ISAIAH 62

Isaiah 62:1-12 relates the promise of kingdom blessing upon Israel .
The context is during the time of great distress that precedes the arrival of the Messiah to deliver the nation. Daniel 11:36; 12:1; Jeremiah 30:4-7; Matthew 24:9-29.

Verse 1a
“For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet.”

Isaiah’s personal testimony continues from verses 61:1-3 and 10-11.
Isaiah represents the Messiah in 61:1-3.

He represents the Messiah at the first advent in verses 1-2a.
    He represents the Messiah at  the second advent in verses 2b-3.

It shows Israel in a time of suffering -
    (“Instead of mourning,” and “instead of a spirit of fainting,”
    and at verse 7, “instead of your shame,”

And at 63:18, “our adversaries have trodden it down.”)
   
    This is the time of Jacob’s distress;
    a time of both persecution and of discipline from God (Isaiah 64:7; Jeremiah 30:11).

Isaiah 61:4-9 predicts the promotion and blessing of Israel in Messiah’s kingdom.
In 61:10-62:1ff, Isaiah speaks for himself, expressing the Messianic hope for those during the tribulation, who are looking for the arrival of the Messiah.

When the Messiah arrives in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory, this will OFFICIALLY end the time of distress (Matthew 24:22, 29-30).

But the PROCESS of deliverance and judgment on Israel’s enemies will take several months.

When the Old Testament prophets saw the second coming, they envisioned the arrival of Yahweh (the Messiah) in His descent to the earth as one event.
They saw the signs in the heavens and the disturbances on the earth that would precede His arrival. And they viewed it as an event that would bring deliverance to the nation of Israel and judgment to the nations that were gathered in Palestine against Israel.

They did not see the arrival in the sky and the physical descent to the earth as two separate events. And they did not see the supernatural gathering of believers out from the earth before the pouring out of God’s wrath and judgment.

They saw the second coming as occurring during the time of great distress, and as ending that time of distress.

They did not see a PROCESS of judgment that would take several months, but a TIME of judgment as a general event.

Verse 62:1b
“Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness,
And her salvation like a torch that is burning.”

This refers to a time when Israel will be restored to her RIGHTEOUS standing with God.
When “all Israel” will be in a salvation relationship with God.

Verse 62:12
“And they will call them, The holy people,
The redeemed of the LORD."

This will only happen when every Jew living on the earth is a believer in Jesus.
And this will only occur after the separation of the lean sheep from the fat sheep during the 45 days prior to the formal establishment of the Messiah’s earthly kingdom.
Ezekiel 34:17-22; Daniel 12:12.

God will never forsake Israel. He made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that will never be broken. Romans 11:1-2
”I say then, God has not forsaken His people, has He? Definitely not!
God has not rejected His people, whom He foreknew.”

Romans 11:29
“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”

Romans 11:26
”And thus, all Israel will be saved; just as it is written”

Paul quotes the Old Testament to indicate HOW it will happen that “all Israel will be saved.”

Isaiah 59:20. It will happen because –

(1) The Messiah will come.

(2) And because the Messiah will cleanse the people so that the only ones left will be believers. “He will REMOVE ungodliness from Jacob.”

Paul wrote, “The Deliverer will come from Zion,” which is a reference to Isaiah 59:20.
The preposition in the Hebrew at Isaiah 59:20 is LE. It basically has the idea of FOR or CONCERNING, rather than TO.  If the intent was to communicate TO ZION, then the preposition would be EL. Thus the better rendering is FOR Zion.
Paul used the preposition, EK, to indicate the idea of OUT FROM, BUT his intent is not to indicate a LOCATION, but the SOURCE.

Thus, there is no conflict between the Hebrew and Paul’s quote.
Isaiah is saying that the Messiah will come FOR THE BENEFIT OF ZION.
Paul is saying that the Messiah will BE from Zion.

This is a general statement concerning the second coming of the Lord.
And it has in view only ONE of the items on the Messiah’s agenda.

Paul is only interested in telling us that when the Messiah comes, He will conduct a process of cleansing Israel from sin so that only believers will be left to go into the kingdom.

Specifically, the cleansing process will occur as many Jews trust in Christ after His arrival in the clouds of the sky at the 6^th seal, and during the Day-of-the-Lord judgments that follow.

