|
THE TIME OF JACOB’S TROUBLE
This discourse of Jeremiah was given after the 4th year of Zedekiah
(Jeremiah 28:1), which was about 593 BCE. And it was given BEFORE the tenth
year of Zedekiah (Jeremiah 32:1), which was about 587 BCE.
The 5th cycle of discipline had already started, having been
administered by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 605 BCE.
The final state of that time of discipline was yet to come, but it was
impending. It would be the total destruction of the nation and the temple,
which occurred in 586 BCE.
Jeremiah 30:1-3
The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.
‘For, behold, days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will restore the
fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The LORD says, ‘I will also bring
them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall possess
it.’”
This is a promise of a future re-gathering of the nation of Israel.
It has a dual focus. It looks first to the restoration from the
Babylonian captivity in 536 BC, which was
already taught by Jeremiah at Verse 29:10-13. It then looks to the ultimate
re-gathering of Israel BEFORE and DURING the Day of Lord. But the primary
focus is on the distant “end times” restoration of Israel, which will begin by
bringing the Jews together into the land of Palestine. However, that gathering
will be in UNBELIEF - that is, as ones who
have not as yet trusted in Jesus as their promised Messiah.
Isaiah 11:11-12
”Then it will happen on that day that the Lord
Will again recover the second time with His hand
The remnant of His people, who will remain,
From Assyria, Egypt, Pathos, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath,
And from the islands of the sea.
And He will lift up a standard for the nations,
And will assemble the banished ones of Israel,
And will gather the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth.”
The promise to Israel will find fulfillment with the conversion of the 144,000
Jews right after the Day of the Lord arrives. And then, there will be the
re-gathering of many believing Jews into Messiah’s earthly kingdom after He
defeats all His enemies at the battle of Armageddon.
See Topic:
ISRAEL RE-GATHERED
However, before that final re-gathering, there are TWO major historical events
that must occur.
THE FIRST MAJOR EVENT: The first coming of the Messiah
The promised Messiah must come and provide the sacrifice for sins, not only
for the Jewish people, but for the Gentiles as well.
Luke 2:30-31
”For my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared in the presence
of all peoples; A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your
people Israel.”
Luke 4:18-21.
Jesus read from Isaiah chapter 61.
18 "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME,
BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO
PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET
FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
19
TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."
20
And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down ; and the
eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
21
And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing."
This is seen at Isaiah 40:1-11
1. Israel’s restoration: removal of her
discipline of “the many days” of the
70 A.D.-captivity (Dan. 11:33).
Verses 1-2
This will occur AFTER the day-of-the-Lord judgments. But it is based on the
arrival and work of the Messiah. So Isaiah “backs up” from Israel’s
restoration and looks to the first coming of the Messiah in verses 3-8.
2. Events in connection with the arrival of
the Messiah at His first coming. Verses 3-8.
3. Evangelism to Israel prior to the second coming of the Messiah. Verse 9.
4. The arrival of Messiah to provide deliverance for Israel and RE-gathering.
Verses 10-11
THE SECOND MAJOR EVENT
The second event will occur AFTER the Messiah’s first coming. There will be
some times of great distress for the people of Israel in two waves of national
DISCIPLINARY judgment from God.
See Topic: ISRAEL’S NATIONAL DISCIPLINE
Jeremiah 30:11
”Only I will not destroy you completely,
But I will CHASTEN you justly.”
THE FIRST WAVE is the “great distress (calamity)” of 70 A.D.
Daniel mentions this at Daniel 9:26.
“Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off (rejected and
crucified by the nation of Israel
in 30 A.D.) and have nothing (His kingdom will be delayed). And the people
(Romans) of the prince who is to come (the future “man of lawlessness”) will
destroy the city and the sanctuary (70 A.D.). And it’s (the city) end will
come with a flood; and to the end (the end-times) there will be war; a decree
of desolations.”
Also at Daniel 11:33:
”And those who have insight among the people (the Messiah believers of the
early church) will give understanding to the many (the people of
Israel); yet they (the nation) will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity
and by plunder, for many days.”
Jesus prophesied of it just a few days before His crucifixion.
Luke 21:22-24.
22
because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will
be fulfilled.
