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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1) An Introduction to this Bible book of Zephaniah2) The Millennial Reign of Christ 3) False gods and idols 4) The Day of the Lord |
Who wrote this book?
What are some things that we know about Zephaniah?
When and where was this book written?
Why was this book written?
What was the historical setting in those days when this book was written?
The chapters of this Bible book:
The Bible book of Zephaniah only has three chapters:
Chapters 1 & 2 God is capable and willing to judge
Chapter 3 God is capable and willing to show mercy and bless
"I will sweep away everything in all your land, says the Lord. I will sweep
away both people and animals alike. Even the birds of the air and the fish in
the sea will die. I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble, along with the
rest of humanity, says the Lord. I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with My fist
and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship. I will put an end to all the
idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear. For they go
up to their roofs and bow to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the
Lord, but then they worship Molech, too. So now I will destroy them! And I will
destroy those who used to worship Me but now no longer do. They no longer ask for
the Lord's guidance or seek My blessings"
Is any of this relevant for our time? I believe it is. Why? Because of human depravity
and the activity of Satan and his demons, the pull is always downwards.
That means that folks might actually stoop that low again in our near future.
It was not the end of the physical world in their time but it was the end of their
world as they knew it. A neighbor of mine had a house burn to the ground. I asked him if there was anything
left standing. He indicated that everything that used to be there was now as level
as the ground. God is indicating through His prophet, Zephaniah, that He is going
to level the land of Judah. Why? It was because of their sins. And then He will take
it a step further- he will level the entire earth, at a future time, for the same reason.
When will this happen? It will happen during the Day of the Lord, during the Great
Tribulation Period of time right before the Millennial Reign of Christ. But during His
Millennial Reign, Christ will renew this earth to a better condition.
"I will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place..."
"...Those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord but who also swear by
(the idol-god) Milcom..."
These folks wanted to worship God and Satan (through idols) at the same time.
This will not work. Why not? It is because of the ownership of you and I. God and Satan
are engaged in deadly spiritual warfare, so you and I have to choose one or the other to
be our Master. Satan claims each human on the planet as his own by default, so for a
human not to choose is irrelevant as a choice has already been made for him or her
This idea of worshipping God and Satan at the same time came from the pagan folks who were
brought to Samaria by the King of Assyria after the folks from the northern Kingdom
of Israel were deported. It is sad to think that the religion of these pagans
infiltrated so deeply into the true worship of God in Judah to corrupt it- but it did
happen over a period of about 150 years.
"Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of
the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left,
and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make
mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them- you shall not
serve them nor bow down to them, but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day"
"Those who have turned back from following the Lord, and have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him..."
These excuses pretty much come from all of the ones who have made the wrong choices NOT to
love the Lord nor be obedient to Him- the backsliders from the faith, the atheists,
the agnostics, the idol worshippers, the satanists, the ones who decided to
completely ignore Him and His commandments, and others.
"And it shall be, in the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes
and the king's children, and all such as are "clothed with foreign apparel"
"Clothed with foreign apparel or strange clothes" is an expression that
means "accepted the ways of the idol worshippers." This expression refers to
a sinful lifestyle, not just an act of wearing clothes.
"In the same day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who
fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit"
A worshipper who entered the temple of Dagon, the idol god of the Philistines, had
to jump over the threshold in order to enter. Their sinful actions of violence and
deceit matched their worship of Satan through this idol.
"...you inhabitants of Maktesh..."
The word "Maktesh" is another name for Jerusalem. If their rebellion was rampant
in their capital city, then it was also rampant in all the nation.
"That terrible Day of the Lord is near. Swiftly it comes- a day when strong
men will cry bitterly. It is a day when the Lord's anger will be poured out. It is
a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of
darkness and gloom, of clouds, blackness, trumpet calls, and battle cries. Down
go the walled cities and strongest battlements! Because you have sinned against the Lord..."
I believe that one can mis-judge the facts in any action but what is the intent of the
heart of the individual? What is the intent of God's heart in bringing judgment?
Is it to kill, hurt, and destroy? No. That is the intent of Satan's heart. The
intent of God's heart is correction for wrong doing, however, there are times when He
will destroy but that is not His nature to do so. I believe that the Day of the Lord
will be one of those times. In the future, the world will have declared war on Him
and as a righteous consequence, He will destroy the armies of the antichrist in order
to bring universal peace and unity into full blossom. Every once in awhile a large
forest will catch fire. To some folks this is a horrible tragedy and a terrible waste.
