Jacob’s Trouble

This transcript was generated automatically. Its accuracy may vary

Short Summary
The discourse explores the biblical prophecy of Jacob’s trouble as described in Jeremiah 30, emphasizing it as a future period of intense tribulation for Israel preceding their ultimate restoration and acceptance of the Messiah. It outlines historical and contemporary events reflecting Israel’s struggles, the gathering of the nation, and the anticipated final conflict involving surrounding nations, culminating in divine intervention that brings about a humbled and faithful remnant, the establishment of God’s kingdom, and lasting peace. The speaker underscores that this tribulation is not past but imminent, leading to the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel and the world.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on “Jacob’s Trouble” Based on Jeremiah 30 and Related Scriptures

Introduction and Context
– The discourse was delivered at the Seattle Convention with greetings from Portland brethren.
– The monthly scripture text for March is Psalm 27:4:
*”One thing have I desired of the Lord, that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and inquire in his temple.”*
– The speaker clarifies that they are not prophets but watchers of prophecy.
– The focus is specifically on “Jacob’s Trouble” as described in Jeremiah 30, distinct from related terms like “Day of Judgment,” “Day of Vengeance,” “Day of Jehovah,” and “Armageddon,” with Jacob’s Trouble seen as the final part of these broader events.

Life and Legacy of Jacob/Israel
– Jacob, renamed Israel, endured personal trials: conflict with Esau, labor under Laban, the death of Rachel, wrestling with an angel causing a lifelong limp, reconciliation with Esau, raising 12 sons and a daughter.
– His son Joseph was sold into slavery, later became a ruler in Egypt.
– Jacob spent his last years in Egypt, gave blessings to his sons, and died after 137 years.
– His legacy continued through the 12 tribes of Israel.
– After 185 years, the Israelites left Egyptian slavery under Moses, returning toward the Promised Land.
– Prophets forecast that Israel will endure great tribulations before inheriting the Abrahamic/New Covenant inheritance.

Jeremiah 30 and the Promise of Restoration
– God promises to regather Israel and Judah to their land (Jeremiah 30:3):
*”For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah… and they shall possess it.”*
– Jacob’s Trouble is explicitly named in Jeremiah 30:7:
*”Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”*
– The regathering will not be peaceful but marked by severe trouble.
– God promises to break the yoke of oppression, free Israel from bondage, and raise up David as their king (Jeremiah 30:8-9).
– This prophecy extends beyond Babylonian captivity to future restoration including the Davidic kingdom.

Divine Judgment and Discipline
– Jeremiah 16:18 and 17:4 describe recompense for Israel’s sins (idolatry, disregard for the Jubilee, neglect of Messianic hope).
– Diaspora represented a long famine of 1845 years.
– Israel was scattered and made to serve enemies but favor will eventually return (referencing Hosea 2:14-15, Joel 3:7, Amos 9:14-15).
– Restoration includes rebuilding cities, planting vineyards, and permanent establishment.
– Yet Jeremiah 30:5-6 notes fear and trembling like a woman in labor pains, symbolizing the intense suffering before peace.

The Nature and Timing of Jacob’s Trouble
– The trouble is a final, intense calamity connected with Israel’s return to the land.
– It will result in a humbled, repentant people turning back to God.
– The Gentile oppressors will be broken in this final conflict.
– Christ and the Church in glory will be instrumental in this deliverance.
– The trouble is not fully past; although Israel’s modern history includes many trials (Holocaust, wars, political struggles), the ultimate tribulation is yet future.

Pastor Russell’s Understanding
– Russell taught that Jacob’s Trouble is the “final blast” on Israel, lasting until the close of the Day of Vengeance (about 1910 in his view).
– He saw the final conflict (Ezekiel 38) as involving a much larger gathering of Israel in Palestine, living securely but then besieged by Gog and Magog.
– The trouble includes intense distress but ends with Israel’s deliverance and entering into the New Covenant.

