03.05. But in That Day
5 But in That Day For Jehovah will have compassion on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the sojourner shall join himself with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob.
And the peoples shall take them, and bring them to their place; and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of Jehovah for servants and for handmaids: and they shall take them captive whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.
And it shall come to pass in the day that Jehovah shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy trouble, and from the hard service wherein thou wast made to serve,
That thou shall take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
Jehovah hath broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers;
That smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, that ruled the nations in anger, with a persecution that none restrained.
The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir-trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since thou art laid low, no hewer is come up against us (Isaiah 14:1-8, ASV).
Isaiah 14:1-8 very briefly describe conditions which will exist after "the time of Jacob’s trouble" has passed and the kingdom of Christ has been established. Gentile rule will have been brought to an end, and the sceptre will have passed into the hands of Israel, established in that coming day back in her land and occupying her God-appointed position at the head of the nations ( cf. Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 2:1-4; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-28).
Two cities figure prominently in events on earth during the 2,600-year period covering "the times of the Gentiles": Jerusalem, and Babylon. And these two cities, both mentioned very early in Scripture (Genesis 10:10; Genesis 14:18), stand in complete contrast to one another at every point. Babylon is first mentioned in connection with Nimrod (the name means "rebel," "one who revolts"), and Jerusalem is first mentioned in connection with Melchizedek (meaning, "King of peace" [Hebrews 7:2]), establishing first-mention principles which hold constant throughout Scripture.
The first king of Babylon at the beginning of the times of the Gentiles came against Jerusalem, carried the Jewish people into captivity, and destroyed the city and the temple. And the last king of Babylon at the end of the times of the Gentiles will do exactly the same thing (2 Kings 24:10-20; 2 Kings 25:1-13; Daniel 9:26; Luke 21:20-24; Revelation 11:2). The last king of Babylon though, rather than transporting the Jewish people back to Babylon as the first king did, will sell them as slaves throughout the Gentile world (Joel 3:6-8). At that time, Babylon’s cup of iniquity will have become full (cf. Genesis 15:16); and, after allowing Jerusalem to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles for three and one-half years, the Lord will then step in and bring conditions to pass as described in Isaiah 14:1-8 :
"How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!..."
This is the fate awaiting Antichrist, Babylon, and those individuals ruling with the last king of Babylon -- a fate which was set the day Nebuchadnezzar moved against the Jewish people almost 2,600 years ago. The Last Days of Babylon
Babylon is referred to by name six times in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 14:8; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:5; Revelation 18:2, Revelation 18:10, Revelation 18:21), and the manner in which Babylon is presented in this book must be consistent with the way Babylon is presented in the Book of Daniel, or elsewhere in the Old Testament. The Babylon of Revelation, as the Babylon of Daniel, must refer to a kingdom centered in a city on the Euphrates in the Middle East. It cannot be understood any other way.
Then, something else must be borne in mind about Babylon in the Book of Revelation. There are not "two Babylons" in this book (a religious and a political), but only one. There is only one in Daniel, and the same must hold true for the Book of Revelation. There must be this correspondence between the way Babylon is presented in both books.
There is a religious power in Revelation 17:1-18 called, "Mystery Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth," which some expositors have identified as "religious Babylon," opposed to "political Babylon" in chapter eighteen. However, this is not really the way Scripture presents the matter. Scripture does not make such a separation. Rather, in Scripture, there is an inseparable identification, one with the other. The religious power is identified in synonymous terms with the literal, physical city of Babylon (Revelation 17:18), leaving only "one" Babylon in view.
1. The Mother of Harlots
This false religious system is identified after a fashion which would not be correct for identifying any other false religious system in the world -- "the Mother of Harlots." Though all false religious systems can trace their roots, after some fashion, back to an origin in Babylon (all false systems operate in opposition to God’s true system, something which had its beginning in Babylon [cf. Genesis 11:1-5]), there can be only one "Mother"; and she appears at the end of the age in Babylon.
The one thing which allows this false religious system to be looked upon as the "Mother" is her inseparable identification with Babylon -- identified in synonymous terms with the city. "Babylon" alone is the Mother, and any false system emanating from Babylon, apart from possessing the identity in Revelation 17:18, would be an offspring of the Mother, not the Mother herself.
Even the false religious system in view in Revelation 17:1 ff, apart from possessing this direct association with Babylon, would have to be looked upon the same way as any other false system (an offspring rather than the Mother). But the Harlot in this chapter is identified with the city of Babylon (in the same sense that the bride of Christ is identified with the New Jerusalem later in the book [cf. Revelation 17:1-7, Revelation 17:18; Revelation 21:9-10]), after a fashion which places this false religious system in a category different from all other false religious systems.
