Zephaniah

ZEPHANIAH: THE DAY OF THE LORD'S WRATH

It was Zephaniah's lot to speak on the most unpleasant subject in the Bible -- the judgment of God. This is not the only place where this theme occurs, of course, but it is the most concentrated treatment of the judgment of God as the whole book is devoted to this one theme.

There are many people who would like to rule this subject of judgment out of the Bible entirely. There are those who tell us that the God of the New Testament, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the kind of a God who can never move in judgment. His heart is so tender, his love is so gracious, his patience is so infinite that there never will be a time when God will move in vengeance. It should be noted though, that in the New Testament the Lord Jesus spoke very frequently about the judgment of God. In the fourth chapter of Luke we are told that the Lord came back to his home town after preaching in Judea for many months. He had done many miracles and the word of his miracles had preceded him, so all the folks in Nazareth were very anxious to see him. He had not behaved like this when he was a boy growing up, and they were keen to see if he was going to do some mighty work when he came home.

Luke tells us that Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and he was given the book of the prophecy of Isaiah to read. Opening the scroll he found the place in Isaiah 61:1-2a; The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. Luke 4:10 Then he stopped right in the middle of a sentence, right at a comma, and his last word was that he had come to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. But Isaiah goes on to say, and the day of vengeance of our God. Isaiah 61:2b Jesus did not read that because it was not the time for the Day of vengeance of God. It is this day particularly, that Zephaniah is talking about.

Zephaniah means "hidden of the Lord" and the prophet is speaking as if he were a representative of the remnant of faith -- those relatively few people who will remain true to God and be faithful to Him, through this disaster that is to come upon the earth. They will be hidden, as it were, by God himself among the nations of the earth and God will watch over them to keep them in faith during this time. And it is about these people that the book of Zephaniah is written, and especially of that coming day, the Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath, which is vividly described by the prophet.

In chapter 1, Zephaniah gives us the character of God's vengeance. It is not a pleasant passage.

"I will utterly sweep away everything
from the face of the land, says the Lord.
I will sweep away man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds of the air
and the fish of the sea.
I will overthrow the wicked;
I will cut off mankind
from the face of the earth," says the Lord.
"I will stretch out my hand against Judah,
and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and I will cut off from this place the remnant of Baal [the false god of the peoples around Israel]
and the name of the idolatrous priests;
those who bow down on the roofs to the host of heavens; [the star worshipers]
those who bow down and swear to the Lord
and yet swear by Milcom; [one of the other gods the surrounding nations]
those who have turned back from following the Lord,
who do not seek the Lord or inquire of him.

Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is at hand.

The day of the Lord is the day of the manifestation of God's hand directly in human affairs. Notice the personal pronoun all through that passage: "I will sweep away everything." I will sweep away man and beast." "I will cut off mankind." God is working through events in history, working through nations and armies and calamities of various sorts. But as He did in Noah’s day, He will use His creation to once again reset civilization, this time with fire, as over 70 prophesies tell us.

The Apostle Paul also uses the term "the Day of the Lord." In 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 he says:

But as to the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need to have anything written to you. [Why not? Well, because they already had it in the Old Testament.] For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as travail comes upon a woman with child, and there will be no escape. But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

There are many other passages that also refer to the Day of the Lord and they all agree that in the time when men are proclaiming peace, but preparing for war; in a time when they are holding to a form of godliness but denying the powers thereof; in a time when they are declaring that the problems of life are being solved. but when actually they are in greater danger than they have ever been before, then the Day of the Lord will come.

Now let us return to Zephaniah and see what he has to say about this (chapter 1. verses 7-9):

Be silent before the Lord God!
For the day of the Lord is at hand;
the Lord has prepared a sacrifice
and consecrated his guests.
And on the day of the Lord's sacrifice --
"I will punish the officials and the king's sons
and all who array themselves in foreign attire ...
every one who leaps over the threshold,
and those who fill their master's house
with violence and fraud.