Sometimes the judgment of God is looked upon in a negative way also. But the forest
will be better off to some degree after the fire. Why? Because the brush that chokes
off the sunlight is removed. This allows fresh life to now come to the forest. God is
a God of justice, holiness, and love. Even in judgment God is still a God of love.
God has to be true to Himself. God cannot be true to you or I unless He is true to
Himself first. He judges sin in your life and my life, He judges sin in the nation
in which we live, He judges sin in the world, and He is going to remove sin from the
universe in the future. And He is a God of love even when He does that. And after His
judgment in those days there is going to spring up new spiritual life for all to enjoy.
On a personal level, you or I do not ever want to be in the position where God is
against us. Have you ever seen a wild horse that someone wanted to ride on? That horse
has "to be broken" first before anyone can ride it. If we are against God, God may
have to "break us" before we will turn to Him so He can use us. He has to get us to
the point where we will submit our will to His. If we do not submit then judgment may
come our way. However, if radical and severe surgery against sin is the only option on
the table, so to speak, then God may be forced to use it in order to save us. And God
is big enough and powerful enough to do that. But He does it in love and for our good.
Some scriptures that pertain to the Day of the Lord:
Apostate Judah "the shameless nation" is called upon to repent.
Comparing scripture with scripture, these verses seem to be connected to each other:
"Gather together and pray, you shameless nation. Gather while there is still time,
before judgment begins and your opportunity is blown away like chaff. Act now,
before the fierce fury of the Lord falls and the terrible day of the Lord's anger begins"
Therefore, go and say these words to Israel, this is what the Lord says:
"Who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of His
anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him.
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him"
"Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek
righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger"
From my studies of the holy scriptures, it appears (in relation to major judgment)
that God deals with a remnant- those folks who love God and are true to God. Those true believers are
devoid of selfishness, pride, self-sufficiency, and any kind of worship of the devil.
In comparison to numbers, those folks are always in the minority. Why? Because God
deals with quality rather than with quantity. Sometimes in college, a professor will
grade on the curve method- comparing your score against others in the same class.
Christ grades on the cross, not on the curve.
He deals with a remnant for their holiness and survival. His dealings with them
(them going into captivity) will ultimately be for their good and not for evil.
"You cause judgment to be heard from Heaven; the earth feared and was still,
when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth"
"Now, as surely as I live, says the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, Moab and
Ammon will be destroyed as completely as Sodom and Gomorrah. Their land will become
a place of stinging nettles, salt pits, and eternal desolation. Those of my people
who are left will plunder them and take their land."
"They will receive the wages of their pride, for they have scoffed at the people
of the Lord Almighty. The Lord will terrify them as He destroys all the gods in
the land. Then people from nations around the world will worship the Lord, each in their own land"
"Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel
one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.
But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel"
This passage of scripture is proved by archaeology. How? Because there is a "Moabite Stone" that was found in Moab. What is it?
It is a large stone that is inscribed. It is four feet high, two feet wide, and
fourteen inches thick. It was discovered (in Moab) in 1868 in the city of Diban.
A part of the inscription reads: "I Mesha, King of Moab, made this monument to
Chemosh [god of Moab] to commemorate my deliverance from Israel...[from] Omri, King of
Israel, [who] oppressed Moab and his son [Ahab] after him.
I warred against their cities, devoted the spoil to Chemosh, and in Beth-Diblathaim sheep
raisers I placed."
Moab and Ammon were the two sons of Lot (Abraham's nephew). Their descendants were
neighbors of the descendants of Isaac (Abraham's son). In other words, the nations
of Moab and Ammon were near the borders of the nation of Israel and they were headed
for destruction. Did destruction come upon them? Yes. These nations were totally
destroyed about 582 B.C. by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar when he marched his army
there- possibly in retaliation for their part in the murder of his regional governor,
Gedaliah. You won't find these nations in existence today.
"Its leaders are like roaring lions hunting for their victims- out for everything
they can get. Its judges are like ravenous wolves at evening time, who by dawn
have left no trace of their prey. Its prophets are arrogant liars seeking
their own gain. Its priests defile the Temple by disobeying God's laws. But
the Lord is still there in the city, and He does no wrong. Day by day His
justice is more evident, but no one takes notice- the wicked know no shame"
Comparing scripture with scripture, let us look at a few other scriptures to see the
magnitude of these problems:
Was this the first time that there was the corruption in the Levitical priesthood? No.
