The Fifth
Trumpet Judgment
(http://spiritualbiblestudies.com)
Chapter Nine
- Verse Nine
And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates
of
iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound
of chariots of many horses running to battle.
(Revelation
9:9)
The subject of
verse nine is the breastplates and the sound of wings coming from the locusts
who wear these breastplates. The Old
Testament Hebrew gives us one word that is translated as breastplate and
it is defined from Strong’s # 2833 as follows:
“From an unused root probably meaning to contain or sparkle; perh, a
pocket (as holding the Urim and Thummim), or rich (as containing gems), used
only of the gorget of the High Priest: - breastplate.” Aside from this reference the word
breastplate is translated once from a different Hebrew word and is found in Isaiah
59:17. In that passage breastplate
comes from # 8302 of Strong’s Hebrew and is defined as follows: “From 8281 in
the orig. sense of turning; a corslet (as if twisted):-breastplate, coat
of mail, habergeon, harness.” Breastplate
in the singular form is not found in the New Testament. Breastplates, however, is found in
only two New Testament passages; Revelation 9:9 and Revelation 9:17. It is defined from Strong’s Greek # 2382 as
follows: “Of uncert. affin.; the chest (“thoraz”), i.e. (by impl.) a corslet:-breastplate.”
When the Old Testament speaks of a
breastplate, it is in reference to the ancient high priest’s dress. Scripture provides many details of this
adornment; let us list all that Scripture gives:
A PART OF THE
HIGH PRIEST’S DRESS:
Exodus 28:4 - And these are the
garments which they shall make; a breastplate,
and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they
shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may
minister unto me in the priest's office.
* FOR
SOLDIERS:
Made Of Iron
Revelation 9:9 - And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings
was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
Of Fire
Revelation 9:17 - And thus I saw the horses in the vision,
and them that sat on them, having breastplates
of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as
the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and
brimstone.
* FOR THE
HIGH PRIEST:
Materials Of
Exodus 28:15 -¶And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with
cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue,
and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.
Exodus 39:8 - And he made the breastplate of cunning work,
like the work of the ephod; of gold, blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine
twined linen.
Form And Dimensions Of
Exodus 28:16 - Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a
span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
Exodus 39:9 - It was foursquare; they made the breastplate double: a span was the length thereof, and a
span the breadth thereof, being doubled.
Made From The Offering Of The
People
Exodus
35:9 -And onyx stones,
and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.
Had Names Of The Tribes Engraved
On Precious Stones
17
- And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones:
the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the
first row.
18
- And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
19
- And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
20
- And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set
in gold in their inclosings.
21
- And the stones shall be with the names of the children of
Exodus 39:10,14:
10
- And they set in it four rows of stones: the first row was a sardius, a
topaz, and a carbuncle: this was the first row.
14 - And the stones were according to the
names of the children of
Breastplate Was United To The
Ephod
Exodus
28:22-28:
22
- And thou shalt make upon the breastplate
chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold.
23
- And thou shalt make upon the breastplate
two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
24
- And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings
which are on the ends of the breastplate.
25
- And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in
the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it.
26
- And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two
ends of the breastplate in the
border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.
27
- And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the
two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against
the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.
28
- And they shall bind the breastplate
by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it
may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.
Exodus 39: 15-21:
15
- And they made upon the breastplate
chains at the ends, of wreathen work of pure gold.
16
- And they made two ouches of gold, and two gold rings; and put the two
rings in the two ends of the breastplate.
17
- And they put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings on the
ends of the breastplate.
18
- And the two ends of the two wreathen chains they fastened in the two
ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod, before it.
19
- And they made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, upon the border of
it, which was on the side of the ephod inward.
20- And
they made two other golden rings, and put them on the two sides of the ephod
underneath, toward the forepart of it, over against the other coupling thereof,
above the curious girdle of the ephod.
21
- And they did bind the breastplate
by his rings unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be
above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not be loosed from the ephod; as the LORD
commanded Moses.
The Urim And Thummim Placed
In
Exodus 28:30 - And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment
the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth
in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of
Leviticus 8:8 - And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the
Thummim.
Worn As A Memorial
Exodus 28:29 - And Aaron shall bear the names of the
children of
Isaiah 49:16 - Behold, I have graven thee upon the
palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
* SIGNIFIES
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST:
Isaiah 59:17 - For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of
salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
and was clad with zeal as a cloke.
