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“The Great And Awesome Day Of Yehovah” (the ‘Lord’)
144,000 Redeemed Isaiah 63:4 Revelation 14:1-4
Chapter 11, Part 2 Preview: “The Great and Awesome Day of Yehovah” (Jehovah) (Joel 2:31) is one of the most detailed topics in the entire Bible! Other than perhaps the return of the 12 tribes to Israel, nothing else comes close in terms of the sheer volume of passages devoted to it. Huge segments of the Major and Minor Prophets are devoted to it; most of the parables of Yeshua (Jesus) directly pertain to this time. The entire book of Revelation is focused on it. The emphasis that Elohim (God) placed on this event, along with the sheer VOLUME of passages, silently SCREAMS for understanding. Find out what this “day” is all about now, before it’s too late—don’t learn the hard way!
(Sequel to: The Time After Jacob’s Trouble)
Yehovah will have created three Worlds before His Kingdom becomes the “everlasting dominion” that Daniel spoke of.
World #1 was created for the Messengers (angels) but later “The earth had become a desolate wasteland and abandoned”) by Satan and his angels (Genesis 1:2). Very little is known about the first world, but we do know that “The spirit Messengers who disregarded their prime directive, and abandoned their assigned place, He has reserved in the perpetual bond of darkness, for the great Judgment Day” (Jude 6).
World #2 is the reconstructed planet, following an apparent first Satanic cataclysmic war with Yehovah, (the one in Isaiah 14 is yet future). This world began with Adam and Eve in Eden, as is described in Genesis 1, but “... the previous world was covered again [with water] and destroyed” (2 Peter 3:6).
World #3 is “this evil world” (Galatians 1:4) that Noah and his family lived into. They experienced two worlds!
World #4 is the New Earth (Isaiah Chapters 65 and 66), it will also have survivors live into it from this world, following the great fire of The Day of Yehovah. While the survival figures are dismal, they are far more than the eight on the ark were.
Matthew 24:38-39 Just like before the flood, people were eating and drinking, taking wives and giving them to husbands right up until the day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were clueless until the flood came and swept them all away. That’s how it will be at the advent of the Human Son. —The Gabriel Version
Isaiah 65 is possibly the most dramatic, most all inclusive, end time transitional chapter in the Bible. It starts out portraying Israel as a Satanic society, it moves to Yehovah intervening in world affairs, and then crosses over the divide into the New Millennium, where there is a New Heaven, a New Earth, and a New Jerusalem. Children are born there and it ends with one of the most memorable of all verses concerning the Everlasting Kingdom. “Wolves and lambs will feed together, and lions will eat straw like oxen....” (v.25).
[Free E-books about the U.S. and Britain and Israel in prophecy can be found on this link.]
Isaiah 66 is another dramatic end time chapter. This chapter also shows us that after the Day of Yehovah we will need to have a New Heaven and a New Earth.
Isaiah 66:15-16,19-21 Yehovah will come with fire... 16 Yehovah will execute judgment by fire and with His sword on all ‘humanity’, and many will be slain by Yehovah. ... 19 I’ll set up a sign among them and send some survivors to the nations—to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Meshech, RoshTubal, Javan, to the distant islands who haven’t heard of My fame or seen My splendor. They’ll announce My splendor among the nations. 20 They’ll bring all of your relatives from all the nations as an offering to Yehovah, on horses, and on chariots, and on litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to My kadosh mountain Jerusalem, declares Yehovah, like the Israelites bring their offering in a ceremonially clean vessel into Yehovah’s ‘Temple’. 21 And I’ll also appoint some of them to be priests and Levites [Ezekiel 44:6-15], says Yehovah.
These verses establish the Second Exodus context and there is no justification, here or elsewhere, for moving the New Earth verses (vs.22-24) to after the millennium.
Isaiah 66:22-24 As the New Heavens and the New Earth that I’ll make will endure in My presence”, declares Yehovah, “So will your descendants and your name will also endure. 23 In the future, from one New Moon to the next New Moon, and from one Sabbath to the next Sabbath, all of humanity will come to worship before Me”, declares Yehovah. 24 They’ll go out and look at the carcases of the people who have revolted against Me, because the maggots devouring them won’t die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they’ll be abhorrent to everyone” [1].
[1] Unfortunately, there will be a steady stream of wicked people being thrown into the fire every ‘moonth’, all thru the time of the “New Heavens and the New Earth”, keeping the maggots fed.