In earlier times, the priest, Eli, had two sons who helped to corrupt it. You can
read about their evil escapades in
"For both prophet and priest are profane; Yes, in My house I have found their
wickedness, says the Lord... And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: they prophesied by Baal and
caused My people Israel to err. Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets
of Jerusalem: they commit adultery and walk in lies..."
"Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things- they
have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known
the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their
eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them"
"The time of Israel's punishment has come; the day of payment is almost here.
Soon Israel will know this all too well. "The prophets are crazy!" the people
shout. "The inspired men are mad!" so they taunt, for the nation is burdened
with sin and shows only hatred for those who love God"
God is not going to do evil- He is holy. But some religious leaders who say they are
following God are not- rather, they are doing evil. When these kinds of folks do evil
in God's name and God does nothing, it appears as if God approves of that sort of thing.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. God continues to be good while the unjust
continue on in sin with no shame at all that it is public knowledge.
"On that day I will purify the lips of all people, so that everyone will be able
to worship the Lord together"
Sinful flesh has a hard time of being elevated when in the presence of the holiness
of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
"Then I said: my destruction is sealed, for I am a sinful man and a member
of a sinful race. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord Almighty!
Then one of the seraphim flew over to the altar, and he picked up a burning
coal with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, See, this
coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven"
"...Simon Peter...fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, depart from me, for I am
a sinful man, O Lord!"
The Millennial Reign of Christ can be seen in these verses:
"Then the Lord told Abram, leave your country, your relatives, and your father's house, and go to the land
that I will show you. I will cause you to become the father of a great nation.
I will bless you and make you famous, and I will make you a blessing to others.
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families
of the earth will be blessed through you"
"He has cast out your enemy..."
Who is the universal enemy of mankind? It is Satan. Christ will lock up Satan in the
bottomless pit for 1,000 years. Evil will be put down- most folks in the
world will not see evil anymore for that length of time
This verse is a memory verse:
"The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing"
God's Judgment:
God usually deals with two different kinds of judgment mentioned in the holy bible.
"For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes those He accepts as His children"
"For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins
with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?"
2) The second kind of judgment is on unbelievers. There are many examples of this in
the bible. This is the kind of judgment that Zephaniah deals with here.
The entire population of the earth is moving towards a final destiny that will
consummate in a judgment for lost humanity.
God is not unnecessarily being harsh or unloving when He moves in judgment. This is
where we need to look at the total word of God and keep all judgment passages of
scripture in proper perspective. Remember, that God always balances His judgment
against His mercy and love.
He can be merciful and loving while hating sin and disciplining others in judgment
at the same time. Have you ever had an earthly father who disciplined you and loved
you at the same time? His discipline may have come from the root of love for you that
he had in his heart, and he corrected you for your own good. No good father is going to
allow a small child to get into the family medicine cabinet to eat poison pills there.
He or she has to be taught to stay out of it. It is for the child's own good.
When He gave us the 10 commandments He was not trying to forbid us from doing pleasurable
things or being a harsh military commander with a list of regulations of do this or don't do that.
Rather He was being a very loving protective Father to you and to I. That is what good
fathers do- they love and protect their children. To you or I, these 10 commandments
may appear to be legalistic rules, but from God's point of view, He has given them to
you and I to help us navigate our pathway through life around the enemy's obstacles to
arrive at our ultimate port of destination in safety.
Idols, False gods, and False Religions:
The folks of Israel and Judah constantly struggled for years against idol worship.
Here are some examples:
Men and women would gather together to worship. Where did they worship?
Sometimes they would worship the god, Baal, at "the high places" or "the
groves" (of trees). Priests of Baal would conduct the activities.
Human babies would be burned alive as a sacrificial
offering to this god. There were terrible screams of pain amidst the stench of
charred human flesh. There were wild sexual orgies including fornication, adultery,
bisexuality, homosexuality, and beastiality. Why did they do it?
They wanted this god to produce economic prosperity for them. By these actions
they believed that they were prompting Baal to bring rain to bless their crops and to
give them other things that they desired.
Who were the "Chemarims" mentioned in Zephaniah 1:4? The word
"Chemarims" is kamar in the Hebrew language. This word means
"idolatrous priests". I doubt if they were much different than the black
robed priests of Satan that are around today.