Defense Of Righteousness
Ephesians 6:14 - Stand therefore, having your loins girt
about with truth, and having on the breastplate
of righteousness;
Defense Of Faith And Love
1 Thessalonians 5:8 - But let us, who are of the day, be
sober, putting on the breastplate
of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
BREASTPLATES
When we begin to
examine and search the various breastplates that were utilized during the Old
Testament days, we come across a somewhat peculiar discovery. One would suppose that as Scripture speaks of
the armament used by the many nations that fought against
Prior to the
erecting of the temple in Jerusalem God had a temple in the wilderness as the
Israelites wandered forty years before entering the
Ephesians 2:19-21 -
19 - Now therefore
ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints,
and of the household of God;
20 - And are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 - In whom
all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
The New Testament
Temple is God’s one and only eternal temple, made without man’s hands.
Mark 14:58 - We heard him say, I will destroy
this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another
made without hands.
Colossians 2:11 - In whom also ye are circumcised with
the circumcision made without hands,
in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
This temple will be
complete at the resurrection of the saints on the last day; thus Christ will
dwell in the believers’ midst for ever more.
Of course this present worldwide corporate church is comprised of
believers and non-believers, which God will separate at Judgment Day.
The garments of the
Old Testament High Priest included the following: “…a breastplate, and an
ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and his sons,
that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office,” Exodus 28:4. Continuing on we see that the breastplate
contains items of pure gold, as Exodus
28:22-23 declares:
22 - And thou shalt
make upon the breastplate chains at
the ends of wreathen work of pure gold.
23 - And thou
shalt make upon the breastplate two
rings of gold, and shalt put the two
rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
Exodus 28:29 -
And Aaron shall
bear the names of the children of
We see that this
breastplate contains pure gold, and Aaron carries this into the
The
following is quoting from “The Way into the Holiest,” by Edward W. Patton - page 152:
“The
breastplate was on the front
of the ephod and immediately over Aaron’s heart. To add to the security of the breastplate,
there were two rings of gold at the bottom edge, which were connected with two
other rings of gold on the ephod by cords of blue. In addition, there were two rings of gold at
the top of the breastplate that were connected to the settings for the
shoulder stones by cordage work of gold.
The names of each stone were engraved on it, “like the engravings of a
seal” (Ex. 28:21). In Solomon’s Song
8:6, we read these beautiful words: “Put
me like a seal over your heart.” And
so we are - a seal over the heart of our Lord.
Thus we have an example of our security made sure by our heavenly and
divine Lord who carries us on His heart.”
Where exactly is
all of this leading us in our study of the Fifth Trumpet Judgment? As we said earlier, the Old Testament speaks
of breastplates only as it is in reference to the garments of the High Priest,
containing the names of the children of
Isaiah 14:14 - I will ascend above the heights of
the clouds; I will be like the
most High.
Much like the High
Priest of Old Testament days, these locusts are wearing their breastplates,
only they are not of gold, as was Aaron’s, but God tells us that these locusts
are wearing breastplates
of IRON…thus they do not
proclaim the true Gospel of Christ. They
are portraying the true ministers of the Gospel and are converging upon the
face of the earth as a religious Babylonian army. A religious coalition, yet not looking as a
worldly religion, but a duplicate or an imitation of God’s one and only true
religion. Yes, this seems to be the only
accurate conclusion that can be made from Scripture. They come with “crown of gold” upon their
heads, as we discovered in verse seven.
Thy come appearing as faithful (thus the gold); they come as
respectable and honorable ministers, teachers, pastors, laypeople, etc. (thus
the heads [Is. 9:15]); they come to deceive if it were possible God’s own
elect! See Matthew 24:24. These enemies
of the cross are coming with breastplates of iron in which the iron may symbolically
depict their weakened spiritual defense.
It is a false but most deceitful gospel that hinges upon the works of man
and not the true Gospel that rests upon the finished work of Christ alone.
BREASTPLATES
OF IRON
We quote again from
the sixth chapter of Jeremiah. It was
there where we read of evil coming from the north against
Jeremiah 6:28 - They are all grievous revolters, walking
with slanders; they are brass
and iron; they are all
corrupters.
Brass and iron in
this verse clearly symbolizes those who are still spiritually dead in sins and trespasses. Let us examine Ezekiel 22:18-21 for a similar
explanation of iron:
18 - Son of
man, the house of
19 - Therefore
thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I
will gather you into the midst of
20 - As they
gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the
furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine
anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you.