23
"Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those
days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people;
24
and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all
the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until
the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
This is
specifically a time of DISCIPLINE and “wrath” from God upon the nation because
they rejected Jesus as the promised Messiah. Luke 19:43-44
For the days shall come upon you when your enemies
will throw up a bank before you, and surround you and hem you in on every
side, 44 and
they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will
not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the
time of your visitation."
Matthew
23:37-38
37 "Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How
often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her
chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
38
"Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!
This present
time of discipline, “distress and wrath,” has continued since 70 A.D. until
the present hour, and will not be finished until “the times of the Gentiles be
fulfilled.” Luke 21:24.
That fulfillment will not happen until the last
Gentile control over
Jerusalem is
removed.
And that will not occur until after the battle of
Armageddon, 30 days after the end of Daniel’s 70th week.
Daniel 12:11.
“And from the time that the regular sacrifice is
abolished, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1290
days.”
Although, throughout “the times of the Gentiles”
there will be periods of relative peace for the land of Palestine and for the
dispersed Jewish people, the GENERAL characteristic of this time of discipline
is described as a time of shame and persecution. Deuteronomy 28:37.
“And you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a
taunt among all the people where Yahweh will drive you.”
Leviticus 26:33
33 'You, however, I
will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your
land becomes desolate and your cities become waste.
34 'Then the land will
enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your
enemies' land ; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.
35 'All the days of
its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your
sabbaths, while you were living on it. 36
'As for those of you who may be left, I will also bring weakness into their
hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a driven leaf will
chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee as though from the
sword, and they will fall. 37
'They will therefore stumble over each other as if running from the sword,
although no one is pursuing ; and you will have no strength to stand up before
your enemies. 38
'But you will perish among the nations, and your enemies' land will consume
you. 39 'So
those of you who may be left will rot away because of their iniquity in the
lands of your enemies; and also because of the iniquities of their forefathers
they will rot away with them.
THE SECOND WAVE
But then, DURING this time of discipline, there will come a SPECIFIC period of
severe and unparalleled distress and persecution.
Daniel describes it as “a time of great tribulation (distress).
Daniel 12:1.
“Now at that time (the “end-time” of Daniel 11:35) Michael, the great prince
who stands over the sons of your people, will stand aside (The war in heaven
of Rev. 12:7-9. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred
since there was a nation until that time (the wrath of Satan at Rev.
12:12-13); and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the
book, will be rescued (beginning with Messiah’s second coming).”
In the context of Daniel 12, the “that time” refers back to chapter 11:35 and “the end time.” And at verse 36, it is
the time that “the king will do as he pleases.” And once again at verse 40, it
is “at the end time.”
At verse 36, the king will “prosper” until the indignation is finished.”
This refers to the time of the distress of Daniel 12:1, and to “the final
period of the indignation” and “the appointed time of the end,” of verse 8:19.
This time of SPECIAL distress upon Israel is mentioned elsewhere in the Old
Testament.
At Obadiah 1:12-14,
the “Edomites” are warned not to contribute to Israel’s oppression “in the day
of their DISTRESS.”
If
they do, which will actually be the case, then they be will recipient’s of the
judgment that will come at the Day of the Lord mentioned in verse 15ff.
Thus,
the prophet tells us that the people of this geographical area, will in fact,
fail to heed the warning. Ezekiel 35:5.
“Because you have had everlasting enmity and have delivered the sons of Israel
to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity (āydh), at the time of
the punishment of the end.”
This could very well involve the activity of trying to get the Jews who are
hiding in the wilderness of Edom
to “come out,” as Jesus indicated will happen. Matthew 24:23-27.
This time of distress is identified in the New Testament as the
Great Tribulation, during which time, Israel
will be severely distressed by Satan using the “man of lawlessness” of 2
Thessalonians 2:3-12 (the beast of Revelation 13).
But this is not a time of God’s wrath upon the WORLD.
At Revelation 12:12, it is described as a time of Satan’s wrath. “Woe to the
earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath,
knowing that he has only a short time.”
And it is not limited to wrath on Israel, but upon Christians as well.
Revelation 12:17
“And the dragon was enraged with the woman (The Jewish people), and went off
to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God
and hold to the testimony of Jesus.”