Lets have a closer look at Zechariah 14, a strictly “Day of Yehovah” chapter.
Zechariah 14:1-11 The Day of Yehovah is coming, [and when it does] then your possessions will be distributed right in front of you! 2 I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem, and the city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half of the residents will go into exile, but the rest of the people won’t be cut off from the city. 3 Then Yehovah [the Son] will go out and wage war against those nations, as He previously fought in battle. 4 And in that day His [Yeshua’s (Jesus’)] feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. [This is not the Great Tribulation period, rather it is stated to be “The Day of Yehovah” this is after the wise have fled.] And the Mount of Olives will be split in two, from east to west, forming a very large valley, [Yehovah is on Mt. Zion, Isaiah 10:12] so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south. 5 You’ll flee by My mountain valley, because My mountain valley will reach to Azel. Yes, you’ll flee just like you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Yehovah my Elohim will come, and all of the kadosh ones with Him. 6 On that day there won’t be light, cold or frost. 7 It will be the unique day that Yehovah makes Himself known {niphal}, neither day or night, but then when evening comes it will still be light. 8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the eastern sea, and half toward the western sea, continuously in summer and winter. 9 Yehovah will be King over all the earth. When that day comes it will be Yehovah alone, and His name alone. 10 All the land from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah, but Jerusalem will be elevated, from Benjamin’s gate to the site of the first gate, to the Corner gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 People will live there, and there will no longer be a curse, but Jerusalem will be safely inhabited.
Contrast this flight account to Matthew 24, that clearly differentiates between the events of the first time period: “Pray that your flight won’t be during foul weather or on the Sabbath. 21 There will be Great Tribulation then, such as has never occurred from the beginning of the world until now, and will by no means ever happen again.” (vs.20-21). And the second time period: “Immediately after the time of Tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon won’t shed her light. ...” (v.29).
Zechariah’s account is of Yeshua conquering Jerusalem. Matthew’s account tells us about the Abomination of Desolation conquering Jerusalem for 1,260 days, necessitating our literal salvation (being salvaged). Daniel 11:41 also mentions this Abominator entering “the Splendid Land”.
Ezekiel Chapters 40-48 will be of particular interest to the Levites who will, yes, still offer animal ze’bakim [sacrifices], but will also be made human judges immediately after the Day of Yehovah. Every event in these chapters particularly pertains to these men who are then made priests.
Ezekiel 44:22-24 They won’t marry widows or women who have been divorced, they’ll only marry virgins descended from the ‘nation’ of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest. 23 They’ll teach My people the difference between kadosh things and what is common, and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean. 24 In a dispute the priests will serve as judges, and they’ll adjudicate according to My ordinances. They’ll obey My Torah, and My statutes concerning My appointed Feasts, and they’ll announce My Sabbaths.
It is in this context, concerning the immediate aftermath of the Day of Yehovah, that we again see waters that heal coming from Jerusalem.
The timing of these events is unmistakable.
Ezekiel 47:1,5,8-9,12 Then he brought me back to the door of the Temple, and there was water flowing out from under the threshold of the Temple toward the east, (the Temple faced east) and the water came down from below the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. ... 5 Afterward he measured another thousand, and it was a river that I couldn’t wade cross, because the water had risen, water deep enough to swim in but too deep to walk thru. ... 8 Then he told me, “This water flows toward the eastern region, and down into the Arabah, and into the Dead Sea. Once it flows into the Dead Sea the water ‘becomes fresh’. 9 In the future, swarms of living creatures will live everywhere the river goes, including very many fish, because wherever this water goes it makes sea water fresh. Everything is brought to life where the river flows. ... 12 On the river banks, along both sides, every kind of crop bearing tree will grow. The leaves won’t wither, or fail to produce fruit, they will produce a new crop every lunation, because of the water that flows from the Temple. The fruit will be for food, and the leaves will be used for healing.
You may recall that Revelation 22:1-3 thoroly describes this river! Revelation 21 and 22 describes the New Heaven, the New Earth, the New Jerusalem and the new “river of water of life”.
Ezekiel 43:7 He said, “Human son, this is the place where My throne is and the place for the soles of My feet, where I will live among the Israelites forever. The nation of Israel will no longer defile My kadosh name, neither they, or their kings, by their prostitution, or with the dead bodies of their kings in their high places of worship,
The priests in the New Jerusalem will be the actual descendants of the sons of Zadok.
