishment of nations any time in history). A nation and a people from the north are soon coming against Zion. It seems the nation, which is described as an army, is an army of locusts, although it might be unwise to exclude the possibility human armies from the north are involved. Zion is called to repentance so that the nations should not rule over them and reproach God (2:17-20). If Zion repents the LORD will be zealous for His people, pity them and drive the northern army away (2:18).

Commentators are divided as to when Joel was written as the time is not explicitly given by Joel. Chapter 3 however, gives some clues when it mentions God in those days and at that time bringing back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem. Nations of the exile period who’d mistreated Judah such as Tyre, Sidon, Philistia, Egypt and Edom are mentioned (v1, 4 7 & 19). Tyre and Sidon, having sold the people of Judah to the Greeks, is another clue suggesting Joel was prophesying near or during their exile in Babylon.

Similar to what is written throughout The Prophets about God judging the nations at the end of Israel and Judah’s captivities Joel 3:1-8 & 19-21 say:

“For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land. 3 They have cast lots for My people, Have given a boy as payment for a harlot, And sold a girl for wine, that they may drink. 4 “Indeed, what have you to do with Me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the coasts of Philistia? Will you retaliate against Me? But if you retaliate against Me, Swiftly and speedily I will return your retaliation upon your own head; 5 Because you have taken My silver and My gold, And have carried into your temples My prized possessions. 6 Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem You have sold to the Greeks, That you may remove them far from their borders. 7 “Behold, I will raise them Out of the place to which you have sold them, And will return your retaliation upon your own head. 8 I will sell your sons and your daughters Into the hand of the people of Judah, And they will sell them to the Sabeans, To a people far off;

For the Lord has spoken.” (v1-8) …

Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations (v12).

Egypt shall be a desolation, And Edom a desolate wilderness, Because of violence against the people of Judah, For they have shed innocent blood in their land. 20 But Judah shall abide forever, And Jerusalem from generation to generation. 21 For I will acquit them of the guilt of bloodshed, whom I had not acquitted; For the Lord dwells in Zion (v19-21).

The mention of bringing the surrounding nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat suggests to many an end time Battle of Armageddon before Christ returns. According to Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, this was a place-name meaning valley where Yahweh judged but no evidence exists of any valley bearing this name during Joel’s time. Holman suggests the reference to the Valley of Jehoshaphat is probably meant to be symbolic.

The poetic language in the rest of chapter three supports this suggestion. For example, the poetic/symbolic language in Joel 3:15 of the sun and moon being darkened and the stars being diminished in brightness reminds us of the importance of not reading The Prophets too literally (see Appendix E on the poetical use in scripture of sun, moon and stars). Notice also the poetry of v18 about mountains dripping with wine and hills flowing with milk. This reminds us Joel is filled with colourful poetic language and it would be unwise to ignore the symbolism in his prophecy.

The Valley of Jehoshaphat reference recalls to mind the great deliverance God wrought for Judah and King Jehoshaphat against the vast combined armies of Ammon, Moab and others. King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah cried out to God:

O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us … (2 Chronicles 20:12)

God responded to this cry by fighting for His people, thereby judging Judah’s enemies. Just as Joel 3:2-6 speaks of the enemy deserving judgment for their mistreatment of Judah, 2 Chronicles 20:10-12 does exactly the same. The use of the Valley of Jehoshaphat here is probably then an example of language symbolizing God’s great judgment and wrath being executed on the surrounding enemies of Judah. In the next chapter, we will see Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel plainly speaking a lot about this wrath to be poured out on Israel’s enemies as God brings them back from captivity. We shall see Zephaniah and Zechariah do the same.

Notice also the mention of primitive weapons in verse 10, weapons not commonly used by armies in our day. Indeed, also, it would be far more difficult to fit what is written above about Tyre, Sidon, Philistia, Egypt, Edom and the Greeks with the common end times Battle of Armageddon scenario than it is to fit it with the dispersed of Judah returning from the Babylonian empire.

Joel 3:17 also speaks of the Lord dwelling in Zion again and Jerusalem being holy. This is what happened when the holy temple was rebuilt and rededicated to God after Judah and Israel’s return from Babylon. This verse also says, and no aliens shall ever pass through her again (NKJV). This appears to be very difficult to fit with fulfillment post-Babylon. Perhaps the following translations render this verse more accurately and easier to understand in context when they render it as follows:

… and there shall no strangers pass through her any more (KJV), (ASV) & (ERV)

… And strangers will no longer pass through it. (NASB)

… And strangers do not pass over into it again (Young’s Literal Translation)

… and strangers shall pass through it no more (Douay-Rheims Bible)

… And there shall no strangers pass through her any more. (JPS Tanakh 1917)

This statement is best explained as many other like scriptures can be explained. When peace and prosperity returns to a nation the terrible war-like conditions are not experienced anymore. Such conditions are no more. The oppression by strangers or foreigners passing through will stop. In that sense, for the people living there they will no more be overrun by foreigners (and perhaps no more forever in their lifetimes).

Joel finishes on the beautiful note of the humble and repentant remnant of Israel being acquitted of their sins. Judah and Jerusalem shall abide forever, for the Lord dwells in Zion in His holy temple (v20-21). Indeed, consistent with the Hebrew olam/forever, Israel abided for about 600 years more before their horrible sins saw the Romans destroy and scatter them again (see Isaiah 60 commentary re olam/forever).

Amos

The Setting

Prosperity built on oppression of the poor and illegal court practices combined with a religion mixing elements of true worship and elements of Baal worship. These sins created a self-satisfied proud nation.

About 760 B.C. a southern prophet went north to announce the end of the Northern Kingdom because they refused to practice justice and righteousness. Hope would only come after disaster.

(Holman Experiencing God Study Bible Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1994, p.1326)

Chapter by Chapter

We see the prophet Amos was a contemporary of Isaiah the prophet (v1). Soon coming judgment against Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah and Israel is proclaimed in chapters one to three.

Despite God trying to get Samaria’s/Israel’s attention by sending various punishments upon them they did not return to Him and they are ominously warned to prepare to meet their God (chapter 4:1-11).

In chapter five, the prophet takes up a lamentation against Israel. Verse 3 shows there will only be a small remnant left:

The city that goes out by a thousand Shall have a hundred left, And that which goes out by a hundred Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.

The Israelites are exhorted to seek God and live, to seek good and not evil and to hate evil and love good and then the LORD God of hosts may be gracious to the remnant of Joseph (v5, 14-15). Because they would fail to do this they’re to be sent into captivity beyond Damascus (v27).

More warnings are given to Zion in chapter six.

In chapter seven, the LORD declares:

The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam (v9).

Amaziah the priest sees Amos as a conspirator because of his prophecies of doom and wants Amos to flee to the land of Judah to prophesy there instead. Nevertheless, Amos stands courageously and continues to prophesy Jeroboam will die, Amaziah’s wife will become a harlot, and Israel shall be led away captive from their own land (v10-17).

In chapter eight, the LORD declares the end upon Israel – He will not pass by them anymore (v2). There will only be wailing songs in the temple (v2). A point of interest here is the anymore reference. It is of the same nature as the Joel 3:17 text just discussed above. We don’t interpret such references as never ever again references because we know the Bible prophesied a restoration for Israel. God did pass by her again. God not passing by her again was however true for some generations near Amos’s day – God was not passing by them anymore, except for the faithful remnant.

Chapter nine speaks of no escape for Israel and dreadful destruction from their enemies at God’s hand (v1-4). God says He will slay the last of them with the sword (v1). God will destroy Israel from the face of the earth but not totally (v8). The tabernacle of David and the ruins will be rebuilt as in days of old (v11). They will possess the remnant of Edom and all the Gentiles called by God’s name (v12). God will bring back the captives of Israel and the land will again be blessed and yield its fruit (v14-15). Israel will be planted again in its land and no longer shall they be pulled up (v15). In other words, there shall be a long period of peace and stability in Israel, the land the LORD has given them.

Isn’t it marvelous how, even in the midst of doom, there is always ultimate hope prophesied for a righteous remnant? May we be in that righteous remnant today!

Obadiah

The Setting

In 587 B.C. Edom, a neighboring people related by birth through Esau and Isaac, helped Babylon destroy Jerusalem and took spoils from the land as well as territory from Judah. Obadiah pronounced judgment on Israel’s enemies and promised renewed life for Judah. He wanted to provide hope for Israel against the pride of their enemies, especially Edom, as Jerusalem suffered destruction.

(Holman Experiencing God Study Bible Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1994, p.1341)

Verse by verse

Verses one to four pronounce God’s verdict upon Edom. They poetically describe Edom’s great downfall in a way interestingly* reminiscent of the descriptions of the downfalls of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4-22), Tyre (Ezekiel 27), the Prince of Tyre (Ezekiel 28), Egypt and Assyria (Ezekiel 31):

You who dwell in the cleft of the rock, whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” Though you ascend as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, says the Lord.

Edom, like these other protagonists, was brought low because of her pride. Jesus still warns us, he who exalts himself will be humbled (Luke 14:11).

Verses five to sixteen state God’s case against Edom and why they have been judged and condemned. They showed no mercy to their brother Jacob in the day of his captivity. Rather, they cast lots for Jerusalem, gazed upon her affliction, and cut off those among them who escaped. However, as we see elsewhere in The Prophets, Edom/Esau was not the only nation who rejoiced and clapped their hands at Jacob’s downfall and drank on her holy mountain (v16). Obadiah 15 warns the punishing day of the Lord is near for all the nations who had acted as Edom had toward His people (see Appendix B re ‘The day of the Lord’). Their punishment will be so severe it shall be as though they had never been.

Verses seventeen to twenty-one conclude the chapter in a similarly poetic vein to the preceding verses. Though sometimes misapplied to an end-time restoration of physical Israel, these verses poetically describe Israel’s restoration following Esau’s judgment and demise (v18 & 21). Verses 17 and 18 speak of Israel’s deliverance spiritually, physically, and mightily:

The saviors/deliverers shall come to Mount Zion to judge the mountains of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s (v21).

As we read in Ezra and the earlier chapters of this book, Israel was helped by many deliverers, and they rededicated themselves to the Lord following the return of the remnant from captivity. Many nations of the world were punished, and Israel was restored. There is no necessity to look for a further return of Israel to fulfill this prophecy. Such an approach would be highly speculative.

*The passages in Isaiah 14, and Ezekiel 28 are commonly used to paint the story of Satan’s rise and downfall, but the passages using similar terminology in Ezekiel 27 & 31 and Obadiah are not. The reader might query whether or not then it is pure speculation to attempt to glean biographical information about Satan from the former passages when the subjects of these prophecies are clearly stated as Babylon and Tyre, and when the prophets are clearly using a poetic device to emphasize each of the protagonists’ pride and fall from glory. This is not to deny the possibility facts may be gleaned about Satan from Isaiah 14 etc. Note: 1 Tim 3:6-7 says pride was an issue in Satan’s downfall.

Jonah

Since the book of Jonah has little pertaining to the key theme of this book it will not be dealt with, except to say it confirms the terrible wickedness of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. The terrible slaughter and demise of Israel at the hands of ruthless Assyria is seen in Amos 5:2-3, Amos 9 and Hosea 7:1,11-13, 9:11-12, 13:1-9. Knowledge of this is one more reason casting serious doubt on the concept of lost tribes of Israel prospering around the world (see Appendix H for more on this).

Micah

The Setting

About 730 B.C. Judah had become rich; Jerusalem’s population reached its limits; the king’s authority extended over everything; and the poor had no champion and no hope. Micah challenged the political and religious systems and pointed to a new age of change and salvation. The farmer turned city prophet announced God’s judgment to a people living at ease, exploiting the poor, and ignoring basic human morality. Then he showed God’s plan for a new age of salvation.

(Holman Experiencing God Study Bible Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1994, p.1351)

Chapter by Chapter

We see in chapter 1:1 Micah prophesied concerning Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah) during the reign of Jotham, Ahaz and Hexekiah, kings of Judah. Samaria had played the harlot against God and is about to become a heap of ruins in the field (v6).

Chapter two proclaims woe against Israel’s evildoers against whom God is devising disaster (v3). Nevertheless, God will gather the remnant of Israel and lovingly put them together like sheep of the fold (v12).

In chapter three Micah prophesies against the wicked rulers and prophets. Because of them, Zion shall be plowed like a field and Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins. However, we see from Jeremiah 26:18-19 that God (being the amazingly merciful God He is) extended yet further mercy to Judah and relented from bringing this prophecy to pass when King Hezekiah humbled himself. Nevertheless, Babylon, rather than Assyria eventually took Judah into captivity.

In chapter 4:1-4, Micah repeats verbatim Isaiah’s prophecy of Isaiah 2:1-4 (which will be considered in the next chapter) about many nations being rebuked and beating their swords into plowshares etc. Micah provides clear markers for an ancient fulfillment of this. The fact Micah prophesied during most of the same time period as Isaiah strongly suggests his identical prophecy is referring to the same things/events as Isaiah’s.

Immediately following Micah’s prophecy in chapter 4:1-4, Micah says In that day the remnant will be restored, the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion and the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem will have its former dominion (Micah 4:6-8). There’s a clear contrast here with the mentioned latter days seen in Isaiah 2:2 and Micah 4:1. Micah here would therefore be referring to the latter dominion. Clues as to what day Micah was referring to follow. Verse 10 speaks of the daughter of Zion going to Babylon and subsequently being delivered and redeemed from the power of her enemies (v10). The many nations who gathered together against her will be threshed as sheaves in the threshing floor and the daughter of Zion will beat in pieces many people and enjoy the substance or booty of their enemies (v11-13). Then Zion would enjoy her later or latter dominion. See Appendix E where it is seen the latter days expression can simply mean days in a later undefined period.

Micah chapter five also speaks of a nation that has laid siege against Israel as judging Israel on God’s behalf. This nation will in turn be struck (v6). Chapter 5 speaks directly of deliverance from Assyria (described as God’s punishing rod against Israel in Isaiah 10:5), the remnant of Jacob being delivered, and her enemies being cut off (5:5-9). Verse 10 speaks of war horses and chariots being destroyed, strongholds being thrown down, and God’s anger and fury being poured upon the nations that have not heard. This is suggestive of nations being rebuked and turning from war as per Isaiah 2:1-4 and Micah 4:1-4.

In chapter six, the LORD pleads with His people to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him (v8). However, they do not hear and are to be made a desolation (v16).

Micah concludes in chapter 7:11-20:

11 In the day when your walls are to be built, In that day the decree shall go far and wide. 12 In that day they shall come to you From Assyria and the fortified cities, From the fortress to the River, From sea to sea, And mountain to mountain. 13 Yet the land shall be desolate Because of those who dwell in it, And for the fruit of their deeds. 14 Shepherd Your people with Your staff, The flock of Your heritage, Who dwell solitarily in a woodland, In the midst of Carmel; Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, As in days of old. 15 “As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt, I will show them wonders.” 16 The nations shall see and be ashamed of all their might; They shall put their hand over their mouth; Their ears shall be deaf. 17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent; They shall crawl from their holes like snakes of the earth. They shall be afraid of the Lord our God, And shall fear because of You. 18 Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. 19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea. 20 You will give truth to Jacob And mercy to Abraham, Which You have sworn to our fathers From days of old.

Notice, the walls of Jerusalem will be rebuilt (v11), the remnant exiled in Assyria and other places will return (v12), Assyria and others will be punished for their deeds (v13), God will show wonders in returning Israel from exile just as he showed them wonders when He brought them out of Egypt (v15) the nations will be ashamed of themselves and afraid of Israel’s God, God will show Himself to be compassionate and forgiving toward the remnant (v18-19) and there will again be truth in Zion (v20).

All this is consistent with the entire story of The Prophets who mainly brought messages pertaining to the people they prophesied directly to. Contemporary and not so far off events are clearly Micah’s focus. Micah concludes with the mercy, compassion and forgiveness of Israel’s God and our God (v19-20).

Nahum

See Appendix I

Habakkuk

The Setting

About 600 B.C. Babylon dominated the world, preparing to destroy Judah and Jerusalem as they had done to Judah’s neighbors. God appeared inactive. The prophet cried to God for help and explanation and received a call to believe in all circumstances. He wrote to call God’s people to trust Him and to affirm God’s faithfulness to His promises in a time when God’s voice appeared to be silent.

(Holman Experiencing God Study Bible Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1994, p.1368)

Chapter by Chapter

In chapter one, Habakkuk cries out against violence and injustice and the wicked surrounding the righteous in Judah (v1-4). God’s answer was probably not what he was expecting. It certainly was not very comforting. God will bring the violence of the Chaldeans/Babylonians against His own people. Habakkuk can’t understand why God, so holy and pure, would tolerate such evil and violence. Sometimes the truth is not very comforting to us, but we must face it because God’s truth doesn’t change.

In chapter two, God confirms the punishment He is bringing upon Judah.

In chapter three, Habakkuk responds to the terrible news of destruction upon Israel with a prayer for God to remember mercy in His wrath (v2). He continues to put his trust in God even if the fig tree doesn’t blossom, the olive trees fail, there’s no fruit on the vines, the fields yield no food and the livestock are no more. He will still rejoice in the Lord and joy in the God of his salvation. He will still look to God as his strength.

Oh God, help us to do the same.

Zephaniah

The Setting

About 630 B.C. Assyria was growing weak, so Judah began to look for God’s promised judgment on Assyria as the beginning of a new era of power and hope for Judah. Zephaniah had to point out that Judah was not living as God’s people and thus again face His judgment, only a remnant being reserved for hope. He sought to picture coming judgment for a people indifferent to God and satisfied with worship of Him along with other gods but also to give hope to a faithful humble remnant.

(Holman Experiencing God Study Bible Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1994, p.1375)

Chapter by Chapter

Chapter one speaks of the utter destruction to come upon Judah and Jerusalem. Their idolatry will be cut off (v1-6). The day of the Lord is at hand for Judah and Jerusalem (v7) who say God will not do good or evil (v12). Their silver or gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath for He will make a speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land (v18). So God will do ‘evil/ill’ to them. Note again Appendix B – The Day of the Lord which shows the expression the day of the Lord is often used for times of God’s judgment on nations even before the end of the world.

Chapter two offers hope for the meek, that faithful remnant of Judah who will yet seek the Lord (v1-3). Their enemies, including those who have executed God’s wrath against them - Gaza, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Moab, Ethiopia, Assyria and Babylon, will eventually be brought down because of their arrogance and their reproach of God’s people, and God Himself. Then the faithful remnant of God’s people shall possess them (v9), and many of those who have had their idols reduced to nothing shall in that time turn toward the worship of the true God. Assyria, who at that time was full of idols, and who desolated Israel terribly, will be made desolate (v13-15). The specific reference to Assyria confirms the prophecy was specifically for that time. The day of the Lord’s wrath fell upon them.

Of course, since a day of God’s deliverance for the oppressed remnant of His people yet remains, and a day of God’s judgment will again come upon this world, these prophecies still speak volumes to us. Let us also seek the Lord while He may be found.

