The Lord is with us (Part 3)

In Parts 1 and 2, I described how the Lord himself, his Comforter and Spirit of truth, is with us in these last days in doing his work. At this time, the Lord arises to support his own cause as well as that of his ‘Jacob army’ in the ongoing spiritual kingdom war against the anti-Christ Chaldeans. I demonstrated the Lord’s clear presence among us in Parts 1 and 2 of this series as he fights for his Kingdom’s cause.

In this passage (Part 3), I will address how the Lord is with us in the context of saving and delivering his people. The salvation of his people will also be very compelling news for Gentiles about the powerful opportunity for deliverance through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Lord’s presence in delivering his people in these last days can be considered in two phases based on the prophetic story that we observe in scripture. The two phases include the deliverance of both remnants of his people who are ultimately saved in these last days. These include:

• The ‘Jacob’-Judah (small) remnant
• The larger house of Israel remnant

I have addressed these respective remnants in detail on this site, but here the emphasis is on the Lord’s presence among us in the process of his people’s last days deliverance. The process for each remnant is addressed in its own section below.

The Lord’s presence in delivering his ‘Jacob’-Judah small remnant

The Lord’s presence in the last days among his small, select remnant is well-established in my prior passages. This is his small flock- the few righteous grapes remaining on his otherwise corrupt and stripped vine. They are the last days Judah-house of David remnant that will ultimately raise a banner on God’s holy hill. The Lord hears his small flock’s prayers and calling for help as they cry out about persecution by their anti-Christ Chaldean enemies. His faithful flock waits on him. A couple scriptures about their faith are as follows:

• “Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.” (Jer. 14:9)

• “For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.” (Is. 33:22)

I have written about the prophetic Psalms in another passage on this site (https://biglion.blog/2020/08/15/prophecy-in-the-psalms/), many of which are written by King David in a prophetic sense, particularly for God’s end times small flock. This flock’s current day prayers are very likely represented in the ancient Psalms that recorded King David and his people asking for their Lord’s help and deliverance in their time. A few of these scriptures include:

• “Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.” (Ps. 82:4)

• “Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.” (Ps. 71:2)

• “Send thine hand from above; rid me, and deliver me out of great waters, from the hand of strange children…” (Ps. 144:7)

These ancient prayers reflect the very same battle of the anti-Christ Chaldean adversary versus God and his people that is raging in our current last days time period. Wicked, corrupt Chaldean leaders who hold captive and persecute the ‘Jacob army’ resisters in our current day are accurately represented by King David’s ancient observations regarding their denial and mocking of God. In these end times, you can be assured that world rulers holding God’s people captive are repeating the exact same statement below about the end times ‘Jacob’ and holy Judah remnant who are clinging to their faith and refusing to bow to the new world order system:

• “He (they) trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.” (Ps. 22:8)

World leaders will finally look on and will be ashamed when God carries out what he has already promised he will do. God will save his righteous small remnant, shield them, and give them refuge from these enemies. God will also see to it that they are delivered and rescued. They will ultimately be led back to the holy land by the Lord himself, albeit with intermediate steps along the way. These steps are described in more detail below.

The Lord in the midst while saving the ‘Jacob army’

I have shown previously that the Lord tells his ‘Jacob army’-Judah remnant many times, “I am with thee.” The Lord is “in the midst” in the last days to save, deliver, and “keep” them. He also tells them several times not to be afraid. The Lord says to his people, “there is no strange God among you” (Is 43:12). The Lord’s own “arm” of might and strength accomplishes this, along with his servant ‘Jacob’ in particular about whom God says that he will make unto his enemy a “fenced brazen wall” that they will not prevail against. Recall the prophet Jeremiah as a “type” of end times ‘Jacob,’ whom God says he knew before he was born and whom he decided to raise up as an “iron pillar” against his whole land. God told him:

• “Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.” (Jer. 1:8)

• “And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.” (Jer. 1:19)