Then, after Armageddon, all the Jews will be gathered into Palestine where Christ will remove the unbelievers (fat sheep) from the earth. The only ones left will be the believers; the “lean sheep” of Ezekiel 34:17-22.
(Jeremiah 31:7-9; Isaiah 27:12-13; 43:5-7; 60:4-9; Ezek. 20:33-44).

Paul continues at Romans 11:26, “He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”
And Isaiah says, “And FOR those who turn from transgression in Jacob.”

Once again, there is no conflict.
Paul is saying that the Messiah will cleanse the people and remove the wicked ones.
This is an action that is FOR THE BENEFIT of the nation for THEN, “all Israel will be saved.”

Isaiah says that the Messiah is coming FOR THE BENEFIT of the ones who have turned away from their sins and embraced the Messiah.

Thus, when the Messiah comes He will “trigger” many conversions and will accomplish His judgment and kingdom agenda for the benefit of those who are converted.

And eventually, He will REMOVE all transgressions – He will remove the unbelievers from the earth so that all who remain will be “all Israel saved.”

According to Ezekiel 34:17-22, He will come FOR the lean sheep and He will REMOVE the fat sheep.

At Romans 11:27 Paul continues to document the future salvation of ALL ISRAEL.
“And this is My covenant with them
When I take away their sins.”

It seems that Paul has correlated three Old Testament FACTORS rather than passages. He is not quoting any particular passage in its entirety, but referring to the CONCEPT of the covenant with God through the forgiveness of sins.  And he mentions these factors by referencing Isaiah and Jeremiah.

The two main ideas are “the covenant” and the “removal of sins.”
(1) And this is my covenant with them: This is from Isaiah 59:21, and follows reasonably from the quote of 59:20 at Romans 11:26.  However, Paul CORRELATES Isaiah with Jeremiah.

At Isaiah, the covenant refers to the presence of the Holy Spirit WITH the nation of Israel, and the permanent ministry of God’s word within the nation.
Isaiah 59:21
”And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, says Yahweh: My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring, says Yahweh, from now and forever.”

Of course, this blessing will and can only be realized after a person has become a believer; that is, after the sins have been removed.
The covenant relationship IS the removal and forgiveness of sins.

This is brought out by Jeremiah in 31:33-34.
”But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares Yahweh, I will put my law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people . . . for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

(2) The second FACTOR then, is removal of sins. It is possible that Paul has in mind Isaiah 27:9a, “Therefore, through this, Jacob’s iniquity will be forgiven,” in the Hebrew.
And the last part of the verse in the LXX, “And this is their blessing, when I take away their sins.”
This passage also relates the future kingdom Blessing that will come upon Israel.

However, it seems more likely that Paul is making a reference to the covenant of Jeremiah 31. He quotes the first part of Isaiah 59:21, “and this is My covenant with them.”

And that reminds Him of the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-34, and the fact that this salvation covenant is based on “I will forgive, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Thus, Paul is saying that the COVENANT of “all Israel will be saved” is based on the fact of a complete judicial forgiveness of sins. We have to add some details, for it should be obvious that the establishment of this covenant on a personal level comes only when a person has trusted in Jesus Christ as the Messiah/Savior.

The covenant in view is an extension of the salvation covenant established by Jesus through His sacrifice and victory on the cross (Heb. 10:12-18); “the everlasting covenant – the grace provisions of David.”

Isaiah 55:3
“Incline your ear and come to Me.
Listen, that you may live;
And I will make an everlasting covenant with you – the grace provisions of David.”
(Jeremiah 33:14-16).

This is the new covenant of salvation from sin was established by Christ on the cross, and confirmed through His death and resurrection. Hebrews 10:5-18.

The “grace provision” of salvation is available to all, “for there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him.”
(Romans 10:12).
”For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men.” (Titus 2:11).

When ALL Israel is SAVED Israel, then they will all be under the new covenant of salvation from sins as promised at Jeremiah 31:31-34.
“I will make a new covenant with the house of Judah and with the house of Israel . . .  for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

According to Romans 11:25, this will occur some time AFTER “the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” This refers to God’s plan to bring a maximum number of Gentiles into the body of Christ through faith in Christ. In God’s perfect timing, He will send Jesus back to arrive “in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory;” “the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will show at His own time.” (1 Tim. 6:14-15).