Ezekiel 48:10-12 This allotment will be kadosh to the priests, on the north side twenty-five thousand cubits in length, and on the west ten thousand cubits in breadth, and on the east ten thousand cubits in breadth, and on the south twenty-five thousand cubits in length, and the Temple of Yehovah will be in the middle of it. 11 It will be for the kadosh priests, the descendants of Zadok who have obeyed My instructions, who didn’t go astray when the Israelites went astray, as the Levites did. 12 It will be their special allotment from the kadosh allotment of the land, the most kadosh part, next to the territory of the Levites.
The end of human rule is near.
When we enter the seven year period, after the beast signs an ominous contract in Jerusalem, there will be no excuse for the wise not to understand the timetable.
Daniel 9:27 He [the desolator] will make a firm contract [covenant] with many for one period of seven. Then in the middle of the period of seven he’ll stop the zebakim and the offerings. The desolator will introduce abominations [or idols] thru a wing of the Temple [[JFB commentary], until the predetermined end time, when wrath will be poured out on the awestruck.’”
So now we’re ready for the fall Feast/Festival Days, beginning with the first day of the seventh month.
There are four verses that mention both “first day” and “seventh month” in the Bible. The first two references give us no clue what is being commemorated:
Leviticus 23:24-25 “Say to the Israelites, “In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you are to have a Sabbath public assembly, commemorated by blowing shofars, a kadosh public assembly. 25 You must not do any regular work, but you must present an offering made by fire to Yehovah.” (also see Numbers 29:1)
If the third and fourth references are clues as to what happens on 7/1, and it just so happens that in both instances it is talking about a time after ‘an exodus’ and a restoration in the Promised Land, then we might conclude that this is a prototype of something much larger yet to happen. After all, in Ezra we’re talking about Yeshua and Zerubabbel, types of the Two Witnesses (comparing the two olive tree symbolisms of Zechariah 4 with Revelation 11.)
Ezra 3:1-2,6-8 When the seventh month came, and the people of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. 2 Then Yeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brothers, got up and built the altar of the Elohim of Israel, to offer burnt ze’bakim [sacrifices] on, as instructed in the Torah of Moses, the man of Elohim. ... 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt zebakim to Yehovah, but the foundation of the ‘Temple’ of Yehovah wasn’t laid yet. ... 8 Now in the second year of their coming to the house of Elohim in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Yeshua the son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers the priests and the Levites, and everyone who returned from the captivity to Jerusalem began the work. They began by appointing Levites, from twenty years of age and older, to supervise the work on Yehovah’s ‘Temple’.
Nehemiah 8:1-3,8-9 All the people gathered as one man into the broad square in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the Torah of Moses, that Yehovah had commanded Israel to obey. 2 On the first day of the seventh month [The Feast of Trumpets], Ezra the priest brought the Torah before the entire assembly, the men and women, and any children who could understand what was said. 3 He read in the square in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women, and children who could understand. All the people ‘listened’ attentively to the book of the Torah. ... 8 They read from the book of the Torah of Elohim, and then explained it, so that they could understand what was read. 9 Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, “Today is kadosh to Yehovah your Elohim, don’t mourn, or cry. Because all the people were crying as they heard the reading of the Torah.
But the best part about the Festival of Trumpets is the trumpets (shofars). The final trumpet blast will awaken the dead from their graves!
1 Corinthians 15:51-55 See, I’ll explain a mystery to you, we won’t all die, but we’ll all be transformed! 52 In the smallest possible fraction of a second [Gr. atomos], while the last [seventh] shofar is sounding, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be transformed! 53 This perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and this mortal must be clothed with immortality. 54 So when this perishable is clothed with the imperishable, and this mortal is clothed with immortality, THAT IS WHEN the written Word will be accomplished: “Death is devoured in victory. 55 O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?”
You couldn’t do much better than to read Ron Darts explanation of the Feast of Trumpets!
An interesting thing about the “great multitude” or “enormous crowd” is that in the Greek translation it shows that they are still coming out of the Great Tribulation as they gather before the throne! That all by itself would preclude them from being part of the instantaneous resurrection! They are still arriving before the throne from the north, south, east & west for initiation! Everyone assumes that they have all died, but none of them have, they are still being rounded up!
