Scripture References: Daniel 9:24-27; 12:1; Isaiah 24; Joel 2; Matthew 24; Revelations 6-20
Phase 2
Daniel 12:1
(V1) "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."
(V1) In this verse we find a description of the great tribulation, the three and one-half years preceding the second advent of Jesus Christ when He returns to set up His Millenial Kingdom.
Isaiah 24:1-23
(V1) "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down and scattered abroad the inhabitants thereof."
(V1) Here Isaiah the prophet is not writing about God's mercy, grace and love, but about his judgments upon all of the wicked earth that appears to start in the land of Israel then broadens to encompass the entire earth. (The earth here may also mean the land.) The reference to the priest in verse 2 implies the land of Israel is what we're viewing here. It is worth noticing that the text alternates between the land and the people. It's catascrophic and devastating to the land as well as the people who dwell there.
(V2) And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him."
(V2) This verse simply tells us that when God's judgment falls on this earth it will have the same effect on every person regardless of their status in life. In other words those that have and those that have not will suffer the same judgment.
(V3) "The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word."
(V3) Again this verse is referring not only to the land of Israel but wicked beings in the heavens are also included. When the Lord speaks it is always final for His word takes preeminence over every voice that has ever been spoken or written.
(V4) "The earth mourned and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish."
(V4) The cause of worldwide contamination is that the everlasting covenant has been broken by rebellious men much like today when they refuse to call America a Christian Nation. Some believe that this is referring to the Noahic Covenant. (Genesis 9:16), but that unconditional covenant depended entirely on God. Others think that the Mosaic law is referred to but was given to Israel only, and is not spoke of as an everlasting covenant. Some Bible scholars say that it is "the covenant people implicitly had with God". Genesis 9: 16 "And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth." All we have to do to be reminded of this covenant is to look up after the sun shines through the rain and see the beautiful rainbow.
(V5) "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."
(V5) Because man has polluted the earth by transgressing the laws of God, he cannot correct it himself. It's likened unto a severed wire where men labor all day and night trying to put it back together again only to find that they have been working in the wrong place. Like men today, in order to mend their broken relationship with God, they must go back to God to fix it.
(V6) "Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left."
(V6) Some commentators describe this catastrophe as occurring during the middle of the tribulation period after the first three and one-half years expire. In Revelation 8:7 when the first angel sounded and a third part of the ear, trees, and grass are burned up by hail and fire mingled with blood. The best way to understand this verse is by using a literal interpretation. This method will help you to understand that this disaster will be devastating to the areas from where man gets most of his food.
(V7) "The new wine mourned, the vine languished, because there are no people all the merry hearted do sigh."
(V7) The new wine mourns here because there is no one to drink it. The vine languished because there are no people left to dress and take care of it.
(V8) "The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth."
(V8) The merriment of the tabrets stopped and the sweet noise of rejoicing was no longer heard. This situation was so bad that the beautiful therapeutic sounds of the harp were silenced.
(V9) "They shall drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it."
(V9) To add to their misery described in the previous verse they now have come to the place where even the ones who drink the wine are not allowed to drink it with a song, and even a strong drink shall taste bitter to those who partake of it.
(V10) "The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in."
(V10) It is possible that the city of confusion is referring to Jerusalem, but in a broader sense it could encompass all urban civilization.
(V11) "There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone."
(V11) According to John Wesley's notes on this verse "such was their Gross Sensuality and Sottishness". That unfamiliar word simply means having had too much alcohol to drink. I guess that's where we got the term "sot".
(V12) "In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction."
(V12) This verse could be referring to the book of Nehemiah Chapter 1:3 when he learned from Hanani, one of his brethren and others that came with him from Judah, that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the gates thereof are burned with fire.
(V13) "When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done."
(V13) People used olives to produce oil, and grapes to create wine. They picked the olives by hitting the trees. That was a rule of God that can be found in Leviticus 19: 9,10.
(V14) "They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord, they shall cry aloud from the sea."
(V14) The remnant that remained could be heard singing the praises of Jehovah (the New King James version has it Lord) for His saving grace. Then in sorrow the prophet gazes toward the Great Tribulation and mourns. Then will be an unparalleled period of disloyalty and treason that will make it impossible for them to escape. These people use their voices and shout loudly from the west declaring that the Lord is glorious!
(V15) "Likewise in the east give honor unto the Lord God of Israel glorify ye the Lord in the fires, even the name of the Lord God of Israel in the isles of the sea."
(V15) Likewise in the east the people gave honor to the Lord God of Israel and gave him honor from the islands of the sea. The earth will stagger like a drunk man who has been hit by a colossal earthquake and falls never to rise again. This reminds me of my childhood days in Johnson County, Kentucky where we lived just a few houses away from an habitual boozer. Every fall of the year my dad would go to Ohio to cut corn and often my mother would call to all of us children and say "get in the house, that drunk man is coming up the hollow and taking both sides of the road."
(V16) "From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! The treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously."
(V16) From every part of the country, we hear songs. People are singing praises in honor of the One that is fully good. But I said, I have become thin and weak! I have become thin and weak! I am very sad! There is absolutely no loyalty among the people anymore.
(V17) "Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth."
(V17) I say this to you who are in this country, terror, a deep dark hole, and a trap await you.
(V18) "And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake."
(V18) The people who run away from the sound that fills them with terror will fall into the deep hole. Those who are able to climb out of the deep dark hole will be caught in a trap. This all happens because God has opened the windows of heaven and He has shaken the foundations of the country.
(V19) "The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly."
(V19) This that has happened to this country has ripped it apart entirely. It has shaken this country like the March wind that shakes the rotten trees all the way to their roots and finally brings them down to earth.
(V20) "The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again."
(V20) God moves this earth about. It shakes like a drunk man trying to break the habit before the habit breaks him. These people are guilty because they have done wrong and feel that guilty feeling as all sinners have experienced. That guilty feeling is like a heavy load that affects the entire country.
(V21) "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth."
(V21) The wicked hosts in heavenly places will be judged also. This agrees with Revelation 19:19,20 where John said that he saw the beast and the kings of the earth. Their armies gathered together to make war against (Jesus) that sat on the horse and against his (Jesus) army. The beast (antichrist) was taken and with him the false prophet that was able to perform miracles as long as he was in the presence of the beast. By these miracles he deceived them that had taken the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. The antichrist and false prophet were cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.
(V22) "And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited."
(V22) They will be herded together as prisoners bound in a dungeon. They will be shut up in prison and punished for the one thousand years. Revelation 20: 1-2 states, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the keys to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years". This is the the same time period of the Millennial Reign of The Lord Jesus Christ.
(V23) Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously."
(V23) In this verse we find that there is no comparison between the glory of the sun and moon to the supreme glory of our Lord Jesus Christ at his second advent.
DEAR READER, we hope that you will be ready to meet our wonderful and glorious Lord when He rules on the throne during the Millennial Kingdom. ARE YOU RAPTURE READY!!!!
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