It is at this time that the church body, comprised of all saved Jews and Gentiles, will be resurrected and taken out of the world to meet the Lord in the air. 1Thes. 4:14-17; Mat. 24:31 (the rapture).

(The fullness of the Gentiles is not the same thing as “the times of the Gentiles.)

(The two witnesses of Revelation 11:1-12 have a unique and specialized ministry during the second half of Daniel’s 70^th week. They are the only believers who will not be go up at the rapture. When their testimony is over at the end of the week, they will be caught up to join the rest of the raptured saints.)

See Topic: THE TWO WITNESSES

MESSENGERS TO ISRAEL

At that time, after the church has been “raptured,” there will be 144,000 Jews who trust in Christ as their Savior. These will become the heralds of the kingdom of God, announcing to the people, “Behold, your salvation comes. Behold His reward is with Him and His recompense is before Him.”

1.  Messengers within the city of Jerusalem: Verse 62:6
2. Messengers outside the city: Verse 62:10

Through the day-of-the-Lord judgments, God will prepare the nation to enter into the Messiah’s earthly kingdom. Through the final purging process, in the 45 days prior to the official establishment of the kingdom (Dan. 12:12), all unbelievers will be removed from the earth, and only the believers will enter into the kingdom. Ezekiel 34:17-22.

Verse 62:2-5
This expresses the promise of national blessing in Messiah’s earthly kingdom

Verse 2
“The nations will see your righteousness,
And all kings your glory;
And you will be called by a new name
Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.”

All the surviving nations will see the righteousness and the glory of Israel and recognize that Israel is God’s chosen nation.

There will then be a massive migration of Jews and Gentiles into Palestine during the 45 days of Daniel 12:12 – prior to the official establishment of the Messiah’s kingdom.

Isaiah 60:4-9

Verse 4
“Lift up your eyes round about, and see;
They all gather together, they come to you.
Your sons will come from afar,
And your daughters will be carried in the arms.”

Verses 8-9,
“Who are these who fly like a cloud,
And like the doves to their lattices?
Surely the coastlands will wait for Me;
And the ships of Tarshish will come first,
To bring your sons from afar.”

The re-gathering of the Jews into the land of Palestine is a major doctrine of the Old Testament. From the perspective of the Old Testament prophecies, the re-gathering will begin at some time prior to the start of the 70^th-week covenant of peace and religious toleration mentioned at Daniel 9:27. Actually, it BEGAN historically already, with the primary catalyst being the Zionist movement of 1896. It was given a huge boost by the Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917; and the United Nations resolution 181 of 1947; and the establishment of an independent Jewish nation on May 14, 1948.

But the re-gathering will not be complete until the great migration into the land during the 45 days after the defeat of the nations at Armageddon.

From the time of the rapture until the “last chance” in God’s eyes during those 45 days, there will be many Jews who turn to Christ in faith. But in the end there will still be many who simply will not accept Him as the promised Messiah and Savior.

Thus, at the end of those 45 days, the divine evaluation of all peoples will conclude and only those who have trusted in Jesus will go into His earthly kingdom. Those who have not trusted in Christ will be rejected and removed from the earth to await final judgment at the great white throne of Revelation 20:11-15.

(1) The process of re-gathering and the evaluation of the Jews is described at Ezekiel 34:11-24 and Ezekiel 37.
(2) The evaluation of the Gentiles is described at Matthew 25:31-46.
It appears that the judgment will be based on a person’s decision to trust in Christ PRIOR to the time of the evaluation, rather than any repentance that might occur AT THE TIME that the peoples are gathered there.

Thus, after the evaluation, only believers will remain alive on the earth to live under the world-wide rule of the Messiah. And every year, the “believing” nations will come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast of booths.

Zechariah 14:16

      “Then it will come about that any who are left of the nations that went against Jerusalem
       will go up from year to year to celebrate the feast of booths.”

This will probably be done through an official delegation as well as any individuals who are able to go.