Scriptural Indicators of Future Trouble
– Romans 11:20, 24: Some unbelief and hardness of heart persist in Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles is complete.
– Zechariah 12:2-4, 8, 10: Jerusalem becomes a burdensome stone; God opens eyes of Judah, pours out spirit of grace; people mourn for the one they pierced, recognizing Messiah.
– Joel 3:1-2, 12, 16: God gathers all nations against Judah and Jerusalem for judgment; the Lord roars from Zion.
– Ezekiel 37: Vision of dry bones coming to life in stages; Israel’s restoration progresses but spirit from the four winds (life) is still awaited.
– Psalms 83: Describes enemies conspiring to destroy Israel, including Edom, Ishmaelites, Moab, Philistia, and others — possibly modern Middle East adversaries.
– Jeremiah 30:14-16: God’s judgment on Israel’s “lovers” (those who have betrayed her) and on Israel’s sins.
– Ezekiel 38-39: Gog and Magog invade Israel after it is restored and dwelling securely; God intervenes decisively.
– Zephaniah 3:11-13: After judgment, a faithful remnant trusts the Lord and righteousness prevails.
– Micah 5:5: The remnant of Jacob will be like dew and showers, shepherded by messianic leaders.

Modern Political Developments and Their Biblical Significance
– Historical and recent political compromises:
– 1982 Sinai returned to Egypt.
– 1993 Oslo Accord allowing Palestinian self-rule in parts of Judea and Samaria.
– 2005 Gaza given to Palestinian control.
– Such concessions have led to increased conflict and suffering.
– The UN’s 2022 vote (142 nations in favor) to create a Palestinian state viewed as a betrayal by Israel’s allies.
– The land remains divided and contested; the biblical inheritance is not fully restored.
– Annexation of Judea, Samaria, Gaza, and the Temple Mount could trigger global conflict (possibly the trigger for Jacob’s Trouble).

The Final Conflict: Gog and Magog (Ezekiel 38-39)
– Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, along with allies Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer, Sheba, Dedan, and others, attacks Israel.
– Israel is dwelling safely but without the full spiritual life given by God’s spirit.
– God’s fury and judgment will be revealed, demonstrating His sovereignty to all nations.
– The invaders turn on each other in chaos.
– Western nations (Tarshish, young lions) stand by without intervening.
– Israel’s strategic importance (energy, AI, geography) contributes to international jealousy.

Deliverance and Establishment of God’s Kingdom
– After Jacob’s Trouble, a humble, repentant remnant acknowledges Messiah (Zechariah 12, Isaiah 4).
– The ancient worthies and resurrected prophets will teach and lead.
– 2 Chronicles 20 and 2 Kings 19 illustrate how God defends Israel supernaturally when they trust Him.
– Zechariah 14 describes a siege of Jerusalem but also God’s direct intervention and judgment.
– Nehemiah 1:8-9 and Isaiah 2:3-4 portray God making a complete end of adversaries and establishing universal peace and justice.
– Isaiah 9:2-7 describes the coming Prince of Peace who will rule forever on David’s throne.

Conclusion
– The current global and Middle East tensions reflect the buildup to Jacob’s final trouble.
– This tribulation will be the last storm before the peace and justice of God’s kingdom is established.
– The day will be unique, neither day nor night, but a new era of light and blessing (Zechariah 14:6-7).
– The ultimate deliverance will reveal the Lord’s power and bring joy, peace, and righteousness to Israel and all nations.

Key Bible Verses Referenced:
– Psalm 27:4
– Jeremiah 30:3, 5-7, 8-9, 14-16
– Jeremiah 16:18
– Jeremiah 17:4
– Joel 3:7, 1-2, 12, 16
– Hosea 2:14-15
– Amos 9:14-15
– Ezekiel 20:35-38
– Ezekiel 37 (dry bones vision)
– Ezekiel 38-39 (Gog and Magog)
– Romans 11:20, 24, 25
– Zechariah 12:2-4, 8, 10
– Psalms 83:4, 12, 15
– 2 Chronicles 20:17, 22-23
– 2 Kings 19:19, 31, 35
– Zephaniah 3:11-13
– Micah 5:5
– Nehemiah 1:8-9
– Isaiah 2:3-4; 4:2-3; 9:2-7
– Zechariah 14:6-7

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This detailed summary captures the full scope of the discourse, including historical background, biblical prophecy, current events, and future expectations related to Jacob’s Trouble and Israel’s restoration.

Transcript

Okay, thank you very much. I just want to say what a blessing it is to be at the Seattle Convention. We always mark this as the the beginning of spring here in the Northwest, and it’s a great blessing. Before we begin, I want to bring the love from the brethren here in Portland, and they select the monthly text, and this is For March.