Chapter three begins by declaring woe against the oppressing city who did not draw near to Him, but instead polluted the sanctuary and did violence to the law (v1-4). Zephaniah seems to have turned his focus back to God’s people, who will not draw near to her God (v2). However, the faithful remnant among them whom the nations have oppressed, and whom He is jealous for, are therefore encouraged to wait for Him until He gathers the nations to pour on them his indignation and fiery jealousy. God’s fiery discipline, as fire does, purifies many from all nations, and many, including those from beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, who have heard of His awesome deeds, call on His name, just as we’ll see in Isaiah 18. A meek, humble, and obedient remnant are to be left in Israel, just as Ezra and Nehemiah reported occurred. There will again be a time of peace for Israel and Jerusalem (v13). Assyria and Babylon will be cast out and the Lord will again be in Israel’s midst (v15). Those who wept over Israel’s waywardness and scattering will be re-gathered and they shall be for praise and fame in every land where they were put to shame (v18-19). The prophet concludes with great words of comfort to God’s people in that era. Although they will go into captivity:

At that time I will bring you back, even at that time I will gather you for I will give you fame and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I return your captives before your eyes (v20). (my emphasis)

Such will the Lord yet do for all who put their trust in Him. Just as Zephaniah’s prophecies came to pass, so will Christ’s. One day, as Jesus said, He:

will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire … Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’ (Matthew 14:41-43).

See also Appendix J – Encouragement from Zephaniah

Haggai

The Setting

In 520 B.C., almost twenty years after returning from exile in Babylon, the Jews had settled into a humdrum life of maintaining or improving their status and had forgotten that God had given them the land anew and with it a mission for Him. Haggai joined Zechariah in calling the Jews to a new mission, even if it did not seem to measure up to past glories. He sought to encourage the returned exiles to abandon their purposeless life centered on maintaining status quo and to dedicate themselves to God and to rebuilding His temple.

(Holman Experiencing God Study Bible Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1994, p.1382)

Chapter by Chapter

Chapter one opens with Haggai prophesying in the second year of King Darius to Zerubbabel (the governor), Joshua (the High Priest), and the remnant people of Judah in general. Because of the Word of God through Haggai the people are convinced of the futility and selfishness of their lifestyle and of their neglect of the work of rebuilding the Lord’s temple. They labor hard in their own endeavors only to put their earnings into bags with holes. Doesn’t that sound familiar? However, praise God, they are stirred, respond obediently, and soon get to work on rebuilding the House of the Lord of Hosts.

Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the people are exhorted in chapter two to be strong because God is with them in their work. He will shake all the nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations. The temple will be filled with God’s glory. The people are encouraged to build, as this temple is to be greater than the former temple, although to those who had seen the former temple this latter temple (as it then was) was as nothing in their eyes as compared to it. They are therefore exhorted in verse four to keep working on it. The reference to the Desire of All Nations is probably firstly a reference to this great temple which the nations will come to (made even greater by Herod’s beautification of it centuries later), but it may also be a prophetic picture of people of all nations coming to Christ in the New Testament era.

The people are then reminded of their uncleanness and the consequences of such, but now they have responded favorably to God and a blessing is pronounced upon them. Their land will be fruitful (v19) and their enemies also will not prosper (v22). See also Appendix D – Ezekiel’s temple.

Zechariah

The Setting

In 518 B.C. twenty years after returning from exile, the people endured famine and poverty, could not see how their fortunes had improved from Babylon, could not agree on who should lead them, and began to doubt if God would deliver on His promises. Zechariah’s visions joined Haggai’s prophecies to lead the people to build the temple, find God’s purification and forgiveness, and join anew in God’s mission. The prophet sought to lead despondent, returned exiles to let God purify them so they could receive the blessings He had promised, purify their leaders so they could lead in God’s ways, and show that God Himself was just and faithful. (my emphasis)

(Holman Experiencing God Study Bible Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1994, p.1387)

The book of Zechariah is a favorite for many of us interested in end-time prophetic scenarios. Much is made of its prophecies. Prophetic light for modern day Jewish revival, Armageddon, the second coming, and the idyllic thousand year reign of Christ on earth is believed to be shed by the prophet Zechariah. We hope this chapter sheds further light, thereby causing us to be circumspect about its direct relevance to such grand themes.

Chapter by Chapter

Chapter one opens with the word of the Lord coming to Zechariah in the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the Persian ruler. God’s people are exhorted to return to Him spiritually. There is also opportunity for more of them to return to their homeland, as the world is at peace (v11). They have endured the punishment they deserved in Babylon for 70 years (v12), but God is zealous for them and exceedingly angry with the nations who punished them with an evil intent (v14-15). Therefore God is returning to Jerusalem with mercy, to rebuild His house and to once again bring prosperity to the cities (v16-17). The nations, represented by four horns that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem will be punished by the craftsmen (probably representing the empire of the Persians) (v19-20).

Chapter two proclaims and poetically describes the soon coming peace of Jerusalem – a place to be inhabited as towns without walls (i.e. without fear of being attacked) (v4). The remnant of her people still remaining in Babylon are exhorted to flee to her from the land of the north, as God will again be glorious in her midst (v5-7). Any nation who plunders God’s people hurt the apple of His eye (v8). God will shake His hand against them. As in the good times of Israel when scripture elsewhere describes God as being in her midst or dwelling with her through His holy presence in the tabernacle or temple, so the daughter of Zion is to sing and rejoice as God is coming again to be in her midst in like manner (v10). God will again choose Jerusalem (v12) and people of other nations will also become His people in that day (v11).

Chapter three speaks of the removal of the nation’s iniquity. Continuing the theme of chapters one and two, Zion has again been chosen as a brand plucked from the fire (v2). The high priest, Joshua, (also mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah - compare Haggai 2:2 and Ezra 3:2) will judge/rule the nation. The nation’s iniquity will be removed in one day (v9). Prosperity will return. Everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree (see fulfillment in Nehemiah 11:3).

Joshua, who’s name means God saves (as indeed does Yeshua/Jesus), is given as a wonderful type of Christ, whom at His coming in the first century also purified and removed the iniquity of His people in one day at the cross.

Chapter four is full of rejoicing with the proclamation Zerubbabel, who had laid the foundation of the temple, will finish it (v9-10). See Ezra 6 for the fulfillment.

The vision of chapter five proclaims, in the context of God’s wrath upon those who had treated the apple of His eye with evil intent, the wicked in the earth will be punished.

Chapter six also speaks of Joshua the high priest being crowned with an elaborate crown. This is symbolic of Jesus, the Branch, High Priest, and King of Kings. Joshua will rule as a high priest, and Joshua and the returning exiles from afar (v8-9 & 15) will rebuild the temple, just as Yeshua (Jesus) has rebuilt the holy temple, which temple the saints are (Ephesians 2:20-22). The captives of Babylon are also mentioned (v10 & 14), helping us to see the chapter has fulfillment in that time.

Chapter seven records the word of the Lord that came to Zechariah in the fourth year of King Darius. The people are reminded of how God’s great wrath was poured upon them for their iniquity and how they were therefore cast off to Babylon for seventy years and scattered to all nations. They are exhorted to righteousness (v8-10).

Chapter eight repeats the wonderful word of God in chapters one and two. He is zealous for Zion with great fervor, He is returning to her who has been in captivity in Babylon seventy years, and He will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem (v2-3). Old men and women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets (v4-5). In other words, they will enjoy peace. Indeed, as Ezra and Nehemiah reported, it was marvelous for the remnant in those days (v6).

Zechariah prophesies the continuing return of the captives from the east and the west (v7-8). These verses are commonly used to argue Zechariah 8 has not been fulfilled as it is argued Israel had not been scattered to the east at this point in history. This argument ignores the clear context seen in Zechariah 1-8 thus far and the fact Zechariah 2:6 says Israel had been spread abroad like the four winds of heaven. In relation to returning from the west, see also Ezekiel 5:10-12 and Hosea 11:10-11 which specifically prophesied Israel/Ephraim returning from the west (probably Egypt, based on v11).

As a further clarification for the correct historical time context for v7-8, Zechariah then goes on to prophesy the rebuilding of the temple in v9 (clearly pertinent for that time), the remnant’s prosperity in their own land (11-12), and the house of Judah and Israel no longer being a curse amongst the nations, but a blessing (v13) (compare Jeremiah 3:11-18). God is determined to do them good (v15), but they must be holy (v16-17). Then they will celebrate cheerful feasts, people from other nations will come and celebrate with them and seek the Lord of hosts, and [i]n those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ See Isaiah 14:1-4, 45:14 (Note verses 1 & 13 of Isaiah 45 to see its context is King Cyrus’s work in rebuilding Israel & 49:14-26. See also Jeremiah 16:14-21).

Indeed this is marvelous. It is also reasonable to believe the prophet was referring to events that happened in the post-exilic era due to the context, and in light of the background previously canvassed in Chapter Two of this book about the many favorable imperial decrees for the Jews after the wonders God did for them through Daniel, Shadrach and Mordecai etc.

Things will not go as well, however, for the other nations of the earth. Zechariah in chapter nine, as we’ll see his predecessors Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel did, gives a burden against the nations of that time including Damascus, Tyre and Sidon, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the Philistines. Those who remain of these nations after their punishment will be for Judah’s God (v7). God will defend his house and the oppressor won’t be found there (v8). The captives of Israel and Judah will return and experience wonderful restoration (v11-12). The Lord will fight for them and save them, and the apple of His eye will be like the jewels of a crown (v14-16). If you have drifted from God, return to Him with all your heart and he will fight for you!

In the midst of Israel’s hope and rejoicing, here is a beautiful Messianic picture of Christ the King, lowly, and riding on the foal of a donkey speaking peace to the nations (9-10). God’s return to his people in this era therefore beautifully pictured the even greater day when Christ rode triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt flanked by a multitude with palm branches crying Hosanna! (Matthew 21:7-9)

In chapter 10, Zechariah foretells how God in that day is bringing back Judah and Israel (Ephraim), whose shepherds had led them astray, from Assyria (v10) and Egypt (v11). They again will rejoice and be blessed. It shall be as if God had not cast them aside (v6). He shall whistle for them, gather them, redeem them, and they shall increase as they once increased (v8).

Chapter 11 says Lebanon will wail. So too will the wicked shepherds of Israel.

Chapter 12 provides a very unique and interesting burden against Israel. It is unique in that instead of being all woe for Israel, it prophesies woe to those who try to oppress her. Chapters 12-14 also emphasize the purification (13:1-6, compare 3:4-9), repentance (12:11-13, 13:1), and strengthening (12:6 & 8) of the remnant of the returned House of David and Jerusalem who had pierced their God by their iniquity (12:10). John 19:37 also indicates Zechariah 12:10 pre-figured Israel’s mourning over their piercing/crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. However, this prophecy may firstly relate to the great mourning of the returned captives over their sins against God recorded in Ezra 10:1 and Nehemiah 8:3-9. Notice in v14 it describes the mourners as all the families that remain, which is strongly indicative of this passage being about the remnant of that day. God will forgive them and show them His grace and mercy (12:10) and will fight for them (14:3).

Zechariah also writes Judah, by means of their God, shall devour the surrounding nations and Jerusalem will again be inhabited in her place (12:6). The one that is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the House of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them (12:8).

The great question concerning chapters 12-14 is whether the prophet (or a later writer, as some argue chapters 9-14 were not written by Zechariah) has suddenly turned to writing something that is not immediately relevant to the people he is writing to. Has he jumped, without explanation, as many say, to Armageddon, the end of the world and the ensuing earthly millennial reign, or has he simply continued his book’s message of hope for the returning exiles, and doom for the nations that had gathered and continued to gather against Jerusalem to heave it away (12:3)? We believe it is the latter as the prophet speaks largely the same things of the previous chapters (which we think the reader will see relate comfortably to that period), and foretells events that, as we have seen, are soon after confirmed as happening by the books of Ezra, Esther, and Nehemiah which post-date Zechariah by about 50 years.

Chapter 9 of Esther provides a prime example of how God was establishing His people by helping them devour those who came against them. Esther 9:1-5 says:

… On the day that the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them [according to the decree Haman secured for their worldwide extermination (see Esther 3)], the opposite occurred, in that the Jews themselves overpowered them who hated them. The Jews gathered together in their cities throughout all the provinces of King Ahasuerus [the entire Persian Empire] to lay hands on those who sought their harm. And no one could withstand them, because fear of them [surely from God] fell upon all people. And all the officials of the provinces … helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai fell upon them. For Mordecai was great in the king’s palace, and his fame spread throughout all the provinces; for this man Mordecai became increasingly prominent. Thus the Jews defeated all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, with slaughter and destruction, and did what they pleased with those who hated them. (my emphasis)

The success of the Jews over their enemies whilst building the wall of Jerusalem (recorded in Nehemiah 4 and 6) is another example of God protecting them against their enemies. Nehemiah 4:7-19 records:

Now it happened, when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were being restored … they became very angry, and all of them conspired together to come and attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Nevertheless we made our prayer to our God … And … when our enemies heard … that God had brought their plot to nothing ,,, all of us returned to the wall, everyone to his work … Then I said to the nobles … “Our God will fight for us.”

Indeed Zechariah prophesied in chapter 13 the remnant will call on their God and say, The Lord is my God. Zechariah also prophesied the great destruction of the nations that would continue to come against them (12:9, 14:3 & 12), just as we read in Zephaniah and will read in the woes and burdens of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel against the nations that continued to oppress Israel. Interestingly, also, Zechariah 13 talks of the purification of the Israelites and the removal of idols. Ezra describes the fulfillment of this, and it is well known Judaism, from Ezra’s time, was especially militant against idolatry.

The battle described in Zechariah 14 may or may not be an even more serious fight for Jerusalem than that described above by Esther or Nehemiah. However, as we know, Jerusalem has been a battle-ground many times throughout history. Israel and the Jewish people have constantly been under threat and, even today, we know they still are. We saw how the Arab nations surrounding them tried to destroy them in the twentieth century in the years following their restoration as a nation in 1948, and we know today how passionately many still desire to see Israelites ousted from their land.

Zechariah 14 is widely understood by Christian commentators to refer to the battle of Armageddon, Christ’s second coming, and the 1000 year reign on earth. As we have begun to show however, there may be good reason to suspect this is not the case. Given the besieging of Jerusalem has been so common-place in history, we should not discount the possibility this battle in Zechariah 14 could well be an ancient battle for Jerusalem. The reason why most do not have this understanding is because of the colorful terminology used and the awesome nature of the events described in the chapter.

It’s worth considering however the following things about Zechariah 14 which are consistent with the accounts and predictions of all of the prophets for the period after Israel’s Babylonian captivity:

. The Lord will fight for them (14:3), just as Zechariah clearly prophesied in chapter one in the context of the days following their captivity. See also Jeremiah 31 commentary below which talks of the one who scattered them gathering them.

. Jerusalem will be safely inhabited according to Zechariah 14:11, as he also clearly wrote in chapter 2:4 in the context of their return from captivity. This repetition suggests the prophet has not suddenly deviated from proclaiming things pertaining to the post-exilic era to proclaiming the millennium or the end of the world. In this closing chapter it seems as if Zechariah is reiterating much of what he had written previously.

. Those who are left from the nations which had oppressed Israel, as we have already seen in chapter 2:11-12 & 8:18-23 in the context of the return from captivity, will celebrate her feasts with her and worship the true God (14:16-21). We also see this prophesied by Jeremiah in the context of the return of the faithful Israelites from captivity when he wrote:

At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts (Jeremiah 3:17) … The nations shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him they shall glory (Jeremiah 4:2). (note also Isaiah 18:7 & 56:6-8, Jeremiah 33:4-9 & Zephaniah 2:11-3:20)

. Other nations will contribute to her prosperity (14:14), as can also be seen in Isaiah 60:5 & 11 and throughout the decrees discussed in Chapter Two of this book. (See also Isaiah 23:17-18 & 45:14, Jeremiah 33:4-9, Esther 8:11)

. Egypt will have no rain and will be punished if they do not worship with Israel (14:18-19), as we will also see prophesied in Isaiah’s account in chapter 19 in the context of God’s post-captivity burden against Egypt for oppressing Israel during their captivity. Note especially verses 6, 17-18 & 21 of the same chapter. See also Isaiah 45:14 which is in the context of King Cyrus’ work of rebuilding Israel (note verses 1 & 13).

. There shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts (14:20). Nehemiah in chapter 13:1-3, and Ezra in chapter 10, write of the great separation from foreigners, including the Canaanite peoples of Moab and Ammon. Nehemiah refers specifically to how their remembrance at that time of the words in the law of Moses that such peoples were not to enter into the assembly of God caused them to immediately obey the law by separating the mixed multitude. See also Ezekiel 44:9 and Appendix D – Ezekiel’s temple.

For a fuller exposition of the proposition Zechariah 14 may be fulfilled already please see Appendix A – Zechariah 14 written by Ralph Woodrow. He also deals with some of the more complex aspects of seeing the chapter as being fulfilled.

Malachi

The Setting

About 440 B.C. as new generations forgot life in exile and began to settle into a routine life back in Palestine, they forgot the traditions of the people, decided God had forgotten them, and ignored the commands of His covenant.

Malachi, the priest and the prophet summoned the people from religious indifference and carelessness to a new respect, honor, and love for God expressed in obedience and to an understanding that God still lived them. (Holman Experiencing God Study Bible Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1994, p.1404)

Chapter by Chapter

In chapter one of Malachi, God’s primary concern is for the repentance of Israel and their righteousness, so that His name will be great among the Gentiles (v11 & 14).

God laments in chapter 2:11:

Judah has dealt treacherously, And an abomination has been committed In Israel and Jerusalem, For Judah has profaned The Lord’s holy institution which He loves: He has married the daughter of a foreign god.

Verses 1-5 of chapter three appear to be a Messianic prophecy about Christ’s first century ministry. Its aim is to inspire repentance in Israel in Malachi’s time. If they repent, God promises to rebuke the enemy which devours them and to make their land fruitful (v11). In chapter three, part eight of this work we saw the fruitful land promise was common to other prophets and we saw some fulfillment of it too.

God also promises all nations will call them blessed (v12). Those who fear Him will be a special treasure to Him and they will be spared (v16-17). Righteousness will be restored in Israel (v18). This is totally consistent with what all The Prophets write about and is a good summary of the remnant’s experience.

Chapter four prophesies doom for the wicked in Israel and blessing for the righteous (v1-3). Verses 5-6 have clear fulfillment in John the Baptist’s ministry (the Elijah to come) and in the dreadful day of the Lord against Israel around 70 A.D.

Although in the Hebrew Bible Malachi is not the last book (as opposed to our Christian Bible), it is the last book of the 12 minor prophets. Isn’t it beautifully fitting The Prophets end looking forward to Messiah, the Hope of Israel!

Chapter Six – The Prophets in Context (major)

Isaiah

The Setting

The setting of Isaiah’s prophecy has been adequately summarized as follows:

Isaiah lived in Jerusalem and ministered during the reign of four kings in the southern kingdom of Judah, approximately 740 B.C. to 681 B.C. Israel, the northern kingdom, was carried into captivity during the early part of Isaiah’s ministry. His message was mainly to the rebellious leaders and people of Judah, condemning their empty ritualism and the idolatry that many had fallen into. He warned them to avoid the ungodly practices of their sister nation, Israel, and admonished them to repent and return to the Lord.