How can this be? How can the God of love -- the God of the New Testament -- do a thing like this? How can God, who loves mercy and is slow to anger, ever come to this place?

It is this kind of reasoning that suggests we should go through our Bibles and tear out every part that does not agree with our concepts of God. But what we have left, of course, is nothing more than what we like, what we think God ought to be like.

You can see how such an argument defeats itself. The very book that tells us that God is a God of love also says he is a God of vengeance. And anyone who thinks carefully about himself and about love will understand why a God of love has to be a God of vengeance. For if we love someone, we hate everything that injures that person. We are against whatever threatens or destroys what we love. And the very love that moves the heart of God to pour himself out over the centuries in an unceasing effort to awaken man to his need and to hear the call of grace, is the same love that at last prompts him to eliminate those who refuse all the province of his grace, and identify themselves with that which is opposed to his will and to his work among men. Then he has nothing left to do but to destroy them. And that is why the prophet speaks so plainly about this.

Continuing in Zephaniah 1:14-18:

The great day of the Lord is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter,
the mighty man cries aloud there.
A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness,
a day of trumpet blast and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the lofty battlements.

And God says in stark frankness,

I will bring distress on men,
so that they shall walk like the blind,
because they have sinned against the Lord;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the Day of the wrath of the Lord.

Now it is not easy for God to speak this way. He himself says that he takes no delight in the death of men. He says that he does not delight in judgment. Judgment, the prophet says, is his strange work. His heart delights in mercy. But eventually, if his will is to be done, if earth at last is to break out into the glorious freedom of the promises of the prophets concerning man, if the dreams that lie hidden away in the hearts of men of a warless world, a time of prosperity. a time when joy floods the earth, when men live together in glorious harmony, when even the animals lose their enmity toward one another and peace shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea -- if that is ever to come, then God must deal with the entrenched evil of men. This is why the coming of the day of vengeance of our God is absolutely certain. The prophets warn of this and the word speaks very clearly. all through the New Testament as well, that when God's grace is turned aside, God's judgment awaits.

In Zephaniah 2:8-9 we trace the extent of God's vengeance. Certain nations are named;

"I have heard the taunts of Moab
and the revilings of the Ammonites, "Moab shall become like Sodom,
and the Ammonites like Gomorrah,

The Ethiopians are mentioned in verse 12 and the Assyrians in verse 13. The interesting thing is that although all these nations are long since lost in the dust of history, the promise of this day of the Lord is in the future. How can this be? Why are these nations mentioned here when they have long been buried in antiquity? How can they yet be destroyed in a day to come?

The answer is, of course, that these nations are used symbolically throughout the Scriptures as well as literally. They were literally destroyed in the course of history, but they are used symbolically with reference to the full and final meaning of the day of the Lord. Moab, for instance, is always a picture of the flesh of man -- his dependence upon his own resources. The Ammonites picture the same thing. Ethiopia is a picture of the stubbornness, or the intransigence of man. "Can the Ethiopian change his color?" the Scriptures say. And Assyria is man in his arrogance and his pride. Now God says he is against all these things, and as he moves at last in judgment on the human race, these are to be eliminated. In chapter 3 you will notice how extensive God's wrath is;

Woe to her that is rebellious and defiled,
the oppressing city!
She listens to no voice,
she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the Lord,
she does not draw near to her God.

This could be said of almost all the cities of the earth. As you read on you see that this is a world-wide matter;

"Therefore wait for me," says the Lord,
"for the day when I arise as a witness.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all the heat of my anger;
for in the fire of my jealous wrath
all the earth shall be consumed."

What for? What is God after? Is he just interested in getting even, wreaking his vengeance at last upon the stubbornness and willfulness of men? Is he visiting the earth with this terrible hurricane of destruction in order to leave it nothing but a smoking ruin, barren and desolate, without inhabitants? No, that is what men would do if there were another world war. We would leave the earth desolate, but God will never leave it that way.