Psalms 27, verse 4. For greetings. 1 thing have I desired of the Lord that I will seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of of the Lord and inquire in his temple.

So before we begin, dear brethren, I will say that we are not prophets, but we may all be watchers of prophecy.

This whole subject stirs various thoughts among Bible students. So our subject today will focus particularly on Jacob’s trouble in Jeremiah chapter 30, and we will not expand all the other terms like day of judgment, day of vengeance, day of Jehovah, Armageddon, and so forth. For the most part, we understand Jacob’s trouble to be the final part of those other broader aspects.

Now, all would agree that Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, endured many personal troubles in his life and in some ways became the figure of these end times.

And we’ll just get our controls here.

He was troubled with his brother Esau when acquiring the birthright, he married two daughters of uncle Laban in Mesopotamia. But he remained in employment of his uncle in a far distant land from the wrath of his brother. After 20 years of labor disputes, he chose to return to the promised land, only to have Rachel die on the journey. Then, for fear of Esau, he struggled with an angel, only to have his leg crippled for the rest of his life. A peace was made with Esau, and Jacob settled to raise 12 sons and a daughter.

His youngest son, Joseph, was sold by his brothers into slavery, but was reported as dead. After 23 more years of sorrow and famine, he learned that Joseph was prospering as a second on the throne of Egypt. So he spent the last 17 years of his life there and gave his chief blessings to Judah and Benjamin, and also blessings to the other 10 sons. It was after 137 years of life. He gave up his last breath on his deathbed.

So it was indeed a troubled life. His legacy was passed to the 12 tribes of Israel. It would be another 185 years before the family of Israel.

Would return from Egyptian slavery to Canaan under the shadow of Moses on Mount Pisgah. But the promise was sure. The troubles of Jacob are picked up by the prophets to forecast that the family of Israel must also endure great tribulations before actually entering into the inheritance of of the Abrahamic covenant called the New Covenant.

Here are features of the prophecy of Jeremiah 30.

Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel saying, write these words that I have spoken. For, lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again the captivity of my people. Israel and Judah, saith the Lord, and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

Then comes the only verse that actually uses Jacob’s trouble.

The regathering occurs not peaceably, but with trouble.

Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it. It is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it, for it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off his neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

There is something very important in this context. Here is plenty. Plainly stated the promise to bring the children of Israel back to the promised land. This prophecy is far beyond their return from Babylon. It reaches to their own restoration and even to the restoring of their king David.

Jeremiah 16 gives us a sense of the timing and reason for the divine judgments, beginning with verse 18 and first, I will recompense their iniquity and their sins double, because they have defiled my land. The land was defiled with idolatry, compromising the jubilee and neglecting Messianic hopes. So the Diaspora was a long 1845 year famine for the children of Jacob.

We read in chapter 17, verse 4, I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not.

So afterward favor would begin to return to Jacob according to the Abaric promise.

However, the prophecies indicate that this is not the end of their troubles, but that special troubles are connected with the returning favor and restoration even while in the land. Some prophecies indicate relief, healing, and recovery, others show some severe and purging that must follow their return.

In Joel 3:7, the Lord speaks to the Gentiles and says, behold, I will raise them out of the place, whether ye the Gentiles have sold them, and we’ll return to Joel Shortly. In Hosea 2, verses 14 and 15, the Lord announces how he will regather Israel. Therefore behold, I will allure her, and here he speaks of the vineyards that are Then from the door of hope that is Petitva and she shall sing as the days of her youth.

Then we have Amos 9, verse 14 and 15. The Lord promises to establish them permanently. I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof, and and shall make gardens in them and I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up. Brethren. It sounds also tranquil.

Yet notice the other verses of Jeremiah, chapter 30, verse 5. For thus says the Lord, we have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and and not of peace. Ask ye now and see whether a man doth travail with child. Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins as a woman in travail? And all faces are turned into paleness.

Alas, for that day is great, so that none is like it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.

For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee. Though I make a full end of other nations, all nations, whether I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. The metaphor is of a man in travail. The secular state of Israel convulses before deliverance. The consequences of self reliance has only increased the pains.

Here is included the end of all other nations, and Israel’s measured correction.

The cause and effect is recorded in Ezekiel 20.