Isaiah wrote about Babylon’s sieges against Judah more than 100 years before they occurred (605 and 586 B.C.). The last portion of the book contains the messages the Lord gave Isaiah for the people of Judah in exile in Babylon, written as though the exile or captivity had already occurred. He also prophesied Babylon’s demise (in 539 B.C.) by the authority of Cyrus, king of Medo-Persia, and the latter’s proclamation to release the exiles to return home. [Church of God (Seventh Day) quarterly ‘Isaiah: Gospel Prophet’, Vol. 89, Number 1 First Quarter 2004]

Summary of various chapters

In chapter one, Isaiah’s vision concerns the future desolation of Judah and Jerusalem about one hundred years hence at the hands of Babylon because they forsook the Lord who nourished them. Nevertheless, after God has destroyed His adversaries in Israel (v24) a remnant will be spared (v9) and He will restore their judges and they shall again be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city (v26).

Chapter two would appear to refer to this time (the time God destroys Israel’s adversaries and spares the remnant etc) as the latter days. We know this happened around the time King Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian kingdom was brought down, so it is not necessary to read the phrase latter days as meaning the end of the world. Note again the analysis of the expression latter days in Appendices C & E which confirms this expression can often mean some unspecified time period in the future, not necessarily the end of the world. It also implies a comparison between former and latter days.

However, the events outlined in v2-4 spoken by the prophet Isaiah about Judah and Jerusalem (v1) are commonly placed by many in a 1,000 year reign of Christ on Earth after his Second Coming. Verses 2-4 read:

2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

At first glance it’s understandable why many would conclude this is prophecy not yet fulfilled. Here are my reasons for instead contending Isaiah is here referring to the time of Israel’s wondrous and remarkable restorations from exile in Assyria and Babylon.

Firstly, Isaiah in chapter one laments the sin of Judah and Jerusalem and speaks of God ridding Himself of His adversaries and taking vengeance on His enemies (v24-25). The very next verse speaks of restoring Israel’s judges and its reputation as the city of righteousness and the faithful city. The immediate chronological sequence is clear. It seems unlikely God would do this to His enemies in Israel and then leave the fulfillment of His promise to restore His remnant people to a time (according to many interpreters) even future to our day. I hope the reader would agree we should not quickly deviate from the sound Bible hermeneutic of firstly seeking the meaning the author has for the first audience he’s ministering to.

Secondly, as we’ve seen, Micah 4:1-4 repeats verbatim Isaiah’s prophecy of Isaiah 2:1-4 and provides markers for an ancient fulfillment. The fact Micah prophesied during most of the same time period as Isaiah strongly suggests his identical prophecy is referring to the same things/events as Isaiah’s.

Immediately following Micah’s prophecy Micah says In that day the remnant will be restored, the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion and the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem will have its former dominion (Micah 4:6-8). In using the phrase former dominion there’s a clear contrast here with the mentioned latter days seen in Isaiah 2:2 and Micah 4:1. This fulfillment post-captivity would therefore be the latter dominion. Clues as to what day Micah was referring to follow. Verse 10 speaks of the daughter of Zion going to Babylon and subsequently being delivered and redeemed from the power of her enemies (v10). The many nations who gathered together against her will be threshed as sheaves in the threshing floor and the daughter of Zion will beat in pieces many people and enjoy the substance or booty of their enemies (v11-13). Then Zion would enjoy her later or latter dominion.

Micah 5 also speaks of a nation that has laid siege against Israel as judging Israel on God’s behalf. This nation will in turn be struck (v6). Chapter 5 speaks directly of deliverance from Assyria (described as God’s punishing rod against Israel in Isaiah 10:5). It also speaks of the remnant of Jacob being delivered, and her enemies being cut off (5:5-9). Verse 10 speaks of war horses and chariots being destroyed, strongholds being thrown down, and God’s anger and fury being poured upon the nations that have not heard. This is suggestive of nations being rebuked and turning from war as per Isaiah 2:1-4 and Micah 4:1-4.

Micah concludes in chapter 7:11-20:

The walls of Jerusalem will be rebuilt (v11), the remnant exiled in Assyria and other places will return (v12), Assyria and others will be punished for their deeds (v13), God will show wonders in returning Israel from exile just as he showed them wonders when He brought them out of Egypt (v15), the nations will be ashamed of themselves and afraid of Israel’s God, God will show Himself to be compassionate and forgiving toward the remnant (v18-19), and there will again be truth in Zion (v20).

Thirdly, Isaiah 2:1-4, like Micah 4:1-4 appears to be referring to the time of Israel’s wondrous and remarkable restoration after their exile in Assyria and Babylon because of the clues given in the remainder of Isaiah chapter two, three and four of Isaiah. In Isaiah 2v5-6, they are exhorted to walk in the light of the Lord and to depart from their Philistine ways and idols (v8). Their land is also full of horses and chariots. The fact ancient war like apparatus and methods are referred to in v2-4, that is swords, spears and fortified walls, is consistent with post-exile times. The day of the Lord and the terror of the Lord is also to come upon them because of their haughtiness.

Chapter three continues to describe the great sin of Judah which will lead to its downfall and desolation. Nevertheless for the remnant, called in chapter four, those of Israel who have escaped (v2), the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and appealing and it shall come to pass that he who is left in … Jerusalem will be called holy … when the Lord has washed away the filth … and purged the blood of Jerusalem. A poetic description of God’s post-captivity protection and glory upon her then follows in verses 5 and 6:

[T]hen the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a covering. And there will be a tabernacle for shade in the daytime from the heat, for a place of refuge, and for a shelter from storm and rain.

One further reason why Isaiah 2:2-4 is likely referring to the post-captivity restoration period is that throughout The Prophets it is plain to see there are many references which clearly in context describe Israel and Judah’s return from captivity in ways reminiscent of Isaiah 2:1-4 above. With the rebuilt temple, God’s reigning presence is again in Jerusalem and her glory has returned such that many people from many nations go up to Jerusalem to learn God’s laws of wisdom and peace. The nations who, as we will see in Isaiah 13-23 are severely judged and punished by God for their treatment of Israel, are so weakened and shamed they are no longer looking to lift up sword against other nations or learning war anymore. Rather, they are seeking to rebuild essential infrastructure and their lives.

In chapter five, God laments what more could I have done to My vineyard that I have not done in it? (v4) and then prophesies their captivity because of their many sins (v13). Today we might similarly ask, what more could God have done for Israel and the rest of humanity than suffering at the cross? Could God possibly have shown His love in a deeper or stronger way than this?

The chapter finishes with the horrifying picture of God whistling to summon mighty nations to take His people as a roaring lion takes its prey (v26-30). Nevertheless, God’s loving hand is still outstretched to the faithful remnant (v25).

In chapter six, Isaiah, who dwells amongst a people of unclean lips, in the year King Uzziah died accepts God’s commission to go and warn this wicked people of their impending destruction. Here am I! Send me, he says. There will be utter desolation except for the faithful remnant - the holy seed and stump (v11-13). God kindly warns His people over and over again. He continues to do so today.

Attention turns to the northern kingdom of Israel in chapters 7-9 and the more immediate peril of the Assyrians facing them. The Assyrians are referred to as the punishing rod of God’s anger. There are several Messianic prophecies of hope in the midst of the doom of Israel’s downfall. They are therefore not without hope for the far distant future, nor for the near future, as God’s hand is still outstretched to them also (9:12).

It’s prophesied in chapter 10 the arrogance of the King of Assyria will eventually cause God to send rapid destruction upon Assyria (v12-17). The book of Nahum describes this rapid downfall (see Appendix I). Against Assyria the Lord will kindle a burning Like the burning of fire, So the Light of Israel will be for a fire, And His Holy One for a flame; It will burn and devour His thorns and his briars in one day (v16-17). The destruction decreed shall overflow with righteousness (v22). Then only a remnant of Israel will return and depend not on Assyria who defeated them but on the Lord their God (v20-26). Zion is exhorted not to be afraid of the Assyrian who will strike them in the manner of Egypt (v24). God’s anger against Zion will cease and God will scourge Assyria as His rod was lifted up against Egypt (v26). The burden and yoke of Assyria will be taken from the remnant of Israel’s shoulder (v27). Assyria will be cut down like a tree (v33-34).

Chapter 11 presents some difficult interpretational challenges. Before dealing with its first 11 verses, it is helpful to note the unmistakable correspondence between chapter 10’s clear prophecy about the downfall of Assyria and return of Israel’s remnant (summarized in the paragraph above) and chapter 11:11-16 which reads:

It shall come to pass in that day That the Lord shall set His hand again the second time To recover the remnant of His people who are left, From Assyria and Egypt, From Pathros and Cush, From Elam and Shinar, From Hamath and the islands of the sea. 12 He will set up a banner for the nations, And will assemble the outcasts of Israel, And gather together the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth. 13 Also the envy of Ephraim shall depart, And the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not envy Judah, And Judah shall not harass Ephraim. 14 But they shall fly down upon the shoulder of the Philistines toward the west; Together they shall plunder the people of the East; They shall lay their hand on Edom and Moab; And the people of Ammon shall obey them. 15 The Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the Sea of Egypt; With His mighty wind He will shake His fist over the River, And strike it in the seven streams, And make men cross over dry-shod. 16 There will be a highway for the remnant of His people Who will be left from Assyria, As it was for Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt.

This part of Isaiah 11 would seem to clearly and naturally follow on from the end of chapter 10 because it speaks of God recovering a remnant of Judah and Israel from Assyria and the four corners of the earth where they were dispersed (v11-12). The Sea of Egypt shall be struck drying it up for the remnant. There shall be a highway for the remnant of Israel left from Assyria just as it was in the day God brought Israel up from the land of Egypt through the dried up Red Sea (v15-16). These Assyrian and Egyptian references are important correspondences linking chapters 10 and 11 and clearly placing Isaiah 11’s fulfillment in the time of the fall of the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms when a remnant of Judah and Israel/Ephraim returned to form one nation (Note chapter three part seven on this and commentary below on Jeremiah 50).

Verse 13 speaks of a time when Israel (referred to here as Ephraim) and Judah envied and harassed each other and were therefore divided kingdoms. This could only refer to pre-captivity days because the promise repeated over and over again throughout The Prophets was a remnant of them would return from their captivities in Assyria and Babylon as one nation, never to be divided again. Verse 14-15 say they (Ephraim and Judah united by the hand of the Lord) will plunder the Philistines, Edomites, Moabites, Ammonites and Egyptians. This will happen as part of Israel’s restoration from captivity/exile. Isaiah logically then goes on at great length in chapters 13-23 to detail the punishment to be meted out to these and other nations by Israel’s God.

Isaiah 11:10 says:

And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.

Isaiah 11:11 repeats the in that day of v10 above. If we pay due regard to this double in that day, to be very consistent, we would have to locate all of the events of Isaiah 11 in the same time period. It’s already been proposed the events of v11-16 are fulfilled prophecies bearing significant meaning to Isaiah’s first audience in the time they lived and times not far off from them.

Locating the events of v1-10 within such a time period may at first appear difficult. However, the key to doing so with confidence is recognizing the dual son-ship in scripture of Israel and Christ. Various scriptures present Israel as a type of Christ in terms of being God’s son and the light and banner to the nations. The most notable examples concerning son-ship would probably be Hosea 11:1 and Matthew 2:14-15’s out of Egypt I called my Son applied to Israel and Christ. Also Exodus 4:22-23 says:

Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I say to you, let My son go …

Other verses in Isaiah establishing Israel’s son-ship include Isaiah 63:16 and 64:8. See also Deuteronomy 32:6 and Jeremiah 31:9.

Understanding this helps us to rightly divide v1-10. Although v1’s rod from the stem of Jesse and Branch growing out of Jesse’s roots first suggests Messiah to us (being the Son of David and hence son of Jesse), we should understand this verse as here firstly applying to Judah/Israel. We’ve seen Isaiah has already referred to the remnant in Isaiah 6:11-13 as the holy seed and stump and importantly, in the previous chapter he has just symbolized Assyria with a tree metaphor (v17-19 & 33-34). Also, throughout the book of Isaiah, Isaiah has symbolized Israel and other nations with tree/vine metaphors (e.g. Isaiah 2:13, 5:7, 6:13, 60:21 & 61:3). Isaiah 60:21 says:

Also your people shall all be righteous; They shall inherit the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified.

Therefore, the use of stem, branch and root as applied to Jesse in chapter 11 logically refers to the remnant of Israel. Stems, branches, stump, rod and roots do not represent the whole, but rather a smaller part of the tree or plant.

Before outlining v1-10, it’s also important to notice from v10 that in that day the Root of Jesse shall stand as a banner to the Gentiles. A banner is something people rally around or gather to. We’ve already seen throughout this work so far (and will continue to see loud and clear throughout the rest of it) the gentiles were drawn toward Israel due to God’s remarkable post-captivity restoration of them. Isaiah 31:4,8-9 says:

“So the Lord of hosts will come down To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill. … 8 Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of mankind shall devour him. … 9 He shall cross over to his stronghold for fear, And his princes shall be afraid of the banner,” Says the Lord, Whose fire is in Zion And whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

The banner in these verses Assyria’s princes will be afraid of is Zion/Israel and especially the Lord who fights for her.

Isaiah 62:10-12 confirms this connection:

Go through, Go through the gates! Prepare the way for the people; Build up, Build up the highway! Take out the stones, Lift up a banner for the peoples! Indeed the Lord has proclaimed To the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.’ ” 12 And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord; And you shall be called SOUGHT OUT, A City Not Forsaken. (my emphasis)

Isaiah 60:1-4, 9 says:

Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your daughters shall be nursed at your side. … Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me; And the ships of Tarshish will come first, To bring your sons from afar, Their silver and their gold with them, To the name of the Lord your God, And to the Holy One of Israel, Because He has glorified you.

The Gentiles are attracted to and gathered to glorified Israel, which shines as a beacon and stands out as a banner. Also, the sons and daughters of Israel return from afar. Why? Because as Isaiah 52:10 says:

The Lord has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God.

Understanding then, Israel being presented as a son of God (just as Christ is), restored Israel as the banner or light, and understanding tree or tree parts being metaphors of nations, Isaiah 11:1-5 below can now be clearly understood.

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.

In other words, the Spirit of the Lord of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord will rest upon restored Israel. Righteous judgment and faithfulness will be restored to Israel. God, the mighty mouthpiece acting on Israel’s behalf, will slay the wicked in the earth (Isaiah 30:31, 31:8, 49:2-3 and 51:16). Isaiah 30:31 says: For through the voice of the Lord Assyria will be beaten down, As He strikes with the rod. Isaiah 31:8 says: Then Assyria shall fall by a sword not of man, And a sword not of mankind shall devour him … . Given the duality we have seen regarding Israel and Christ it is easy to also see how these verses can also apply to the first century ministry of Christ. His words were indeed a sharp, two-edged sword to His enemies, especially the religious leaders He often rebuked.

The next portion of scripture in Isaiah 11 which I have not yet dealt with is v6-10 which reads:

6 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together; And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea. 10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”

Isaiah, as with all the prophets, commonly uses poetic language to describe realities. This passage is a prime example. Albert Barnes, a renowned 19th century theologian whose commentary on Isaiah is freely available online, writes of this passage in Isaiah 11:6-10, These passages are beautiful, and highly poetic. Of the same passage repeated in Isaiah 65 he writes, the passage before us is highly poetical, and we are not required to understand it literally. He writes, such figurative expressions are common in all poetry, and especially among the Orientals.

The blessed realities Isaiah is describing for post-captivity Israel restored with walls, glorious temple, self-government and fame among the nations as the dwelling place of God, are peace, safety, harmony, comfort and the knowledge of the Lord in it and being spread to the nations who come up to her. These realities are frequently spoken of in plain language in various other passages of Isaiah (e.g. 26:3, 32:17-19, 33:20-22, 55:12, 57:2 & 19 & 66:12-13). Please also see the Isaiah 65 commentary where the very same poetic passage above about the wolf and the lamb etc. is further contextualized and discussed.

One final question to address regarding Isaiah 11 is what does it mean in v11 where it says the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, Pathros, Cush etc? The second time reference is a difficult one to understand when we consider how God not only recovered His people from Egypt by the hand of Moses, but also how the book of Judges records multiple times when God restored His people from oppression from various nations.

The period of the Judges can probably be distinguished as Israel was oppressed by various nations whilst predominantly based in her own land. In general, her people were not outcast from her territory in bondage in a foreign land or foreign lands as she was when she was in Egypt, Assyria and Babylon. Isaiah 11:12 says that in recovering the remnant God would assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather the dispersed of Judah. Above we saw how v11-16 clearly related to the recovery of the Israelites from the Assyrian kingdom and we saw in v16 and chapter 10:24-26 references to Israel’s bondage in Egypt and her recovery from bondage there in the manner of Egypt. Isaiah 10:24 compared the way Assyria struck Israel with the way Egypt had treated them before God delivered them through the rod of Moses. We also saw how Micah prophesied God would show wonders in returning Israel from exile just as he showed them wonders when He brought them out of Egypt (Micah 7:15). Further, in Genesis 45:7, the Hebrew word commonly translated remnant is used by Joseph when he says to his brothers And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity [translated remnant in some Bibles] for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. Therefore, in a sense, the Israelites in Egypt were also a remnant.

On the basis of these connections, it is therefore probable v11’s mention of recovery of the remnant from bondage in Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush etc (which happened during the following century or two) is the second time, and the first time would be God’s recovery of His people from bondage in Egypt through the mighty 10 plagues. To regard, as many commentators do, the second time as being when God restored Israel in 1948, or any possible subsequent restoration to that, would therefore not be a second time. See

https://americanvision.org/posts/isaiah-11-and-the-recovery-of-israel-the-second-time/ in support of this Egypt interpretation.

It is also common knowledge the return of the captives from the Assyrian and Babylonian kingdoms was in stages. Therefore, another possible (although not as plausible) interpretation of the second time reference is that this refers to the second stage of Israel and Judah’s return in that era.

Chapter 12 is Israel’s hymn of praise for God turning His anger away from them, and comforting them with salvation from Assyria. What God does for His people in this time lifts them up as a banner for it is known in all the earth (v5). The inhabitants of Zion celebrate having the great and Holy One of Israel in their midst (v6)

In chapters 13-23 the prophet turns his attention squarely to the punishment God will pour out on the nations that execute His wrath on Israel and Judah in those days. Chapters 13 to 14 is the burden against Babylon (13:1) who indeed, as Isaiah prophesied, took Judah into captivity. The Medes are to come against Babylon (13:17), as history elsewhere records they did.