Revelation 7:4,9-17 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000, sealed from every tribe of Israel: ... 9 After this I saw an enormous crowd of people that no one could count, from every people, nation, tribe and language. They were standing in front of the throne and the Lamb, wearing white robes, and they were holding palms in their hands. 10 They were shouting, “Eternal Life to Yehovah, to the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!” 11 All the messengers stood around the throne with the Elders and the four living beings, and they bowed face down in front of His throne and worshiped Yehovah, 12 and said, “Aw-main. Blessing and praise and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to Yehovah forever and ever, Aw-main.’”
13 Then One of the Elders turned and asked me, “Who are these people wearing white robes, and where do they come from?” 14 I said, “Friend, you know”. He replied, “These are the ones who are coming out [1] of the Great Tribulation. They’ve washed their clothes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 That’s why they are in front of the throne of Yehovah, serving Him day and night in His Temple. [2] And the One seated on the throne will ‘protect them under His shadow’ [Ar. nageen alihun, ‘shadow over them’]. 16 They won’t hunger or thirst any more, nor will they be ‘overcome’ by the sun or burning heat, 17 because the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will feed them and lead them to springs of living water, and Yehovah will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
[1] “The verb form in the Greek for ‘come’ is in the present participle.” This being an ongoing process is a paradigm buster!
[2] Ezekiel chapters 40-48 are all about the temple services during the Everlasting Kingdom, tho people don’t want to hear that. Ezekiel 47 is clearly the same time period as Revelation 21-22. The Levites, other than descendants of Zadok, are disqualified from serving in the future temple (Ezekiel 44:10-16.) Perhaps the 144,000 will take their place.
The 144,000 is a finite number. They are all present and accounted for. While the great multitude are still in the process of “coming out of The Great Tribulation” or “second exodusing”, their numbers are steadily growing (making them even more difficult to count), while the number 144,000 remains constant. They are, after all, firstfruits, the first to do something. The great multitude are also specifically excluded from singing the new song, another reason not to lump them together. But there are two differences between the two groups in verse 5:
Revelation 14:3-5 They were singing a new song in front of the throne and the four living Beings and Elders. No one was able to learn that song except for the 144,000 who were purchased [redeemed] from the earth. 4 They are the ones who haven’t defiled themselves with women, they are spiritual virgins. They are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Yeshua has purchased them from humanity, the firstfruits of Yehovah and the Lamb. 5 They never ‘told’ lies because they are as morally unblemished as Passover lambs.
With “purchased from the earth” in mind, consider Revelation 12 to further differentiate the two groups:
Revelation 12:14-17 The woman was given the two wings of a huge eagle so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place of habitation, where she would be nourished for a time, times, and half a time, from the ‘presence’ of the serpent. 15 The Dragon spewed water from his mouth like a river toward the woman, attempting to sweep her away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman. It opened its mouth and swallowed the flood that the Dragon had spewed from his mouth. 17 The Dragon was furiously angry with the woman, and he went off to make war with the rest of her offspring, those who obey the Commandments of Yehovah [TORAH] AND have THE TESTIMONY OF YESHUA.
So one group is protected for the entire three and a half years of Tribulation (Revelation 3:10), while the other group endures most of it until “coming out of the Great Tribulation” toward the end.
Isaiah also spoke of the time when His people wouldn’t hunger or thirst or be scorched by the sun and burning heat:
Isaiah 49:10-13 They won’t hunger or thirst, nor will the heat or sun beat down on them, because the One who has mercy on them will lead them. He’ll guide them to springs of water. 11 I’ll make all My mountains traversable, and My highways in the valleys will be elevated. 12 They will come from far away! They will come from the north and from the west, and they will come from Australia. 13 Shout for joy, you heavens, and earth rejoice, and break out into singing, you mountains, because Yehovah has comforted His people, and will have compassion on His meek and afflicted.
The sea of glass is in front of the throne. Later we’ll see that this is where the gathering of the 144,000 and the enormous crowd will take place:
Revelation 4:5-6 Lightning flashes and rumbling thunder came from the throne. Seven flaming menorahs were burning in front of the throne. These are the seven spirits of Yehovah. 6 In front of the throne it looked like a sea of glass that sparkled like crystal. In the center near the throne and around the sides were four living beings ‘covered’ with eyes in front and behind.