God tells the prophet Jeremiah that he is with him. Jeremiah was God’s anointed, as are those who are God’s faithful last days Judah remnant servants, including ‘Jacob’ himself. The following scriptures show how God is with his small flock as the “saving strength of his anointed” once again to save them from persecution and affliction in these last days:

• “Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee…” (Jer. 30:10-11)

• “The mountains saw thee, and they trembled: the overflowing of the water passed by: the deep uttered his voice, and lifted up his hands on high. Thou wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, even for salvation with thine anointed; thou woundedst the head out of the house of the wicked, by discovering the foundation unto the neck. Selah.” (Hab. 3:10,13)

• “But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.” (Hos. 1:7)

We are furthermore told that the Lord who saves this particular small ‘Jacob army’-‘house of Judah’ flock will “be seen over them” (Zech. 9:14) and will defend them. The Lord is with them.

Note from the last scripture above that it is God himself who saves this remnant in what can be inferred as some sort of supernatural escape (out of ‘Babylon,’ or its system). We are also told that in these last days the “angel of the Lord” goes before them. This unconventional rescue of God’s flock, likely to happen quietly and unseen, is further described in the following scripture:

• “Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.” (Am. 3:12)

(In at least some cases, ‘Samaria’ and ‘Damascus’ can generally be thought of in prophetic terms as today’s northern kingdom, ‘Babylon,’ and its close anti-Christ Chaldean allies). Exactly how this escape from ‘Babylon’ happens and where this remnant goes first appears to be up for debate. But they will be with the Lord. We are told that this particular remnant returns directly “unto the mighty God” (Is. 10:21). We are also told:

• “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” (Is. 10:20)

So the Lord is among his small flock at the time of their deliverance and exodus/escape out of the nation/system of ‘Babylon.’ He will gather and assemble them himself. Clues about this are scriptural references at this time when the Lord addresses the ‘Daughter of Zion,’ ‘Israel,’ and the daughters of Jerusalem. The Lord is offering his flock forgiveness at this time along with relief from fear and captivity. This small flock remnant is told a couple of times in scripture, “The Lord thy God is in the midst of thee.” One example in scripture about this time of the Lord’s salvation is as follows:

• “Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.” (Is. 62:11)

This is the Lord rescuing and saving his small remnant of people from their oppression and captivity in the nation of ‘Babylon.’ This is a time of extreme anti-Christ Chaldean corruption and lawlessness, along with coming war. God says that he will deal with his people’s oppressors (Zeph. 3:19), especially through the “sword” of war at this time. He says that he will send to ‘Babylon’ and bring down all of their nobles (Is. 43:12), and that he will “feed them that oppress (his people) with their own flesh” (Is. 49:26).

So during this last days tumultuous time, God intentionally plans to save his elect. We are told in scripture that the Lord has to save a “seed” or else his people would become as Sodom and Gomorrah (Is. 1:9); that is, they would be utterly destroyed. This is also referred to in scripture as the time when no flesh would be saved, unless it was for the sake of the Lord’s elect (Matt. 24:22). Additional scripture tells us that the Lord will finish his work and “will cut it short in righteousness” (Rom. 9:22) at this time.

The Lord as his small remnant’s pathmaker

In his rescue, deliverance and saving of his small remnant flock from the nation of ‘Babylon,’ the Lord then leads them in the way they should go. Perhaps the original pillar of fire by night and pillar of a cloud by day was a foretelling, symbolic sign also for his people’s last days exodus. This time, the Lord, his Spirit of truth, appears to be among them himself. In speaking to his captive ‘Jacob’-Judah flock in ‘Babylon’ about their deliverance and being with them to show them the way, God says:

• “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord. For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your reward.” (Is. 52:11-12)

• “Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” (Is. 48:17)

• “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” (Is. 43:19)

God is showing how in a last days unraveling, chaotic nation of ‘Babylon’ that he will lead his flock out and provide a way to navigate the treacherous times and obstacles in their way. This will include making a path for them to eventually arrive at their final destination- Jerusalem.