Chapter 14 tells us why Babylon will fall and how the remnant of Israel in captivity will then be blessed by other nations. Some people of other nations will bring them back to their land:

For the Lord will have mercy on Jacob, and will still choose Israel, and settle them in their own land. The strangers will be joined with them, and they will cling to the house of Jacob. Then people will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them for servants and maids in the land of the Lord; they will take them captive, whose captives they were, and rule over their oppressors. It shall come to pass in the day the Lord gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: ‘How the oppressor has ceased, the golden city ceased! The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked (v1-4)’ … What will they answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord has founded Zion, and the poor of His people shall take refuge in it (v32).

This passage is commonly applied to the 20 and 21st centuries and the return of Jews to Israel. However, clearly that is not its context.

In chapters 15-16, the nation of Moab because of its pride will not be exempt from God’s punishment. In chapter 17, it is prophesied Damascus will receive its portion for plundering and robbing Israel (v14). (I recently heard one modern day prophecy teacher apply this prophecy to a modern 2017 destruction of Damascus, a very far-fetched and non-contextual claim).

So will the land beyond the rivers of Ethiopia receive its portion in chapter 18. A people tall and smooth of skin … whose land the rivers divide will bring a gift to the Lord in Mount Zion, blessing the only true God and His people in Jerusalem. I have also heard this being applied to the Sudanese (people who are generally very dark skinned) in the twentieth century, but the context again, as with the destruction of Damascus in chapter 17, is clearly the punishment of the nations that mistreated Israel during their period of captivity during the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. It therefore has nothing to do with modern day Sudanese people.

Chapter 19 describes how Egypt also will not escape God’s punishment of the nations in this historical period. A fierce king will rule over them (v4). They will fall into drought as their rivers fail (v5-7). The land of Judah will even be a terror to Egypt (v17) and five cities in Egypt will swear by the Lord of hosts and there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of Egypt where they make sacrifice and offering to the Lord (v18-21). Drane J, in his book Introducing the Old Testament (2000, Rev, ed. Lion, Oxford, UK), at p.204-205 discusses some of the evidence for there having been a Jewish temple in Egypt and sacrifices being offered there, and states Judaism was to be increasingly important in many parts of the Mediterranean world, not the least in Egypt. Josephus, likewise in Book 13, chapter 3 of The Antiquities of the Jews makes reference to the temple Onias, the son of a high priest also called Onias, built in Egypt in fulfillment of this prophecy.

Chapter 20 foretells how Egypt and Ethiopia will be led away captive by the King of Assyria. Isaiah signified this, as he was commanded by God, by walking naked and barefoot three years for a sign and a wonder against Egypt and Ethiopia (v3). It would make no sense for Isaiah to have done this if the ruination of these nations was afar off. Obviously this occurred during the time of the ancient Assyrians.

Chapter 21 continues the burden or woes against the nations at the hands of the Medes and Elam (v2). Babylon, Dumah and Arabia are to fall.

The burden against the Valley of Vision in chapter 22 mentions the calamity to come upon Elam and Kir (v6) who were also enemies of Judah and the city of David (Jerusalem) (v8-14).

God, in chapter 23 also deals with wealthy Tyre and Sidon. Their vast wealth is to be redistributed, and the people of God are to be the beneficiaries (v18)!

The major nations of the earth, as we have just read in chapters 13-23 were to be severely punished for their haughtiness. Israel and Judah were also to be punished for their sin. Chapter 24, we believe, provides a graphic, poetic, and terrifying summary of this. The city of confusion (perhaps Babylon) will be broken down (v10). The Lord will punish on high the host of exalted ones … the kings of the earth (just as we have seen in the preceding chapters setting forth the burdens against the nations). The sovereignty of the Lord will shine once again from Jerusalem (v23).

Some struggle with this interpretation of Isaiah 24. Isaiah 24, with its talk of the Lord making the earth empty and the Lord punishing the kings of the earth and reigning on Mount Zion, has been interpreted by many as referring to the end of the world and a subsequent thousand year reign by Christ on earth. By contrast, one large denomination has concluded from Isaiah 24 the earth will be desolate and without inhabitant for a thousand years after Christ’s return. Advocates of the former view suggest this desolate earth view ignores the end of verse 6 which says a few men are left after the Lord wreaks great destruction on the earth.

However, what if we pay closer regard to the context of the book of Isaiah? What if we note that in the lead up to chapter 24, namely chapters 13-23, the prophet had turned his attention squarely to the punishment God had declared He would pour out on the nations of the world after their merciless execution of His wrath upon Israel and Judah? Chapter 13-14 prophesies of the woes to come against the world empire of Babylon at the hands of the Medes (13:11-17). Chapters 15-23 continue to detail the punishment to fall on Babylon, Moab, Damascus, Ethiopia, Egypt, Tyre etc.

What if chapter 24 is simply providing a graphic, poetic, and terrifying summary of the preceding chapters? What if its reference in v10 to the city of confusion being broken down is simply a reference to Babylon’s fall, and what if v21’s reference to the Lord punishing the kings of the earth is just confirming the prophecy of the preceding eleven chapters? Finally, what if the reference to the Lord reigning gloriously on Mount Zion and Jerusalem simply confirms the return of the Lord’s favor to His people after their prophesied time of captivity and punishment in the kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon and the many blessings prophesied for Israel after their captivity (e.g. 14:1-4, 32, 18:7, 19:17-25 and 23:17-18)? After all, there are examples in scripture of the Lord’s mighty and glorious presence being with His people that clearly did not involve any future kingdom scene (consider for example the Lord’s rule from the holy tabernacle, Isaiah 12:6, Psalms 74:1-2, 76:1-2 and 99).

Continuing in chapters 25-27 Isaiah now prophesies of the wonderful restoration the remnant of Israel and Judah are to experience on returning from their Assyrian and Babylonian captivities (note especially 27:13). The references in these chapters to the foreign nations of the day are indicative of the relevance of these chapters to post-captivity times. Such nations will be diminished (25:5). Moab will be trampled down (25:10). Yet they will glorify and fear God (25:3). He will make a feast for all people (25:6). Even the terrible nations whom God has just plundered with death and destruction, by the hand of the Medes and Persians will know the true God. The covering or the veil spread over them will be destroyed (25:7). The rebuke of God’s people will be taken away from the earth (25:8). God has judged the inhabitants of the earth and they will learn of His righteous ways (26:9). God has returned to His people whom other masters had dominion over. Isaiah states in chapter 26 that in that day (26:1):

Lord, You will establish peace for us, for You have also done all our works in us … You have increased the nation … You are glorified; You have expanded all the borders of the land” (12-15) … Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust; For the dew is like the dew of herbs, And the earth shall cast out the dead (v19). [Israel’s restoration is likened to a resurrection from the dead in v19, just as it is Ezekiel 37] Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation has past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity … (v20-21)

The captives of Israel in Egypt and Assyria (27:13), (note) in the same day (27:1), will be re-gathered:

Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit. (27:6)

God’s mercy is bountiful.

In chapter 28 Isaiah again gives Israel (referred to as Ephraim) advance warning of how Assyria will bring them down because of their pride and sin.

In chapter 29 he provides another woe, but with specific reference to Ariel, the city where David dwelt (i.e. Jerusalem). So Judah also receives another warning from God. Isaiah, however, indicates in v5-8 that after Judah’s fall the multitude of nations who fought against Jerusalem as God’s punishing rod (referred to in chapters 13-24), will be swiftly and severely punished. They shall be like fine dust and like chaff that passes away (v5). History shows us it was the Medes and the Persians who quickly subdued many of Israel’s former enemies. Once they are punished and a righteous remnant of God’s people left, prosperity, honor and understanding will return to Israel (v17-24). Verses 18-19 remind us of Christ’s ministry.

Chapter 30 opens with a word for those amongst God’s people who trust in Egypt. They shall be ashamed. The Egyptian’s (the beast of the South) help shall profit them nothing (v7). God’s people are to be left like a pole on a top of a mountain (v17). Nevertheless the Lord is a God of justice and He will be gracious to them (v18). God’s binding up of their bruise will be marvelous in those days:

… For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry … Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘this is the way, walk in it’ … Then He will give the rain for your seed … and bread of the increase of the earth; It will be fat and plentiful … (v19-23).

God’s indignation against Assyria will be like the flame of a devouring fire (v 27-33). This Assyrian reference confirms that the chapter indeed relates primarily to the ancient Assyrian period. Nevertheless, today we can still expect nothing less than both justice and grace from God. He is constant in His character.

Chapter 31 continues the theme. Both those in Israel who seek help from Egypt and those in Egypt who help will fall (v3). The Lord, not the Egyptians, will be the remnant’s deliverer from the Assyrians (v4-9). Verses 4-5 say the Lord of hosts will come down to fight for Mount Zion and for its hill … So will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem. The Assyrians at least won’t enter Jerusalem. The Lord will defend Jerusalem (v5). In context this does not mean a literal visible appearance of the Lord. Whilst it is not suggested chapter 31 refers to the same events as Zechariah 14 does, note however the similar terminology in Zechariah 14:3 i.e. the Lord going forth and fighting against nations. Such battle terminology does not necessarily imply the end of the world, and does not require a visible appearance of the Lord.

Note especially Chapter 36 & 37 which describe Assyria’s assault against Judah in very plain and direct language. Sennacherib King of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them (36:1) and they trusted to no avail in Egypt (36:6). King Hezekiah’s prayer, however, was heard, and the King of Assyria did not enter Jerusalem, as the Lord fought for his remnant in Jerusalem (37:32-35).

In chapter 38 we see a sick King Hezekiah whose prayer for healing is heard, but in chapter 39 he foolishly shows the king of Babylon the treasures of Israel. Isaiah warns him all these will be taken to Babylon.

Chapters 40-66 of Isaiah contain many wonderful prophecies concerning God’s salvation through Christ at His coming in the first century. The prophet provides a message of hope which would have been very comforting to his people in the midst of the prophesied troubles to come. In these chapters the more current issues facing them are still referred to, but wonderful messianic prophecies, and prophecies of the fountain of grace in the New Testament era flowing through to today feature.

For example, although we know from the New Testament John the Baptist is the one who was to prepare the way of the Lord and make straight in the desert a highway for our God (Is. 40:3), God, in chapter 45:1-2, is to go before the Persian ruler Cyrus, His anointed, and make the crooked places straight before him. Isaiah writes of Cyrus in chapter 44, He is My Shepherd, and he shall perform all my pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built,’ and to the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid’ (v28). It is Cyrus of Persia of whom God says in chapter 45:13:

I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; He shall build my city and let my exiles go free …

Great hope for Israel is emphasized in verse 14 of chapter 45 as follows:

… The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; they shall walk behind you … And they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other … God.’ (my emphasis)

And more hope is given in chapter 46:13:

Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel … Even I will carry, and will deliver you (v3-4) … My salvation will not linger. And I will place salvation in Zion, for Israel My glory.

The doom of Israel’s Babylonian captors is spelt out in chapter 47 and chapter 48:14. Israel’s escape from Babylon is described in 48:20 thus:

Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! With a voice of singing, declare, proclaim this, utter it to the end of the earth; Say, ‘the Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob!’

Despite Zion feeling she has been forsaken and forgotten by God, God encourages her through Isaiah 49:14-26 as follows (may this also be an encouragement for any of us who feel the same):

But Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.’ ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you … Your destroyers and those who laid you waste shall go away from you … Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I will lift up My hand in an oath to the nations, and set up a standard [banner] for the peoples; they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders; Kings shall be your foster fathers [e.g. Cyrus and Darius] … they shall bow down to you [e.g. Nebuchadnezzar bowed to Daniel] … Then you will know that I am the Lord … All flesh shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior ….’ (my emphasis)

In chapter 51, the righteous of God’s people are encouraged to look to Him and to their Father Abraham as a source of comfort and hope for them and their land. The waste places will be comforted. There will be joy, gladness, thanksgiving and singing in Zion (v3). God’s law, justice and judgment will proceed forth as a light to the nations (v4-5). Many of them will trust in God. Isaiah 2:1-4 expressed similar thoughts. In verses 6 to the end of the chapter, the mighty God, the Ancient of days, who laid the foundations of the earth and who dried up the sea for the redeemed to cross over, comforts those of His people who know righteousness and have His law in their hearts (the remnant). They shall return to Zion from their exile with gladness and singing (v11-16). Jerusalem, which has drunk the dregs of God’s cup of fury, shall no longer drink it. Rather, it will be drunk by those who oppressed them (17-23), as Isaiah 2:4 also says.

Although chapter 52 includes prophecy concerning the Messiah, its relevance to the restoration of Zion in post-exilic days is unmistakable given the references in the chapter to those who had oppressed them without a cause, such as Assyria (v4). Indeed, all the nations, as Ezra and Nehemiah confirm, saw the restoration of Israel:

Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean shall no longer come to you [this statement seems to be in the context of coming as oppressors, rather than worshippers] … Loose yourself … O captive daughter of Zion … For thus says the Lord God: ‘My people went down at first into Egypt to dwell there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause … Therefore My people shall know my name’ … Your watchmen shall lift up their voices … For they shall see eye to eye when the Lord brings back Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem … The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations (52:1-10). (my emphasis)

See Appendix K for an exposition of chapter 53 perhaps the most important and detailed prophecy of Jesus the Messiah in the entire Bible.

In chapter 56, Isaiah reinforces the underlined portion above in chapter 52 where he writes:

Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants – Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, and holds fast my covenant – Even them I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My alter; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations (v6-7). (my emphasis)

Isaiah 58, especially v 12, speaks of the righteous remnant who will rebuild and repair and give honor to God’s holy day, as Nehemiah wrote and exhorted about in Nehemiah 10:29-31.

In light of what Ezra and Nehemiah wrote concerning Israel’s restoration, the favorable decrees by world rulers canvassed in Chapter Two, and the secular history outlined in Chapter Four, it seems reasonable to read the following verses in chapters 60-62 as pertaining largely to Israel’s restoration in that period (Messianic prophecies are still sprinkled throughout):

[Chapter 60] The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you; For in My wrath I struck you, but in My favor I have had mercy on you. Therefore your gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles, and their kings in procession. For the nation and kingdom which will not serve you shall perish, and those nations shall be utterly ruined [compare Ezra 6:11 & Daniel 3:29] (10-12) … Also the sons of those who afflicted you shall come bowing to you, and all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet; and they shall call you The City of the Lord … [compare Daniel 2:46] … Whereas you have been forsaken and hated, so that no one went through you, I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of MANY generations. You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles, and milk the breast of kings … Instead of bronze I will bring gold … Violence shall no longer be heard in your land …The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; but the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory. Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself; for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. And all your people shall be righteous; they shall inherit the land forever … I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time (v14-22). (punctuation and emphasis ours)

The portions above referring to the sun and the moon no longer being their light may suggest to some a millennial or eternal age, yet future to our time. However, given the context, the poetic nature of the passage, and the material consistent with all that has been discussed concerning the post-captivity age of restoration, this does not necessarily have to be so. This passage is pregnant with colorful Hebrew poetry. For example, notice the reference to the Israelites milking the breasts of kings. Obviously this is not to be taken literally as kings do not have milk in their breasts. It is simply a picture of how Israel will be nurtured by kings, such as Cyrus and Darius, as we have previously seen.

The prophet, by talking about the sun no longer being their light by day, but rather the Lord being their light and glory, may simply be making the point the glory of the Lord their God will now far exceed the sun or the moon, or anything – as it always should have, and as it does in the lives of true believers today. Verse 20, indeed, still implies they have a sun by saying it won’t go down. However, it seems to be making a different point related to the last line of the verse – the days of their mourning shall be ended. This is confirmed elsewhere in scripture where the sun going down is symbolic of sad and difficult times for a nation. Here the sun won’t go down for Israel. Good times and rejoicing will now come instead of mourning. See Appendix E – Sun, moon and stars darkened… .

The mention of the righteousness of the returned purified remnant, as declared in Ezra and Nehemiah, would also be consistent with the statement in verse 21 that all the people would be righteous.

As for inheriting the land forever, Israel after its return from exile, remained in the land for a very long period – indeed even until 70 A.D. Several examples can be given in scripture of the Hebrew writers using words, such as the Hebrew word Olam (Strongs 5769), which we translate as forever or everlasting, simply as an expression for a long period of time. Indeed, the definition of Olam given in The New Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990) allows for such a construction. So too does a contextual analysis of scripture when we see, for example, the old covenant priesthood being described as an everlasting priesthood in Numbers 25:13, yet Hebrews 8:11-28 records it being changed thousands of years later. Physical circumcision was also described as an everlasting covenant in Genesis 17:13, yet the New Testament does not place significance on it. Numerous other examples of this type of use of the word forever or everlasting could be given. Similar care should also be exercised in relation to the phrase no longer seen above and any other similar phrases. Perhaps one of our greatest problems in understanding the Bible is we are often more literal in our use of language than the Hebrews were themselves.

Chapter 61 continues:

And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations. Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the foreigner shall be your plowman and your vinedressers. But you shall be named the priests of the Lord, they shall call you the servants of our God. You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory you shall boast (v4-6) … So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations (v11).

God’s words through the prophet in chapter 62 would have also been a source of great comfort and hope to the remnant in captivity:

For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace … until her righteousness goes forth as brightness … The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all kings your glory … You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land be anymore termed Desolate … I have set a watchman on your walls, O Jerusalem; … do not keep silent … till he makes Jerusalem a praise in all the earth (1-7). (my emphasis)

The promises to those who will be part of God’s faithful remnant today are even more glorious. We are promised a day where, as we understand forever, there will be no more death, no more pain, and no more sorrow or crying. The joy of the Lord will fill our hearts. The whole universe and heavenly realms will rejoice.

Chapters 63:15-64:12 contain a powerful prayer acknowledging and confessing sins on behalf of Israel and crying out to God their Father to come down and help them in their great distress. The prayer also points out how the temple has been trodden down (63:18 & 64:11), the desolation of Jerusalem and other holy cities (64:10) and the sorry state of their righteousness (which was like filthy rags) and their need to be forgiven and saved. The prayer and chapter 64 conclude with a desperately probing question of God – Will You restrain Yourself because of these things, O Lord? Will You hold Your peace, and afflict us very severely (64:12)? In rightly understanding the closing chapters of Isaiah it’s therefore critical to remember God’s answer to this repentant prayer now follows in Isaiah 65 & 66.

Isaiah 65 & 66 are commonly applied to end times. Let’s walk through them and see how contextually they can be rightly understood as God’s answer to the preceding prayer. Hence, to us, they are fulfilled prophecy.

In Isaiah 65:1-5, God responds to the prayer by lamenting about the sin of His rebellious people whom He had stretched out His hands to all day long and who in that day provoked Him to anger to His face continually (v3), ate swine’s flesh and the broth of abominable things (v4) and who disrespectfully didn’t want Him to come near them (v5).

In v6-7, God declares He will repay them who blaspheme Him on the hills, but He will spare a remnant who have sought Him (v8-10). This would have been sweet to the ears of the one who prayed so fervently. Verses 11-12 continue to declare woe to the wicked among God’s people. The fortunes of the wicked and the remnant are starkly contrasted in v13-16. As we’ve seen earlier in Isaiah’s prophecy, the righteous remnant will forget their former troubles (v16). What a wonderful response to this prayer!