After you read the description of all the darkness, gloom, and slaughter -- after the desolation and the destruction, what is the next word? Verse 14:

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!

Why? You see, this is the new order that is to follow. This is why God is dealing with men, so that he might bring out songs instead of sorrow, service instead of selfishness, security instead of slavery. This will be the consequence of God's judgment. And we are told that the Lord God is in the midst of the people, not for judgment;

The Lord within her is righteous,
he does no wrong; ... The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness,
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing
as on a day of festival.

"I will remove disaster from you, ...
deal with all your oppressors.
And I will save the lame
and gather the outcasts,
... change their shame into praise
and renown in all the earth.
At that time I will bring you home,

What a picture this is! Specifically, of course, it has to do with the remnant of Israel, but it is a picture of God's loving care during any time of despair or darkness., God calls back the remnant of Israel, plus all the people grafted in, to Himself and they will at last break out into the song of the redeemed. Now the singing here is led by the Lord himself in a marvellous, glorious melody of joy. It reminds me of that beautiful passage in the Song of Songs:

For lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing has come. Song of songs 2:11-12a

That is what follows the time of judgment. But no one but the redeemed can join in that song. That is what Zephaniah tells us about. Although it is a painful scene, one that begins in darkness and gloom, it ends in joy and gladness and singing.

Ref: Ray Steadman

Zephaniah 3:8 Wait for Me, says the Lord, wait for the Day when I stand up and accuse mankind. For I shall pour out My wrath upon nations and kingdoms, in My burning anger: the whole earth will be devastated by fire.

Zephaniah 1:14-18 The great Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath is near and coming fast. That Day will be a Day of distress and torment, a Day of devastation amid thick darkness. A Day of thunder and destruction against military fortifications and cities. the Lord will bring terrible distress upon the people, they won’t know which way to turn as they are punished for their sins against Me. Their blood and guts will be spilled out like filth over the ground. Neither their treasure nor their idols will be able to save them on the sudden and shocking Day of the Lord’s fiery anger. All the Land will be burned and devastated. Ezekiel 20:46-48

Zephaniah 2:1-3 Prepare yourselves, you undesirable nation, be humble before you disappear like chaff, before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you. Seek righteousness; seek humility, all you people in the Land who obey God’s Laws and it may be that you will find shelter on the Day of the Lord’s anger.

Zephaniah 2:4-7 Gaza will be deserted, Ashkelon left in ruins. At midday all the towns of the Mediterranean coast will be cleared of inhabitants, for the Word of God is against you – land of the Philistines. I shall lay you in ruins, no one will survive. The sea coast will become a sheep grazing area belonging to the survivors of Judah, for their God will turn to them and restore their fortunes. Isaiah 14-1, Ezekiel 36:1-37

Zephaniah 2:8-10 I have noted the insults of Moab and the Ammonites, how they have reviled My people and encroached on their frontiers. For this, I swear, they will become like Sodom and Gomorrah, a place of weeds and salt pans. Those of My people who survive will inherit their land. This is retribution for their pride, because they have insulted God’s people and taken over their Land. Jeremiah 12:14, Amos 2:1-5

Zephaniah 3:11-13 On that Day, Jerusalem, I shall rid you of your proud and arrogant citizens, but I will leave a remnant, a humble people who will trust in Me. The survivors in Israel will be righteous, under My protection. Isaiah 31:5

Zephaniah 3:19-20 When the time comes and I have dealt with your oppressors, then I shall rescue the lost and gather the dispersed and bring you all to your homeland. You will win respect and renown from the other nations when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes, It is I, the Lord, who speaks. Ref: REB. Some verses abridged.