This is one thing which will prevent anyone from identifying the false religious system in Revelation 17:1-7 with the Church of Rome, as so many expositors attempt to do. Rome lacks the necessary direct identification with Babylon, which leaves this particular religious system in the position of being an offspring, not the Mother.
And using Revelation 17:9 as a verse locating this false system in Rome, or using this verse to identify the city in verse eighteen as Rome, is completely invalid. The "seven heads" of the beast in this verse are said to be "seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth." Rome was built on seven hills, and some individuals erroneously associate the seven mountains of Revelation 17:9 with the seven hills of Rome, making the woman and the Church of Rome to be one and the same.
But Scripture clearly teaches something entirely different. The verse immediately following (Revelation 17:10) goes on to state, "And there [lit., ’they’ (the ’seven heads,’ symbolized by ’seven mountains’)] are seven kings." A "mountain" is often used in Scripture to symbolize a kingdom (Isaiah 2:2-4; Daniel 2:35; Daniel 2:44-45), and in Revelation 17:9 this word is used to symbolize a succession of kings in the kingdom (Antichrist will be the seventh -- the seventh head, mountain).
There can be no allusion whatsoever to Rome or Roman Catholicism in Revelation 17:9. The entire seventeenth chapter has a Middle East setting, centering around Babylon (it must in order for the "Mother of Harlots" to be revealed). This chapter has to do with Middle East rulers, the city of Babylon on the Euphrates, and a false religious system associated with Babylon after the fashion revealed in verse eighteen.
Once this dispensation is over and God resumes His dealings with Israel, attention in Scripture then focuses on the Middle East -- upon Israel and the surrounding nations. And the religion of the nations surrounding Israel is Moslem, not Christian.
(Aside from viewing the matter after this fashion, God’s dealings with the Church on earth at the time of the rapture will have been completed. And it would, accordingly, be dispensationally incorrect to have God complete His dealings with the Church on earth, resume His dealings with Israel, but yet single out the pseudo-Church [the Church of Rome in this case] as an entity to occupy a special place within His dealings at that time.)
The last king of Babylon will arise in the Middle East and reign from a city located in the midst of Moslem nations in that part of the world (his rise and activity in a Middle East setting is the consistent teaching of both Daniel and Revelation); and ten of these nations, forming his ten-kingdom confederacy, will "have one mind" and give unto Antichrist "their power and strength" as he sits on Satan’s throne in Babylon (Revelation 13:2; Revelation 17:13).
These ten nations will undoubtedly be OPEC nations in control of particularly the Gulf oil, for Antichrist will possess a power-base of such a nature that he will be able to exert practically unlimited control over the nations of the world; and controlling the Middle East oil supply is the one thing which could provide him with such power (ref. Chapter IV).
(One other thing which will undoubtedly fit into the structure of Antichrist’s power-base is the fact that over the past several decades the OPEC nations have converted a large part of their oil profits into Western holdings -- real estate, numerous business enterprises, etc. This has occurred on such a large scale that, even today, some individuals in high positions of state in the West have expressed concern.)
A) Islam and Government
Since the harlot is associated with Antichrist in this Middle East setting, there would be no possible way to identify the harlot after a fashion other than Moslem. The entire scene presented in Revelation 17:1 ff fits perfectly with the Moslem mind-set, the goal of Islam, and the way this religion is related to the government.
In Moslem countries there is no separation between the government and the religious faith of the people, as in the West. Islam permeates every aspect of society, becoming an integral part of life within that society, including the government. Religion encompasses everything, and the Moslem clerics, resultingly, find themselves inseparably linked with state government.
In a Moslem state such as Iran, this has been carried to the point that there is really no secular governmental authority with which to contend. When the Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979, he established a religious state in which the Moslem clerics exerted absolute control, and this same form of government continues under another Ayatollah today.
Religious dominance within government is something which already exists to some degree in all Middle East Moslem countries, and this same situation will exist after the fashion described in Revelation 17:1 ff within these same countries during the days of Antichrist. The harlot will, in that day, not only be carried by the Beast (Antichrist) but will also be seated "upon many waters," identified as "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (Revelation 17:1, Revelation 17:15). That is, the harlot will exert control over the entire system of that day through the central political leader; which is to say, the real governmental power will reside in the Moslem clerics in the ten-kingdom Middle East confederacy as they exert control over Antichrist’s movements and actions while he reigns as the last king of Babylon.