In chapter 15, after the Great Tribulation is over, and just as Yehovah’s wrath is about to begin, the great multitude, as the KJV puts it, are on “the sea of glass”. They have “been victorious over the ravenous beast”, and they understand, by first hand experience what the song of Moses is all about:
Revelation 15: Then I saw another ‘spectacular’ and amazing sign in the sky. Seven messengers with the seven last plagues [heavy afflictions]. With these Yehovah’s rage is finished. 2 I saw a sea of glass [1] that seemed to be ‘ablaze’ with flames, and those who had been victorious over the predatory beast and over his icon [Gr. eikon] and over the number of his name were standing on the sea of glass, and they had the harps of Yehovah. 3 They were singing the song of Moses the servant of Yehovah, and the song of the Lamb: “Your deeds are spectacular and marvelous, Master Yehovah the Sovereign. Your ways are just and true, O King of the ages. 4 Who won’t fear you Master, and praise Your name, since You alone are kadosh and just. Every nation will come and worship in Your presence, because Your righteous acts have been revealed.” 5 After this I looked and the Temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in the sky was opened. 6 The seven messengers who had the seven plagues came out of the Temple wearing clean ‘bright’ linen and wearing vests around their chests with gold ‘thread’ [Exodus 39:2-3]. 7 One of the four living Beings gave the seven messengers seven gold bowls full of the rage of Yehovah, who lives forever and ever. 8 The Temple was filled with smoke from the magnificence of Yehovah and from His power, and no one could enter the Temple until the seven plagues of the seven messengers were finished.
[1] The “SEA of GLASS”, described as “like crystal” in Revelation 4:6, is the same as the “icy crystal” “firmament” (“vault of heaven supporting WATERS above”) of Ezekiel 1:22.
(The Song of Moses is found in Deuteronomy 32:1-43. “The song exhibits striking originality of form; nowhere else in the Old Testament are prophetic thoughts presented in poetical dress on so large a scale. The [song] opens with an [introduction] (verses 1-3) in which heaven and earth are summoned to hear what the poet is to utter. In verses 4-6 the theme is defined: it is the rectitude and faithfulness of Yhwh toward His corrupt and faithless people. Verses 7-14 portray the providence which conducted Israel in safety through the wilderness and gave it a rich and fertile land; verses 15-18 are devoted to Israel’s unfaithfulness and lapse into idolatry. This lapse had compelled Yhwh to threaten it (verses 19-27) with national disaster and almost with national extinction. Verses 28-43 describe how Yhwh has determined to speak to the Israelites through the extremity of their need, to lead them to a better mind, and to grant them victory over their foes. In a Torah scroll the song is written with a special layout, in two parallel columns.” The last line says, “Celebrate, you nations, with His people, because He’ll avenge the blood of His servants. He’ll render vengeance to His adversaries, and will make atonement for His land, for His people”.)
The gathering of all the other survivors of the Great Tribulation who are of the twelve tribes of Israel will be carried out by Messengers (angels) before He returns, tho “He is near the door!”
Matthew 24:29-34 Immediately after the time of Tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon won’t shed her light and stars will fall from the sky, and the inherent power of the skies will be shaken. 30 Then the miraculous sign of the Human Son will be seen in the sky, and then all the nations on earth will mourn when they see the Human Son coming on the clouds in the sky with great power and splendor. 31 Then He’ll send out His spirit messengers with a loud shofar blast and they’ll gather together His selected people from the four winds [north, south, east and west], from one farthermost bound of the horizon [heaven] to the other. 32 Learn from an analogy about the fig tree. As soon as its branches become tender and it produces leaves, you know that summer is imminent. 33 Similarly, when you actually see all of these things, you know that He is near the door! 34 It is certain that the Israelite nation [Ar. Sharebtha: tribe, people, nation] will not disappear before all these things have taken place.
Isaiah 27:12-13 On that day, Yehovah will thresh [harvest] from the Euphrates river valley to the Nile * of Egypt. You Israelites will be gleaned one by one. 13 Also during that day the great shofar will sound, and those who were dying in the land of Assyria and those who were banished to the land of Egypt will come and worship Yehovah on the Kadosh Mountain in Jerusalem.
This is the second identifiable instance of the Great Shofar being blown since it was blown at Mount Sinai, as it would appear that this shofar is the same one described as “exceedingly loud” in Exodus 19:16. It isn’t anything like an ordinary shofar.