And the Gentiles will participate in the worship activity re-established during the kingdom and bring much wealth into the nation. In fact, the nations will bring much wealth into the land to help re-build the city of Jerusalem, which will certainly include the temple.
Isaiah 60:10-11
“And foreigners will build up your walls,
And their kings will minister to you.
And your gates will be open continually
They will not be closed day or night,
So that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations,
With their kings led in procession.”

Isaiah 66:23
“And it shall be from new moon to new moon
And from Sabbath to Sabbath,
All mankind will come to bow down before Me, says Yahweh.”

This of course, refers to the beginning years of the kingdom. As the years progress through the 1000 years, many who are born will not choose to trust in Christ as their personal sin-bearer. Thus, at the end of that time, there will be a large number of unbelievers alive on the earth, who will be judged after the final GOG-rebellion of Revelation 20:7-9.

Isaiah 62:3-5
This language simply communicates kingdom blessing for the nation.
“You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,
And a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
It will no longer be said to you, "Forsaken,"
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, "Desolate ";
But you will be called, "My delight is in her,"
And your land, "Married";
For the LORD delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.
For as a young man marries a virgin,
So your sons will marry you;
And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
So your God will rejoice over you.

But BEFORE the kingdom begins, there will be the time of judgment and preparation.

MESSENGERS TO ANNOUNCE THE ARRIVAL OF MESSIAH

The ministry of the 144,000 evangelistic bond-servants of Revelation 7:1-8 and 14:1-7.
Although the ministry of these servants is probably world-wide, many would be located in the land of Palestine. But this ministry does not need to be limited to just the 144,000.

MESSENGERS INSIDE THE CITY

Verses 6-9
“On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen;
All day and all night they will never keep silent.”

WITHIN the city there are messengers announcing the truth of God’s kingdom blessings.
Certainly this would include the issue of Joel 2:32, “Whoever calls upon the name of Yahweh will be delivered.”

These will express constant diligence in fulfilling their divine commission to proclaim truth, telling the people,

“You who remind the LORD, take no rest for yourselves.”

Those who pray should continue without ceasing.
This is the principle of Luke 18:1-8.
Jesus taught that they should pray at all times and not lose heart.

Luke 18:7-8

“Now shall not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night,
and delay his passion for them? I tell you that He will bring justice for them speedily.
However – when the Son of man comes, will He find THE faith on the earth?”

This is a challenge to all who are living in the end-times. God hears and answers prayer.
But He only answers the prayers of those who are living THE faith. If the believer holds sin in his life, the Lord will not hear him. (Psalm 66:18).

Isaiah 59:2
“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And you sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.”

Isaiah 62:7
“And give Him no rest until He establishes
And makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

Such an interesting image – to deny God “rest” through CONSTANT prayer activity.
The principle of importunity taught by Jesus at Luke 15:1-10 applies here.
“Because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.”
“And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.”

These three degrees of intensity teach us that repetition of a request is not lack of faith.
It is the “empty babble” of many repetitive words that Jesus rebukes at Matthew 6:7.

See Topic:  PRAYER

The “pray-ers” are to continue in their diligence until God actually comes to their rescue.

This is what they are looking for in this END-TIME context; what the MESSENGERS are announcing; and what happens in the prophet’s predictions as seen at chapter 63.

Isaiah 62:8-9

More statements concerning the kingdom blessings that Yahweh has promised Israel.
Again, these are described from the perspective of an agricultural economy, and indicate national sovereignty with absolutely NO enemies and universal prosperity and blessing.

“The LORD has sworn by His right hand and by His strong arm,
I will never again give your grain as food for your enemies;
Nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored.
But those who garner it will eat it and praise the LORD;
And those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.”

MESSENGERS OUTSIDE THE CITY

Verse 10a
“Go through, go through the gates.”
The messengers will also proclaim OUTSIDE the city.

Verse 10b
“Clear the way for the people;
Build up, build up the highway,
Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.”

The message will be to the people outside the city, telling them to prepare for the arrival of many more of their fellow-Jews. The people of Israel who have been hiding in the wilderness area of Edom will have just witnessed the arrival of the Lord and the destruction He brought to the armies and people of that area. And they will immediately begin to make their way back to Judah (cars and buses, etc. – the distance is not really that far).

It is very possible that they will arrive in Judah in time to participate in the battle of Jerusalem.
In fact, it seems likely that they would be included in the group designated as “the clans of Judah” who are located outside the city at Zechariah 12:5-8.

