Zephaniah 1:
1 The word of the LORD which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
Zephaniah means Yahweh hides or Yahweh has hidden, Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (640-609 BC). Zephaniah's prophecies are about the Day of the Lord (the end times).
2 "I will utterly consume everything From the face of the land," Says the LORD;
This speaks of after the millennial reign of Christ and after the great white throne judgment when the earth passes away and there is a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1).
3 "I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, The fish of the sea, And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land," Says the LORD.
This prophecy refers to the judgments that will come at the end of Christ’s millennial reign when the earth is purged of all sin. We know this because when has our Lord ever consumed the fish?
4 "I will stretch out My hand against Judah, And against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, The names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests—
This prophecy is an example of one with dual fulfillment. The Holy Spirit’s use of dual fulfillment prophecies is a way for the Lord to prove the prophet speaks for God. When the near (partial) fulfillment of the prophecy comes true, it then convinces us that the far (complete) fulfillment of the prophecy will also come true.
The near (partial) fulfillment was the Babylonian invasion and exile that ended idol worship in Israel. The far (complete) fulfillment is at the end of Christ’s millennial reign when the earth is purged of all sin.
5Those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; Those who worship and swear oaths by the LORD, But who also swear by Milcom;
This refers to both the idol worshippers before the Babylonian invasion, the people who worship the image of the beast (Satan) before Christ’s return, and the people who follow Satan into rebellion after Christ’s millennial reign.
6 Those who have turned back from following the LORD, And have not sought the LORD, nor inquired of Him."
This describes all the secular people (then, now, and in the future) who have turned away from God and have no concerns regarding His will.
7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; For the day of the LORD is at hand, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.
The near (partial) fulfillment is the Babylonian invasion and the far (complete) fulfillment is the great supper of God in Revelation 19 when Christ returns and all the birds (guests) are invited to feast on the flesh of the unbelievers (sacrifice).
8 "And it shall be, In the day of the LORD's sacrifice, That I will punish the princes and the king's children, And all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.
Our spirit is clothed with our body, we see in 2 Cor. 5:1-4:
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life,
Let’s take a closer look:
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed,
This is our earthly body of flesh, the one our spirit was born into.
we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
This is our immortal body, the one those in the Body of Christ will receive at the resurrection.
For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,
Our spirit groans in our body of flesh wanting to be in its glorified immortal body.
if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.
Our spirit does not need a body, but it will be "naked" if it does not receive its glorified body.
For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed,
Our spirit is burdened and groans because it wants out of our fleshly body not to be without a body (naked) but to be in its glorified body.
that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
Our spirit wants out of our dying bodies of flesh and in our immortal body.
Okay now let’s see what the Lord says about the end times in Zephaniah 1:8:
"And it shall be, in the day of the LORD's sacrifice, That I will punish the princes and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel.”
If you (spirit) are clothed in foreign apparel you are clothed with something that is foreign (alien), not a human body.
The Lord is not talking about Americans wearing foreign clothes made in China, but is talking about people who have willingly changed their bodies into something not quite human, like a genetically modified body.
Our DNA makes us who we are and when altered it makes you into something different. How much different? Depends on what part and how much you alter.
Can a Satan worshipper who gets a “666” tattoo on his forehead be saved when he finds the Lord? What is so special about the mark of the beast that guarantees a trip to the lake of fire?
Once you get the mark there is no turning back, no grace offered for repentance.
Why?
The mark must do more than just allow you to buy and sell; it must change something, but what?
Revelation 14:11:
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Once you take the mark you are doomed to the lake of fire.
Why?
The mark of the beast will produce genetically engineered humans.
This genetic engineering (the mark of the beast) will offer a long disease free life with increased intelligence, with more strength and intelligence along with other things. It will sound so wonderful; people will be fighting in line to get it done.
So to recap:
To be clothed in foreign apparel means that your spirit is clothed with something that is foreign to God’s Kingdom and to man’s body. Revelation 14 tells us that anyone who receives the mark of the beast will be thrown into the lake of fire (with no exceptions). The mark of the beast will allow people to buy and sell, but it will also alter the body of those who receive it. Once your body has been altered by the mark of the beast (clothed with foreign apparel) you will no longer be able to be redeemed of your sins by man’s Kinsman Redeemer (Christ).
9 In the same day I will punish All those who leap over the threshold, Who fill their masters' houses with violence and deceit.
This refers to the people that will bring goods obtained with violence and fraud to honor the image of the beast (Satan) that will be set up in God’s temple at the beginning of the great Tribulation. This includes all ill gotten goods and all the temples used to worship Satan in all of the nations.
10 "And there shall be on that day," says the LORD, "The sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate, A wailing from the Second Quarter, And a loud crashing from the hills.
Jerusalem and the rest of the world will be purged of all unbelievers at the sheep and goat judgment before the start of the millennial reign of Christ.
11 Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the merchant people are cut down; All those who handle money are cut off.
Maktesh is the market or business district of Jerusalem, the merchants and those with money trusted in their riches, and now God promises to cut down (remove to the lake of fire) all those involved in that kind of idolatry.
12 "And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil.'
No one will be able to hide from God’s judgment, He will punish those who have become complacent, living like there was no God, and those who believe there is a God, but He is not involved in human affairs.
13 Therefore their goods shall become booty, And their houses a desolation; They shall build houses, but not inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine."
Looking at Ezekiel 7:19:
They will throw their silver into the streets, And their gold will be like refuse; Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them In the day of the wrath of the LORD; They will not satisfy their souls, Nor fill their stomachs, Because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.
Back to Zephaniah:
14 The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.
We are still reading dual fulfillment prophecy, the near (partial) being the Babylonian invasion and the far (complete) fulfillment being the second coming of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. This is spoken of in Revelation 6:15-17:
And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! "For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
Back to Zephaniah:
15 That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness,
This is spoken of in Revelation 6 at the opening of the sixth seal, in Rev.10 with the seventh trumpet, and in Rev. 16 with the seventh bowl of God’s wrath. We are told that with the seventh trumpet the mystery of God will be finished and the Kingdom of God will be revealed. This compares to the sixth seal when the sky recedes like a scroll into an additional dimension; it opens up into the Kingdom of God and reveals the Throne of God and the Lamb of God to the unbelieving world. The veil of our three dimensional universe will be lifted and man will see the additional dimension(s) of the Kingdom of God.
16 A day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers.
All places of human security will be useless in the day of God's judgment; the only true security is in the service of God.
17 "I will bring distress upon men, And they shall walk like blind men, Because they have sinned against the LORD; Their blood shall be poured out like dust, And their flesh like refuse."
Revelation 16 tells us that when the fifth angel pours out his bowl of God’s wrath the world will become full of darkness and Rev. 19 tells us that all the birds will be filled with the flesh of the unbelievers.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold Shall be able to deliver them In the day of the LORD's wrath; But the whole land shall be devoured By the fire of His jealousy, For He will make speedy riddance Of all those who dwell in the land.
Looking at 2Peter 3:10:
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
This is after the millennial reign of Christ when the earth is purged of all sin; the earth passes away and there is a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1).
Submitted March 23, 2016 at 05:57PM by Unknown
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