Who or what was the god, Malcham, mentioned in Zephaniah 1:4? This word can also be
spelled as Milcom. In the Hebrew language, the word is spelled Malkam or Milkowm.
The root words, Molek and Melek, mean "Royal King, Molek".
In the English language, the word is spelled "Moloch". What do I see here?
I see that Satan was getting worship through this god. How? Looking at the name in a
little different way, the title might mean "Royal King, Satan". Satan is
always trying to make himself a god and trying to get the worship that only belongs to God.
The god, Moloch, was an Ammonite idol-god associated with the planet, Saturn. In order to worship him and
the army of heaven (the other demons in Satan's spiritual domain), folks would
have "to get upon the housetops" so they could see the stars. Housetops were
flat in those days, allowing them to be used for many purposes, including the worship
of the stars and other heavenly bodies. You can read and study more about these practices in
the bible book of
The Philistines worshipped Satan through the fish-god, Dagon. Dagon in the Hebrew
language is spelled Dagown. Many offerings to this god were gotten by violence,
deceit, fraud, and oppression.
The Philistine leaders held a great festival, offering sacrifices and praising
their god, Dagon. They said:
Samson repented in the horrible trial that sin and Satan thrust upon him.
In my opinion, God did not like the idea that the Philistines were bragging about
their god defeating His servant, Samson. Satan was not going to get the final word in that
showdown between one of God's servants and many of Satan's servants. I believe that
is why God answered Samson's final prayer and gave him the strength to win the victory.
God had warned the folks of the northern Kingdom of Israel what would happen to them
if they worshipped idols:
The Day of the Lord:
The expression The Day of the Lord is used 7 times in this bible book. Other
prophets also used this expression.
What is the Day of the Lord? The Day of the Lord is commonly referred to, symbolically, as a period of time.
This period of time stretches from the beginning of the Great Tribulation Period
to the last battle at the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ
The Day of the Lord includes (but is not limited to):
"That terrible Day of the Lord is near. Swiftly it comes- a day when strong men
will cry bitterly. It is a day when the Lord's anger will be poured out. It is
a day of terrible distress and anguish, a day of ruin and desolation, a day of
darkness and gloom, of clouds, blackness, trumpet calls, and battle cries. Down
go the walled cities and strongest battlements!
Because you have sinned against the Lord, I will make you as helpless as a
blind man searching for a path. Your blood will be poured out into the dust,
and your bodies will lie there rotting on the ground.
Your silver and gold will be of no use to you on that day of the Lord's anger.
For the whole land will be devoured by the fire of His jealousy. He will make a
terrifying end of all the people on earth"
I believe these could be double reference verses. The fulfillment of these verses may be for:
God is glorified in judging as well as He is glorified in saving.
Therefore, son of man, prophesy against Gog. Give him this message from the Sovereign Lord:
God said to Pharoah of Egypt: "I raised you up to bring you down" (my paraphrase)
How did all of those people get to all of those lands?
"From these the coastland peoples of the Gentiles were separated into their lands,
everyone according to his language, according to their families, into their nations"
The prophecy of Zephaniah foretells the destruction of close and distant neighboring
countries of Judah. Why? Because of their sins:
1) The civilization and cities of the Philistines will be destroyed:
Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not
turn away its punishment, because they took captive the whole captivity to deliver
them up to Edom. But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza, which shall devour
its palaces. I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and the one who holds the
scepter from Ashkelon; I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the
Philistines shall perish," says the Lord God
"Ashkelon shall see it and fear; Gaza also shall be very sorrowful; And Ekron, for
He dried up her expectation. The king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall
not be inhabited. A mixed race shall settle in Ashdod, and I will cut off the
pride of the Philistines. I will take away the blood from his mouth, and the
abominations from between his teeth. But he who remains, even he shall be for
our God, and shall be like a leader in Judah, and Ekron like a Jebusite"
Thus says the Lord God: "Because the Philistines dealt vengefully and took
vengeance with a spiteful heart, to destroy because of the old hatred,
therefore thus says the Lord God: I will stretch out My hand against the
Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant of the seacoast.
I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they shall know
that I am the Lord, when I lay My vengeance upon them"
"Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you, that the rod of your striking is broken.