Revelation 13:7,
“And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.”
Actually, it is wrath expressed toward ANYONE who will not worship the beast
and take his mark. Revelation 13:15-17, “cause as many who do not worship the
beast to be killed.”
Jesus described it at Matthew 24:9-22.
Verse 9, “Then they will deliver you to tribulation.”
Verse 15, “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation”
Verse 21, “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not
occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall.”
But it is not until AFTER this time of tribulation that the WORLD will receive
the judgment from God’s wrath.
Matthew 24:29,
“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 power of the heavens will be shaken.”
Verse 30,
“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.”
Just like at Revelation 6:12-17, it is AFTER the signs in the sun, moon and
stars, and AFTER arrival of the Son of Man, that the peoples of the earth
panic and mourn since they KNOW that God’s wrath is coming.
Verse 12-14, “and there was a great earthquake and the SUN became black as
sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of
the sky fell to the earth . . . and the sky was split apart (“shaken,” Mat.
24:29) like a scroll when it is rolled up.”
Verse 15-17, and all the people tried to hide and cried out, “hide us from the
WRATH of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the
great day of their wrath has come and who is able to stand?”
It is obvious that they are in a panic and KNOW that God’s wrath is about to
come upon them, because they have seen “the presence (Lit: face) of God
through the arrival of Jesus (the Lamb).
And it is AFTER this arrival of Jesus “in the clouds of the sky with power and
great glory,” that the wrath of God is indeed poured out on the world through
the trumpet judgments of Revelation 8-9, and the bowl judgments of Revelation
15-16.
Thus, it is quite clear that the period known as the great tribulation is a
time of great persecution against the church and Israel from Satan, but those
who believe in Christ will be gathered out BEFORE the wrath of God comes upon
the world.
This is the order shown to us at both Matthew 24:29-31 and Revelation
6:14-7:14.
A. The signs in the sun, moon and stars: Mt 24:29; Rev.
6:12-14.
B. Mourning BEFORE Jesus arrives: Mat. 24:30, “And they will see the sign of
the Son of Man 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.” (Luke 21:26).
C. The arrival of the Lord: Mat. 24:30; Rev. 6:15-16.
D. Additional mourning and great panic AFTER the Lord arrives. Rev 6:15-17.
E. The gathering of the saints:
1. Mat. 24:29-31, “AFTER the tribulation of those days.
2. Rev. 7:9-14, the newly-arrived multitude in heaven, who are “the ones who
come out of the great tribulation.”
F. The time of divine judgment:
Mt. 24:36-42; Rev. 6:17; 7:3; 8:1-5.
However, while it is quite clear that the tribulation is not an expression of
divine wrath on the Christians or, for that matter, even on the world in
general, the Scripture does teach that the nation (or people) of Israel is
STILL under the national discipline of 70 AD.
Luke 21:23-24, “for there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath to
this people, and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led
captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the
Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
Thus, during the time of the tribulation (the great distress of Matthew 24:15
and Daniel 12:1), the Jews are still under the judgment and wrath of God.
Accordingly, we find a perfect parallel with “the time of Jacob’s distress.”
It corresponds on all points with Daniel 12:1 and Matthew 24.
Jeremiah 30:4
Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning
Judah.
This concerns BOTH kingdoms (Judah
and Israel).
Jeremiah 31:1, “all the families of Israel.”
Jeremiah 31:27, “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”
Jeremiah 31:31, “a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of
Judah.”
Through the Babylonian captivity, all the tribes of Israel were re-united in
their dispersion.
And when the people came back to the land after the decree of 536 BCE, people
from ALL 12 tribes returned to Judah.
Thus, the Roman captivity of 70 AD involved ALL the tribes of Israel.
Likewise, it is ALL the tribes that are slowly re-gathered back into the land
so that at the time of the 70th week of Daniel, the prophecies of
both judgment and blessing involve all the tribes. That’s why MOST of the
tribes are represented in the 144,000 Jews who are converted after the rapture
of the church (Rev. 7:5-8).
Jeremiah 30:5-6
“For thus says the LORD, I have heard a sound of terror, Of dread, and there
is no peace.