Wait for the Day; the whole earth burned and devastated. The only known way how this could happen, is by a massive Coronal Mass Ejection, a fire judgement mentioned and described over 100 times in Bible prophecy. It will be the event that ‘comes like a thief’, unexpected and shocking. Isaiah 30:26, Malachi 4:1

You undesirable nation – The Jewish State of Israel. It may be that those who live righteously and humbly will ‘find shelter on the Day of the Lord’s anger.’ 2 Peter 2:9

Philistines and Moab and Ammon – Palestinians and Jordanians. Amos 1:6-8 & 13-14, Ezekiel 21:28-31

leave a remnant in Jerusalem, under My protection – Isaiah 4:3, Romans 9:27

rescue the lost....bring you home – The great gathering of all the faithful Christian peoples, prophesied more than 40 times, to happen soon after this forthcoming, worldwide fire judgement.
They will live in the promised Land, under God’s protection and when the Anti Christ comes to Jerusalem, Daniel 11:31-32, Revelation 13:7, they are taken to a place of safety until the Return of Jesus.

Zephaniah 1:2-13 The Lord will consume and get rid of humans and all living things from the Land. The wicked will be brought to their knees. Ezekiel 20:47-48 & 30:1-5, Jer. 30:23-24

Judah will be judged and those who have neither sought the Lord nor enquired of Him will be cut off. Ezekiel 21:3, Isaiah 22:14, Zechariah 13:8-9, Jeremiah 12:14

Be silent before the Lord, for the Day of vengeance is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice and set apart those He has invited. Isaiah 66:15-16, Malachi 4:1, Rev. 6:12-17

I shall punish all you leaders and officers on the Day of the Lord’s sacrifice. Cry and wail, you merchants and dealers, all who fill their lord’s house with violence and fraud, you will be destroyed on that Day of distress, desolation, darkness and death. Jeremiah 13:19-27.

I shall search for all those complacent people, those who say the Lord will do nothing. They can build and plant, but all will be destroyed. Jeremiah 12:4+12-17, 2 Peter 3:3-4

Zephaniah 1:14-18 The Great Day of the Lord’s wrath is near, a Day of destruction and battle cries. Great distress will come on the peoples who have sinned against the Lord; their blood will pour out on the ground. Their wealth will not save them, for He will make a sudden and terrible end to all who live in the holy Land. Isaiah 2:12-22, Habakkuk 3:12-14, Joel 2:1-11

Zephaniah 2:1-15 Humble yourselves, you shameful nation, before the Day arrives, before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you. Jeremiah 6:8, Jer. 8:5-12, Matthew 21:41-43

Seek the Lord, all you who live humbly, obeying His laws. It may be that you will be sheltered on the Day of the Lord’s anger. Isaiah 31:5, Micah 5:1, Revelation 6:12-17.

Gaza will be deserted, woe to all you Philistines, at midday I shall crush you – your land will belong to the survivors of Judah. Amos 1:6-8, Ezekiel 25:15-17, Obadiah 19-21.

I have heard the insults of the Ammonites, those who revile against My people. Moab and Ammon will become a wasteland for evermore and the remnant of My people who survive will dispossess them. Ezekiel 25:1-11, Jeremiah 9:25-26. Because, they [the Ammonites, i.e. Jordanians] have insulted My people and encroached on their Land, I will bring terror upon them. Jer. 12:14, Amos 1:13-15, Ezekiel 21:28-32, Jeremiah 49:1-27.