Also, as seen above, there will be a gathering of the Jews from all over the world after the battle of Armageddon.  Isaiah 26:20-21

“Come, My people, enter into your rooms,
And close the doors behind you;
Hide for a little while,
Until indignation passes over.
For behold, Yahweh is about to come out from His place
To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity;
And the earth will reveal her bloodshed,
And will no longer cover her slain.”

The announcement includes heralding the arrival of the Messiah - TO THE CITY OF JERUSALEM

Verse 11
”Behold, the LORD has proclaimed to the end of the earth,
Say to the daughter of Zion,
"Lo, your salvation comes;
Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him."

These messengers were mentioned earlier at Isaiah 40:9.
“Get yourself up on a high mountain
O Zion, bearer of good news,
Lift up your voice mightily,
O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;
Lift it up, do not fear.
Say to the cities of Judah,
Behold your God!”

Thus, during the time from the rapture of the saints to the physical descent of Jesus, there will be many converts from among the Jews.

The Jewish people will be calling out to God during the time of the great tribulation.

Hosea 5:14-15; 6:1.
“For I will be like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away,
I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver.
15 I will go away and return to My place
Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
Verse 6:1, "Come, let us return to the LORD.
For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

Isaiah 59:20,
“And a Redeemer will come for Zion,
And for those who turn from transgression in Jacob.”

Jesus said, “From now on you shall not see Me until you say, praised is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Psalm 118:25-26
“O Yahweh, do save, we beseech You;
O Yahweh, we beseech You, do send prosperity.
Praised is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh.
We have praised you from the house of Yahweh.”

THE PHYSICAL DESCENT OF THE MESSIAH TO JERUSALEM

The deliverance will come through the arrival of the Messiah
to the city of Jerusalem. He will come to reward those who have trusted in Him
and to pour out JUSTICE on those who have rejected Him.

The word recompense is peullAh, and refers to the work or action of passing out
reward or judgment, depending on the context.

There are three STAGES to the second coming of the Messiah.

(1) His arrival in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory: This arrival will in the sky ONLY. From his position in the clouds or ON THE CLOUD (Rev. 14:14) He will pour out the judgments from God’s wrath through the trumpets and bowls recorded in the book of The  Revelation.  There four phases to it.
    (A) The SIGNS phase. Joel 2:30-31; Mat. 24:29-31; Rev. 6:12-14; Isaiah 13:10, 13;
    (B) The arrival phase. Mat. 24:30; 16:27; Rev. 6:15-16; Isaiah 30:27-30; 60:1-2; Ps. 96:13.
    (C) The rapture phase. Matthew 24:31-44; John 14:1-3; 1Thes.  4:14-17; 1Cor. 15:51-52
    (D) The judgment phase. Rev. 6:15-17; 1Thes. 5:1-2.

(2) The second stage is His physical descent TO the earth at which time He will personally confront the armies of the world that are gathered into Palestine to loot and destroy the people of Israel. Through His physical descent to the earth He will rescue the Jews and prepare for His earthly kingdom.
There are four phases to it.
    (A) The descent to Edom. Isaiah 34:6; 63:1-6; Hab. 3:3
    (B) The descent to Jerusalem. Isaiah 63:1; Zech. 14:4; Joel 3:16.
    (C) The descent to the Valley of Megiddo (Armageddon). Joel 3:9-16;
    (D) The separation phase: when all unbelievers will be removed from the earth and only
          believers will be left alive to dwell on the earth in Christ’s kingdom.
          Ezek. 34:17-22; Mat. 25:31-46.

(3) The KINGDOM stage when Jesus sets up His 1000 year earthly reign.
There are four phases to it.
    (A) The cleansing phase: Ezek 39:9-16.
    (B) The building phase: Isaiah 60:4-11; 61:4; Ezek. 43:10-18; Dan. 8:15-26.
    (C) The reigning phase: Isaiah 9:7; Jer. 23:5-6; Ezek. 37:24-28; Dan. 7:13-14.
    (D) The completion phase: 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Revelation 20:7-10.

The Old Testament prophets viewed the second coming and the arrival of the DAY OF THE LORD as having one starting point. They did not make a distinction between the Messiah’s initial arrival IN THE CLOUDS and His subsequent PHYSICAL descent to the earth. They viewed the second coming as a physical descent to the earth that will begin the Day of the Lord.