‘Ask now, and see, If a male can give birth. Why do I see every man {With} his
hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth? And {why} have all faces turned
pale?
The image of birth pains is used as an illustration of great suffering and
distress. It is not used here as some kind of “standard” for equating
passages.
For details on this birth pain analogy -
see topic: BIRTH PAINS ANALOGY
Jeremiah 30:7
‘Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of
Jacob’s distress, But he will be saved from it.
Jeremiah 30:4-7 refers to a SPECIFIC period of time that
is characterized by extreme suffering, as a woman in child birth.
It occurs in a context of judgment (national discipline) and the promise of
deliverance.
I repeat Jeremiah 30:11,
”Only I will not destroy you completely,
But I will CHASTEN you justly.”
However, the passage goes BEYOND the immediate historical crisis of the
Babylonian Captivity of Jeremiah’s time and looks to a SPECIFIC period of time
in the distant future (the END-TIMES) that is characterized by “there is NONE
like it.”
The passage also indicates that deliverance from this
period of suffering will be through the coming of the promised Messiah.
It refers to the great tribulation, rather than to an extended period of time
that starts with the Babylonian captivity. The LENGTHY periods of time where
there is no SEVERE sufferings would disqualify this “time of Jacob’s distress”
as referring to a time period relatively equal to “the times of the Gentiles.”
Notice how verse 7 so perfectly parallels
Daniel 12:1 and Matthew 24:21-22, and Obadiah 1:12-17.
TIME OF DISTRESS (tsarah)
Jeremiah 30:7, It is the time of Jacob’s distress (tsArAh)
Daniel 12:1, and there will be a time of distress (tsArAh)
Matthew 24:21, For then there will be a great tribulation.
Obadiah 1:10-14, in the day of their distress.
NEVER OCCURRED BEFORE -
Jeremiah 30:7, there is none like it
Daniel 12:1, such as never occurred since there was a nation
Matthew 24:21, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world.
RESCUED FROM IT –
Jeremiah 30:7, But he will be saved from it.
Daniel 12:1, everyone who is found written in the book will be rescued.
Matthew 24:22, And unless those days were cut short, no flesh would
be delivered, but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
Obadiah 1:10-17, But on Mount
Zion there will be those who escape.
DAY OF THE LORD FOLLOWS -
Jeremiah 30:8, And it will come about in that day
that I will break off his yoke from off their neck.
Daniel 12:1-2, “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake.”
Matthew 24:29, But immediately after the tribulation of those
days . . . they will see the Son of Man coming.
Obadiah 1:15, For the day of the Lord draws near on all nations.
Jeremiah 30:8
‘And it shall come about on that day,’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘that I
will break his yoke from off their neck, and will tear off their bonds; and
strangers shall no longer make them their slaves.
The deliverance comes in two stages:
1. At the day of the Lord which will end the time of Jacob’s distress at the
hands of the beast. However, this will NOT end the 5th cycle of
discipline and not totally remove Israel out from under Gentile control. Total
deliverance will not come until -
2. During the Armageddon campaign when Jesus
physically descends to
Jerusalem
to destroy all the armies. Zechariah 12, 14.
After that deliverance will be the establishment of the Messiah’s earthly
kingdom.
Jeremiah 30:9
‘But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will
raise up for them.
Verses 10-11 give a summary of that deliverance.
First - through re-gathering – as seen earlier in this discourse.
Jeremiah 30:10
‘And fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the LORD,
And do not be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your offspring from the land of their captivity.
And Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease,
And no one shall make him afraid.
The
re-gathering of the Jews back into the land in an END-TIMES context will
result eventually in the FULL POSSESSION of their
DIVINE LAND GRANT. This will involve a PROCESS that takes place over the
many years preceding the Lord’s victory at Armageddon.
Second, the deliverance will be accomplished through destruction of the
nations through the Armageddon campaign.
Jeremiah 30:11
‘For I am with you,’ declares the LORD, ‘to save you;
For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will not destroy you completely.
But I will chasten you justly,
And will by no means leave you unpunished.’
Verses 12-17 now focuses on the PRESENT condition of the nation at Jeremiah’s
time during the Babylonian captivity. The nation is clearly in need of divine
discipline.