We’ll pick up with verse 35. I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there I will plead with you face to face. Like as I pleaded with your fathers in the wilderness in the land of Egypt, so will I plead with you, saith the Lord God, and I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant and I will purge out from among you the rebels and them that transgress against me. I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel and ye shall know that I am the Lord.

The rod will purge the secular and the faithless who have not faith to enter into Israel’s covenant. This covenant will be with the house of Israel in Judah. You know the text in Jeremiah 31:31:33 but among these Jews who do have faith in the Abrahamic promise, Brother Russell says in the third volume, page 250, the Jews recognized by God as children of Abraham are those who hold to the faith of Abraham and trust in His Divine promises. Then there is this quote from the question book, page 379 the ancient worthies will appear amongst the Jews, not the infidel Jews, for there are some real earnest Jews who are longing and waiting for the Messiah, and I presume it will be that kind to whom he will reveal Himself.

And as he makes Himself known to them, they will believe.

So Brother, where do we place the tribulations of Jacob’s trouble?

Since 1878 the Lord has been gathering the children of Abraham to His land.

Among Bible students there is a perspective that says the prophecies of Jacob’s trouble have included all those past tribulations following the end of their double of disfavor and the traumas that came after 1878 and the Berlin Congress. There is no need to document all these. You know them well, including the Fishers and the Holocaust hunters. There was the 1967 war that liberated Jerusalem and much more.

Yet Israel continues to be troubled with military and political compromises including the yielding of Judea and Samaria for Arab self rule.

Even the Temple Mount was delivered into the hands of Jordan to administer and it is so even till today.

In 1982 they gave the entire Sinai to Egypt with a peace accord.

In 1993 was the Oslo Accord with conceding a framework for a Palestinian two state solution.

In 2005 Israel donated Gaza to a self styled Palestinians control.

Jewish settlers before this had turned the desert into a garden. Palestinians turned it back to a desert of hatred under Hamas.

You know the rest of the story for the massacres of October 7, 2023.

Whenever Israel parted the Promised land they suffered.

Some look at these events as Jacob’s trouble being largely past and only good to follow.

Yet the Scriptures indicate a future and final calamity that accomplishes two major events. Jacob’s trouble will first of all, from this final conflict will come forth a humbled and contrite people under the hand of Messiah and returned to the God of Israel.

Second, the defeated Gentile oppressors will be broken in this climax and they will become subject to the resurrected ancient prophets who will represent the new world order.

Furthermore, Christ and the Church in glory will be instruments of these two events.

So brethren, these results are not in the past but will soon occur according to a prophecy.

First let’s look through the eyes of Pastor Russell to evaluate the Biblical testimony.

The evidence will not be found in a single scripture or a single paragraph in the harvest message. But we think, gathered together, they paint a picture of Jacob’s final trouble.

And lastly, let’s look at the world situation today and where it is leading.

The Time of Jacob’s Trouble section in Volume 4, pages 552 to 554, Brother Russell discussed what he refers to as the final blast will come upon the regathered people of Israel. So I’ll read a portion of this while the trouble and distress of this day of the Lord will first be especially upon Christendom and eventually upon all nations. The final blast, we are informed by the Prophet Ezekiel, chapter 38, will be upon the people of Israel gathered in Palestine. The prophet seems to indicate a much larger gathering of Israel to Palestine within this harvest period than has yet taken place. He represents them as gathered there out of the nations in great numbers and with considerable wealth, inhabiting the formerly desolate places, and all of them dwelling safely at the time when the rest of the world is in the wildest commotion.

Ezekiel 38, 11 and 12.

Well, continuing on page 554, he says, but yet one more wave of anguish must pass over that chastened people. For according to the prophet, the final conflict of the battle of the Great Day will be in the land of Palestine. Israel will finally be besieged by hosts of merciless plunderers, designated by the Prophet as the host of Gog and Magog, Ezekiel 38, and great will be the distress of defenseless Israel. We’re going to come back to Ezekiel 38 shortly, but let’s continue with another quote in 1901 where Brother Russell said fleshly Israel to suffer yet more.

The time of Jacob’s trouble is to last up to the very close of the day of vengeance, when they shall be delivered by the setting up of the kingdom in 1910, he wrote, we recalled how they have been nationally left desolate for 18 centuries and have been persecuted even, alas, by those who have named the name of Christ.