Sometimes the prophets focused on the inception of the day of the Lord; sometimes on some aspect of the judgment that will happen DURING the day; and sometimes on the kingdom blessing that follows the judgment.

The reader/interpreter needs to be very diligent to recognize the context in each of the passages.

But it is not until the New Testament teaching by Jesus and the apostles that we learn that Jesus will FIRST arrive in the clouds of the sky.

THE ARRIVAL IN THE CLOUDS

The FIRST STAGE of the second coming will be His arrival IN THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. Matthew 24:29-30; Joel 2:31.

This also constitutes the arrival of the Day of the Lord, and will be “announced” by several phenomenal things.
(1) The darkness of the sun, moon and stars. Basically, “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” Matthew 24:29; Luke 21:25a; Joel 2:30-31; Rev. 6:12b-14a
(2) ON the earth, there will be great earthquakes and turmoil in the oceans. Luke 21:25b; Rev. 6:12a, 14b;
(3) The specific sign of the Son of Man. Luke 21:25b; Mathew 24:30a
(4) Then his VISIBLE arrival IN THE CLOUDS will be seen by all mankind. Luke 21:27; Matthew 24:30b; Revelation 1:7;

This is taught by Jesus at Matthew 24:29-31

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one of the sky to the other.”

The MOURNING of all the tribes of the earth will BEGIN as soon as these awesome signs are seen, so that as Jesus said, “and THEN all the tribes of the earth will mourn.
But WHILE they are mourning in anticipation of the things that are happening, as Luke records, “men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world” (Luke 21:26), THEN they will actually see Jesus “coming in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” At this time the mourning will continue and of course, increase.

Thus at Revelation 1:7, the “mourning” will occur AFTER “every eye will see Him.”

This is also portrayed symbolically at the 6^th seal of Revelation 6:12-17.
Even though there is not specific mention of the arrival of Jesus in this passage, it is clear that the many peoples who are mentioned there HAVE SEEN HIM.

After seeing the heavenly and earthly signs, and the sign of the Son of man, the people of the earth will try to hide from the FACE of the Father and of Jesus (the Lamb). Jesus taught that it is AFTER they see the “sign of the Son of Man” that “all the tribes of the earth will mourn.”

Here at Revelation 6, it should be obvious that their reaction indicates they have indeed SEEN Him come in the clouds. After the initial “mourning” they will then take action to try to hide from Him, for they will be well aware that “the great day of their wrath has come and who is able to stand?” Revelation 6:17.

The arrival of the Lord is also envisioned by Joel as the arrival of THE DAY OF THE LORD.

Joel saw the signs as occurring BEFORE the Day of the Lord arrives. Joel 2:30-31.
”And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
The sun will be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.”

Jesus does NOT step foot on the earth at this time, but remains ON THE CLOUD to administer God’s wrath through the trumpet judgments of Revelation 8-11 and the first 5 bowl judgments. Revelation 14:14-16.

1. The first thing that will happen when Jesus arrives in the clouds of the sky, will be the gathering out of the believers through the rapture.
Matthew 24:31; John 14:1-3; 1Thes. 4:14-17.
This was not taught by the Old Testament prophets.

In fact, the Old Testament prophets did not see the arrival in the clouds as distinct from His physical descent to the earth. The main things they focused on were -
(A)  The coming of the Messiah
(B)  Physical deliverance for Israel
(C)  And judgment on all the spiritual rebels of the world.
(D)  And the Messiah’s earthly reign over Israel.

It is not until we look at New Testament revelation that we are able to see the distinction between these two STAGES of the second coming.

2. After the rapture of the saints, God will return to using Israel as the evangelistic agent for proclaiming the Messianic promise to the world.
    A. Israel’s evangelistic commission: Exodus 19:5-6; Deut. 4:5-6;Rom. 9:4-5;
       Isaiah 41:8-9; 43:7; 49:3; 7:6; 28:9-10; Psalm 118:1-4

B. See Topic: ISRAEL’S NATIONAL DISCIPLINE
    C. This is through the conversion of the 144,000 Jewish bond servants.
         Revelation 7:1-8; 14:1-8

3. After that He will begin to pour out His judgments on the world as portrayed by the first six trumpets. Rev. 6:12-17; 8-9.
4. Those six judgments will conclude at the end of the 70^th week. Rev. 10:7; 11:1-17.
5. Then will come the FINAL expression of divine wrath. This is portrayed by the 7^th trumpet and the bowl judgments, and will occur during the next 30 days after the end of the 70^th week.  Dan. 12:11; Rev. 11:14, 18-19; 15-16; 19.