Verses 17-25 are commonly applied to a future idyllic millennial reign on earth after Christ’s return with the wolf and lamb feeding together and the lion eating straw like an ox. Verse 17 starts with the conjunction For thus connecting it and what follows to the preceding context just outlined. Verses 17-25 read:

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying. 20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them. 24 “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the Lord.

Oh yes, how marvelous and sweet would God’s response to the prayer have been to all in Israel later to go into captivity who heard the prayerful words recorded by Isaiah!

What of claims though this is unfulfilled prophecy waiting to be fulfilled in a glorious millennial period after Christ’s Second Coming? Here are some major issues with such an approach.

Firstly, v17 says For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. Those who believe in the 1,000 year reign after Christ’s return believe the new heavens and new earth come after the millennium.

Secondly, v20 speaks of death occurring in this period and the existence of sinners. That certainly does not fit with the common idyllic conception of the new heavens and new earth period and detracts significantly from the supposed ideal conditions of a 1,000 year rule of Christ. It’s also hard to reconcile with the clear NT teaching concerning all the wicked being destroyed at Christ’s glorious return (Matthew 13:36-43, 47-50, Luke 17:26-30 and 2 Peter 3:1-13). If there are no wicked people left in existence in the millennium or in the new heavens and new earth, then to apply v17-25 to either of these periods would strangely suggest death and sin for the saints.

Thirdly, v22 only speaks of the elect long enjoying the work of their hands, not eternally enjoying it.

Fourthly, v23 envisages children being born during this period to the elect. However, the elect are portrayed by Jesus as being like the angels in heaven who neither marry, nor are given in marriage (Luke 20:34-36). Therefore, since procreation is intimately connected with marriage, it’s unlikely Isaiah is speaking of the millennium or the new heavens and new earth periods commonly taught today.

But what of the wolf and the lamb feeding together and the lion eating straw and there being no hurt in all of God’s holy mountain? Of-course we cannot identify a time in history when this has been an ordinary feature of everyday life, apart from the Garden of Eden before the fall.

We therefore have a dilemma. If one were to apply the literalist approach to v17’s Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth chapter 65 could not be talking about the millennium. It would have to be about the time of the new heavens and new earth. But if we read it literally, then the new heavens and the new earth would have sin and death in them. We know that interpretation can’t be correct either.

Therefore, the most plausible interpretation remaining is to read v17-25 according to its poetic genre. The widespread scholarly consensus is The Prophets are littered with imagery, poetic devices and figurative language.

Now reading v17-25 according to its poetic genre, the new heavens and new earth can be seen as symbolic of extremely different and marvelous conditions as compared to the terrible conditions previously spoken of in chapters 63-64 i.e. the sanctuary/temple being trodden down, desolations throughout Israel’s cities, fear, danger and death – the old or former situation.

Isaiah 65:13 said the elect servants of God would eat, drink and rejoice once their troubles had passed. Verses 21-23 describe this in a beautifully poetic way and musically melodic way. Verses 21-23 are easily put to song with its They shall repetition and appropriate chorus, For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of my people and My elect will long enjoy the work of their hand (my emphasis).

Whilst it may disappoint the reader and deflate high hopes and expectations, the wolf and the lamb feeding together and the lion eating straw like an ox cannot be a literal thing in this context. However, this beautiful passage poetically (including hyperbolically) speaks loudly of wonderfully renewed conditions of safety, harmony, comfort and prosperity for the remnant who’ve returned from captivity through the faithful and mighty hand of the Lord by the aegis of the Medes and Persians conquering their Babylonian oppressors. I hope you can see how God has responded to the prayer of chapters 63 & 64 in a most wonderful way, a way revealing his justice and compassion as Israel’s eternal Father.

The discussion of chapter 66 below will further support this conclusion. Note also comments on the similar passage at Isaiah 11.

Chapter 66 opens with the Lord asserting His mighty dominion, all-sufficiency and authorship of Creation (v1-2). As high and mighty as He is, God gives care and attention to those in humanity who are poor and contrite in spirit and who tremble at His word (v2). We thank and praise Him He still does today.

Verses 3-4 continues an early theme of Isaiah seen in chapter one. Sacrifices by the disobedient are an abomination to God. It’s written, He who offers a grain offering [is] as if he offers swine’s blood (v3). Because of the wickedness of His people God will bring upon them what they fear (v4). The righteous in Zion will be vindicated and joyful, but the wicked will be ashamed because the Lord blesses the remnant and repays His enemies (v5-6). This is very appropriate for the final chapter of Isaiah’s prophecy as it provides an apt summary of the thrust of Isaiah’s prophecy to the people it was first given to.

From v7-13 God is affirmed as the God who loves like a fit and healthy mother, who doesn’t just bring the baby to the time of birth and then fails to deliver, but who actually delivers. Those who love Jerusalem are called to rejoice and be glad with her. Those who have mourned for her are consoled. They will drink deeply and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. Jerusalem will have peace like a river and will be comforted. The context is still the plight of the righteous and wicked amongst God’s people who have suffered through the years of Assyrian and Babylonian captivity.

Isaiah continues:

“… The hand of the Lord shall be known to His servants, and His indignation to His enemies. FOR behold, the Lord will come with chariots like a whirlwind to render His anger … For by fire and the sword The Lord will judge all flesh [see Isaiah 19:1-4: showing such language can be used for the Lord’s interventions in earth’s history even before His final coming in judgment]; And the slain of the Lord shall be many (v14-16).”

This also is an apt inclusion in Isaiah’s final chapter as it echoes the earlier worldwide punishment of the nations seen in chapters 13-24, a significant portion of Isaiah’s prophecy. Idolators and those who eat what is abominable in those days will be consumed (v17, see also Isaiah 65:3-7). Verse 17 is not a pre-coming of Christ passage to be used to denounce the eating of pork in the new covenant. The Lord’s judgment is coming down on the wicked in Israel and on the nations of the day whom He singles out for punishment in the process of restoring His remnant people.

God’s glory is revealed both to those who are punished and those who are vindicated – Jew and Gentile alike. Jerusalem will again be a centre of worship for all the world. The remnant of God’s people, in contrast to those who offered swine’s blood, will bring an offering in clean vessels to the house of the Lord (v18-21). Verse 21 confirms this chapter has an Old Testament post-exile setting because the Levitical priesthood is re-established (v21). The NT book of Hebrews clearly explains how Christ by the new covenant in His blood put an end to such a priesthood forever (e.g. Hebrews 7).

In verses 22-24, God declares that after the widespread bloodshed of this period all flesh (Jew and Gentile) will come and worship before Him. So far, in earlier chapters of this work we have indeed seen how historically Jerusalem did become a worldwide centre of worship after their restoration from exile and how it still was at the time of Christ with devout Jews from every nation coming up for the feast of Pentecost. Indeed, as promised in v22, Israel’s name and descendants remained, and people from all nations continued coming up to the temple in Jerusalem until God destroyed it in 70 A.D. because of Israel’s gross unfaithfulness to the covenants.

Jeremiah

The Setting

Jeremiah was a young priest who, from approximately 630 B.C., was called by God to warn the nation of Judah the Babylonians were about to come and take them into captivity for 70 years. He preached not only a message of repentance, but also a message of catastrophe and surrender. He preached it was in the best interests of the people to surrender to the King of Babylon because even if Moses or Samuel stood before God pleading for mercy on their behalf, God was not going to relent from punishing them.

He was never going to be a popular prophet for bringing such a strong message against a backslidden people who felt no shame and who did not know how to blush. Indeed he wasn’t. He holds nothing back in telling the people the abhorrent nature of their sins before a holy God. He endured great personal trials as a result.

On a more positive note, he did prophesy much about better times for Judah and Israel after their captivity. Many portions of Jeremiah’s prophesy foretelling the days after their exile are summarized below.

Jeremiah is an interesting book to consider as, perhaps like no other ancient book, it shows just how little people have changed over the centuries. The society Jeremiah describes sounds very much like ours today. That’s not a very comforting thought though, as you will see. Nevertheless, God’s way of escape, as it was available then, is also available today.

Summary of various chapters

In chapter one, we read of Jeremiah’s calling and see he prophesied during the last kings of Judah from King Josiah until Judah went into captivity (v1-10). All the families of the kings of the north were set to come against Judah because they had forsaken their God (v14-16). God brings His case against Judah in chapter two. It is a very long and sad indictment.

In chapter three we see Jeremiah also had a message from God to the northern part of Israel who had already been exiled by the Assyrian empire. He cries:

Then the Lord said to me, ‘Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah’ … ‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord … Only acknowledge your iniquity … I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion … At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it … No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers (v11-18). (Compare Zechariah 8) (my emphasis)

Up to chapter 16 the horrible sins of Judah are described in sickening detail. Very little hope is provided. However, after telling Judah they are to be cast out of their land into a land neither they nor their fathers have known and where they will serve other Gods day and night (v13), Jeremiah says God will send for fisherman to bring them back from the land of the north and all the lands from where they have been driven (v15-16).

The great doom in the Lord’s message continues through to chapter 21 where at least some life-saving hope is given to those in Judah who were prepared to heed Jeremiah’s God-given warning to defect to the besieging Chaldeans of Babylon (v9).

In chapter 22, Jeremiah is to warn the king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, to execute judgment and righteousness or Judah will become a desolation. Many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, ‘Why has the LORD done so to this great city?’(v8)

Further, in chapter 23 there is mention of a remnant from the flock taken captive whom God will bring back to their folds and make fruitful (v3). Though verses 5-6 of chapter 23 may speak wonderful Messianic hope, v7-8 certainly speak marvelously of the return of the remnant thus:

Therefore, behold the days are coming … that they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the north country and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ And they shall dwell in their own land.

Chapter 24 brings home the more contemporary message to Jeremiah’s audience in verses 4-10. God will set his eyes for good on those amongst Judah (the good figs) who were carried into the land of the Chaldeans. He will bring them back to their land, build them up and not pull them down. He will plant them and not pluck them up. He will give them a heart to know Him and they will return to Him with all their heart. The rest, however, the bad figs, will be greatly troubled.

From chapter 25:11 Jeremiah writes plainly about what will come to pass when Judah’s 70 years in Babylon are completed. Babylon shall be made a perpetual desolation. God will send a sword among all the inhabitants of the earth (just as we saw Isaiah prophesy in Isaiah 24). They, including Judah, will drink the cup of his wrath. Many nations are listed including Egypt, the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, Edom, Moab, Tyre, Media, all the kings of the north, and all the kingdoms of the world. Verse 31 says the Lord has a controversy with the nations. He will plead His case with all flesh and the slain of the Lord shall be from one end of the earth even to the other. The dead will not be lamented or buried. Thus the controversy (which some have labeled The Great Controversy and apply more widely to end times) in context, had clear fulfillment in the post-exile period when God punished the nations that had plundered his people.

Chapter 26 recounts how Jeremiah was nearly put to death by the priests, prophets and people who despised his prophecies of doom against an unrepentant Judah. However, some of the elders, including Ahikam, rose in Jeremiah’s defence and his life was spared.

Chapter 27 makes mention of the precious things in the Lord’s house being taken to Babylon, but adds afterwards they will be restored (v19-22), as we saw they were in Ezra 1:7-11.

Chapter 28 contains Hananiah’s false prophecy of favour to Judah. Jeremiah prophesied Hananiah’s death and such came to pass (v17).

In chapter 29, from verse 10, Jeremiah again describes unequivocally what will happen to those taken to Babylon after the 70 years are completed. God will cause them to return to their land (v10 & 14). His thoughts toward them will be thoughts of peace and not of evil to give them a future and a hope (v11). They will find their God when they search for Him with all their heart and God will listen to their prayers again (v12-13). We too will find our loving God when we search for Him with all our heart.

Chapter 30 continues to forecast good news for Israel and Judah after their return from their prophesied exile. They shall consider it in the latter days (v24). If the reader’s mind is (unnecessarily, in our opinion) turned toward the end of the world because of the use of the expression the latter days in v24, then the reader is once again reminded to see the commentary on the expression latter days in Appendix E, and near the beginning of Appendix C where the shades of meaning of latter days are considered.

God will return them to the land of their fathers to possess it (v3). They shall be saved out of this terrible time described here by Jeremiah as the time of Jacob’s trouble (v7). Their bonds shall be burst (v8). They shall serve their God and David their king (v9) (See Jeremiah 22:1-2, 29:16 and notes at, Ezekiel 34 & Ezekiel 37 re David representing the dominant position of the rulers of the tribe of Judah – David’s tribe). They shall return from the land of their captivity and have peace (v10). They will not go unpunished, but God will make a full end of the nations where they were scattered (v11). Those who plundered them will be plundered and all who preyed upon them will be made prey, but their wounds will be healed (v16-17). The city shall be rebuilt, thanksgiving and merriment will once again be heard there, and her people will be multiplied and glorified (v18-20). They shall have their own governor, as the book of Ezra, and Hayes and Miller in chapter four, confirmed.

This chapter and its reference to Jacob’s trouble is commonly interpreted as applying to a terrible time at the very end of the world. We hope you can see from the context, and after considering the cross-references referred to above, this is probably incorrect. See also Ralph Woodrow’s commentary on Jacob’s trouble in Appendix E.

Chapter 31 continues to describe the hope of that same period, opening with the words at the same time. All the families of Israel shall be God’s people. Those of Israel who survived the sword and found grace in the wilderness will be built up and will rejoice and will plant vines on the mountains of Samaria (v1-5). The remnant shall be brought from the north country and the ends of the earth. He who scattered Israel will gather them and once again be a shepherd to them. A great throng shall return with weeping and supplications, followed by great rejoicing, because God is their Father and Ephraim His firstborn (v7-14). As we saw in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, there was indeed sincere weeping, desire for God, and great rejoicing. Note: the Samaria and Ephraim references speak of Israel as opposed to Judah.

Continuing in verse 20 of chapter 31, we see God’s yearning heart for His dear people. The house of Judah and the house of Israel will be multiplied, both man and beast (v27). The new covenant sealed by Christ’s own blood, still open to whomsoever will enter it today, is foreshadowed (Luke 22:20, Hebrews 8:7-13, 9:11-22 & 10:8-22) by the covenant God makes with them at this time of their return. The law will be written in their hearts. The least to the greatest amongst them will know the Lord and their sins will be forgiven (v31-34, see Chapter Three – Purified hearts and knowledge of God’s law which indicates how this had fulfillment then). The city shall be built for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate (v38).

In chapter 32, Jerusalem is under siege by the Babylonian army in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar because the children of Israel and Judah have only done evil before God from their youth. The city shall be taken. However, verses 37-44 speak hope to Israel. God will gather them back to their land and cause them to dwell safely. He will give them one heart and one way that they may fear Him forever. He will make an everlasting covenant with them, and plant them in Israel with all His heart and soul. God will cause the captives to return. May these words of hope captivate your heart if you, like Israel, have strayed from God, only doing evil from your youth. God’s forgiving nature has not changed one bit. If you turn to Him, with all your heart He will love and establish you with all His heart and soul!

Chapter 33 continues the description of the wonderful things God will do for those of the House of Judah and the House of Israel who will return from captivity and who are willing to be cleansed from their iniquities. Verses 7-11 say:

And I will cause the captives of Judah AND the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me … Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it [compare Nehemiah 6:16]… Again there shall be heard in this place – of which you say, ‘It is desolate …’ in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate … the voice of joy … For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first. (my emphasis)

From chapters 34 to 38 Jeremiah reverts back to prophesying impending doom for his people at the hands of Babylon, despite the shocking personal consequences he suffers as a result. He urges them to surrender to Babylon.

In chapter 39, Jerusalem is indeed fully penetrated by the enemy. At least some poor who have nothing in Judah are comforted, as the enemy give them vineyards and fields (v10).

In chapter 40, upon hearing what Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian captain, had done for the poor and how he had appointed Gedaliah governor over the cities of Judah, many (verse 12 says all) Jews in the nearby countries soon returned out of the places they had been driven and gathered wine and summer fruit in abundance (v11-12).

Chapters 41-42 speak of an insurrection against Gedaliah and Jeremiah warns the remnant of Judah of dire consequences if they leave Judah and go to the land of Egypt. However, he declares mercy and deliverance from the king of Babylon to those who remain.

In chapters 43-44, we see further woe prophesied upon those of Judah who fled to Egypt, although a small remnant of them will return to Judah (44:28). In chapter 45, there is a special prophecy of encouragement for Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe. His life will be preserved in all the places he goes.

We see in chapter 46 prophecies of doom for Egypt at the hand of the King of Babylon around this time. The chapter finishes though with great encouragement for Jacob/Israel who is told not to fear, for God is with them and He will make a complete end of all the nations to which He had driven them, but will not make a complete end of them (v27-28). They will be rightly corrected, but not left unpunished. God, as Hebrews 12 in the New Testament says, chastens His children as a loving Father should. If we are without discipline, then we are like illegitimate children, but just as parental discipline is for our benefit, so is God’s discipline.

Jeremiah’s prophecies of woe are not limited however to Israel, Judah and Egypt. In chapter 47 he pronounces woe against the Philistines. In chapter 48 it’s Moab’s turn and in chapter 49 the finger is pointed squarely at the Ammonites. When he turns his prophecies against Babylon at the hands of an assembly of great nations from the North Country in chapter 50, he prophesies again of deliverance both physically and spiritually for the children of Judah and Israel. In the time of the downfall of Babylon they will earnestly seek God with tears and turn their faces toward Zion saying Come and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that will not be forgotten (v4-5).

In those days, Babylon, who has been proud against the Lord (v29), will be punished, just as Assyria was for devouring God’s people, and the preserved remnant of Israel will be pardoned and brought home (v17-20). Thus says the Lord:

The children of Israel were oppressed, along with the children of Judah; All who took them captive have held them fast; They have refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; The Lord of hosts is His name. He will thoroughly plead their case, that He may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon (v33-34).

The chapter concludes with graphic details of Babylon’s great fall. It will be overthrown as Sodom and Gomorrah.

Chapter 51 continues in a very similar vein and specifically identifies the Medes as God’s avengers against Babylon for the evil Babylon committed against Zion (v11 & 28). Babylon shall be desolate without inhabitant. Chapters 50 and 51 are very important in establishing the post-captivity return was for Judah and Israel as one united nation. Understanding this should be a caution to the many prophecy teachers today who teach that only the tribe of Judah (including perhaps Benjamin and Levi) returned to the land of Israel and that God divorced the rest of Israel who are yet to return. It’s also a caution to those who teach the descendants of Israel today are actually the Anglo-Saxons and other European peoples. See Chapter Three part seven and Appendices G & H for more on this.

Chapter 52 concludes with some historical information about the fate of the royalty of Judah as a result of the Babylonian captivity.

Jeremiah showed remarkable foreknowledge of Israel and Judah’s captivity and restoration.

Truly he was an inspired prophet of God.

Ezekiel

The Setting

The prophet Ezekiel, from captivity in Babylon around about 590 B.C., provides a relevant and hope-filled message for God’s people. The message mirrors the same message we have heard loud and clear from the other prophets, and indeed confirms many of their prophecies. God has punished Israel and Judah for their sins, but after Judah’s 70 year captivity He will severely punish the arrogant nations who have reproached Him, and who have punished His people over and above what they should have. God will also restore a remnant in Israel who will walk uprightly and experience God’s blessings, including a rebuilt city and temple.