We especially rejoice to think that the time of Jacob’s trouble will soon be over, that the time when they will enter into the new covenant relationship with God will soon be at hand.

And finally, in 1912, the volume four forward, he wrote, jacob’s trouble in the Holy Land will come at the very close of Armageddon.

Well, brethren, others could be cited. There’s the fourth volume, 626 and reprint 3469 and reprint 4670.

So why did Pastor Russell understand Jacob’s trouble as the final blast, reaching to the very close of the day of vengeance, and why do we think it is yet future?

Well, we regard some texts that when taken together, indicate a future application. First, we understand that even with Jewish gathering to the promised land, yet it has been largely with some unbelief and some hardness of heart. According to Romans 11, chapter 11, verses 20 and 24, this unbelief will continue in some measure until the fullness of the Gentiles. That’s when the wild branches, the spiritual ones, will be complete.

Knowing this, we see it is the very troubles of Jacob that restores their life and vital connection to the Abrahamic promise of his seed to bless the families of the earth. That’s what Jeremiah 30, verse 7 says, the time of Jacob’s trouble. But he shall be saved out of it.

Now notice Zechariah 12:2,4. We’ll just read verse three. Well, M4. In that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the people, all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the lord, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.

Then comes verse 8. In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David, and as the house of David shall be as God, and the angel of the Lord before them, and Here is verse 10. I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplication, and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son.

And they shall be in bitterness, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

Here marks the blindness, the hardness of heart turning to recognize Messiah the deliverer. So this occurs only after the spiritual seed are complete. We know that from Romans 11:25, which we referenced, Jacob’s trouble is an intense storm following a general time of trouble.

As an earth as a as a general picture, it may be seen like a fire that follows Elijah’s vision of the wind, the earthquake and the fire. But after the fire comes a still, small voice of peace. After the storm, however, winds, the picture of winds in other settings show a turmoil as regarded a future final time of trouble. You know, these here is such Things as Isaiah 17, verse 3, 13 Isaiah 41, 16 Jeremiah 25:32.

We should list them here so you have a reference. Isaiah, you see them here on the screen. Isaiah 17, Isaiah 41, Jeremiah 25, Ezekiel 37, verse 9, Daniel 2, 35, Revelation 7:1 and Revelation 16:17. All these are the uses of winds in a final sense.

The full deliverance comes with special winds. At the end of the time of trouble, thy people shall be delivered. First spiritual Israel, then the natural seed of Abraham. These are the final winds. After this wind, there is not another storm.

Now let’s look at the sequence of events and where we are in the prophecies.

The Ezekiel 37 vision of dry bones proceeds in stages.

Bones come to each bone. Sinews are added, flesh is added, skin covers the constitution.

But we have not yet seen the spirit from the wind that enters to them. Yet we have seen the stages leading up to it.

Zionist hopes include the Berlin Congress, immigration, Petitikva, the Balfour Declaration, the survivors of the Holocaust, the State of Israel proclaimed, rebelling Arab attacks, reclaiming and settling the land of promise, Yeshiva’s teaching, Torah and Jewish heritage.

Bones coming together.

Yet true life must wait until life comes from the four winds.

Until then, only broken bones come together with general troubles before the final storm.

We have already seen some of those troubles when Israel gave up parts of the Promised Land.

International inventions include, as we’ve mentioned, the Oslo Accords, more recently the Abraham Accords, and just now something called a Gaza Peace Plan.

These are fragile relationships in which the members have their own agendas and less of Israel’s.

Yet these coalitions could turn against that little brother standing on the birthright.

Brethren have examined the accounts of Psalms 83 as relating to the Semitic neighbors, who declare in verse four they have said, come, let us cut off them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance. For they have consulted together with one consent. They are confederate against thee.

These include Edom, Ishmael, Moab, Hagareens, Gabo, Hammon, Amalek, Philistia, Tyre and Asher.

Here are perhaps some of the elements of Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Hamas, all with the help of Russia and Iran.

We read in verse 12 who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession, O my God, make them like a wheel as the stubble before the wind.

Verse 15. So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm. But brethren, we think this is not the final storm of Jacob’s trouble. We are watching the stage and stages shortly before the final one.