The NATURAL break in the Hebrew text shows us a change of focus.
This is a common stylistic device used by the Hebrew prophets and requires of
us, due diligence to observe when there is a change.
So Jeremiah “leaves” the subject of the end-times and focuses on the immediate
crisis and condition of the people of his own time.
Verse 12
“For thus says the LORD, Your wound is incurable, And your injury is serious.
Verse 13
‘There is no one to plead your cause; {No} healing for {your} sore, No
recovery for you.
Verses 16-17 speak of deliverance from the current Babylonian captivity. God
will judge Israel’s oppressors and restore the nation to “health.”
But the judgment on the “adversaries” involves CAPTIVITY for them.
”And all your adversaries, every one of them, will GO INTO CAPTIVITY.”
This is what happens through the Persian defeat of Chaldea
in 538 BCE. The end-times defeat of the adversaries does NOT involve
“captivity,” but total destruction. (verse 11, “I will destroy completely all
the nations where I have scattered you.”)
A. In verses 7-11 (an end-times context) the focus is on “all the nations.”
B. In verse 16 (a 538 BCE context) the focus is “all your adversaries” who
“plunder you” and “prey upon you.”
At Verses 18-22 there is another NATURAL break in the Hebrew text. Here,
Jeremiah shifts back to the end-times context. These verses provide us with a
summary of the deliverance from the time of Jacob’s distress and establishment
of the people in Messiah’s kingdom.
These things were never fulfilled during the time of the restoration from the
Babylonian captivity. These blessings are yet future and will occur when the
Messiah gains His victory over ALL THE OPPRESSORS (Verse 20); the many
“nations” of verse 11.
At verses 23-24
Jeremiah shifts to the specific Day-of-the-Lord judgments going forth in WRATH
after the deliverance from the time of Jacob’s distress.
Verse 24, “in the latter (last) days you will understand this.”
This is not a reference to the deliverance from Babylon, for that will occur
within about 50 years (536 BCE).
The term, “last days,” also identifies the context for the time of distress
that is described as “there is none like it.” (verse 7).
The LAST (or latter) days: Deut. 4:30; 31:29; Isaiah 2:2; Jeremiah 23:20;
30:24; 48:47; 49:39; Ezekiel 38:16; Daniel 2:28; 10:14; Hosea 3:5; Micah 4:1
Chapter 31 - “at that time” refers to the general time period of the day of
the Lord, after the judgments have been meted out.
Then will Israel
(believers) be re-gathered into the kingdom . .
“and they shall never languish again,” verse 31:12.
In Jeremiah 31.1-6, the restoration is mentioned with special focus on the
union between Israel and Judah (all the families of Israel).
Verses 27-31, “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”
Verse 2 is probably a reference to the divine protection of the
Jews who flee Jerusalem
into the wilderness - Rev. 12:6, 13-16
(These are not believing Jews - but ones who are faithful to
their heritage so that they resist the beast.)
It is the protection of God in the wilderness and His physical
return to deliver them that woos them to believe in Christ.
Jeremiah 31:3
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with grace-kindness.
And of course the result is that they will look upon Him whom
they pierced and mourn for Him (Zech. 12.10-14)and this is when they will be
restored (in blessing) to the land.
There is also "mourning" associated with the gathering mentioned at Jeremiah
50:4-5.
"In
those
days and at that time,"
declares the
LORD, "the
sons of
Israel will
come, both they and the
sons of
Judah as
well ; they will
go along
weeping as they
go, and it will be the
LORD their
God they will
seek.
5 "They will
ask for the way to
Zion, turning their
faces in its
direction ; they will
come that they may
join themselves to the
LORD in an
everlasting
covenant that will not be
forgotten.
This is because they have now accepted Jesus as their Messiah and express the
genuine NATIONAL (and personal) sorrow concerning the failures of the past.
After Jesus delivers them at the culmination of the Day of the Lord
judgments, it is then that they will come back to the land AS BELIEVERS.
Verse 5
"join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant."
This is the salvation covenant that they accept.
So at Jeremiah 31:4-14, the re-gathering is that which takes place AFTER
Messiah's victory over His enemies, and it takes place during the 75 days
before the formal establishment of the kingdom.
| 