These people are “coming out of the Great Tribulation” to populate the New Israel! There will be far too many millions of them for Yeshua to greet personally that day.
However the gathering of those who are resurrected or instantly turned from living people into spirit beings is carried out by Yeshua personally! People call this “the rapture”, tho they think they’re going far higher than the atmosphere. The Bible calls it “the resurrection”. It will be a much smaller number of people. This time, at this second gathering, Yeshua will personally return. He is not simply at the door, and He won’t arrive in any secret mode, rather He’ll be ‘trumpeting’ His great shofar!
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Our Master will ‘personally’ come down from Heaven with a mandate, and with a voice like the chief messenger and with Yehovah’s shofar, and the dead who ‘belong to’ the Messiah will rise first! 17 Then, we who are still alive, having survived, will be carried away together with them into the clouds to meet our Master in the expanse. And we will be with our Master forever.
Within the text about the 7th shofar is another reason to believe that New Jerusalem is within actual view!
Revelation 11:15-19 The seventh messenger blew his shofar, and there were voices [the Greek adds “in heaven”] and thunder that said, “The kingdoms of the world have become the kingdom of Yehovah and of His Messiah, and They will reign forever and ever.” 16 The twenty-four Elders who are in the presence of Yehovah’s throne who sit on their own thrones fell face down and worshiped Yehovah, 17 and said, “We praise you, Yehovah Aloha the Sovereign, who is, and was, because You’ve assumed Your great power and have begun to reign. 18 The nations were angry, but Your anger has come, and it’s time for the dead to be judged, and for You to compensate Your servants the prophets, and the kadishea and those who fear Your name, both small and great, and to destroy those who have destroyed the earth. 19 The Temple of Yehovah in the sky was opened, and the ark of His covenant was visible inside His Temple. There was lightning and thunder and voices, an earthquake and huge hail.
This all takes place during year 6,000.
Heavenly Signs of the End
We see at the “second coming” that there will be a great earthquake, and simultaneously there will be an amazing cosmic disturbance:
Zechariah 14:1,5-7 The Day of Yehovah is coming, [and when it does] then your possessions will be distributed right in front of you!... 5 You’ll flee by My mountain valley, because My mountain valley will reach to Azel. Yes, you’ll flee just like you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Yehovah my Elohim will come, and all of the kadosh ones with Him. 6 On that day there won’t be light, cold or frost. 7 It will be the unique day that Yehovah makes Himself known {niphal}, neither day or night, but then when evening comes it will still be light.
Matthew also mentions the same cosmic events in connection with Yeshua’s return:
Matthew 24:29-31 Immediately after the time of Tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon won’t shed her light and stars will fall from the sky, and the inherent power of the skies will be shaken. 30 Then the miraculous sign of the Human Son will be seen in the sky, and then all the nations on earth will mourn when they see the Human Son coming on the clouds in the sky with great power and splendor. 31 Then He’ll send out His spirit messengers with a loud shofar blast and they’ll gather together His selected people from the four winds [north, south, east and west], from one farthermost bound of the horizon [‘heaven’] to the other.
John associates the same cosmic signs with an enormous earthquake that shakes the entire earth. He terms it the sixth seal, so that we can see a progressive series of events:
Revelation 6:12-14 I watched as He broke open the sixth seal, and there was a huge earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of hair, and the moon turned blood red. 13 Asteroids [Gr. aster] from the heavens fell to the earth like unripe figs falling from a fig tree when it is shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky recoiled like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was ‘shaken’ out of place.
This appears to be another development of the same sun/moon event, only by now the heavenly lights are only partially obscured:
Revelation 8:8-12 The second messenger blew his shofar, and something resembling a huge fiery mountain plunged into the sea, and a third of the sea turned into blood. 9 A third of all the creatures living in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed. 10 The third messenger blew his shofar, and an asteroid [Gr. aster] fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the ‘artesian’ springs. 11 The name of the asteroid is Wormwood, and a third of the water became polluted with wormwood. Many people died from the water because it had turned bitter. 12 The fourth messenger blew his shofar, and a third of the sun turned dark, as did a third of the moon and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened and a third of the day turned dark, as did the night.
If repetition is for emphasis then look at this. All of these sun/moon references concern a unique day on earth. Since this only happens once, we can tie all of the pertinent prophecies together. It’s sort of a code word!