Their journey back to the homeland will take some time and will have stops along the way. Recall the punishment through God’s four dreadful judgments (Ez. 14:21) that must first come upon and decimate the country of Israel. The Tribulation period will obviously not be the time to go back to the homeland. Thus, his flock’s intermediate stops during this time are unclear; but any supernatural option is possible.

God also provides for his small flock during their exodus. Again, we already have a “picture” of this in his people’s original exodus out of Egypt, with God providing for their needs while they were in the desert. Prophetic scriptures below applying to the last days small remnant remind us of the house of ‘Israel’s initial exodus:

• “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.” (Is. 41:17-18)

• “The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.” (Is. 43:20)

After the Lord’s journey with his people and their temporary refuge, he will lead his small flock back to Jerusalem. Upon returning to their final heavenly Millennial Kingdom destination, God is with them. The following scriptures show their return:

• “But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.” (Is. 33:21)

• “But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.” (Jer. 16:15)

Of course, upon reaching their final destination, this will be the time when the whole house of Israel (incl. the large remnant) also converges to meet the Lord Jesus for the beginning of his Millennial Kingdom.

The Lord’s presence in delivering his large remnant

The Lord is also with his larger, worldwide righteous house of Israel remnant in the last days, although not in the same manner as he accompanies his smaller remnant (described above). This is the point in time that the Lord stretches out his hand a second time to recover his remnant from the “four corners of the earth” (Is. 11:11-12). Although this larger remnant’s path to return to the holy land is via a different path than the small, holy remnant, those who seek and find Jesus Christ will still be comforted along the way. God still saves them, delivers them out of danger and brings them back home. The differences the large remnant experiences (in contrast with the aforementioned small remnant) is that while the Lord’s Spirit may always be found, there will be a time when God is no longer “in the midst”; this is because he will hide his face for a time during the Tribulation period.

God will still be directly responsible, however, for saving his righteous larger remnant of people and seeing that they come out of the ‘Babylon’ world system during this time. In doing so, his large remnant will be wandering and seeking him during a time of being outcast and spiritually barren, not to mention suffering Tribulation period turmoil. Recall that this is his remnant of people who will recognize that they are “not saved” at this point (Jer. 13:20).

So, in their wandering, they will not be given a clear path as is the small remnant who follow the Lord. They will instead have to wait for the Lord and endure the Tribulation. This is by God’s design and will serve to make his people desperately yearn for their true God in earnest. God will ultimately come and gather his true believers to his holy land to establish his Kingdom. His delivered people will become an example of God’s gracious blessings, and through them, others worldwide (Gentiles) will see and will also be blessed and saved. This will be the time that God rejoins the house of Judah and the house of Joseph.

The Lord saves his righteous large remnant

Just as was the case with his small, righteous flock, God’s larger righteous remnant will find themselves held captive, oppressed and persecuted in the Tribulation period. This is why they will seek their Savior and we are told will be saved from “all the ends of the earth” (Is. 45:22).

Scripture says that God will rescue, deliver and become a sanctuary for his large remnant of people. While these are his people who have never acknowledged Jesus Christ or who have possibly even blasphemed him prior to their turmoil, those who return to seek him will still find him. God says, “I will save my flock” and he also says that he will have mercy on them. Nonetheless, many of God’s people will be fearful at this time and will have to rely on his following promise:

• “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.” (Is. 35:4)

While his people will not see him while he has hidden his face, those who are righteous and not deceived by false gods will know that his Spirit is still among them. God’s large remnant will have to wait patiently for his revealing at this time- a time when he says, “my righteousness is near” (Is. 51:5).