They will be instrumental in controlling his movements at the time he breaks his covenant with Israel, envisioning, through his power, to at last be able to reclaim the land of Palestine for "Allah." And not only this, but these Moslem clerics will also envision using Antichrist’s power to realize the ultimate goal of Islam -- that of bringing the entire world under subjection to "Allah" through Islamic dominion and control.
But such will not occur. Sometime during the last half of the Tribulation the "great whore" is going to be destroyed by the very ten-kingdom confederacy over which she exerted control. The religious system will be destroyed (allowing all worship to be directed toward the Beast alone), but the city of Babylon itself will continue throughout the remainder of the last half of the Tribulation as the capital of Antichrist’s kingdom (Revelation 18:1 ff).
B) Islam and Anti-Semitism
Islam is the most anti-Semitic religious system the world has even known; and, along with its anti-Semitism, this religious system, immediately before it is destroyed, is also presented as being "drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Revelation 17:6). The harlot, along with seeking to do away with Israel through Antichrist (being the power behind the power as Antichrist and his ten-kingdom confederacy seek to cut Israel off from being a nation, "that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance" [Psalms 83:4]), will apparently also have a part in Antichrist’s martyrdom of innumerable individuals saved under the ministry of the 144,000 Jews proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom during the Great Tribulation.
(The preceding reveals that the harlot will still be present and very active during at least a part of the last half of the Tribulation, for it is during this last half that the 144,000 will proclaim their message worldwide. There will be "Beast-worship" throughout the last three and one-half years [Revelation 13:4-5], but the most intense "Beast-worship" [Revelation 13:15] will probably occur after the harlot has been destroyed.)
In the final analysis, there is always a price which must be paid for acts such as the harlot will commit; and God is going to extract that price by putting it within the hearts of the ten rulers giving "their power and strength" unto Antichrist to fulfill His will by destroying the harlot. These ten rulers will, supernaturally, be caused to "hate the whore," resulting in their bringing about her utter destruction. As described by John, they will "make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire" (Revelation 17:16-17).
Insofar as Islam is concerned, the outworking of the God-ordained principle surrounding anti-Semitism in Genesis 4:15; Genesis 12:3 will be brought to pass after this fashion; and Islam, identified in synonymous terms with Babylon, will then cease to exist.
2. Babylon on the Euphrates
After disposing of Babylon in its religious form, then the physical city of Babylon on the Euphrates comes into view, for this city must also experience a similar destruction. This is a destruction foretold in minute detail by several Old Testament prophets. Isaiah foretold this destruction, placing it within the future Day of the Lord (Isaiah 13:1 ff); Jeremiah foretold the same destruction, stating that it would occur after a fashion similar to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jeremiah 50:1-46; Jeremiah 51:1-64); and Daniel, dealing with the complete history of the kingdom of Babylon, prophesied of a coming day when the Stone (Christ) "cut out of the mountain without hands" would smite the image (representing Babylon) upon its feet, breaking the image to pieces -- a smiting which will occur through Divine power upon Babylon in its final form during the days of Antichrist (Daniel 2:34-35; Daniel 2:44-45).
Then, the Book of Revelation, in somewhat brief form, describes this destruction at the time it occurs during the coming Day of the Lord. This book does not go into great detail concerning Babylon’s destruction, for the Old Testament prophets have already provided the details. That which is revealed about Babylon’s destruction in the Book of Revelation is merely the record of the Lord bringing to pass that which the prophets previously foretold.
The matter is similar to that which the Book of Revelation records about Christ’s return and millennial reign (Revelation 19:11-21, Revelation 20:1-6). These events actually take up very little space in this book, though they form a central subject of Old Testament Scripture, beginning with Genesis. And the reason very little space is given to this overall subject in the Book of Revelation is evident. All of the information surrounding Christ’s return and millennial reign has already been provided by the prophets. The Apostle John, as in the account concerning Babylon’s destruction, merely records the Lord bringing to pass that which the prophets previously foretold.
Some things about Babylon in its two forms and corresponding destruction are spoken of after such a fashion in Revelation 17:1-18; Revelation 18:1-24 (also Revelation 19:2-3) that there appears to be little or no separation between the two. And this is exactly as it should be, for only one Babylon is in view within this overall destruction -- the same one which the prophets foretold would be destroyed. The religious form, destroyed first, is inseparably identified with the city itself, allowing Scripture to deal with the matter after this fashion.