Isaiah 13:9-10 The Day of Yehovah is coming—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation, and to destroy all the sinners within it. 10 The stars in the sky and their constellations will no longer shine. The sun will be darken when it rises, and the moon won’t reflect its light.
Isaiah 24 has to be the most chilling chapter in the Scriptures. There will be few survivors. Were it not for the sun/moon reference, a person could think that this is the end—rather than a new beginning.
Isaiah 24:1-6,19 1 Yehovah is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it, distort its surface and scatter its inhabitants! 2 It will be the same for priest as with other people, servants like masters, mistresses like maids, buyers like sellers, lenders like borrowers, creditors like debtors. 3 The earth will be completely emptied and completely spoiled, because Yehovah has spoken this ‘message’. 4 The earth mourns and withers. The world decays and fades away. The exalted people of the earth will become feeble. 5 The earth is polluted by its inhabitants, because they transgressed the Torah, violated the statutes, and broke the everlasting covenant. 6 So a curse devours the earth, and those who live there are found guilty. The earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and few people survive. ... 19 The earth is broken up. The earth is split apart. The earth is shaken violently.
Isaiah 24:19-23 The earth is broken up. The earth is split apart. The earth is shaken violently. 20 The earth will reel like a drunkard, and will sway back and forth like a portable shelter. Its rebelion weighs heavy on it. It [rebellion] will fall and never rise again [1]. 21 When that day comes Yehovah will punish the army of angels in the heavenly heights, and the kings of the earth on the earth. 22 They’ll be rounded up like prisoners in a dungeon. They be confined in the prison, and after many days they’ll be punished. 23 Then the moon will be humiliated, and the sun ashamed, because Yehovah the Commander will reign on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, in splendor before His elders.
[1] There is an attempted coup after a thousand years (Revelation 20:7-10), but it will fail.
Isaiah 30:25-27 There will be brooks and streams of water on every lofty mountain and on every high hill in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall [earthquake]. 26 The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day when Yehovah binds up the fracture of His people, and heals the wounds He inflicted. 27 Look, the name of Yehovah comes from far away, with burning anger amid thick rising smoke. His lips are filled with fury, and His tongue is like a devouring fire.
Isaiah 60:18-22 Violence will no longer be heard of in your land, nor desolation and destruction within your borders, but you’ll call your walls Deliverance, and your gates Praise. 19 The sun will no longer be your light during the day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, because Yehovah will your everlasting light, and your Elohim your splendor. 20 Your sun will never set again, and will your moon will no longer wane, because you will have Yehovah as your everlasting light, and your days of mourning will be over. 21 Your people will all be righteous, they’ll inherit the land forever, a shoot that I planted, the work of My hands, to bring about My splendor. 22 The least of you will become a thousand, and the smallest one a mighty nation. I, Yehovah, will will do it quickly when it’s time.
Ezekiel 32:7-8 When I extinguish you, I’ll cover the heavens, and darken the stars. I’ll cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon won’t shine. 8 I’ll darken all the bright lights in the sky above you, and bring darkness on your land, declares the Sovereign Yehovah.
Joel 2:10-11 The earth quakes before them. The heavens tremble. The sun and the moon turn dark, and the stars no longer shine. [Revelation 6:12]. 11 Yehovah’s voice ‘thunders’ before His army, because His forces are extremely large. Those who obey His commands are powerful. The Day of Yehovah is great and very dreadful. Who can endure it?
But if you keep reading we get to the new beginning part:
Joel 2:18-19,25-32 Then Yehovah will be zealous for His land, and have pity on His people. 19 Yehovah will say to His people, “I’ll send you grain and new wine and oil, you’ll have an abundance! I won’t allow you to be ridiculed by the nations any longer.’ ... 25 I’ll make up for the years eaten by the swarming locusts, the great locusts, the grasshoppers, and the caterpillars, My great army that I sent ‘against’ you. 26 You’ll have plenty to eat, and be satisfied, and you’ll praise the name of Yehovah, your Elohim, who has done ‘miracles’ for you you, and My people will never be disappointed again. 27 You’ll know that I’m ‘among you’ in Israel, and that I am Yehovah, your Elohim, and that there is no other, and My people will never be disappointed again. 28 AFTERWARD [after the Great Tribulation] I will pour out My spirit on “all flesh”. Your sons and daughters will prophecy and your old men will dream prophetic dreams, your young men will see prophetic visions. 29 I’ll even pour out My spirit on servants and maidservant.s in those days, 30 I’ll show wonderful signs in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will become dark, and the moon will become blood red in the presence of [2] the great and awesome Day of Yehovah coming to pass. 32 And everyone who calls on the name of Yehovah will be rescued, because on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, there will be a way of escape [rootword, refugees], as Yehovah has said, for the survivors who Yehovah has invited [called].