Ezekiel’s message in some respects is quite mysterious and has lent itself to all kinds of interpretations. Reading it in one or two sittings myself was a big part of my inspiration for writing this book. In doing so, I could see for the first time there was a clear continuity between the earlier parts of Ezekiel and the latter parts which are widely applied to end times. I recommend you read it in one or two sittings too and you may see as I did Ezekiel did not suddenly jump to end times and modern day Russia etc (as most teach today). One significant problem for us in understanding these larger prophetic books is their length. We don’t often see the full picture of the book, but rather are drawn to a verse or chapter here or there. We hope this chapter, by outlining the context of the book, will unlock some of Ezekiel’s mysteries for you.

Summary of various chapters

In chapters one to four, we see visions are given to Ezekiel. He is commissioned as a watchman to the rebellious house of Israel who will not listen. He is to speak God’s word to them whether they listen or not.

Chapters five and six detail the terrible extent of Judah’s destruction at the hands of Babylon for her rebellion and defilement of God’s sanctuary. Judah, as prophesied by Jeremiah, became a reproach, a taunt, a lesson, and an astonishment to the nations. However, her idols are to be broken down (6:3-6) and a remnant will escape the sword and know their God (6:8-10). Nevertheless, God’s judgment without pity against his people who cry for and worship false Gods is described in a horrifying way in chapters seven and eight.

In chapter nine, old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women are to be utterly slain, but those who weep over the abominations in Jerusalem are marked on their foreheads and spared (v4-6).

Ezekiel cries out in chapter 11, Ah Lord God! Will you make a complete end of the remnant of Israel? God tells him that although they have been cast far off among the Gentiles He will be a sanctuary for them there and will gather them and yet again give them the land of Israel (v16-17). They will then take away the abominations in the land, God will put a new spirit in them, they will no longer be hard-hearted, and they will keep His laws (v18-20).

In chapter 12, Judah’s captivity in Babylon and dispersal amongst the nations is portrayed by Ezekiel acting it out symbolically. A remnant will be spared and will know their God is LORD (v14-16), but God’s judgment upon his people will not be postponed anymore (v28). Chapter 13 prophesies woe against the foolish prophets.

In chapter 14, God describes Israel as a land that has sinned against Him by persistent unfaithfulness (v12). Severe judgments are to fall on Israel. This should be very sobering for us, as it’s an eerie description of the type of society which we probably live in right now. However, there shall be left in Israel a remnant whose ways and doings will bring comfort to Ezekiel concerning the disaster, and he shall know God has done nothing without cause (v21-23).

Israel’s sin and judgment continue to be expounded in chapters 15-18. In chapter 18:30-31, they are exhorted to repent and to get a new heart and spirit. Another sad lamentation against Israel is declared in chapters 19 & 20, but chapter 20 concludes with God declaring He will gather them out from the countries He has scattered them. Just as He pleaded His case with their Fathers in the wilderness of Egypt He will plead with them face to face, and just as the rebels were purged in the same wilderness, God will purge the rebels from them and make a covenant with a remnant (v33-38). God will then accept the sacrifices of those who return from captivity as a sweet aroma, and He will be hallowed in them among the Gentiles (v40-41). The people shall be deeply repentant and shall all know their God (v44).

But, before that, chapters 21-23 provide terrifying woes against Jerusalem. The swords are sharpened, polished, out of their sheaths, and are at the ready against her. All hands are feeble and knees as weak as water, for the King of Babylon is to heap up a siege mound around her (21:19). God sought for a man in Israel who would stand in the gap, but found no one (22:30).

The northern kingdom of Israel, Samaria, is represented by Oholah in 23:4, and Jerusalem by Oholibah. Oholah is given into the hands of the Assyrians (23:9) and Oholibah to the Babylonians (23:23-24). Ezekiel’s bloody woes against Israel and Judah, given to him by God, are completed in chapter 24. God will not hold back, will not spare, and will not relent (24:14).

In chapters 25-32, the Word of the Lord turns against the nations of the earth who clap their hands, stamp their feet, and rejoice in their heart with all distain at Israel’s and Judah’s calamity. Ezekiel describes in detail the punishment that will come upon them (just as Isaiah and Jeremiah did), before turning in the remainder of the book to God’s wonderful restoration of his captive people.

In chapter 25, the Ammonites, Moab, Seir, Edom, and the Philistines are to receive God’s vengeance for their treachery against the people of God. Chapters 26-28 describe Tyre and Sidon’s downfall for saying ‘Aha’ against Jerusalem. God will execute judgment on Israel’s enemies, and at that time bring her scattered remnant back to live peacefully in her own land. God will once again be hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles (28:25-26).

In chapters 29-32, the woe of Egypt, whom Israel trusted in to deliver her (Oh, may we trust only in the Lord!), and her allies, Ethiopia, Libya, Chub etc, is described. The King of Babylon, the most terrible of the nations, shall waste Egypt. The pomp of Egypt shall be plundered. Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitudes will lie next to her graves too (32:22, 24 & 26).

In chapter 33, the prophet turns his attention back to the people of God. Jerusalem’s capture is reported in the twelfth year of their captivity in Babylon (v21). The people of God, who with their mouths showed much love but who pursued their own gain (v31), will again know their God, but only after their land has been utterly desolated so that no one will pass through it (v28-29).

According to chapter 34, the shepherds of Israel had fed themselves rather than the wandering flock (v2). They did not strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, or seek the lost, but instead ruled over them with cruelty (v3-4). Thus God is against the shepherds (v10), but in His love, He Himself will search for His scattered sheep and seek them out from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day (v12). He will gather them from the countries, bring them to their own land, and bind up the broken. The fat and the strong will however be judged and destroyed (v13-15). His servant David shall feed them and be their shepherd, and He their God (v 23-24).

Given David was not alive at this time of re-gathering from the captivity it’s probable David is being referred to in the figurative sense of the House of Judah (David’s tribe) and its rulers, as indeed Ezra and Nehemiah record the prominence of the House of Judah from the time of the exiles’ return until Israel’s scattering hundreds of years later in 70 A.D. Zechariah 12:7-9 also confirms how important the House of David was soon to become stating, The one that is feeble among them in that day shall be like David, and the House of David shall be like God, like the Angel of the Lord before them (12:8). See Zechariah 12 commentary above in chapter five for context and note also Hosea 3:4-5 and its context, which also lends support to this suggestion. According to Hosea, after Israel has dwelt many days without a king they shall return and seek the Lord and their God and David their king (Hosea 3:4-5). 2 Chronicles 13:5 says:

Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt?

This verse indicates to us that whether or not King David is literally alive and ruling, the throne of Israel belongs to him and his descendants.

Peace and many blessings are then to follow as God makes a covenant of peace with them and brings them renown amongst the Gentiles, and Israel shall know the Lord their God is with them (v25-30).

In chapter 35, Ezekiel prophesies woe against Mt Seir because they have shed the blood of the children of Israel and have not hated bloodshed (v1-9). They had rejoiced because the inheritance of Israel was desolate – so they and all of Edom shall be desolate (v15). Then they shall also know YHWH is God.

In chapter 36, God is sore against Edom and all the nations who gave His land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country (v5). These nations shall bear their own shame, but the mountains of Israel shall yield fruit to His people who are about to come (v8). The cities of Israel shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt and Israel shall increase as in former times (v10-11). They will hear the taunts and reproaches of the nations no more (v15). The Lord will do this for Israel, not for their sake, as they brought reproach to His holy name and profaned it amongst the nations they were scattered to, but for His holy name’s sake. He will show Israel great mercy for His holy name’s sake (v16-23). He will also purify their hearts and cause them to walk in His statutes, judgments, and laws (v25-28). It’s worth noting Jeremiah 24:1-7 here too, given the close similarity in its sentiments, which are clearly expressed in the context of the captive’s return from Babylon.

Ezekiel also adds in chapter 36 Israel shall never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations and will loathe themselves when they remember the abominations they committed (v30-31). The ruins will be rebuilt and the desolate land restored so wonderfully the prophet even likens it to the Garden of Eden (v33-35). The nations who are left after their punishment will know that all this is the Lord’s doing when Israel is rebuilt, and Israel shall know their God as LORD (v 36-38).

Given how grand and exciting they are, it’s no wonder these verses have often been applied to an idyllic earthly millennial age after Christ’s return, and their primary relevance to post-captivity days has been missed or downplayed by many. Reading them does increase our hope and joy, and our expectation for the perfection of the kingdom of heaven to come. However, whether in fact they relate at all to a thousand year period on earth known by many as the Millennium is far less certain than their primary application described in context above.

The valley of dry bones prophesy in chapter 37 also provides wonderful hope to Israel who is scattered among the nations. To a people in captivity feeling dead and like all hope is lost, and feeling cut off from God and country, this poetic prophesy speaks excellent words of revival. Their restoration from captivity and revival are vividly symbolized by a great resurrection from the dead. It is important to note the prophecy concerns the whole house of Israel, not just the southern kingdom of Judah (v11). The Lord says:

Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols.* … (my emphasis) (See Chapter Three, part seven re a united Israel)

*note also how the hatred of idolatry became very significant in Judaism post-captivity

Verse 24 says they shall be God’s people and David shall be king over them. As mentioned earlier, it is plausible David here is representative of the rulership of the tribe of Judah, from whom David and Christ, who is their everlasting prince, descended. The whole house of Israel, indeed, has become more commonly referred to as the Jews (See also notes at Chapter Three, part seven & Ezekiel 34) . The forever and everlasting aspects of verses 24-28 may cause the reader some difficulty in accepting the prophetic fulfillment of these prophecies from the time of the captives’ return from exile (see commentary at Isaiah 60 re olam/forever). However, according to Ezra and Nehemiah, God did make a covenant with them, they did rebuild the sanctuary, and God was in their midst as they humbled themselves and were purified to walk in God’s ways. The nations indeed were amazed at God’s doings (Nehemiah 6:15-16), and the Jews did remain in the land for many centuries in relative peace until their sin reached its peak at the crucifixion of Christ leading to them being severely punished and scattered again from 70 A.D.

Nevertheless the promise of a Davidic king remains for those now counted as true Israelites, those joined to the Lion of the tribe of Judah. As followers of Christ, the Son of David is our King of Kings now. There will also come a time when the Son of David, the Prince of Peace - our Lord Jesus Christ, will be visibly present to us ruling as King our midst forevermore without interruption.

Concerning Ezekiel chapters 38-48 see Appendices C & D, ‘Ezekiel 38-39’ and ‘Ezekiel’s temple’ respectively. In summary, these appendices present a plausible interpretation that Ezekiel 38 and 39 speak of battles against the returned captives which have already occurred, and a very compelling argument that chapters 40-48 of Ezekiel is prophecy primarily relating to the temple rebuilt after the Israelite’s return from their Babylonian and Assyrian captivities. It is recommended these be read now.

Daniel

The Setting

Daniel served in distinguished positions and prophesied during the reigns of Kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and other rulers of Babylon, King Cyrus of Persia and King Darius the Mede.

Summary of various chapters

In chapter one, we see how in about 600 B.C. Jerusalem was besieged during the reign of King Jehoiakim and Daniel as a youth was taken by King Nebuchadnezzar from Judah to Babylon. Daniel was trained in the king’s palace and was found to be ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers in King Nebuchadnezzar’s realm (v20).

Much is written about the prophetical importance of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter two. God reveals the dream to Daniel and gives him the interpretation:

“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.

37 You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

Daniel interprets the vision telling King Nebuchadnezzar his Babylonian kingdom is represented by the head of gold and after him there will be another kingdom inferior to his (represented by chest and arms of silver), and then after that the bronze kingdom (represented by belly and thighs of bronze). Following on from that will be the kingdom of iron and clay (represented by legs of iron and feet partly of iron and partly of clay). Obviously what Daniel’s saying is that as you look at the image from top to toe you’re moving forward chronologically in history.

The Babylonian Empire is the head of gold. The next empire in history we know of is the Medo-Persian Empire. King Cyrus of Medo-Persia conquered the Babylonians. The conquering or crushing of a kingdom of course doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time. The belly and thighs of bronze would be the kingdom that conquers the Medo-Persian Empire which we know to be the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great. The legs of iron and feet of iron and clay would therefore be the next world empire. This was the Roman Empire (Rome). Verse 40 says it will break in pieces and crush all the other kingdoms, again a process that took time. The vast majority of Bible commentators agree these are the four major empires referred to in the king’s dream.

Since the last named kingdom in this dream is Rome, represented by the legs of iron and the feet partly of iron and clay, it makes sense in this chronological vision the kingdom the God of heaven sets up is set up in the time of Rome. Notice v44 doesn’t specify when in the days of the Roman Empire the kingdom of God is set up except to say it happens in the days of these kings, so it could be set up any time during the Roman Empire (not necessarily at the end of the Roman Empire, a time for which we have no evidence of a kingdom being set up). Notice also it is the God of heaven’s kingdom, so unlike the other kingdoms in the dream it does not necessarily have to be a physical kingdom.

The scriptural evidence we do have for God setting up an eternally significant and indestructible kingdom of a spiritual nature during the Roman Empire is great. Jesus and John the Baptist both preached the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Jesus said, if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you (Luke 11:20). Jesus’ parables of the kingdom show Jesus’ teaching was the kingdom was starting then. For example, it was starting small like a mustard seed and, like leaven, was beginning to spread (Matthew 13:31-33). Jesus bestowed the kingdom upon his disciples (Luke 22:29). All who believe in the Son ARE delivered from the power of darkness and conveyed into Christ’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13). Multitudes from every nation, from the first century until now, have laid down their lives under the rule of Jesus, the King of Kings.

Notice the details of the Roman Empire underlined above:

. it will break in pieces and crush all the others

. the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it,

. the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.

. the iron mixed with ceramic clay will mingle with the seed of men; but they will

not adhere to one another

. in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall

never be destroyed

Rome clearly fulfilled all these things. It crushed the other kingdoms. It also experienced division. For example, in 286 A.D. Emperor Diocletian decided to divide the empire into two sections to try and stabilize it. Also, for 100 years Rome experienced even more divisions until the empire finally divided in 395 A.D. into the western and eastern divisions until the empire ended in 476 A.D. Even though it experienced this division it was stronger and significantly longer lasting than the Babylonian, Medo-Persian and Grecian empires.

One example of the fragility of Rome though is the period leading up to 70 A.D. when it appeared Rome was dying with the death of three emperors in a year. To many it looked like the empire was near ruin. See Dr Kenneth L. Gentry’s brief commentary on this at p.69-71 of The Book of Revelation Made Easy (American Vision Press, Powder Springs, Georgia), or consult his more extensive commentary The Divorce of Israel: A Redemptive-Historical Interpretation of Revelation (Tolle Lege Press and Chalcedon Foundation, p.1059-1064).

The iron and clay not mingling or adhering is just another expression of Rome’s weakness, including failing to remain united. Some have questioned whether the feet of iron and clay were a different kingdom. Verses 41-43 address this. These verses are just showing the division and instability in the Roman Empire. They are not talking about a fifth kingdom. This can be clearly seen by reviewing v40-43. Notice the iron (representing the Roman Empire) mixed with clay, making it weak. Mingling with the seed of men but not adhering to one another (v43) is in the text to show the division and fragility of the Roman Empire, which like all kingdoms (except Christ's) ultimately falls apart no matter how much strength they have. Finally, it was in the time of the kings/emperors of the Roman Empire the God of heaven’s kingdom was set up by Christ.

Notice also from v44-45 the Kingdom of God is the stone cut out without hands. It was to grow into a great mountain filling the whole earth (a process also taking time). Through the preaching of the gospel from New Testament times the Kingdom of God has expanded from its humble beginnings into a great kingdom. Just as it took time for the fourth kingdom (Rome) to crush all the others (v40) so it is also taking time for God’s kingdom to crush all the kingdoms of the world. As Steve Gregg states in his teaching on this at https://www.thenarrowpath.com/verse_by_verse.php, that’s the simple interpretation of the king’s dream and we need look for no other.

However, the more popular interpretation is not the simple one. Many agree the Babylonian, Media-Persian, Grecian and Roman empires are in view, but they believe the feet and toes do not represent the ancient Roman Empire, but rather a revived Roman empire yet to come in history. Many thus believe the Kingdom of God has been postponed. They don’t believe Jesus set up the kingdom Daniel is referring to here. They believe Jesus would have established the kingdom in the first century, but because the Jews rejected Him, it got postponed and He will therefore establish it at His second coming. In their view, the stone corresponds to the kingdom that comes at the second coming of Christ, and since it strikes the image at the feet, the feet must represent some kingdom existing at the end of the world before Christ comes. Hence, they argue the Roman Empire which collapsed long ago will be revived just before the end of the world so the stone will strike the feet then.

Hang on a moment though. In this chronological dream there’s only four kingdoms mentioned before the stone – God’s kingdom ruled by Christ, and the last one is Rome, so how can it be that the Roman Empire can be revived again at the very end time? Well, they say there’s a gap. No gap however is mentioned in the vision or the interpretation. Steve Gregg muses that the gap must be approximately at the ankles as we know the legs above the ankles are the Roman Empire which fell in ancient times. Nevertheless many today teach the Roman Empire is going to revive in the end time in the form of a ten nation confederacy represented by the 10 toes.

I suggest undue significance is given to the toes and to the division between the legs, feet and toes in Daniel 2:41. Firstly, note the record of the king’s dream in Daniel 2:32-35 does not even explicitly mention the toes. It only mentions the legs and feet and of course toes are part of the feet. Secondly, we have seen that the entire silver kingdom is represented by two body parts (the chest and arms) as is the bronze kingdom (belly and thighs). The fact Daniel in v41-43 mentions legs and feet (and toes only here in the interpretation) gives us no more authority to assign special meaning to the toes as distinct from the legs and feet than we have authority to determine different meanings for the chest and arms or belly and thighs. It seems the choice of multiple body parts to represent one kingdom is simply a device to take us chronologically from head to toe.

Gregg further muses, if the end time 10 toe confederacy idea is true, the image is not really accurate because it should have paused at the ankles and there should have been a large gap after the ankles and then the feet should have appeared. But, there is no suggestion of discontinuity in the chronological vision and there is no need for it because as we’ve seen Jesus did come and establish the kingdom of the God of heaven. The Bible teaches this very profoundly and very clearly in various scriptures, so there’s no need to suggest a postponed kingdom of the Messiah or a postponed Roman Empire represented by the feet struck by the stone. Rather, the vision is continuous from Babylon to the Kingdom of God. We therefore have only four secular world empires and then one divine world empire. The Kingdom of God is the final world empire in the dream.