You Cushites will be slain by the Sword of the Lord. Psalm 83, Jer. 49:28-33. [Cush, a son of Ham; the African peoples] Syria and Iraq will be devastated, becoming a wasteland, all who pass by will scoff at her fate. Isaiah 17:1, Isaiah 33:10-12, Nahum 3:18-19. Then the nations of the coasts and islands will worship the Lord. Isaiah 49:1-6, Isaiah 66:18b-21

Zephaniah 3:1-8 Woe betide that tyrant city, filthy and foul. [Jerusalem] She heeded no warning and refused to trust the Lord. Her leaders were as wolves and lions. Her prophets are treacherous men and her Rabbis do violence to the Law. Ezekiel 14:21-23, Jeremiah 8:8

Yet every day, the Lord dispenses justice, but the evildoer knows no shame. Matt 23:25

I have wiped out this arrogant people, their cities are abandoned. Jer. 9:10-11, Ezekiel 21:4

I said surely they will fear Me and accept correction, that they would escape destruction, but no, they eagerly continued in their evil ways. Isaiah 22:11, Ezekiel 16:59

Therefore, says the Lord, wait for the Day when I accuse you. I will gather nations in order to pour My wrath upon them. The whole earth will know the fire of My jealousy. Hab. 3:12, Jeremiah 8:3, Hebrews 10:27, Romans 1:18

Zephaniah 3:9-20 Then I shall restore pure lips to all peoples. So that everyone may call on the Name of the Lord and serve Him with one accord. Hosea 2:14-23, Isaiah 52:6.

My worshippers, from distant places will bring their offering to Me. Isaiah 66:20-21

On that Day, Jerusalem, you will not be shamed because I will have rid you of your proud and arrogant citizens. Isaiah 65:11-12, Isaiah 65:1-7

Only a remnant of lowly and humble people will survive. They will be righteous and nothing will make them afraid. Isaiah 14:1, Malachi 3:17

Shout for joy, Israel, your punishment is over, your enemies defeated. Isaiah 35:1-10

The Lord is now in your midst, He will show His love for you. Isaiah 41:8-10, Psalm 118.

When that time comes, I will deal with your oppressors. I shall gather you and bring you all home. Ezekiel 34:11-16, Isaiah 65:8-9, Jeremiah 16:14-16

You will have honor and praise among all the peoples when I restore your fortunes before your eyes. It is the Lord who speaks. Jeremiah 33:6-9, 2 Esdras 1:35-40, 2 Esdras 2:12-28. Ref: Revised English Bible. Some verses abridged.


‘God has Kept His Treasure’: Zephaniah’s name in Hebrew = God hides in order to protect, also means God is a vigilant watch keeper. Zephaniah was a prophet at the time of King Josiah, circa 620 BCE, 100 years after the exile of the House of Israel. God will keep His people safe. Amos 9:9, Jer. 31:36, Isaiah 49:15-16, Matt. 13:44

‘The Great Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath is near’: This is the next prophesied event that we can expect to happen. It will be an earth directed blast of fire from the sun, as Isaiah 30:26a, 2 Peter 3:7 and Malachi 4:1 informs us. It will literally fulfill all the graphic prophesies about that Day. The results of that terrible Day will be: ‘a sudden and terrible end to all who live in the holy Land, Palestinians, Arabs, Africans and the proud and arrogant citizens of Judah will all die by this sword of the Lord’s judgement’. Jeremiah 11:16, Ezekiel 21:3, Ezekiel 30:1-5 ‘The whole earth will know the fire of My wrath’, a worldwide devastation, that will destroy most of our modern infrastructure and kill millions. Jer. 25:33, Isaiah 34:6, 2 Peter 3:10, Rev. 6:12-17

‘When that time comes, I will deal with your enemies’ : It is foolish to speculate about another conventional war or a nuclear exchange in the Middle East, as the prophetic truth confirms how the Lord Himself will instigate His fiery wrath against those attackers of Israel. Psalms 83:1-18, Psalms 18:7-15, Isaiah 22:1-14, Jeremiah 49:35-37

But those ‘who live humbly, obeying His Laws, may be sheltered on that Day’. Nahum 1:7, Psalms 50:3-6, Daniel 12:1 Then: ‘I will gather you and bring you all home’. Psalm 107, Hosea 2:23, Zechariah 10:8-10 This will be the great Second Exodus of all the Lord’s people, back to a regenerated Land; all of that area promised to Abraham, Genesis 15:18 but never as yet fully owned by His chosen people. Their right of ownership will be proven when the title deed buried by Jeremiah 32:14, is found.