THE PHYSICAL DESCENT TO THE EARTH

THE SECOND STAGE of the second coming is when Jesus will descend physically to the earth to confront the worlds armies assembled in Palestine. The last two bowl judgments portray this physical descent of the Messiah to the earth.

Revelation 19:11-16 and Zechariah 12:2-9
The second stage is usually called the Armageddon stage, and has three phases.

As portrayed in the last two bowl judgments, which includes Revelation 19:11ff, Jesus will descend PHYSICALLY to the earth toward the end of the 30 day-period that follows the end of Daniel’s 70^th week (Dan. 12:11). At that time, He will come down from His cloud (Rev. 14:14), from where He has been administering the trumpet and bowl judgments after the rapture (6th seal).

The physical descent of Jesus has four phases.

(1) The descent to Edom.
(2) The descent to Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.
(3) The descent to the Valley of Megido for the battle of Armageddon.
(4) The Cleansing phase, when all unbelievers will be removed from the earth.
      Ezekiel 34:17-22; Mat. 25:31-46.

 
Quite often the Old Testament prophets did not have any particular phase in view when they envisioned the coming of Yahweh – the Messiah. At other times one of the specific phases was in view as seen at the various passages listed above. Each of these “descents” will have a LOCALIZED focus and only the people in those specific areas will see His coming. The arrival in the clouds of the sky, however, which will precede the physical descent by several months, will have a UNIVERSAL focus and “every eye will see Him.” Revelation 1:7 with Matthew 24:30.

The physical descent of Jesus is described at Revelation 19:11-15, IN GENERAL, without focusing on any one particular area.

“And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it {is} called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
And His eyes {are} a flame of fire, and upon His head {are} many diadems; and He has a name written {upon Him} which no one knows except Himself.
And {He is} clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of God.
And the armies (angels) which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white {and} clean (Rev. 15:6), were following Him on white horses.
And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”

This is the same kind of GENERAL focus that the Old Testament prophets usually envisioned. After such general statements by the prophets, and depending on the context, one or more specific factors would be taught.

John’s vision at Revelation 19 does the same thing. At verses 17-21, John’s vision describes the specific battle of Armageddon which will occur AFTER the battle of Edom and the battle of Jerusalem.

IT IS THIS descent of Jesus that the Jews in Jerusalem are looking for, but specifically, His descent into the city of Jerusalem is what Isaiah is seeing.

From the perspective of the prophecy, they are looking for THE ARRIVAL OF THE MESSIAH.

From the perspective of actual events, they will have already seen His arrival - for every eye will observe His arrival in the clouds of the sky. As a result of that, MANY of them will trust in Jesus as the promised Messiah. However, as the Day-of-the-Lord judgments continue, the Jews will still be oppressed as various armies will have assembled in Palestine and some, specifically, will have invaded the city of Jerusalem as seen at Zechariah 14:1.

To recap:

1. The first phase of the Messiah’s physical descent to the earth, is the battle of Edom.
    Jesus will descend FIRST to Edom where He will judge the inhabitants and the armies
    assembled there. This is the subject of Isaiah 63:1-6; Isaiah 34:5-15; and Hab. 3:3.

2. The second phase is His physical descent to Jerusalem when He will stand on the
     Mount of Olives. This will begin the battle of Jerusalem when the clans of Judah and
     the inhabitants of Jerusalem will fight the invading army. Zech. 14:1-7, 12-15.
 3. And the third phase is when He will go from Jerusalem to Megiddo and engage in the
     battle of Armageddon. Joel 3:9-16.

RECOMPENSE AND REWARD

Matthew 16:27
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels and will then recompense every man according to his deeds.”

This is the general statement of fact that the second coming will indeed occur and involve TWO basic issues – reward and judgment.