[2] Paw-neem’ usually means “before”, but the most literal meaning is “in the presence” (or face) of. The timing is clarified in Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the time of Tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon won’t shed her light and stars will fall from the sky [See footnote on Isaiah 34:4], and the inherent power of the skies will be shaken.
Joel 3:14-18 Multitudes, multitudes in the Valley of Threshing [Jehoshaphat: Gills]! The Day of Yehovah is near in the Valley of Threshing. 15 The sun and the moon will be darkened, and the star light will be taken away. 16 Yehovah will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem, and the sky and the earth will quake, but Yehovah will be a refuge for His people, and a means of safety for the ‘nation’ of Israel. 17 Then you’ll know that I am Yehovah your Elohim, living in Zion, My kadosh mountain. Then Jerusalem will be kadosh, and no foreigners will ever invade her again. 18 In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will run with water. A spring will flow from Yehovah’s ‘Temple’, and water the Valley of Acacia.
The conquest of earth takes place immediately after the seven Messengers have blown their shofars. Exactly half a year after the Day of Yehovah has begun, on the first day of the seventh month, our Master will return, as we’ll see.
Revelation 11:14-15 The second catastrophe [woe] has passed, but the third catastrophe is coming quickly! 15 The seventh messenger blew his shofar, and there were voices [the Greek adds “in heaven”] and thunder that said, “The kingdoms of the world have become the kingdom of Yehovah and of His Messiah, and They will reign forever and ever.”
Can we put dates to the Messiah’s return, and the restoration of the Kingdom, and the resurrection?
I believe that the time periods in Daniel, among other places, do precisely that, but has anyone noticed? He referred to “THE time of trouble” as something on an unimaginable scale. Then “AT THAT TIME” the Book [of Life] is opened for Judgment Day! In verse 6 the question is asked: “HOW LONG WILL IT BE TO THE END OF THESE WONDERS”? In answer to this, three different concurrent time periods are mentioned. The first time period is 1,260 days, (stated in Daniel as “a time, [a year], times [2 years], and half a time” [1/2 a year]). This is very commonly understood to be 42 thirty day months.
Here are two other happenings associated with the 1,260 days:
Revelation 12:14 The woman was given the two wings of a huge eagle so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place of habitation, where she would be nourished for a time, times, and half a time, from the ‘presence’ of the serpent.
Revelation 1:2-3 He was a witness to the Word of Aloha and to the Testimony of Yeshua Messiah about everything he saw. 3 Anyone who reads this is blessed, as is anyone who hears the words of this prophecy and obeys the things that are written in it, because the time is imminent.
To quote from another chapter:
“A friend of Albert Einstein’s named Immanuel Velikovsky actually provided strong proof in his book Worlds in Collision that prior to February 26, 747 BC, every month was exactly 30 days long. This book was found open on Albert’s desk after he died. Long story short, the entire scientific community has rejected his findings—now even backed up by satellites—and swept him under the rug for rocking too many boats.”
We know that the Great Tribulation is the second half of a seven year long period. I expect that a cosmic event (Revelation 6:12-17) will return the world to 360 day years right about the time when Yeshua returns on a white horse, immediately after the Great Tribulation. And tho the Great Tribulation is certain to be 1,260 days in durarion, and the ravenous beast will break his covenant “in the midst of the week”, there would seem to be two exactly equal half weeks of 1260 days each. It might happen this way: (link added 7-21-18, standard disclaimer). Yet the moon will apparently not be demarking 30 day months until after the surprise New Moon when “no one knows the day or the hour”.
As a bonus, with a 5 degree adjustment in the moon’s orbit, when the “worlds collide” we would have full lunar eclipses every month marking the New Moon!
Revelation 11:2-3 But don’t measure the courtyard outside of the Temple. Leave it out, because it has been given to the heathens, and they’ll trample the kadosh city underfoot for forty-two months. 3 Then I’ll commission My Two Witnesses. They’ll prophesy for 1,260 days, wearing sackcloth.
Now for Part 3