Think about this too. There have been many world empires after Rome that were larger in land area or larger in world population proportion to the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian and Roman empires. To establish this, please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_empires . This is a major challenge to the postponed Kingdom of God and revived last days Roman Empire view. In King Nebuchadnezzar's dream there were only to be four world Kingdoms/Empires before the v44 kingdom of God was to be set up. If the kingdom of God Daniel was referring to in v44 was postponed, then Daniel's vision and interpretation were in error because there have already been many more than four major secular kingdoms. There have been many larger in world land area or world population proportion since Rome (e.g. the British Empire, Mongol and Russian Empires to name but a few)

However, if the kingdom was not postponed (which we believe), the dream and Daniel's interpretation of there being four kingdoms BEFORE the God of heaven sets up His indestructible kingdom are prophetically accurate. God's kingdom, headed by Christ, indeed was set up in the days of the Roman Empire.

We’re living in the time of the stone becoming a great mountain and filling the earth, a process that’s been going on for 2000 years and is destined to be absolutely successful because Jesus, the King of Kings, will return and ensure it is wholly successful!

(*please note: the exposition above of Daniel two relies heavily (and sometimes word for word) on Steve Gregg’s audio Daniel two teaching at https://www.thenarrowpath.com/verse_by_verse.php

In chapter three, still during King Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, courageously defy the King’s command to bow to the gold image. They are thrown into a fiery furnace and are miraculously saved by God. King Nebuchadnezzar, who is amazed, therefore decrees:

… that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this … (v29).

He also promotes Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego to positions of importance in the Babylonian empire.

In chapter four, Daniel is blessed by God to explain King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that none of the king’s magicians, astrologers and soothsayers could interpret. The king is to be driven out to live with the beasts of the field and to eat grass like oxen. Nevertheless, the part of the dream indicating there will be the stump and the roots of the tree left indicated King Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was to be assured after he comes to know that Heaven rules. Note the interesting stump and root symbolism and how it accords with Isaiah 6:13 and our previous interpretation of Isaiah 11’s imagery. Daniel’s God-given interpretation proved to be true and King Nebuchadnezzar praised and extolled Daniel’s God.

Chapter five describes the fall of King Belshazzar after Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall.

In chapter six, the plot to have Daniel destroyed by lions is foiled by God. Consequently, King Darius the Mede and ruler of the Empire makes a wonderful decree extolling the God of Israel:

To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end. 27 He delivers and rescues, And He works signs and wonders In heaven and on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian (Daniel 6:25-28).

Chapter seven is a very similar dream to Daniel two, but it adds some extra details, including the little horn. To see how Daniel seven can be reconciled with the view presented above, please listen to Steve Gregg's exposition of Daniel Seven at https://www.thenarrowpath.com/verse_by_verse.php .

Chapter eight is expounded below in an excellent article by Stanley Kauer of the Church of God 7th Day

The Twenty-Three Hundred Days by Stanley Kauer

The prophecy of Daniel Eight begins like that of chapter seven. The historical setting is given for the time when the prophet received the vision. In this case, it was in the third year of king Belshazzar. This is significant only as it indicates that the things given in the prophecy are all after this time. It is very important to note and identify the prophetic foundation in the first part of Daniel Eight. Daniel is living during the time of the empire of Babylon. In the symbolic vision he sees the rise of Medo-Persia and its overthrow of Babylon. He sees the rise of the Greek nation and Alexander the Great, and then his downfall. This is background for the prophecy to be given of events after the downfall of Alexander. This preliminary prophecy of history all came about exactly as prophesied. We must believe that the historical basis of the next part of the vision is also accurate and important in identifying the meaning of the prophecy. We will now examine the details of the vision and the explanation of its meaning.

"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him..." (Daniel 8:3,4). "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia" (Daniel 8:20).

This described the rise of the Persian empire and showed that it would conquer Babylon, since no nation would be able to stand before it.

"And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground, and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes" (Daniel 8:5).

The next verses tell that the he-goat destroys the ram. The explanation in Daniel 8:20,21 shows this meant Greece would conquer Persia.

"Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power" (Daniel 8:8,22).

In history we find that after the death of Alexander the Great, four of his generals divided his empire among themselves. They were Ptolomey, Cassander, Lysimachus and Selucus. They had the territory of the empire of Alexander but certainly not his power.

And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up (Daniel 8:9,23).

In verses five and eight we find Alexander symbolized by a very large or great horn. We are told that out of one of the four divisions of the empire there would later arise a ‘little horn,’ indicating a king of lesser power than Alexander. Any minor king may be symbolized by the term ‘little horn.’ There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that every time this phrase is used it refers to the same king. In Daniel 7:8 a ruler is termed a ‘little horn’, but he comes up among ten horns and is a power out of the Roman Empire. We noted this in a previous chapter. The little horn of Daniel Eight comes out of one of the four divisions of the empire of Alexander. That empire was to the east of Greece and did not include Italy. At the time of the rule of the four generals of Alexander, the Roman Empire did not exist as a prominent nation. The areas where it did exist were never part of any of the four divisions of Alexander's empire. This little horn of Daniel Eight cannot in any way be the same as the little horn of Daniel Seven.

Very Great and Exceeding Great

In Daniel 8:8, it is said that the he goat ‘waxed very great.’ We have noted that this refers to Alexander the Great. He conquered a great empire stretching all the way from Greece to India. He was a very powerful king in his time.

In Daniel 8:9, it is said of the little horn that he waxed ‘exceeding great.’ Therefore some have concluded that this little horn has to be a greater power than Alexander the Great. After Alexander's time, the only great power was that of Rome or perhaps the pope. The little horn of Daniel Eight did not come out of Rome but instead came up in the latter time of the division of the kingdom of Alexander. And since none of these divisions included Italy, this little horn cannot refer to the pope who arose in the city of Rome in Italy! How then do we explain the terms ‘very great’ and ‘exceeding great’ ?

First we must carefully examine both verses. In verse eight, the ‘very great’ is not limited in any way. Alexander was very great as a ruler, as a general of his armies, and as a conqueror of a vast territory. But the little horn of verse nine is ‘exceeding great’ in his actions toward the south, east, and toward the land of Israel (the pleasant land). For our identification of this power we must search history to see if any ruler came out of any of the four divisions of the Empire of Alexander and exercised power in the directions mentioned in the verse. Any such power or king must fit the additional descriptions given.

Antiochus Epiphanes

In the year 170 B.C. a king reigned in Syria, a part of the division of the empire of Alexander the Great taken by Alexander's general, Selucus. This king of Syria was named Antiochus IV. He was the fourth in that line of kings, but he is of special importance in our study because his life and activities fit the description of the ‘little horn’ of Daniel Eight.

Antiochus IV took the title of ‘Epiphanes’ as a surname. It has the meaning of brilliant or great but in many ways he was the opposite. The prophecy of Daniel Eight declares that this little horn would come out of one of the four divisions of the empire of Alexander. In its activities, this horn or king would be ‘exceeding great’ in certain areas — toward the south, east, and the ‘pleasant land,’ Israel. Antiochus went south and invaded Egypt, and might have conquered and ruled that land had not the rising power of Rome forced him to withdraw. Antiochus took his armies against Persia in the east. But his greatest exploit was against the Jews in Palestine or Israel. This is the key point of the prophecy.

The Bible mentions nations in prophecy in their connection with Israel or the Jews. Alexander took over the land of Israel peacefully and it became a part of his empire without any great events or trouble. Thus he ‘waxed great’ toward it. But Antiochus Epiphanes invaded Jerusalem, killed many of the people including the high priest. He stopped the service of the temple, polluted it, and dedicated it as a temple for a pagan god. The true Bible scriptures were not to be used. Heathen Greek customs were enforced; the Greek gods were to be worshipped. For a time Antiochus was successful in this. Truly, he seemed to ‘wax exceeding great’ in his activities ‘toward the pleasant land,’ the land of Israel.

We have noted the extensive historical foundation of this prophecy. Alexander the Great is plainly described, then his death and the taking over of his empire by four of his generals. Then we see the little horn power or king arising from one of the four divisions and doing terrible things against the land of Israel and its people. Many details concerning this wicked king are given, and every detail is fulfilled in the life and actions of Antiochus Epiphanes. Let us notice some of these details.

"And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them" (Daniel 8:10).

Taken literally, this would seem to say this wicked king was able to destroy some of the angels of heaven. But in the explanation it is revealed that this is symbolic. In Daniel 8:24 we read: "And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power - and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and thrive, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people." Thus it is clear that the ‘host of heaven’ of verse ten refers to the people of Israel. Of them God had said ‘And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation’ (Exodus 19:6).

We now see how this symbolism is continued in Daniel 8:11: "Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down." If the ‘host of heaven’ was the Jewish people, then the ‘prince of the host’ would be their leader, and that was the High Priest. During the time when Palestine was a part of the Syrian empire, the High Priest was both the spiritual and secular ruler at Jerusalem. At the time of Antiochus, the high priest was Onias, a very godly man. He resisted the desecrations of Antiochus, and as a result was killed.

The harsh rule of Antiochus against the Jews began in 171 B.C. and lasted for six years and one hundred and ten days, or a total of twenty-three hundred literal days. During this time many things happened in the progression of time. The oppression grew worse and worse until in 168 B.C. the regular morning and evening sacrifices at the temple were stopped. A hog was boiled and the broth was poured over all the objects used in the temple worship (table of showbread, candlestick, altar of incense, the veil and the most holy place). Then another hog was offered as a sacrifice on the great altar of burnt offering, and the temple was dedicated to Jupiter. Thus the temple was brought to a very low and polluted condition and "...the daily sacrifice was taken away and the place of his sanctuary was cast down" (Daniel 8:11).

It was also during the rule of Antiochus that he entered into the city of Jerusalem with his army and declared he was entering peaceably, the people had nothing to fear. When many of the people came out into the streets, Antiochus gave a command and the soldiers massacred a large number of the people. The prophecy said "...by peace shall destroy many" (Daniel 8:25). Antiochus could not long maintain his harsh rule. He suffered many defeats, and finally contracted a terrible disease and died. Had he died in battle, it would have been by the hand of someone, but it came as the scripture said "...he shall be broken without hand" (Daniel 8:25).

The Two Thousand Three Hundred Days

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed

(Daniel 8:13,14).

The word ‘saint’ is in other translations given as ‘holy one’ and evidently means an angel. In a vision the prophet saw one angel speak to another angel. The sanctuary or temple was to be ‘trodden under foot’ and polluted for a period of twenty-three hundred days. The word ‘days’ is here translated from the Hebrew ‘evening and morning,’ the term used in Genesis for each literal day of creation. It is true that in most Bible prophecy a day represents a year, but there are exceptions [The Remnant author’s comment – query ‘most’]. Jonah prophesied the destruction of Nineveh after forty days. The context shows this did not mean years. Also, Jesus said He would be put to death ‘and after three days rise again.’ We know He did not mean three years. This prophecy of the desecration of the temple could not mean a period of twenty-three hundred years, for the temple was not in existence that long. The phrase ‘evening and morning’ refers to a literal twenty-four hour day. This is actually stated in verse fourteen and emphasized in verse twenty-six "And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true..." .

A Double Fulfillment

In comparing the prophecy with history we find there was a two-fold fulfillment. The ‘waxing exceeding great’ of the oppression of Antiochus toward the Jews began in 171 B.C. and lasted six years and one hundred and ten days or a total of twenty-three hundred literal days. But the prophecy includes the question, "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice..." This was a sacrifice each morning and evening. Twenty-three hundred sacrifices would be made in eleven hundred and fifty days. From the time Antiochus stopped the daily sacrifices at the temple until they were again restored was eleven hundred and fifty literal days. This was from 168 to 165 B.C. The temple was cleansed, restored and rededicated the 25th of the Jewish month Chislev, which corresponds to our month of December. The Jews still celebrate this event with Hannukah which they observe for eight days the latter part of December. Its importance is seen by the reference to it in John 10:22 where it is called ‘the feast of the dedication.’.

The double fulfillment of the prophecy is truly remarkable. The ‘sanctuary and the host’ were ‘trodden under foot’ for twenty-three hundred literal twenty-four hour days. And also twenty-three hundred daily sacrifices were ‘taken away.’ Then the temple was cleansed and restored by Judas Maccabeus and the Jewish people.

How Important Was It?

Are these events in connection with the temple at Jerusalem of any importance in the plan of salvation? Why are they recorded in the prophecies of Daniel and why were they so accurately fulfilled? Let us consider the matter.

The sacrificial system in connection with a tabernacle, and then with the permanent temple, was given by God to Israel through the great prophet Moses. The book of Hebrews shows that the sacrifice of animals and their shedding of blood upon the alter was a type of the sacrifice of Christ. They foreshadowed the work of Christ. And they were to continue until they were fulfilled at the death of Christ on the cross. The type must meet the anti-type. This took place as Christ died on the cross. At that very time the great veil of the temple, dividing the Holy place from the Most Holy, was torn in two by an unseen hand. No longer would the people of God have to go through a human priest to come to the heavenly Father. When Jesus arose from the dead and ascended to heaven, He was seated at the right hand of God, with God on His throne. Where God the Father is, is always the very most Holy Place. God's people are now their own priests and go to God the Father through the great High Priest, Jesus.

The great fulfillment of the type was possible because the temple with its sacrifices was at Jerusalem. But Satan attempted to thwart the plan of God and cause confusion by eliminating the temple and its sacrifices about 167 years before the first advent of Christ. We thus see how important it was that the temple, the sanctuary, be cleansed and restored, and the sacrificial system re-established before the ministry of Christ. That service continued to be the way of atonement for sins until Christ died upon the cross. Then, in the sight and plan of God, it ended.

"And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom" (Mark 15:37,38). That veil represented Christ and its rending signified His death for us. The rending of the veil took away the separation between the Holy Place and the Most Holy. This ended the ceremonies and types, and ushered in a new reality. We no longer need priests to burn incense upon the alter with the smoke going through the veil to represent our prayers. Now Christ is at the right hand of God in heaven as our high priest, and our prayers go directly to God through Him. The sins which could not be atoned for by the blood of sacrificial animals, have been atoned for and blotted out by the sacrifice of the Son of God. Jesus made that great atonement when He died on the cross and ascended to the right hand of God. The apostle Paul could say, "...we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement" (Romans 5:11).

Problems in Understanding Daniel Eight

It was a misunderstanding of this prophecy of Daniel Eight which brought about the William Miller movement, proclaiming that the second advent of Christ would be in October of 1844. How could the prophecy have been so misunderstood?

In Daniel 8:16 we have a voice saying to Gabriel that he should make Daniel understand the vision.

So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid and fell upon my face, but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man.- for at the time of the end shall be the vision. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation.- for at the time appointed the end shall be (Daniel 8:17,19).

In other parts of the Bible the phrase ‘time of the end’ refers to the time just before the second advent of Christ. So it may be reasoned, that the ‘end’ mentioned in verse nineteen is the end of this age or the time of the second advent. This is the conclusion reached by William Miller. He decided that the ‘time appointed’ for the end referred to the end of the twenty-three hundred days, and that therefore, the twenty-three hundred days would last until the second advent of Christ.

This line of reasoning completely ignores the historical setting of the prophecy. We must never lose sight of the fact that the ‘little horn’ of verse nine came out one of the four divisions of the empire of Alexander the Great. This is clearly shown in Daniel 8:21,22. Thus the setting of this prophecy is at the time of the end of the Grecian power, before the Roman empire became great [our emphasis]. The prophecy can not possibly refer to the events at the end of the age, just prior to the second advent of Christ. A comparison of the thoughts in verses seventeen and nineteen shows that the ‘end’ referred to is the conclusion of the desecration of the temple. This is the subject of the entire prophecy – oppression of the people of Israel, desecration of the temple, taking away the daily sacrifice, and then the cleansing of the temple and the restoration of the sacrifices. The chapter includes a complete historical foundation for the prophecy, and it is essential that this history be used in the correct interpretation.

All the details concerning the little horn power given in verses twenty-three to twenty-five were fulfilled in the life and death of Antiochus Epiphanes. He was a ‘fierce’ king, he dabbled in the occult, his power was limited by what the rising power of Rome would permit him to do. He destroyed many of the Jews, the ‘holy people,’ and at one time came into Jerusalem under pretext of peace, and then directed a massacre. He stood up against the High Priest (the Prince of princes) and caused the priest to be killed. After returning to his own land, he died of disease ‘broken without hand.’ The fact that the priests may be called ‘princes’ is shown in Isaiah 43:28, calling them ‘princes of the sanctuary.’

Why the Great False Teaching?

The meaning of Daniel Eight is clearly and easily understood by comparing the historical references it contains with history. It is strange how some have distorted the meaning. It is said that since the ‘he goat’ of verse eight referring to Alexander the Great, is ‘very great,’ and the little horn of verse nine is ‘exceeding great,’ therefore the little horn of verse nine must be greater than Alexander. And so it could not possibly be Antiochus because he was a much smaller and weaker power than Alexander. We pointed out that the ‘exceeding great’ refers to specific actions and directions, especially toward the land of Israel. There Antiochus did far more than did Alexander.

Taking the false position, that the little horn must be greater in all ways than Alexander, it is held that it must refer to Rome. It is then held that the ‘prince of the host’ in verse eleven is Christ. The daily sacrifice taken away refers to the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. To get in the twenty-three hundred days as years, they begin at 457 B.C. and declare the period lasted until 1844 A.D. It is taught that the meaning of ‘sanctuary’ changes to refer to heaven. It is said, Christ went to the ‘Holy Place’ or outer room of the temple in heaven at His ascension. In 1844 He entered the Most Holy room in heaven, ‘cleansed’ the. sanctuary there of accumulated sins, and thus completing the atonement.

All of this is of the utmost confusion and violates the true principles of interpreting scripture. It all came about because of failure to recognize and hold fast to the historical foundation of the prophecy as it is clearly given. When the historical connections are made, the meaning becomes clear. We see how God revealed the great attempt of Satan to confuse the work of Christ, and how God's people thwarted the work of Satan, keeping the temple service intact until it met its fulfillment in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter nine is explained below in an article I wrote:

“… I am God and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done …” Isaiah 46:9-10

Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy is a spectacular one because of its incredible fulfillment. It shows once again the inspiration of God in the Holy Scriptures. However, it is also a prophecy which is probably being misused by today’s end time prognosticators. I hope this chapter causes us to once again see the inspiration of God in the Bible and causes us to exercise caution toward some of the popular end time teachings.

The setting

Chapter nine of the book of Daniel opens with the land and people of Judah in desolation and despair. The prophet Daniel is in exile in about 550 B.C. lamenting the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy (Jeremiah 29:9-12) that Jerusalem and Judah would be punished by the King of Babylon for 70 years. So Daniel sets his face toward Almighty God in prayer, confessing on behalf of a nation its gross iniquity. Daniel acknowledges the nation’s guilt and then in v11 of chapter nine writes therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses … . He prays for God’s anger and fury to be turned away and for God’s face to shine on them once again.