That a destruction upon Babylon in its two forms occurs at two different times is clear. The harlot is destroyed first, through the actions of the ten kings ruling under Antichrist (Revelation 17:16-17); but later, when the city itself is destroyed -- through direct, Divine intervention, as in the destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the other cities of the plain (Isaiah 13:19-20; Jeremiah 50:40) -- these same ten kings appear to be among those who "bewail her, and lament for her" (Revelation 18:9-10). These two destructions are simply not the same. They occur at different times and are carried out in different fashions.
The city itself appears to be destroyed very near the end of the Tribulation. And when this city is destroyed -- when the Stone "cut out of the mountain without hands" smites the image upon its feet -- the "kings of the earth" are not the only ones who wail and lament. The "merchants of the earth" do likewise (Revelation 18:11-19). Babylon will not only be the center of world government during the Great Tribulation but also the center of world commerce as well (Zechariah 5:5-11).
Everything will be controlled from this one central place by one man through ten kings, as they "have one mind" with the Beast and give their "power and strength" unto him. And this control will extend worldwide to the extent that no man will be able to "buy or sell" unless he possesses "the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (Revelation 13:17).
Conditions on earth under this man’s reign will rapidly deteriorate, as described under the opening of the second, third, and fourth seals in Revelation 6:3-8. Peace will first be taken from the earth (Revelation 6:3-4), an apparent reference to the time when this man breaks his covenant of peace in the Middle East. Then the main human requirement in the commercial realm is the next thing mentioned. The price of food will begin to skyrocket (Revelation 6:5-6). And the next thing which would then naturally follow, and it will, is death (Revelation 6:7-8). One-fourth of the earth’s population will die as a direct result of this man’s handling of matters.
"The merchants of the earth" though, through their association with Babylon, will become rich and not be adversely affected by the lack or price of food (cf. Revelation 6:6 b; Revelation 18:15-19). And "the kings of the earth," likewise through their association with this city, will prosper and not be adversely affected (Revelation 18:9). But for the man on the street, it will be an entirely different matter.
This will all occur during the time Jews are being sold as slaves throughout the Gentile world. And who could afford to buy a Jewish slave during that day, outside of those prospering as a direct result of their association with "that great city Babylon"? No wonder the final and complete destruction of Babylon is given after such a graphic fashion:
"And a mighty angle took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all..." (Revelation 18:21 ff; cf. Jeremiah 51:63-64).
And it is no wonder that the next thing which will occur, according to that which John was allowed to see in the future Day of the Lord, will be rejoicing in heaven over the destruction of this city:
"And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore..." (Revelation 19:1 ff). The Restoration of Israel
Israel’s darkest hour will occur immediately before the dawn of the millennial day, during the reign of Antichrist, immediately prior to that time when the "Sun of righteousness" arises "with healing in his wings" (Malachi 4:1-2; cf. Matthew 24:15-22). Israel is to pass through the furnace, heated "seven times more than it was wont to be heated [’seven times hotter than usual,’ NIV]" (Daniel 3:19); and while in the furnace, the Israelites, "in their affliction," will seek the Lord "early" (Hosea 5:15). The Lord will, at that time, hear their cry, remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, come down, and deliver them from the hand of the oppressor (Exodus 2:23-25; Exodus 3:1-10).
This will occur "after two days [after two thousand years]," dating from the time Israel crucified her Messiah; and it will be "in the third day [in the third one-thousand-year period]," dating from the crucifixion, that Israel will be raised up to live in God’s sight (Hosea 6:1-2). This third one-thousand-year period will be the seventh millennium dating from Adam’s creation, which will be the Sabbath rest presently awaiting the people of God (Hebrews 4:4-9; cf. Exodus 31:12-17; ref. the author’s book, WHAT TIME IS IT? Ch. III).
1. Reborn, Regathered, and Reestablished
The day is coming when it will no longer be said, "The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt." Rather, in that day it will be said, "The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all lands whither he had driven them" (Jeremiah 16:14-15).
There are two great deliverances of the Israelites in Scripture. One deliverance is past, and the other is future. The first deliverance was under Moses, and the second will be under the One greater than Moses, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The past deliverance constitutes an overall type of the future deliverance. "Moses" is a type of Christ, and "Egypt" is always a type of the world in Scripture; and the deliverance from Egypt under Moses is a type of the future deliverance from a worldwide dispersion under Jesus the Christ.
Then events on both sides of the actual deliverance from Egypt complete the overall type. There was the death of the paschal lambs in Egypt immediately prior to the deliverance of the Israelites, and there was the destruction of the Assyrian and his armed forces in the Red Sea immediately following their deliverance (Exodus 12:1-51; Exodus 13:1-22; Exodus 14:1-31).
