The Aftermath of the War

      The nature of Old Testament prophecies as they are recorded in our Bible is that it may not be obvious immediately as to when the prophecy shall take place. In some cases, a prophecy may have a present application in that time, yet also speak of a future event. It is for this reason that some scholars do not think Ezekiel 38 and 39 describe the end-time battle for Jerusalem with the Antichrist. This is why making the Spirit-inspired connections is so crucial. Ezekiel 39:5-8 is one such example.
       “ ‘You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God. ‘And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,’ says the Lord God. ‘This is the Day of which I have spoken.’ ”
         In other words, this is Operation Consume & Destroy that unfolds over the first 31/2 years of the Day of the Lord. You may recall that this corresponds to the last half of Daniel’s 70th week, when the prophecy resumes after Israel’s two-Day timeout due to their rejection of the Messiah, now that they have made their “Blessed is He” confession of faith. This is when they are grafted back into the Vine. Remember too, that Jesus linked our resurrection at the last Day to the Day of the Lord.
       End-Time Lesson: The prophet Zechariah records this same scene from earth’s perspective. “Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the Day of battle. And in that Day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. Then you shall fell through My mountain valley” (Zech. 14:3-5).
         As you can see, the shaking of the heavens and earth, as well as the trumpet/bowl judgments, change the typography of the world, particularly the Middle East and Jerusalem in particular. Ezekiel adds, “ ‘Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,’ says the Lord God” (Ezek. 39:9-10).
       God’s righteous judgments have come, not only against the Beast, but also the apostate Jews. Now that His people have finally accepted Jesus as the Son of God, the Father declares, “I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them” ’(Ezek.39:21-24).
        Zechariah picks up the rest of the story. “The people shall dwell in it; and no long shall there be utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited” (Zech. 14:11). This is when the kingdom shall be restored to the Davidic line as promised and Jerusalem is made the praise of the earth. Israel becomes the natural head of the nations under the delegated authority of the heavenly government.
        The prophet explains that “everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles” (Zech. 14:16-19).
         By the way, the fact that nations still rebel tells you that all is not perfect during the millennial reign. Stay tuned!