The curse promised to Israel in the Law of Moses for disobeying and rejecting God was a horrifying one. It is detailed in Leviticus 26:14-45 and Deuteronomy 28:15-68. Reading it in full is almost as horrible as reading about the suffering of our Lord on the Cross who took God’s curse for us. However, verse 40 of Leviticus 26 provides some hope for the nation if, after the curse is poured out, it turns and confesses its sin. God says He will then remember the covenant He made with their ancestors - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Daniel, while praying and confessing the sin of his people, is informed that at the beginning of his supplications to God a command from God in response to his prayer had gone out (see v20-23). As a result, there would be relief for Daniel’s people, but there was yet much suffering for them to endure. The remainder of chapter nine sets out God’s plan for dealing with the fully grown, but now confessed, sins of Israel. Verses 24-27 are set out in italics below. They illustrate God’s ultimate answer to Daniel’s prayer is found in none other than Jesus Christ (Messiah), the suffering Savior.

Seventy weeks

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city … v24

Seventy weeks has 490 days. The seventy weeks is generally interpreted as meaning 490 years due to the connotation of cycles of seven years suggested by the Hebrew word used for weeks in verse 24. Others also conclude 490 years is meant by applying alternatively what they call the day for a year principle which they argue is supported by Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34. Correspondingly 69 prophetic weeks would therefore represent 483 years and one prophetic week, seven years.

Note the time frame for the commencement of the seventy weeks is given in v25; that is, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two [or 62 weeks]… . We see in chapters 6 and 7 of the book of Ezra, which were written approximately 457 B.C., the decrees of King Cyrus and King Artaxerxes dealing with the re-establishment of Jerusalem. Bible scholars differ as to which of these two decrees signify the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem (v26), and as to which of the two is to be used as the starting point for Daniel’s prophecy, but if either is used, 483 years (or 69 prophetic weeks) from their commencement bring us to the time in history when Christ physically lived and ministered. Some scholars even go so far to say Jesus remarkably was crucified exactly in the very year Daniel predicted in chapter nine. This would not be surprising, given God’s foreknowledge.

Finish transgression

… to finish the transgression … v24 cont.

In the context of God responding to Daniel’s prayer for forgiveness of the transgressions of his nation and for God to turn away his anger from them, to finish the transgression meant to do exactly that – to forgive them for their transgression. This is interesting in light of Jesus’ last words on the cross – It is finished (John 19:30). The prophet Isaiah also wrote he was wounded for our transgressions [and] he was bruised for our iniquities… (53:5). Hebrews 9:15 says for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. The Apostle Paul also writes how Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us (Gal. 3:13). It therefore seems reasonable to say Jesus’ death finished the transgression in fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.

To make an end of sins

… and to make an end of sins … v24 cont.

The old sacrificial system Israel had could never make an end of sins, but indeed Christ’s sacrifice could. Matthew writes, …thou shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins (1:21). Hebrews says, but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (9:26) and [b]ut this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God (10:12). John also tells us Christ is the Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world and he was manifested to take away our sin, or to make an end of sin, just as Daniel prophesied.

To make reconciliation for iniquity

… and to make reconciliation for iniquity … v24 cont.

Jesus made peace between God and man through the blood of His cross (Col. 1:20-22). Hebrews states emphatically: Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest …, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people (2:17).

To bring in everlasting righteousness

… and to bring in everlasting righteousness … v24 cont.

In fulfillment of this prophecy of Daniel we are told in 2 Corinthians 5:21 God made Him who knew no sin (Jesus) to be sin for us that we might obtain the righteousness of God in Him. That this righteousness is an everlasting righteousness is confirmed in Romans 5:17-21 and Hebrews 9:12 where our marvelous eternal redemption through Christ is expounded.

To seal up vision and prophecy

… and to seal up the vision and prophecy … v24 cont.

To seal up something is to shut it tightly, to settle or determine it, or to fix it firmly. Jesus certainly did all of these things by fulfilling various prophecies Himself. Alternatively, to seal something is to proclaim or show it is genuine. We still have the ancient custom of attaching a seal to a document to show it is genuine. How then might Jesus figuratively have sealed up or shown that Old Testament vision or prophecy was genuine in this sense? To actually fulfill it Himself would be a great way. Numerous examples of Jesus doing this are quoted in the New Testament. Luke even quotes Jesus as saying, O fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Luke then adds, And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He [Jesus] expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself (24:25-27).

To anoint the most holy

… and to anoint the most Holy … v24 cont.

The word Christ means the same as anointed. Jesus was the anointed one. In several texts Jesus was referred to as the Holy One (e.g. Luke 1:35). At His baptism He was anointed by God who said of Him this is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased. When Jesus first preached after His baptism, he proclaimed that God had anointed Him to preach the gospel to the poor (Luke 4:18).

Rebuilding of Jerusalem

Verse 25 says:

“Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.

Verse 25 is saying there will be seven weeks (49 years) and then 62 weeks (434 years) from the time of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah, and the rebuilding will be accomplished in troublesome times.

Firstly, as regards the rebuilding of the temple in troublesome times, the Bible in Ezra and Nehemiah records how much trouble the builders experienced in rebuilding Jerusalem and this rebuilding did take place over 49 years, which probably explains the division of weeks into seven and 62 in verse 25.

Secondly, note from v25 how long it will be until Messiah – 69 weeks or 483 years. Daniel’s prophecy therefore gets us to the time of Christ, and most likely the time of His ministry (as even many futurists concede). It would be strange therefore to conclude the prophecy would not relate to Jesus’ accomplishments, especially in light of the momentous achievements mentioned above in v24 which perfectly match the life and work of Jesus. However, very strangely, many relate this last seven year period (or last week) to the end of the world, yet to transpire.

Messiah to be cut off

And after threescore and two [62] weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy that city and the sanctuary and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined (v26). (my emphasis)

The word ‘after’ is highlighted above as it reveals that after the seven and 62 prophetic weeks (i.e. after 69 weeks) the Christ is cut off, which logically (just following on consecutively) is during the period of the 70th week. This time frame fits in well with the crucifixion of Jesus. The suggestion Messiah won’t be cut off for himself may be an accurate prediction too, forecasting he would be cut off for the sins of the world and not for His own sins (although note the NIV translation renders this phrase but not for himself very differently).

Desolations

Some years later in 70 A.D., consistent with the latter part of verse 26, the prophesied destruction of the city and the sanctuary occurred when the Jewish people, under pressure from the Roman commander Titus, bring about the total destruction of their own city. Given the fact the Jews’ own stubbornness in not surrendering was probably the greatest cause of their demise, and given the previous verse’s reference to the time of the coming of Messiah the Prince, some would interpret the people of the prince that shall come as meaning the Jews, who were the people of the prince (Christ, a Jew), whilst others would regard Titus as the prince, and his people as being the destroyers referred to. Whichever interpretation of the prince is correct, history indeed confirms the utter desolation of Jerusalem which came on Jesus’ generation nearly 40 years after His crucifixion.

It is interesting that Jesus in the Olivet discourse, whilst answering the direct question of His disciples about the destruction of the temple, specifically refers them to the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel. It is Daniel nine, not Daniel eight, which Jesus is most obviously referring to because only Daniel nine specifically uses the words ‘abomination,’ ‘desolations,’ and ‘desolation’ (Daniel 9:26-27). Also, Daniel eight has reference to an event that was fulfilled in prophecy involving Antiochus Epiphanes over a hundred years before Christ came. Given it was fulfilled already by Jesus’ day, it is not an obvious candidate to match with Jesus’ reference in Matthew 24:15-16 and Mark 1:14-15 to the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel. Luke 21:20-24, which I think the honest reader will admit refers to the same event, clearly is referring to what happened about 70 A.D. I hope the reader can therefore see why this is another powerful argument for all of Daniel nine being fulfilled in the first century and for their being no giant, surprising and unexplained gap between the 69th and 70th weeks. This should strongly caution the reader not to apply any of Daniel nine to our future, but to rather accept the more obvious interpretation outlined in this article and widely accepted throughout the ages.

Confirm a covenant with many for one week

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate (v27).

Most scholars agree Jesus ministered for about three and a half years before He was cut off at His crucifixion. If one simply scans through the gospels themselves, noting the various events and the time indicators, such as the feasts Jesus attended mentioned in John’s gospel, three and a half years does seem to fit well. Some have tried to argue the inclusion of the Jew’s feast of Passover in John 6:4 was an erroneous late addition to the New Testament and Jesus only ministered for 70 weeks. See the article at http://rolandpletts.com/how-long-did-jesus-minster-for/ which gives a good summary of why such an argument fails.

Jesus ministering for about three and a half years is consistent with Daniel’s statement above that in the middle of the prophetic week (7 years) the sacrifice will cease. Some scriptures were noted above which indeed indicate Jesus’ sacrifice was the ultimate sacrifice and after His sacrifice no more animal sacrifices were required by God. He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever. In this sense, Jesus could be said to have caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Sacrifices continued to be offered until the temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. (when the abomination that makes desolate and the consummation determined was poured upon the desolate), but these sacrifices were not required by God.

Given, on this interpretation, Jesus was cut off in the middle of the prophetic week, one may ask how then could it be said He confirmed the covenant with many for one week? The answer is actually obvious and very beautiful for any believer in Christ – He was resurrected to life on the third day. Jesus is alive! Hallelujah! Romans 15:8 says, Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises (or the covenant) made unto the fathers. In the remaining three and a half years the covenant continued to be confirmed by Christ personally, after His resurrection, and through His representative, the disciples.

The view of some that the last half of this final week ended at the approximate time of Acts 6-10, when Stephen was stoned (after delivering the New Covenant message in that era to the leaders of Jerusalem as a nation one final time), Paul was converted, and Peter visited Cornelius’ home with the gospel, seems plausible. Through the events of this week the terrible fate of Jerusalem was confirmed. 70 A.D. brought upon them most terrible desolations.

A pivotal prophecy

The above interpretation of Daniel’s prophecy (regarding the last week) is actually not as widely accepted in Christian circles today as it used to be. In fact, perhaps the most widespread interpretation in the 20th and 21st centuries would have it that the last week of the seventy weeks has not yet been fulfilled and that it (or part of it) is held over until the end of time. This is despite verse 25 clearly saying the 69 weeks would take us to the time of Messiah and v 26’s clear statement Messiah was to be cut off after the 69 weeks which of necessity must bring Christ’s crucifixion into the last week, and despite there being no hint of a 2,000 plus year gap in the prophecy. If the reader can provide any scriptural hints of their being a huge gap between the 69th and 70th weeks of this prophecy please share them with me. I suggest the proposed gap is as absurd as there being a sign to Rotorua (NZ) in Tauranga (NZ) saying it’s 70km to Rotorua and then when I get to the 69km mark another sign saying 2,000km to Rotorua.

Other interpreters would also have it that it is not Jesus who confirms the covenant, but instead, the antichrist, and that verse 27 teaches the antichrist will cause the temple to be rebuilt in an end time seven year tribulation period, and cause sacrifices to be restarted and then stopped after three and a half years.

Hence Daniel nine becomes pivotal for various end time scenarios we see commonly preached today. In fact it is used as the primary foundation for these terrifying seven year tribulation period scenarios complete with rapture, restored temple and sacrifices (based also on Ezekiel 40-48), and people being left behind to live through the terrifying rule of the antichrist. However, it is strongly suggested we should seriously question the relevance of Daniel nine to all of this.

Conclusion

With this in mind, the reader is simply asked to reflect again on the context of Daniel nine, which we saw was Daniel’s prayer for God to have mercy on the people of Israel, and God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer. My prayer is when we do this we will see a marvelous, faith building, fulfilled prophecy about Jesus death and resurrection being God’s answer to forgive and restore the people of Israel. So long as they turn to Him, and so long as we turn to Him, the curse of punishment will no longer remain and we will have great hope for eternal life.

My prayer is also in reflecting on the context of Daniel nine we will see the alternative, but now mainstream teachings which are built on Daniel nine, have very shaky foundations, and great caution should be exercised in relation to them. How out of whack do such ideas (when based on Daniel nine) as an antichrist desecrating a rebuilt end time temple in a distant end time seven year tribulation period seem in the context of Daniel’s prayer for Israel to be forgiven? Conversely, how wonderfully appropriate and prophetic is God’s answer in sending Christ to redeem His people?

Concerning chapters ten, eleven and twelve, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible found on-line provide much historical information which appears to tie in well with the meaning and fulfilment of much of these chapters.

Closing Comments on the Prophets

“For we know in part and we prophesy in part … For now we see in a mirror dimly …”

1 Corinthians 13:9-12

We are concerned the failure to adequately tell the story of the post-captivity period may have caused many to interpret The Prophets in ways they wouldn’t dare if they were only aware of the mighty deeds God did for Israel after their return from captivity. We hope and pray a fuller knowledge of historical fulfillment in the post-captivity period might make some of us more cautious in looking for, and teaching, future fulfillments of many specific parts of The Prophets.

That the vast majority of the prophecy covered in The Prophets has been fulfilled is a position the reader is encouraged to give serious consideration. Perhaps you may feel though there is still a window for dual or multiple fulfillments. To speculate of dual fulfillment of a significant portion of these prophecies does not inspire any confidence in me. Perhaps now, such speculation won’t inspire any confidence in the reader either. It is hoped the knowledge in this book will cause readers to exercise greater caution in their application of the specifics of many of these prophecies to future events, and cause some to concede as a strong possibility they may not apply to future events at all because of their spectacular fulfillment already.

This is not to say the prophecies have no relevance to us. There’s much to take heed of from them in terms of how we live and how we respond to God.

We suggest the reader take this book in the following way. Take it as a cautionary note. Remember times when you read something contrary to your biblical understanding which you considered had some possible merit. As a result, such caused you in your integrity to be more circumspect in teaching your previous understanding. You did not want to take the risk of displeasing God with false teaching. We hope this book has challenged you in this way.

We are not claiming to be inspired prophetically by God and saying Thus says the Lord, but may the thesis of this book be given consideration when the reader interprets Bible prophecy. May it also be a caution to those who may not be claiming to be prophets, but who are using the Old Testament prophecies to shape their own lives and the lives of others (sometimes in extreme ways) without being aware they were likely interpreted very differently by their first audience and those who lived in times not so long after their utterance.

Chapter Seven – Conclusion

Some of the reasons for preferring a more historical interpretation of The Prophets have been presented. Many readers would not have looked at it this way before. If you have not done so, perhaps you could now at least appreciate the merit in the suggestion those living around the time of Ezra, Nehemiah, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, would have seen the relevance of these prophecies to their time.

Perhaps you could also accept that far too often we:

. read the scriptures more literally than the Hebrews did;

. pay insufficient attention to the context of verses and chapters in The Prophets

and the context of the prophetic books themselves (i.e. who they were written to

and why);

. jump too quickly in our thinking to the end of the world upon reading phrases like

‘latter days,’ ‘the day of the Lord’ or ‘the Lord is in your midst’ etc;

. are overzealous to find things that apply to our era and the end of time causing us

to thereby err;

. fail to appreciate the poetic devices used by the prophets; and

. underemphasize the revival described by Ezra and Nehemiah.

The author can certainly confess to having done such. Perhaps you can too.

Further, you may have never before thought through the wonderful implications for Israel of the incredible imperial decrees in their favor.

It is hoped also the chapter by chapter approach to The Prophets will provide a useful contextual guide to preachers and teachers wanting to apply verses or passages from them. Whilst many may not agree with everything suggested in this book, it is further hoped it will provide much food for thought and further study, and that it will operate as a check or a caution on our natural inclination to be overly hasty in finding Biblical prophetic fulfillment in our time. May this book guide you too in assessing the validity of the many conflicting interpretations of Bible prophecy out in the market place.

God’s love demonstrated toward His captive people was truly wonderful. He is the same loving God today and forever. After the 70 year captivity, as we have seen, He began to restore the freedom and well-being of His remnant people in a beautiful way.

He continued to show this extraordinary love to a wayward Israel through the Lord Jesus and, even after their shocking rejection of His beloved Son, the Apostle Paul in Romans 11 shows God had reserved a remnant according to the election of grace (v5), and that He will continue to reach out to Israel (the natural branches) in a special way (v28-32). Many men and women of God today minister God’s love in a commendable way to the natural branches, most of whom do not accept Jesus as their Messiah. It is our prayer many of them yet will, and they will experience fresh hope, freedom, and joy in their awesome God through Christ.

The final appendix of this book Knowing your eternal destiny shares part of the Messianic prophecies of one of Israel’s most esteemed prophets, the prophet Isaiah. Many Jews have cast off shackles of doubt and come to faith in Christ upon understanding Isaiah 53. It is our prayer many more will.

Sometimes, the New Covenant people of God today also find themselves in all kinds of captivity and bondage. Sin, its unrelenting consequences, and doctrinal errors can bind us up in terrible ways. This is an instructive story for Christians today. As God dealt with Israel, so will He deal with Christians – His own special people and holy nation (1 Peter 2:9-10, Ephesians 2:11-22). May the message of this book be inspiring to any Christian who feels they are bound up, or even cast off by God.

The predicament of the Israelites could not have been much worse. Yet God, in his enduring love and mercy, reached out, restored, and built up those amongst His people who were willing to turn back to Him with their whole hearts. That’s all we need to do if we are seeking such a revival. We need only to turn to God with all our hearts, for the One who comforts the downcast and the outcast to bring peace and joy back into our lives.

Amen

(Please note the appendices are quite extensive. They also provide important support to this book’s thesis. Please email me at churchofgodslove4@gmail.com to freely recieve the whole book including appendices)

THE REMNANT

The Old Testament Prophets Explained

Summary of Book

Chapter Seven – Conclusion .............................................................................................. 116

Appendices (not provided below, but please email churchofgodslove4@gmail.com to receive them).........................................................................................

Chapter One - Introduction

Chapter Two - Imperial Favor

Imperial decrees between about 570 B.C. and about 450 B.C in favor of Israel’s restoration and exaltation

Nebuchadnezzar’s decree inspired by Daniel’s dream interpretation

Nebuchadnezzar’s decree inspired by Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-Nego

Cyrus commands the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem

Confirmation of Cyrus’ earlier decree by King Darius’ decree

Darius’ decree inspired by Daniel’s deliverance from the lion’s den

Contemplating the impact of the decrees

Xerxes’ decree inspired by Esther and Mordecai

Artaxerxes’s decree (Son of Xerses 1)

Conclusion

Chapter Three - Great Revival of Israel

1. High level foreign support for Israel

Ezra

Nehemiah

2. Protection from enemies

3. Self governance

4. Rebuilding of temple and Jerusalem

5. World-wide awe of Israel’s God

6. Purified hearts and knowledge of God’s law

7. Rebuilding of Israel as one nation

8. Blessings concerning the land

9. The nation’s covenant with God

10. Great rejoicing

Conclusion

Chapter Four - Historical Confirmation of Great Revival

Judah’s Destruction

Babylon’s Downfall

The Imperial Decrees

Israel’s Spiritual Restoration and Autonomy

The Centrality of the Rebuilt Temple for a United Israel and Jerusalem as a World Religious Centre

Judah’s Population Increase

Conclusion

Chapter Five – The Prophets in Context (minor)

Hosea

Joel

Amos

Obadiah

Jonah

Micah

Nahum

Habakkuk

Zephaniah

Haggai

Zechariah

Malachi

Chapter Six – The Prophets in Context (major)

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Daniel

Closing Comments on the Prophets

Chapter Seven – Conclusion

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