‘Then the nations of the coasts and islands will worship the Lord’ : This makes it clear that all Israel is far more than just the Jews. Isaiah 49:12 They are coming from far away, some from the North and the West and some from the South. The true, righteous Israelites are now mostly living on islands or in countries with extensive coastlines and in places to the North, West and South of the holy Land. Those nations and peoples are the ones with a Christian heritage, but have fallen away in the latter years, although many remain faithful and it will only be true born again Christian people; ‘My worshippers in distant places’, who will go to live in the new nation of Beulah. Isaiah 62:1-5, Isaiah 60:21-22, Ezekiel 36, Jeremiah 33, Amos 9:13-15, Acts 26:6-7

‘The Lord is now in your midst’. In the same way as He was for the ancient Israelites. 1 Cor. 10:11 This is confirmed by Ezekiel 43:4 – it will be the Shekinah Glory that will enter the new Temple and also the Lord will ‘reveal Himself to the elders and leaders’, in a cloud, like He did for Moses and David. Jer. 30:21, Acts 7:37-38


All of this is prophesied to happen before the end of this age: The world changer of the Sixth Seal devastation, the regeneration and resettlement of all the holy Land, the establishment of a One World Government, the attack by a Northern confederation led by Gog, a seven year treaty signed between Beulah and the Leader of the OWG, then at the mid-point; the Great Tribulation starts and 3½ years later, comes the culmination, the Lord Jesus Returns for His Millennial reign.

The Book of Zephaniah, the great end times story:

Keep silent before the Lord, for the Day of the Lord is near, He has prepared a sacrifice and set apart those He has invited.

The Great Day of the Lord is near and coming fast, no runner is as swift as that Day, no warrior so fleet. That Day will be a Day of God’s wrath, a Day of anguish and torment, a Day of destruction and devastation, a Day of cloud and darkness, of trumpet calls and distress of the peoples. Because of their sins, their blood will be poured out and their bowels spilled like dung. Their rich possessions will not avail to save them from the fire of the Lord’s wrath, for He will make a sudden and terrible end to all who live in the holy Land.

On the Day of the Lord’s sacrifice, He will stretch His hand over Judah, [the State of Israel] and over all who live in Jerusalem. He will wipe out from that Land all traces of idol worship, all those who have turned their backs to Him and have neither sought the Lord nor acknowledged Him. The Lord will punish their leaders and rabbis, all those who are ruined by complacency and all who commit crimes of violence and fraud. There will be a great noise as the Land is devastated, even the birds and fish will be gone and the whole earth will be affected by the fire of His judgement.

Humble yourselves, you shameful nation before you disappear like burning chaff, before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you. Seek the Lord all you dwellers in the Land, seek righteousness, seek humility and it may be that you will find shelter on the Day of the Lord’s wrath.

Gaza and all the cities of the Palestinians will be deserted and become a waste, at noon day, they will all be laid in ruins, bereft of inhabitants. Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Arabia will become like Sodom, a deserted wasteland and those of My people who survive - the remnant of My nation, will take over those lands. [Of all the 12 tribes of Israel, plus those grafted in.] You Cushites too, [African peoples] will be slain by the Lord. This will be a retribution for their arrogance, for they have insulted the Lord’s people and encroached on their Land. The Lord will bring terror upon them and will discredit their religion. [Islam] Then the people of the coast and islands, [the Western nations] will worship the Lord, each in their own country.

Woe to Judah, they heeded no warning, took no rebuke to heart and never put their trust in the Lord. Her leaders are like roaring lions, her rabbis have falsified the Law, but the Lord in their midst dispenses justice to them. Twice now, [using Babylon and Rome, the third ‘swing of the sword’ to come; Ezekiel 21:14] He has destroyed their cities and exiled them, so He thought: surely now they will fear Me and take My instruction to heart. But they have hastened all the more to do evil and go their own sinful way.