Revelation 11:17-18 describes the “situation” after the 6 trumpets have concluded and the 70^th week has come to an end.
“And the 24 elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, we give thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who IS and WAS, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. And the nations have become enraged, and Your wrath has come, and the time has come for the dead to be judged, and the time to give reward to Your bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Several things are mentioned here, but it is a time when the nations HAVE BECOME enraged. That is, they will have become very angry with God because of the 6 trumpet judgments. So, then they are going to begin to move (as will have already begun with the movement of the army at the 6^th trumpet) in overt rebellion against God and against the reign of the beast (the king of the west).

Thus, it is at this time that God will begin the final stage of bringing destruction upon the rebellious armies. This will take place through the bowl judgments and culminate with the three phases of the Armageddon campaign.

As I taught earlier, after the battles have been resolved, the people of Israel will be gathered, purified and recognized by the world as God’s chosen people.

Isaiah 62:12
”And they will call them, The holy people,
The redeemed of the LORD;
And you will be called, Sought out, a city not forsaken."

This is based on the judgment process that separates the unbelievers from the believers.
Throughout the whole judgment process until Armageddon, there will be many converts from among the Jews, as well as the Gentiles. After the final battle at Armageddon, Jesus will take an additional 45 days to prepare the world for His earthly reign. This will involve the removal of all unbelievers so that the only ones who remain alive on the earth will be believers from both the Jews and the Gentiles. For, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove all ungodliness from Jacob.” Romans 11:26b.

AS noted earlier the translation at Isaiah 59:20 is worded differently than Paul’s quote.
Isaiah 59:20
”The Redeemer will come FOR Zion
And FOR those who turn from transgression in Jacob.”

Both ideas are correct.
The Messiah will originate FROM Zion and therefore FOR Zion.
Jesus DESCENDS to the earth FOR those who have trusted in Him since the rapture.

And it is also true that after He arrives He will REMOVE all transgressions – He will remove the unbelievers from the earth so that all who remain will be “all Israel saved.”

According to Ezekiel 34:17-22, He will come FOR the lean sheep and He will REMOVE the fat sheep.

This is through the purging process of Isaiah 4:4 and Ezekiel 34:17-22.
It will be at that time that it can be said, “And thus, all Israel will be saved.” Romans 11:26a.

 “And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” Romans 11:27.
”My Spirit which is upon you and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring, says Yahweh, from now and forever.” Isaiah 59:21

The people will thus be recognized as -
A. Holy: special and unique and under God’s special protection
B. Redeemed: They will be considered PURCHASED by God.

This can only happen if the people accept the sacrifice of Christ for the payment of sins and trust in Him as their savior.

Isaiah 4:2-6
      Chapter 3:1-15 predicts the first phase of the 5^th cycle of discipline on Judah and the
      conditions in the land during that discipline. It was fulfilled in 605 BCE (3520 AH) at the
      hands of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and continued unto 586 BCE. At that time the
      second phase of the 5^th cycle began and would continue until 536 BCE.

      Verses 3:16-4:1 describe the second phase of the 5^th cycle on Judah when Jerusalem
      was totally devastated and the bulk of the population was exiled to Babylon.
      (Lam. 2:1-22).

      At verses 4:2-6 the prophet shifts to the end-times, during the time of Jacob’s distress of
      Jeremiah 30:4-11. Israel will be oppressed, but will be delivered, cleansed of all
      unbelievers, and will go into the kingdom of the Messiah.

      Verses 3-4

      “And it will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called
      holy – everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem, “(Daniel 12:1).

      “When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the
      bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of
      burning.”

      The whole process of evaluation and cleansing, from the initial arrival of Jesus in the     

      clouds of the sky until His victory at Armageddon, is here summarized as “washed away
      the filth of the daughters of Zion.”

      Verses 5-6 predict the kingdom blessing that comes after “all Israel will be saved.”

The chapter division represents a natural break in the Hebrew, but the subject has not changed.

At 62:11, we were shown the arrival of Jesus to deliver Israel.

This refers to the SECOND STAGE of the second coming of the Messiah, which is His physical descent to the earth.

At 63:1, we are shown that when He arrives to rescue Israel, He will come FROM  EDOM.
 

Questions and comments are always welcome

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