21 - Yea, I
will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and ye shall be
melted in the midst thereof.
22 - As silver
is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst
thereof; and ye shall know that I the LORD have poured out my fury upon you.
Iron is used in
Scripture as representative of Christ and also of the unbelievers. For example, Christ is said to rule all
nations with a rod of iron, as declared from Revelation chapters two and
nineteen. On the other hand, Satan’s
final kingdom and manifestation upon the earth is said to be strong
exceedingly, having great iron
teeth.
Daniel 7:7 -
7 - After this
I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible,
and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the
residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were
before it; and it had ten horns.
Satan’s kingdom is
said to devour the Gospel message with “great iron teeth,” during this period
in which Scripture declares to be the time of the end. God will never allow Satan to destroy or even
harm eternally - in any sense - even a fraction of His Gospel message and
plan. He does, however, allow Satan to
silence the Gospel message to a high degree during the final years of this
earth’s existence, when most or all of God’s elect have been brought into
salvation.
Part of the figurative
descriptions of Satan’s ambassadors or emissaries is that they wear breastplates
of iron. If this is meant to portray a religious
characteristic then it stands to reason that these locusts are masquerading as
Christians and that is no real news to God’s elect. On the other had, if this breastplate of iron
is meant to symbolize their defense, then it tells us that they do have a
weaken defense. Again, this is no real
news to God’s elect, for Satan and his hosts will come to their end as Daniel 11:45 declares: “And he shall plant the tabernacles of
his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall
help him.”
This end-time
Isaiah 10:33-34 -
33 - Behold,
the Lord, the LORD of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones
of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.
34 - And he
shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron, and
To cut down the thickets
of the forest is surely another way of describing God’s judgment of the church
at the last day. This seems to be
speaking of that time wherein Christ will separate the wheat from the tares.
THEIR
SOUND AS CHARIOTS OF MANY HORSES
As we come to the
second half of verse nine we see that these locusts appear as having
wings. The sum total of this massive and
global counterfeit church attacking the true Gospel can be compared to the
sound of many horses and chariots as we read in the latter half of verse
nine: “…and the sound of their wings
was as the sound of chariots of many
horses running to battle.” Of
course we understand that these wings are again figurative in depicting the
swiftness and velocity in which these locusts move. The word sound is translated from the
same Greek word as is voice, and can easily be used
interchangeably. The voice or sound of
the wings of these locusts could be expressing the descriptive characteristics
with regard to the speed and swiftness in which these religious deceivers work. God equates the ecumenical crusade and
movement (represented by wings) of this false church to the sound or voice as “chariots
of many horses running to battle.” Note the
fact that God implies that they are running to battle. Confirming our suspicion that wings would
imply speed and swiftness in which this global false church advances. God tells us in Matthew 24:22 that for the
elect’s sake these days will be shortened.
These ambassadors of Satan - common
everyday normal appearing citizens - are indeed running to this
spiritual end-time eternal battle. Why
does God compare their swiftness, their unwavering persistence and fortitude to
the likeness of many horse driven chariots running to battle? Recall in chapter seven of this study that we
quoted Revelation chapter nine, verse thirteen through nineteen, which was the
sounding of the sixth trumpet? There we
discovered that Satan’s end-time church was to be an exact replica of Christ’s
true Church, exclusively for the purpose of destroying or silencing the true
Church (the third part). Within this
sixth trumpet judgment, God reveals more descriptive facts and information
pertaining to the universal false church.
It is there where God portrays them as “two hundred thousand thousand horsemen,” Revelation 9:16. Not only are they represented as horsemen,
but as horses as well, as Revelation 9:17 confirms in stating that these horses
had heads as the heads of lions, whose mouths issued out fire and smoke and
brimstone. All of this language is depictive
and descriptive of the world’s end-time “goings on” within the global
Joel 2:5 - Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap,
like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people
set in battle array.
God’s Word is
spiritual, so metaphoric and yet so absolutely conclusive and irrefutable. Every jot and tittle (Matthew 5:18) fits
perfectly together. Notice the identical
language God uses throughout the Bible in describing a certain events. Joel’s vivid depiction, in one verse alone,
of the end time events of the Church matches many other verses in
Scripture. God tells us that all
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, even though holy men of old, as God
states, spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. It is God the Creator who designed every jot
and every tittle of the Bible; His servants having nothing whatsoever to do
with the designing of it. They were used
by God to pen the Holy Scriptures, but it was God’s purpose and plan to design
the Bible by using many parables and Old Testament types and figures to be
fulfilled in the New Testament age.