Therefore wait for the Day when the Lord stands up and accuses them! He will pour His fiery wrath upon them and the earth will be enveloped by the flames of His wrath. On that Day, the Lord will rid the Land of all the proud and arrogant peoples, only a remnant of poor and lowly people will be left, a righteous people will live there in peace and safety. Psalms 37:29

Then: be glad all you who trust in the Lord, He has swept away all your foes, the Lord your God will be with you. He will rescue the lost and gather the dispersed and bring them home, they will be envied by all the other peoples of the earth. It is the Lord who will do all this.
Revised English Bible; abridged and paraphrased

eclipsenow said:

Except that it's mostly not

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eclipsenow said:

Zephaniah 1:2-2:3. Warnings about the "day of the Lord"

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Rather confused aren't you?

Zechariah's narrative plainly reads about events yet to happen.
Statements like: Gaza and Ashkelon will become deserted at noon day....,
are plainly worded and very specific.
It is sheer wishful thinking to believe that won't happen just as described.
Especially as we can see now; why the Lord will do it.

eclipsenow said:

You still haven't said what you are going to do if you are WRONG!

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Will what the Bible prophets have said, be wrong?
Have they just given us a load of indecipherable fiction?

No; what they have told us is the truth of what God plans to, starting quite soon. He will reset our civilization to a similar degree as He did in the days of Noah. This time by fire.

The question is more: How are you and all who fail to read and understand the Prophetic Word, going to react when suddenly the sun will flash and then darken as a massive CME approaches the earth.

From what little information is available on Coronal Mass Ejections, It seems that initially a powerful light flash will be seen on earth. Isaiah 30:26 The electro-magnetic effect of this causes earthquakes and electrical system meltdown, then the main mass of super heated, highly charged hydrogen plasma arrives 18-36 hours later. This plasma affects the earth for one day, as it rotates, depending on the size of the ejection. Then the CME carries on into outer space. These Bible prophecies tell of that period between the light flash and the main strike:

Jeremiah 6:24-26 News of them [the coming disaster] has reached us and our hands hang limp, agony grips us, like a woman in labor. Do not go outside for terror is spread all around. In an instant, the despoiler is upon us.

Jeremiah 30:6-7 Every man grips his sides and every face turns pale. How awful is that Day. It is a time of trouble for the descendants of Jacob, but some will be rescued out of it.

Ezekiel 7:17 Every hand hangs limp, fright will cause their knees to be wet with urine.

Ezekiel 21:5-7a All shall know that I, the Lord has drawn My sword.... groan bitterly until you collapse. All hearts will melt, all hands hang limp, all courage will fail.

Zephaniah 3:14-16 Zion: cry out for joy – the Lord has swept away your enemies. On that Day, this is the message for Jerusalem; fear not, let not your hands hang limp.

Signs in the heavens just before the Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath;

Joel 2:31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and terrible Day of the Lord. Luke 21:26

Acts 2:19-20 I will show wonders in the sky and signs on the earth; blood, fire and smoke. The sun will be darkened and the moon blood red, before the Great Day of the Lord.

Isaiah 13:9-13 The Day of the Lord is coming, that cruel Day of wrath and fierce anger, to reduce the earth to a desolation and to destroy all the wicked there. The sun, moon and stars will give no light. Humans will become scarce, as rare as fine gold and the earth will quake at the wrath of God on the Day of His blazing anger. Ezekiel 21:7b, Isaiah 30:26-28

But as we know from Zephaniah 2:4, this sudden and shocking event will take place at mid day ME time. Therefore, we who live in the antipodes will be be in nighttime when it happens. We will hear the loud sound of the initial strike; Jeremiah 25:30-31, Isaiah 29:6, but won't feel the effects until the earth rotates to face the sun.