First come her lovers. In this graphic we will See when the UN voted for a Jewish state, But then comes, as you will see in the lower right corner, the UN. Well, first of all, let’s read verses 14 to 16, Jeremiah 30:14 to 16 as the final cause and effect of Jacob’s trouble. All thy lovers have forgotten thee, because thy sins were increased. They that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will be given for a prey.

So look at the bottom corner.

2025. Last year the UN voted to petition Israel for a Palestinian state. 142 in favor. All thy lovers have forgotten thee.

Some of the sins.

Find my place here.

Well, as we continue to read it in Jeremiah 30, this Zion whom no man seeks after. But what we want to say here is that the sins include the accommodating of foreigners to the rule themselves contrary to Judaic biblical ordinances within the Promised Land. Those ordinances were clearly laid out for Israel in Leviticus the 25th chapter, and also in Ezekiel 48.

Yet today Judea and Samaria have never been incorporated incorporated into Israel, while Arab towns ruled themselves and their mosques within the Holy Land. Such compromise began shortly after Joshua entered Canaan and Canaanites and Philistines were not entirely put out of the land, and many are now becoming a plague for Israel.

A more severe deviation was the partitioning of Gaza into the hands of adversaries.

Israel has left the most severe with the most severe consequences. The inheritance has not yet been fully reclaimed.

If Israel were to annex.

These contested areas of Judea and Samaria and Gaza into the State of Israel, it would deny the international agenda to again divide Israel or another Palestinian states.

Some Bible students hold that expanded borders will not be gained till after Jacob’s trouble.

But let’s suppose that it could occur before it may be justified to establish secure and defensible borders without bars or gates.

A faithful few could support it on grounds of the biblical Promised Land.

If both Judea and Samaria and Gaza were annexed, including the Temple Mount, and even more to embrace the biblical inheritance, it could very well trigger global political and military anger of the Gentile world.

Yet if it is not this event, then another event will surely trigger the final and larger final Troubles of Ezekiel 38.

Here is a particular marker of what this tribulation accomplishes.

Turning to Ezekiel 38, we have these few verses. Son of man, verse 2 Set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. Thus saith the Lord God. Behold, I am against thee, O God, the chief prince of Meshach and Tubal, coming down to verse eight after many days thou shalt be visited in the latter day years thou shalt come in the land that is brought back from the sword against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste, but is brought forth out of the nations, and shall dwell safely, that is with confidence all of them. Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land and thou and all thy bands, and many people with thee, to take a spoil and to take a prey, to turn thine hand this is verse 12 upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, which have gotten cattle and goods that dwell in the midst of the land.

Verse 18 and I shall come to pass at that time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face and let’s drop down the verse 23 Thus will I magnify myself and and sanctify myself. I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.

Here is a different and more deciding event than Psalms 83. We think these events are yet future. In this Ezekiel 38 prophecy are listed the focus the forces of Meshech, Tubal, Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer to Gomorrah, Sheba, Dedan descending into the vortex of the storm.

Today can be seen forces forming on the world stage, with Russia, Iran, north and West Africa, Turkey, Turkestan, Kazakhstan, and forces mainly from the north, then also Saudi Arabia, North Africa, Yemen, and even Sudan.

All the while Western Europe, England and the Americas stand by to let the plundering proceed. Ezekiel 38:13 Sheba and Danaan and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, stand by without obstructing the invaders.

At that time Israel may have their finger on the flow of possibly natural gas and energy alternatives to Russian supplies. It may have the technical technological keys for a changing world.

It may even have the keys to artificial intelligence systems.

Or it may be that Israel occupies the hub, the crossroads between these three continents, Africa, Europe and Asia on the Mediterranean, of which all the world envies and grasps with jealousy.

While Joel chapter two deals with the global events of the Lord’s great army, yet Joel chapter three focuses the storm directly on Judah and Jerusalem. Here are a few verses from the International standard version verses 1 and 2 in those very days, at that time when I restore prosperity to Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations that will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and part of my land. Verse 12 Let the heathen, that is literally the Gentiles, be awakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there will I sit to judge all the Gentiles roundabout And finally, verse 16 the Lord will roar out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth will shake. But the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Then in Ezekiel 38, verse 21 I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord God, Every man’s sword will be against his brother. This refers not to Jew against Jew, but to the chaos among the invaders themselves.