As we study the
ninth chapter of Revelation we see many Old Testament words being used such as chariots,
horsemen and horses, locusts, breastplates, scorpions,
wings, tails, heads, the teeth of lions, and many
more. We especially want to take note of
the latter part of verse nine, “…and the
sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to
battle.” This is detailing the
height or the spiritually darkest point of the time of the end, when all would
seem lost with regard to the true Gospel still being proclaimed. Satan’s army overtakes the “confessing”
church with ease, as chariots and horsemen running to battle. The New Testament Jew; those true believers (both
Jew and Gentile) whose hearts have been spiritually circumcised (Romans 2:29),
will finally find itself in the same predicament as was Old Testament
Exodus 14:9 - But the Egyptians pursued after
them, all the horses and chariots of
Pharaoh, and his horsemen,
and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before
Baalzephon.
God
miraculously spared
Exodus 14:7,23,28 -
7
- And he took six hundred chosen
chariots, and all the chariots of
23
- And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the
sea, even all Pharaoh's
horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
28
- And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and
all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.
As
the Red Sea is said to be representative of eternal hell, in that Moses (as a
type or figure of Christ) led his people into the
In
this same misconception, people within today’s global apostate churches readily
answer the “altar calls” in hopes of obtaining a physical healing of some sort,
never realizing that the healings that Christ performed were accomplished to
prove that Christ indeed was who He said He was. He and His Father are One. Many of those people whom Christ physically
healed may certainly not have gone on to become eternally saved. Not only did Christ heal in order to prove
that He was the Messiah, His healing also and ultimately pointed to the fact
that He came to this world to bring spiritual healing. Christ came to earth to give the spiritual
healing which results in eternal life, and not merely to bring physical healing
to sin-cursed mortals, who would go on to die eventually anyway. This cannot be, and yet the emphasis and
significance of many of today’s churches is strictly on obtaining a physical
healing in one way or another. People
come by the droves to the charismatic services in hopes of obtaining a physical
healing. In Christ’s own hometown of
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because
he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to
heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to
the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the
acceptable year of the Lord,” (Luke
4:18-19).
Christ’s
purpose was clearly to preach salvation to those who are “poor in spirit,” Matthew 5:3. He was sent to spiritually heal the brokenhearted, (“I will put my law in
their inward parts, and write it in their hearts,” Jeremiah 31:33). He came to deliver many who are prisoners or captives of Satan (“To loose
those that are appointed to death,” Psalm 102:20). All of humanity has been appointed to
spiritual death or damnation due to the fall in the Garden of Eden. Christ has come to free these spiritual
prisoners, as only Christ Jesus can. He
has come to give sight to the blind.
Does the physical healing of a blind person save his eternal soul? Of course not. But to be spiritually blind and then become
healed can mean only one thing: you have become eternally saved, (Revelation
3:17-18). As
JEREMIAH
CHAPTER FOUR TIES IN
At this time we
will briefly touch upon certain verses found in the fourth chapter of
Jeremiah. This chapter is one of many
Old Testament texts that appears to contain much information that alludes to
the degradation and fall not only ancient
Jeremiah 4:1-31 -
1
- ¶If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou
wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
2
- And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in
righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall
they glory.
3
- ¶For thus saith the LORD to the men of
4
- Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of
your heart, ye men of
[Only physical
circumcision was practiced by the Old Testament Jew. The above passage may be in reference to New
Testament belief in Messiah Christ. Inmost
cases it was only at the cross or the New Covenant where God would circumcise
the heart. This is New Testament
language is all respects, yet foretold during Old Testament days.
Romans 2:29 - But he is a Jew, which is one
inwardly; and circumcision is that of
the heart, in the spirit, and not
in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Philippians 3:3 - For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice
in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Colossians 2:11 - In whom also ye are circumcised with
the circumcision made
without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ:]
5
- ¶Declare ye in
6
- Set up the standard toward
[God is not the
author of sin, however it is God the All Knowing and All Seeing who works His
plan of salvation. The evil upon Old
Testament Jerusalem came from the NORTH - the Chaldeans of Babylon. Likewise in the last years of the latter
days God will allow Satan a great feast and a great destruction as he…from the
sides of the NORTH…invades the
Isaiah 14:13 - For thou hast said in thine heart, I
will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will
sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
2 Thessalonians 2:4 - Who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth
in the
Matthew 24:15 - When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let
him understand:)
Mark 13:14 - ¶But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that
readeth understand,) then let them that be in
Luke 21:20-21 -
20 - ¶And when ye
shall see
21 - Then let
them which are in Judaea flee
to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them
that are in the countries enter thereinto.