Lost4words said:

Keras, my friend. Its not what the old testament prophets etc have written that will be wrong but;

YOUR INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THEY ARE WRITING ABOUT!

God bless you

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We agree; the Prophesies are correct and will happen as Written.
Please show me where I have misinterpreted them.

eclipsenow said:

Your words are not the bible's words
No one else reads it the way you do
Get it?

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You know as well as I do that the ancient Prophets had to describe what the Lord showed them, in the words of their quite primitive language.
We have the advantage of a much wider lexicon and of modern scientific knowledge.
What I do is to show how prophesies describe things which we now know to be possible/probable physical events.

That this way of looking at the Prophesies conflicts with the beliefs of those who rather like a non-literal interpretation, is not my concern.

eclipsenow said:

We already have - you just refuse to budge!
EG: Isaiah's BLESSING of the land being 7 times brighter is attested to by commentaries and context of the lush green land around those verses. You dismiss both.

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I totally refuse to even consider the preterist view.

The sun suddenly becoming seven times brighter, would turn the holy Land into a burned over and uninhabited area.
Just as the Prophets tell us: Isaiah 10:25, Jeremiah 7:34, Joel 1:15-20, Jeremiah 22:6-7, Hosea 4:3, Zephaniah 1:18, +

eclipsenow said:

This is unbelievably patronising and almost racist.
The Hebrew writing culture has a rich and well known heritage of vivid imagery for things like locust plagues, war, God's judgement on surrounding nations, etc.

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It is well known the Ancient Hebrew was a language with a paucity of words. A lot of it must be inferred and guessed at.
Their use of metaphors and allegories reflects this.

eclipsenow said:

Again, unbelievably patronising to the Hebrew prophets who knew PERFECTLY WELL what they were writing about and WHY they were writing it the way they were writing it.

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That they did NOT know what they were told to write and wondered when their prophesies would happen is proved by how Jeremiah 20:7-18 said he had been duped and Ezekiel 12:27 is told it was all for a time far off. They had no idea of how or when the Lord would fulfil them.

eclipsenow said:

Then you turn around and get all high and mighty and condemn the Bible Project videos when the guy writing that series has a Phd in Hebrew imagery!?

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Jesus said the truths of prophecy would be hidden from the wise and learned. Matthew 11:25-26 and again in 1 Corinthians 1:19-29, they would be made foolish. Which is quite evident is those lowbrow videos

My website will be gone, as after the Lord's Day of fiery wrath, there will be no internet. But the articles I have written on the Prophetic Word will remain as a vindication for the Prophets and for me as their messenger.

Lost4words said:

Ask another 'expert' about said scriptures and they will give you a totally different meaning to them!

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Why don't you have something useful to say?
What is the meaning of Isaiah 30:26, for example?

Lost4words said:

I am no 'expert' like you my friend.

But, looking at your interpretations of said scriptures, i fail to see the impending doom and gloom you predict! I dont see it as future events.

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What then; do you see in our future? Just more of the same?
Or maybe we should actually look at what the Lord has informed us about His plans for our future?

eclipsenow said:

I stopped reading at that sentence. You wasted the rest of your post.
Calling me Preterist only shows how theologically ignorant you are.
Why bother discussing advanced stuff with you when you can't get Preterist right?

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I never called you a preterist, I know your stance of Partial Preterism.
However; in the thread of Douggg's about the End Time sequence, you say nothing will happen from now until Jesus Returns.
That is preterism as I see it, as you also reject the Millennium.
It is only total wacko's who deny the Return of Jesus.

As for 'wasting my post', I do not post for your benefit, as I know you won't change, but for the benefit of the many onlookers here.

And; of course, you have no leg to stand on, as the prophesies I posted prove the devastation of the holy Land and the destruction of our modern infrastructure by a massive CME sunstrike. Isaiah 66:15-17, Malachi 4:1-3, 2 Peter 3:7