For a viper comes forth from the root of a snake, and his fruit shall be a fiery
flying serpent. And the first-born of the poor shall feed, and the needy shall
lie down in safety; and I will kill your root with famine, and he shall slay
your remnant. Howl, O gate! Cry, O city! O Philistia, all of you, are melted
away; for from the north a smoke comes, and no straggler in his ranks"
2) The civilization and cities of Moab and Ammon will be destroyed
3) The civilization and cities of the Ethiopians will be destroyed.
4) Nineveh and the civilization and cities of the Assyrians will be destroyed
Were these nations destroyed as God said He would do to them? Yes. History confirms this fact.
"Therefore wait for Me," says the Lord
Are you dealing with a problem in your life? Maybe you don't think there is any way out?
Well, there is, but you and I must be patient. We have to wait for God to do what He has
to do. He has to be given time to work out His plan. He calls upon us to be patient.
Since God is the source of light- if we get ahead of Him on the trail of life then we will
walk in our own shadow. We cannot see where we are going. We might stumble and fall or
worse- we might fall over a cliff and perish. Let us be patient and follow behind
Him and walk in His light.
Zephaniah, one of the prophets of Judah, wrote this bible book that bears his name.
His name means "Yahweh hides", "hidden by Yahweh", "he whom the
Lord has hidden", or "Yahweh protects".
Zephaniah appears to claim that King Hezekiah of Judah was one of his ancestors.
Why did he do that? Maybe it gave him credibility. On the other hand, maybe it was a
way to get the attention of the King of Judah and his princes who ruled the land.
They had the power to institute change for the better. Since he was a prince of the
royal house of Judah (of the royal lineage) and possibly an aristocrat, then the king
and princes might be more favorably inclined to listen to what he had to prophesy.
Did they listen? I am inclined to say yes. There was a large revival under King
Josiah. I like this king and I have his name as my middle name. Later kings and princes
of Judah may have disregarded his prophesy but it still stood true whether they
believed it or not. That is why it was added to the Jewish canon of scripture.
He may have known the prophets Jeremiah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.
This bible book was written sometime during the reign of King Josiah, about
(641-610 B.C.). It was written from somewhere in the Kingdom of Judah, possibly from Jerusalem.
The author compares the judgment of God with the blessings of God. Each individual
and each nation must choose between them. The wise choice is to live right according
to the Word of God and enjoy His blessings. The unwise choice is not to live right
and suffer His judgment(s). Moses also wrote similar words to the Israelites in
Deuteronomy chapters 28 through 30.
The nation of Israel had been divided into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the
southern Kingdom of Judah. Folks in the northern Kingdom of Israel had already been deported
to Assyria as slaves many years before for its sins. Now, it appears that the Babylonians are going
to deport the folks of the southern Kingdom of Judah for its sins. Zephaniah's message is that,
not only Judah, but also its 5 hostile neighbor nations all deserve to be deported
(suffer God's judgment) due to their sins. Did this happen? Yes. It happened just as
God through the prophet, Zephaniah, said it would. In the end times, it appears,
these events will happen again only on a world-wide scale. The Battle of Armageddon,
during the Day of the Lord, will be fought, and then Jesus Christ will rule from
Jerusalem as the rightful Jewish Messiah and will institute universal peace.
Then there will be a time of fruitfulness and Kingdom blessing.
disobedient individuals and nations for their sins.
obedient individuals and nations who obey Him.
(Zephaniah 1:2-6). NLT
(Zephaniah 1:4).
(Zephaniah 1:5).
(John chapter 8).
(Joshua 23:6-8). MKJV
(Zephaniah 1:6).
(zephaniah 1:8).
(zephaniah 1:8).
(zephaniah 1:11).
(Zephaniah 1:14-18). NLT
Isaiah 22:5; Joel 2:1-2, 11, 31; Amos 5:18-20; Jeremiah 30:7;
Luke 21:35-36; 2 Peter 3:10-13.
(Zephaniah 2:1-2).
"O Israel, My faithless people, come home to Me again, for I AM merciful. I will
not be angry with you forever. Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you
rebelled against the Lord your God and committed (spiritual) adultery against Him by
worshiping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to follow Me..."
(Jeremiah 3:12-13).
(Nahum 1:6-7).
(Zephaniah 2:3).
(Psalm 76:8-9).
(Zephaniah 2:9-11). NLT
(2 Kings 3:4-5).
(Jeremiah 40:13 to 41:3).