Ezekiel 38:15-16 -
15- And thou shalt
come from thy place out of the north
parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great
company, and a mighty army:
16 - And thou
shalt come up against my people of
7
- The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles
is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be
laid waste, without an inhabitant.
8
- For this gird you with sackcloth, lament
and howl: for the fierce anger
of the LORD is not turned back from us.
[Revelation 18:9 - ¶And the kings
of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her,
shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they
shall see the smoke of her burning,
Revelation 18:19 - And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and
wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich
all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour
is she made desolate.
Revelation 18:11 - And the merchants of the earth
shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth
their merchandise any more: [The spiritual merchandise of the Gospel.]
9
- And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the
king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets
shall wonder.
[?? Ezekiel 38:13 -
10
- Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people
and
11
- At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry
wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
12
- Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I
give sentence against them.
[The daughter of my
people? Is she not Christ’s church? Old Testament
13 - Behold,
he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots
shall be as a whirlwind: his horses
are swifter than eagles. Woe
unto us! for we are spoiled.
[Again here in
Jeremiah chapter four we see what was then future New Testament symbolism that
would be fulfilled in a spiritual manner, yet was also fulfilled physically in
the days of Old Testament national Israel.
History in the ancient days of
14
- O Jerusalem, wash thine heart
from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
[Once more we see
New Testament language in use here. It
was the letter of the law that Old Testament Israel was concerned with. It is a new
heart that New Testament Israel (Christ’s Church) is concerned
with. These verses in Jeremiah appear to
undoubtedly foretell of the new birth through Christ. They also speak finally and ultimately of the
judgment of God upon His earthly and corporate church by allowing Satan to
infiltrate into the congregations.]
15
- For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from
16
- Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against
17
- As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she
hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.
18
- Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy
wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
19
- ¶My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart
maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my
soul, the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
[Joel 2:1-5 -
1 - ¶Blow ye the
trumpet in
2 - A day of
darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the
morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any
more after it, even to the years of many generations.
3 - A fire
devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the
garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
4 The
appearance of them is as the appearance of horses;
and as horsemen, so shall
they run. {cf.
Revelation 9:7 - And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle …}
5 - Like
the noise of chariots on the
tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that
devoureth the stubble, as a strong
people set in battle array.
{cf. Revelation 9:9
- …and the sound of their wings was as the sound
of chariots of many horses
running to battle}]
20
- Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled:
suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
21
- How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22
- For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish
children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do
good they have no knowledge.
23
- I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the
heavens, and they had no light.
24
- I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved
lightly.
25
- I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens
were fled.
26
- I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful
place was a wilderness, and
all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his
fierce anger.
[The fruitful place
is obviously the corporate church where God’s Word was once nourished. It has become a spiritual wilderness. Locusts - false teachers - have eaten the
vines of left nothing.]
27
- For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not
make a full end.
28
- For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because
I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn
back from it.
29
- The whole city shall flee
for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks:
every city shall be forsaken,
and not a man dwell therein.
[Matthew 24:16 - Then let
them which be in
Mark 13:14 - ¶But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that
readeth understand,) then let them that be in
Luke 21:21 - Then let them which are in
What is in view in
verse 29 where God speaks of every city being forsaken? The verse opens by stating that the “whole
city” shall flee and yet ends by stating that every city shall be forsaken. When the ancient Babylonians came up against
30
- And when thou art spoiled,
what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou
deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with
painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee,
they will seek thy life.
31
- For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the
anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter
of Zion, that bewaileth herself,
that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe
is me now! for my soul is
wearied because of murderers.
[Revelation 18:15-18 -
15 - The merchants
of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear
of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16 - And
saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and
purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 - For in
one hour so great riches is come to
nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and
sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
18 - And cried when they saw the smoke of
her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
The woman in
travail appears to be the daughter of
Revelation 11:7-8 -
7 - And when they
shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the
bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill
them.
8 - And their
dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is
called
END OF CHAPTER NINE