Just As He Announced To The Prophets
So far we have studied Christ’s teachings, Daniel’s prophecies and Paul’s writings regarding the last days. We know from our study that the next prophetic event predicted is the emergence of the fourth beast kingdom which will come to dominate the whole world in the last days. Out of this kingdom a leader known to Christians as the Antichrist will arise and persecute Israel and the followers of Christ during the Great Tribulation. We will now examine what the Lord has “announced to His servants the prophets” about the last days. Because we have already studied Daniel’s prophecies we will emphasize the other Old Testament prophets, particularly Isaiah.
Before we begin this part of our study let’s review the key elements of the last days. Jesus taught that there would be two ages on the earth. The present age in which we now live and the coming age of righteousness. Jesus often referred to the coming age in terms like the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven. However, just before the coming age of righteousness there will be a seven-year period we call Daniel’s 70th Week. The last three-and-a-half years of Daniel’s 70th Week is the Great Tribulation. After the Great Tribulation Jesus will return to establish the Kingdom of God on earth. Let’s look at the Power-Point timeline below.
Timeline
We are currently in the Present Age just before Daniel’s 70th Week. We know that prior to Daniel’s 70th Week the fourth beast kingdom will come into being.1 Out of this fourth beast kingdom the Antichrist will rise to power. Once in power he will confirm a covenant of peace with Israel. Then in the middle of the last seven years the Antichrist will set himself up as God in the temple in Jerusalem. This event is referred to as the abomination that causes desolation as spoken of by the prophet Daniel.2 The Antichrist will then reign supreme on earth until Christ returns on the Day of the Lord.
As we study the writings of the Old Testament prophets we need to recognize that they wrote from the perspective of the nation of Israel. During the times of the prophets Israel was engaged in life and death struggles with its neighbors. The prophets often intertwined predictions of Israel’s near term future with predictions of the last days. Therefore, as we study their prophecies we must look for details that match what we already know about the last days. By comparing these prophecies with what we know from other prophecies we will be able to determine if the prophecy is about the last days or not.
There is something else that we need to keep in mind as we continue our study. There is only one last days scenario from God, as revealed in His Word and while each prophet had different perspectives, they each wrote about the same last days. Since they all are describing the same thing we can expect to see similarities in what they describe. Also, remember that no prophecy of God came by man’s own understanding,3 indicating that all biblical last days prophecy has its origin in the Holy Spirit.
When it comes to prophecies depicting the two Comings of our Lord, Isaiah wrote abundantly of both Advents. Isaiah’s prophecies are so descriptive of the First Advent that the Lord’s suffering and crucifixion appear to be written as historical narrative. So extensive are his writings that people even call the book of Isaiah the Gospel of the Old Testament. For the purposes of our study we are very grateful that Isaiah was even more prolific in his writings of the last days and Christ’s Second Advent. For that reason, we will give priority to his writings in this portion of our study.
On May 14th 1948, after almost 1,900 years of exile, Israel once again became a nation established in the Promised Land. From that moment the Jewish nation entered into a series of continuing life and death struggles with their Arab neighbors. Israel’s current struggles seem forebodingly similar to what we find prophesied regarding the last days. We will see from the prophets that Israel’s struggles will continue until she obtains a temporary peace by signing a covenant with the Antichrist.
The covenant is confirmed
Let’s read how Isaiah describes Israel’s relationship with the Antichrist. Isaiah refers to this future world leader as “the Assyrian.”
Woe to the Assyrian [Antichrist]… I send him against a godless nation, I dispatch him against a people who anger me, to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. … Therefore, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame. ... In that day the remnant of Israel, the survivors of the house of Jacob, will no longer rely on him [Antichrist] who struck them down but will truly rely on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel (Isaiah 10:5-20).
Isaiah is telling us that Israel will at first rely on the Antichrist for their security. This is likely a reference to the covenant of peace which the Antichrist will confirm at the beginning of the last seven years, see Daniel 9:27. As we know from Daniel’s prophecy this peace will last only three-and-a-half years and then the Antichrist will turn against Israel. When the Antichrist turns against Israel there will be a period of unprecedented distress and persecution, we call the Great Tribulation.4
In another of Isaiah’s prophecies he captures the very nature of this covenant with the Antichrist when he tells us that the leaders of Israel will boast about the covenant that they have made. Read how he describes it.
Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem. You boast, We have entered into a covenant with death, with the grave we have made an agreement. ... Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand... (Isaiah 28:14-18)
Isaiah says this treaty would be “a covenant with death” because as we will see, death will be its outcome. When the Antichrist comes against Israel, it will be the worst slaughter of the people of God in human history.
In Isaiah 10 and 28, he tells us that the covenant with death - Israel’s reliance on the Antichrist - will not last. The peace under the Antichrist will be cut short, the Antichrist will punish Israel during the Great Tribulation and then God will punish the Antichrist. When God comes against the Antichrist, God will “on that day” be Israel’s protector. Then the remnant of Israel will recognize the Lord as their Messiah and call on Him as Jesus predicted.
This same scenario, which Isaiah describes in chapter 10 between Israel and the Antichrist, is also found in Ezekiel 38 and 39.
Son of man, set your face against Gog [Antichrist], of the land of Magog, You will say, "I will invade a land of unwalled villages; I will attack a peaceful and unsuspecting people--all of them living without walls and without gates and bars. I will plunder and loot… In that day, when my people Israel are living in safety, will you not take notice of it? You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you, all of them riding on horses, a great horde, a mighty army. In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed; I will pour down torrents of rain, hailstones and burning sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him. And so I will show my greatness and my holiness, and I will make myself known in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD (Ezekiel 38:2-23).
Ezekiel tells us that God will cause Gog - the leader of the land of Magog - to attack Israel to “plunder and loot” just as Isaiah, also, described. Isaiah said God will cause the Assyrian to “plunder and loot” (compare Isaiah 10:6 and Ezekiel 38:12). Ezekiel tells us that God will cause Gog to come against Israel when she is at peace and living safely. In Isaiah 10:20, the implication is also that Israel will be relying on the Antichrist for her peace and safety until he comes against her. However, God will not allow Israel’s complete destruction and He will send a wasting “disease or plague” against the Antichrist and his warriors (compare Isaiah 10:16 and Ezekiel 38:22). First the Antichrist will ensure Israel’s peace then attempt to destroy her. After the Great Tribulation, God will fight for Israel and she will know that Jesus is Lord. Compare these passages and see the similarities.
During Isaiah’s time he referred to the Assyrians and their leader “the Assyrian” in relation to the last days. During Ezekiel’s time he referred to the land of Magog and their leader “Gog” in relation to the last days. When Isaiah refers to Assyria and Ezekiel refers to the land of Magog they are both referring to the same people and territory which is located just southwest of the Caspian Sea. Today, Iran occupies this territory just southwest of the Caspian Sea.
Now, about the time of peace and security between the covenant and the abomination that causes desolation, the Scripture tells us very little. We can, however, determine that by the time of the abomination that causes desolation the Jewish people will be practicing temple worship in the temple in Jerusalem. Therefore, even though we don’t know when temple worship will begin we do know that it will be practiced during at least some of the time covered by the covenant. It is very interesting to recall that the temple mount was one of the topics of negotiations just before the Israeli and Palestinian peace talks broke down, in January 2001. Based on what is written in Scripture we can expect that the topic of the temple mount will be discussed again in the future.
In the last of Isaiah’s prophecies he describes events which will be fulfilled during the last days. As chapter 66 opens Isaiah describes God’s perspective of Jewish temple worship and animal sacrifice during the last days. Let’s see what God has to say regarding this temple worship.
This is what the LORD says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a man, and whoever offers a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig's blood, and whoever burns memorial incense, like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations; (Isaiah 66:1-3)
The Lord is severely rebuking Israel for rebuilding the temple and reinstating temple worship. God is angry with Israel and He will soon punish her by bringing the Antichrist against her in what is also called the “time of Jacob’s trouble.”
The Abomination that causes Desolation
Before the abomination that causes desolation the Jewish nation will be at peace, secure in their land. Then the Antichrist and his army will come and surround Jerusalem. He will enter the city and go to the temple mount. Now let’s read how Isaiah describes what occurs in Jerusalem and from the temple when the Antichrist sets himself up in the temple of God declaring himself to be God.
Hear that uproar from the city, hear that noise from the temple! It is the sound of the LORD repaying his enemies all they deserve (Isaiah 66:6).