The type has been set, and the antitype must follow the type in exact detail. Israel has slain the Passover Lamb, Jesus the Christ, but Israel has yet to appropriate the blood. A two-thousand-year period separates these two events in Israeli history, but just as surely as Israel appropriated the blood of the paschal lambs which the nation slew in the type (Exodus 12:1-51), Israel is going to appropriate the blood of the Passover Lamb which the nation slew in the antitype (Zechariah 12:10-14; cf. Isaiah 53:1 ff).
Israel’s appropriation of the blood of the Passover Lamb will be the first thing occurring within the framework of God’s dealings with the nation at the time of His Son’s return. Israel, as the Apostle Paul on the Damascus road when Christ appeared to him in his unsaved condition (Acts 9:1-6), will look on the One "whom they have pierced"; and, as the Apostle Paul, the nation, through believing, will experience the birth from above (Isaiah 66:8; cf. 1 Corinthians 15:8; 1 Timothy 1:15-16). Only then can God (according to the type) regather the nation and destroy the kingdom of Antichrist.
God will deal with His people in relation to the sin problem first. This is the way it was done in Egypt during Moses’ day, and this is the way it will be done in the day of the coming of the Son of Man.
The seven feasts of the Lord in Leviticus 23:1-44 constitute the prophetic calendar of Israel and provide a chronology of the order in which God’s dealings with His people will occur at the time of His Son’s return. The first two of these festivals -- the feast of the Passover and the feast of unleavened bread -- were kept by Israel prior to the Exodus from Egypt. In the type, the Israelites first applied the blood of a slain lamb (Passover); then the matter of sin in the lives of those who had applied the blood came into view (unleavened bread).
(Note the brazen altar and brazen laver in the courtyard of the tabernacle, or the two washings [the complete body, and parts of the body] in John 13:5-11. The thought is the same in the first two festivals of the Lord.)
When Christ returns, Israel will not only look on the One Whom they pierced in an unsaved condition but also in an unclean condition. Israel is presently unclean through prior contact with the dead body of God’s Son. The Israelites will first appropriate the blood of the Lamb which the nation slew 2,000 years ago (through receiving the One Whom they presently reject), and they will then acknowledge their sin in the presence of the very One Whom they offended (cf. Genesis 45:1 ff; Hosea 5:15; Zechariah 12:10-14; Zechariah 13:6).
Atonement will be provided for Israel’s sin (the sixth of the seven feast days), but events set forth by the intervening feast days must first be brought to pass.
Prior to Israel’s day of atonement, the resurrection of Old Testament saints will occur (the feast of firstfruits [1 Corinthians 15:23]), the Spirit of God will be poured out on all flesh (the feast of Pentecost [Acts 2:1; Acts 2:15-21]), and the Israelites will be regathered from a worldwide dispersion (the feast of trumpets [Matthew 24:30-31]). Then cleansing will be provided for the nation (the day of atonement [Ezekiel 36:24 ff]) immediately prior to the fulfillment of the feast of tabernacles (the seventh and last of the feasts of the Lord).
The feast of tabernacles was a time of rest in the camp of Israel following the termination of all activity surrounding the previous six festivals, pointing to that future day of rest (the Sabbath rest) awaiting Israel following the termination of all activity surrounding the first six festivals.
2. Ishmael and Isaac at Peace The present Arab-Israeli dispute is "the most intractable problem that there is."
James Baker
U.S. Secretary of State
March, 1991
The leaders of nations worldwide recognize that Middle East peace must center around a solution to one problem -- the Arab-Israeli conflict. And many also recognize, as the U.S. Secretary of State, that this is "the most intractable problem that there is."
This problem has its roots buried 4,000 years in human history (see Part I of this series), and it is a problem which man will never be able to solve. There though is a solution, which will be brought to pass when Israel’s Messiah returns.
In the chronology of events in typology, Ishmael died after Abraham remarried (Genesis 25:1; Genesis 25:17). Abraham’s remarriage, in the chronology of events in Genesis 21:1-34; Genesis 22:1-24; Genesis 23:1-20; Genesis 24:1-67; Genesis 25:1-34, points to that future time when Israel will have been restored to her proper place, positioned back in her land at the head of the nations. Then, and only then, did Ishmael die in the type; and then, and only then, will Ishmael die in the antitype. Until that day, Ishmael will continue as described in Genesis 16:12 -- a "wild man" whose "hand will be against every man."
But in that coming day, when the antitype of Genesis 25:1; Genesis 25:17 comes to pass, Israel will be "the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land" (Isaiah 19:22-25). Only in that coming day will the present "intractable problem" no longer exist in the Middle East.