(Zephaniah 3:3-5). NLT
(1 Samuel chapter 2).
(Jeremiah 23:11, 13-14a). MKJV
(Ezekiel 22:26). MKJV
(Hosea 9:7). NLT
(Zephaniah 3:9). NLT
(Isaiah 6:5-7). NLT
(Luke 5:8).
Zephaniah 3:14-20. Jesus Christ will rule supreme in Zion (Jerusalem).
This will be a wonderful time of universal restoration, peace and blessing. Salvation,
deliverance, praise, worship, and a lot more blessings will be enjoyed by God's people.
You can read more about it in other scriptures as well:
Isaiah chapter 11, 12:6, 14:32, 35:3, 54:4; Ezekiel 34:13-16, 48:35; Micah 4:6-7;
Zechariah 8:3 & 16. The Abrahamic covenant from God finds its final fulfillment in the Messiah's Kingdom Blessings in the last
days. What was the Abrahamic covenant?
(Genesis 12:1-3).
(Zephaniah 3:15).
(Revelation 20:1-6).
(Zephaniah 3:17).
1) The first kind of judgment is when God corrects His own people. This is what we
call "corrective punishment or chastisement". This is when God acts as a
Father and disciplines us as disobedient children when we show forth bad behavior.
(Hebrews 12:6).
(1 Peter 4:17).
2 Kings, chapter 23.
"Our god (Dagon) has given us victory over our enemy Samson!
...Then Samson prayed to the Lord: Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please
strengthen me one more time so that I may pay back the Philistines for the loss
of my eyes. Then Samson put his hands on the center pillars of the temple and
pushed against them with all his might. Let me die with the Philistines,
he prayed. And the temple crashed down on the Philistine leaders and all the
people. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime"
(Judges 16:23, 28-30). NLT
"After the Philistines captured the Ark of God, they took it from the battleground
at Ebenezer to the city of Ashdod. They carried the Ark of God into the temple
of Dagon and placed it beside the idol of Dagon. But when the citizens of Ashdod
went to see it the next morning, Dagon had fallen with his face to the ground
in front of the Ark of the Lord! So they set the idol up again. But the next
morning the same thing happened- the idol had fallen face down before the Ark
of the Lord again. This time his head and hands had broken off and were lying
in the doorway. Only the trunk of his body was left intact. That is why to
this day neither the priests of Dagon nor anyone who enters the temple of
Dagon will step on its threshold (instead, they have to leap over the threshold)"
(1 Samuel 5:1-5). NLT
"The people of Samaria tremble in fear at their calf idol at Beth-aven. The people
mourn over it, and the priests wail for it, because its glory will be stripped
away. This idol they love so much will be carted away with them when they go
as captives to Assyria, a gift to the great king there. Israel will be laughed
at and shamed because its people have trusted in this idol"
(Hosea 10:5-6).
(Revelation 20:7-10).
1) the Great Tribulation Period of 7 years
2) Jesus Christ appears to national Israel at His second advent (Battle of Armageddon)
3) The battle at the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ.
(Zephaniah 1:14-18). NLT
1) The imminent Babylonian invasion of Judah, along with all the major nations on
the earth (at that time) including Philistia, Ammon, Moab, Ethiopia, and Assyria.
This was literally fulfilled about 605-586 B.C.
2) A future invasion of Israel from the armies of the world dictator (the antichrist),
and God's judgment on all the nations of the earth.
(Isaiah 2:10-22; Joel chapters 1 & 2; Revelation 19:11-21).
God is glorified when He judges a nation that has declared war on Him:
"When My people are living in peace in their land, then you
will rouse yourself. You will come from your homeland in the distant north
with your vast cavalry and your mighty army, and you will cover the land like
a cloud. This will happen in the distant future. I will bring you against My
land as everyone watches, and My greatness will be displayed by what happens to you.
Then all the nations will know that I am the Lord"
(Ezekiel 38:14-16).
(Exodus 9:16).
(Genesis 10:5).
Zephaniah 2:4-15.
(Amos 1:6-8).
(Zechariah 9:5-7).
(Ezekiel 25:15-17).
(Isaiah 14:29-31).
Jeremiah chapter 48; Isaiah 16:6-9.
Nahum chapter 1; Isaiah 10:5-34.
(Zephaniah 3:8).
37. Haggai Bible Commentary
35. Habakkuk Bible Commentary
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As of December 9, 2011