The persecution and death of the Great Tribulation immediately follows the abomination that causes desolation. This is when God will repay Israel’s unbelief by using the Antichrist to punish them. Jeremiah also describes the same thing when he tells us that the time of peace will turn to fear during the Time of Jacob’s trouble. Jeremiah, like Isaiah and Ezekiel, also indicates that Israel will not be totally destroyed, because the Lord will deliver a remnant out of the Great Tribulation.
This is what the LORD says: Cries of fear are heard--terror, not peace. ... How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it (Jeremiah 30:5, 7).
From Daniel’s prophecies we know the Great Tribulation will be a time of unequalled distress lasting three-and-a-half years. Jesus also indicates that the Great Tribulation will be so horrific that if it were not cut short, no one would survive.
Let’s take another look at the timeline to see where we are as we prepare to study what will take place after the Great Tribulation. Let’s look at the Power-Point timeline below.
Timeline
Signs before the Day of the Lord
Before we begin to study the Day of the Lord we should note that the Old Testament prophets specifically tell us about two signs which will come before “the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Malachi prophesies,
See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes (Malachi 4:5).
The prophet Joel prophesies that the sun, moon and stars will be darkened before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord. When we read prophecies regarding the Day of the Lord we frequently see the sign of the darkening of the sun, moon and stars. However, Joel is the first to tell us that this sign will come before “the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”
I will show wonders in the heavens and the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD (Joel 2:30, 31).
In our study of the prophets we have now come through the Great Tribulation and we are poised at the very end of the age as we wait for the Day of the Lord to break out over the whole world.
The Day of the Lord
The Day of the Lord is an extremely important part of the biblical record and God’s plan. Without a good basic understanding of “the Day of the Lord” no one can properly understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet, many people in the household of God have not even heard about the “Day of the Lord” and its significance to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The “Day of the Lord” is the prophetic event most referred to in Scripture. “The Day of the Lord” is referred to so many times by the prophets that they often abbreviated it by writing, “that day” or “the day.” In the New Testament “the Day of the Lord” is also referred to as “the day of the Lord Jesus Christ,” “the day of the Lord Jesus,” “the day of Christ Jesus,” “the day of Christ,” and “the day of God.” There is only one Day of the Lord!
As the world goes through the Great Tribulation and approaches the “Day of the Lord,” conditions on the earth will become catastrophic. God will allow great destruction through the Antichrist during this time of severe trial and testing which will come upon the whole world.5
As we examine the writings of the Old Testament prophets about the coming of the “Day of the Lord” we need to be alert to what is written. If we are not careful, we may become confused about exactly what is being described.
There are several reasons to study these writings carefully:
1. The general world conditions during the Great Tribulation will become so catastrophic that we could confuse them with God’s wrath.
2. Biblical prophecy often moves back and forward in time as God describes the events which will take place. What is written rarely follows a strict chronological order. Therefore we need to read prophecy in the context of the whole Word of God.
3. There are so many events taking place before and during the Day of the Lord that the amount of activity can be overwhelming.
Let’s review what we already know as we prepare to study the coming Day of the Lord. The darkening of the sun, moon and stars will be a sign that the Day of the Lord is imminent. We also know that before Jesus returns He will leave heaven accompanied by His angels and appear in the clouds of the sky. While He is still in the sky He will send His angels to gather all believers to Himself. With these things in mind let’s examine what the prophets say about the Day of the Lord and Christ’s return.
The Day of the Lord – He comes down from heaven
David tells us that the Lord will come down out of heaven and touch the earth when it is time for Him to rout His enemies.
Part your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke. Send forth lightning and scatter the enemies; shoot your arrows and rout them. Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners (Psalm 144:5-7)
From these prophecies, we see that the Lord will come down from heaven to earth when He returns. David in Psalm 144 and Isaiah both seem to be indicating that the resurrection of believers will also occur at this time.
Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads the high places of the earth (Micah 1:3).
But your dead will live; their bodies will rise… See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins (Isaiah 26:19, 21).
The LORD will roar from on high; he will thunder from his holy dwelling ... he will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword,’ declares the LORD. This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Look!' Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth (Jeremiah 25:30-32).
David also prophesied that the Lord would remain at the Father’s right hand in heaven until it is time for Him to put His enemies under His feet (Psalm 110). This sounds similar to what Peter said in Acts 3:21, when he tells us that the Lord must remain in heaven until it is time to restore everything. Both of these passages place the Coming of Christ following the Great Tribulation, when He destroys His enemies and restores everything to Israel. Compare the timing of these two verses.