This hearkens back to the destruction of the alliance against Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20, 22, 23 and also to the plague against the Assyrians who came Against Hezekiah in 2nd Kings 19, verse 35 One thing Israel lacks at the outset of the siege is the Spirit of life that comes from the four winds.

Israel’s extremity is divine opportunity.

So the prophets of Ezekiel 37 continues.

Jacob’s trouble brings forth a humble and repentant people through the fire Zechariah 12, 8, 10, sometimes referred to as a holy remnant, Isaiah 4, 2 and 3 this will be realized while not leaning on their own might, but when exhausted and depleted of self confidence will be delivered a humble people acknowledging the lion of the tribe of Judah, and the ancient worthy prophets will appear among them.

In this battle. As we have said with Jehoshaphat, Israel should stand still. 2nd Chronicles 20:17 and 22 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle set yourselves stand you still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you. O Judah and Jerusalem, fear not nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with you.

And when they began to sing to praise the Lord, the LORD sent ambushments and ambushments against the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, which came against Judah, and they were smitten.

Notice the moment is when they begin to sing.

The enemies feared and destroyed one another well. It was also a lesson realized by Hezekiah when delivered from the Assyrian siege of Sennacherib in 2 Kings 19.

We’ll pick up just verses 19 and 31. Now therefore, O Lord God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only. Verse 31 for out of Jerusalem shall go forth, and a remnant and they that escape out of the out of Mount Zion, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Consider the other notable verses in that example.

So here is a turning point.

Zechariah 14 I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

And verse 3 Then shall the LORD go forth and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle, of which we have just read two examples.

When Israel’s blindness to their Messiah is removed, God is sanctified before the nations. Notice two results here. First the Spirit comes upon Israel, then the effect is upon the rest of the nations.

Ezekiel 38 and also 39 both show first that they shall know, and secondly, that the nations shall know.

So the turning point comes to focus. Let’s see if I think I’ve missed one here in Zephaniah 3. Maybe we got some of these out of sequence. Zephaniah3 Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I raise up to the prey for my determination to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, and pour upon them my indignation, even all my fierce anger for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

For then will I turn to the people at pure language.

Verse 11 in that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings wherein thou hast transgressed against me. For then I will take away out of the midst of thee them that rejoice in thy pride, and thou shalt no more be haughty because of my holy mountain. I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the lord.

The faithful remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid. Afraid. So this is the point, that the bones have not only gathered together, but they have life. They are standing now on their feet, recognizing the power that is above them, and not in their own hands.

So from Jacob’s trouble will come forth the deliverer. Micah chapter five.

I’ll let you read the verses here, but basically and he shall stand and shepherd his flock.

And then verse 5. When the Assyrian comes into our land and treads in our palaces, then we shall raise against him seven shepherds and eight princes of men.

And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the Lord as the showers upon the grass.

So out of Jacob’s trouble will be new voices for the new world order. Seven shepherds, Jesus and the church, eight princes, the ancient worthies, resurrected prophets and teachers.

Another storm will not follow Jacob’s trouble.

Here we have Nehemiah.

1, verse 8 and 9.

He will make a complete end of the adversaries and will not rise up a second time. Then comes Isaiah 2.

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the house of the Lord of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he shall judge among many nations. Neither shall they learn more anymore.

So two things out of Jacob’s trouble with divine intervention. First, Israel will acknowledge their deliverance and deliverer. Second, God will be revered and proclaimed among the nations. Today we are watching the turning of the tide. We are watching the storm forming before the final struggle that will then reveal the new world order.

And the Prince of Peace. You well know Isaiah 9, verse 2.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.

They joy before thee according to the joy of the harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff off his shoulders, and the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian, that is when it was with Gideon. For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise and garments rolled in blood. But this shall be the burning and fuel of fire. For unto us a child is born, and to us the son is given, and his government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end but upon the throne of David, and upon the king, his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice. From henceforth, even forever, the zeal. The Lord of hosts will perform this.

And so we conclude with Zechariah 14, 6 and 7. It shall come to pass in that day that the light shall not be clear nor dark, but it shall be one day which shall be known unto the Lord. Not a day nor night, but it shall come to pass that in evening time it shall be light. May the Lord add his blessing. Amen.

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