The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’ ... The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers (Psalm 110:1, 5).
He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets (Acts 3:21).
The Day of the Lord – the trumpet call
We have seen that when Jesus appears to gather all believers a trumpet call will signal the gathering and the resurrection. Of course, we already know from the New Testament that it is the last trumpet which signals the gathering. So, let’s read how the prophets describe the sounding of the trumpet call which signals the gathering of believers to Christ.
All you people of the world, you who live on the earth, when a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it, and when a trumpet sounds, you will hear it…(Isaiah 18:3)
In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered up one by one. And in that day a great trumpet will sound (Isaiah 27:12, 13).
Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; ... The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people (Zechariah 9:14, 16).
Before them the earth shakes, the sky trembles, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine. The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, and call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, (Joel 2:10-16)
When we connect these prophecies, we get a good picture of what we have already received from Jesus and the Apostle Paul.
The Day of the Lord – the resurrection gathering
When the Lord comes down out of heaven the trumpet will sound and all believers will be gathered to Him in their resurrection bodies. We see the first mention of this resurrection change in the book of Job, when he describes the resurrection of the dead. In the Old Testament we find numerous descriptions of the resurrection of the dead. Let’s read how the prophets describe the raising of the dead.
Job tells us that the resurrection of believers will be at the end of the age, when Christ comes to earth. Job also tells us that, after God’s anger (with Israel) has passed, there will be a renewal. Job also indicates this renewal will include his resurrected body.
If only you would hide me in the grave and conceal me till your anger has passed! All the days of my hard service I will wait for my renewal to come (Job 14:13, 14).
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—(Job 19:25-27).
In the Psalms we are told that the Lord will come in the clouds in the brightness of His glory as he thunders down from heaven. When He comes He is described as reaching down to take hold of the believers as they are gathered to Himself in the resurrection.
Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning. The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded... He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters (Psalms 18:12, 13, 16).
And I, in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness (Psalm 17:15).
But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself (Psalm 49:15).
Isaiah, who always provides vivid descriptions, tells us of the Coming of Christ. See how he develops this picture of the Lord coming out of heaven to raise the believers in the resurrection and to punish the sinners.
But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You, who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead. Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. See, the LORD is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the bloodshed upon her; she will conceal her slain no longer (Isaiah 26:19-21).
The idea of the “resurrection of the dead” is well developed in the Old Testament. When Daniel describes the resurrection below he places it as occurring after the time of unprecedented distress.
Therefore prophesy and say to them: This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; (Ezekiel 37:12)
At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress [tribulation] such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people--everyone whose name is found written in the book--will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:1, 2).
I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction (Hosea 13:14)?
The resurrection of the living believers is not fully explained in Scripture until the New Testament. However, there are some indications from the prophets that the believers alive at that time of the resurrection would also be included.
What man can live and not see death, or save himself from the power of the grave (Psalm 89:48)?
I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the LORD has done. The LORD has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death (Psalm 118:17, 18).
Psalm 144 not only describes the Lord coming down from heaven to earth but also indicates that the Lord will rescue the believer from foreigners. This sounds very much like what the Lord will do when He gathers the living believers from the earth and out of the Great Tribulation.
Part your heavens, O LORD, and come down; touch the mountains, so that they smoke. Send forth lightning and scatter the enemies; shoot your arrows and rout them. Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters, from the hands of foreigners (Psalm 144:5-7)
There is another prophecy in the Psalms that pulls together the Coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the living and the dead. When we compare this Psalm to Jesus’ same description, in the Olivet Discourse, we find confirmation that the resurrection includes all believers, living and dead. Let’s compare the two passages to see how the living are gathered from the earth and the dead are gathered from heaven at Christ’s return.
From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages. He summons the heavens above [dead in Christ], and the earth [living in Christ], that he may judge his people: Gather to me my consecrated ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice (Psalm 50:2-5).
They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds [living in Christ], from one end of the heavens [dead in Christ] to the other (Matthew 24:30, 31).
If we lay the key elements of these two passages side by side we can see clearly that they both describe the Coming of our Lord and the gathering of all believers from the earth and from heaven.