Meanwhile, in their turmoil, persecution and oppression, God’s large remnant’s prayers will be similar to that of Job’s in his affliction as they wait for their Messiah’s return. They will have similar faith as follows:

• “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth…” (Job 19:25)

Perhaps they will also pray like King David did at the time of his anguish from persecution. As you know, King David was always so keenly aware of God’s presence and acknowledged him frequently as follows, rhetorically asking:

• “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Ps. 139:7)

Recall from my prior passages that there will likely be some supernatural signs of his presence during the Tribulation period. God will also have Tribulation witnesses who give their testimony. In addition, scripture tells us that God will listen for his people who seek him at this time. Consider the following scriptures:

• “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear…” (Is. 59:1)

• “…for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them.” (Zech 10:6)

Later in this section, I will show that God’s people will finally get to visibly see their Lord God. This will be the time when “he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn. 3:2). This also represents the time at which God tells his people, “I will be found of you” (Jer. 29:14).

The Lord frees his large remnant from oppressive ‘Babylon’ world kingdom rulers

The righteous large remnant that God brings out of the world (i.e. “out of Egypt”) will occur as a deliverance process rather than as a sudden, discrete event such as that which is likely for the small flock remnant. This process involves God’s work in freeing his captive, persecuted people from leaders worldwide (i.e. “wild beasts”). You will recall that this process is a quiet, behind-the-scenes battle that happens largely even before God hides his face. This same continuing process (i.e. like a “moth eating a garment” or God’s “trap”) that benefited his small remnant, and that his ‘Jacob army’ themselves were a part of, could very well be the same one that benefits his large remnant.

In his saving of his people in the Tribulation period, God in his wrath will bring down all of ‘Babylon’s kings and their anti-Christ Chaldean cohorts worldwide. This will ultimately include the Anti-Christ himself. The King of Babylon, King of Syria and the Assyrian are among key rulers who will be brought down so that the Lord’s captive people may be freed. As for the latter, God’s people will pray just as they did in the time of King Hezekiah that God will deliver them at the hands of the king of Assyria (Sannacherib):

• “Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, even thou only.” (Is. 37:20)

I have written in a prior passage about how the country of Israel’s rulers will also be found complicit with anti-Christ Chaldean world rulers, likely including at least some of the current-day versions of kings just mentioned above. God will rescue those whom they hold captive. In the following scriptures from the book of Ezekiel, God is referring to his own people’s Chaldean-serving shepherds/kings who have oppressed their citizens inside the country of Israel:

• “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them. ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.  As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.’” (Ez. 34:10-12)

• “Because you (shepherds) shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another.” (Ez. 34:21-22)

These scriptures confirm that God is going to rid his own land of Israel of those shepherds who have oppressed and persecuted their citizens/his flock. God says that he will, “rid the land of savage beasts” (Ez. 34:25). This time period will represent a changing of the guard from historic leaders in the country of Israel who are a bad, corrupt vine of God’s people to a replacement by God’s servant-children who he brings from the “land of the north” (Jer. 16:15); this is God’s small, holy Judah remnant flock referred to earlier in this passage.

Overall, as oppressive, corrupt Chaldean leaders and their societies across the world are exposed, brought down and defeated throughout the Tribulation period, God’s people who are wandering and running from persecution, the “sword,” and wartime conditions will gain at least some relief and freedom from their captivity. God is directly involved at this time and will single-handedly assure that his righteous people are delivered from their oppression worldwide. This will be in addition to that which we see in the country of Israel above.

The Lord frees his large remnant from captivity and calls for their final exodus

God tells his large remnant at this time that he will “save (his) people” and “take (them) from among the heathen” at the time that he takes them into his land. This will be toward the end of the Tribulation period after anti-Christ Chaldean corruption in the country of Israel has been purged. The following scriptures support God freeing his house of Israel from captivity worldwide, “from the ends of the earth”:

• “But thus saith the Lord, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.” (Is. 49:25)

• “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name…” (Ez. 39:25)

• “And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.” (Jer. 29:14)

• “That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.” (Deut. 30:3)

Perhaps before his people who are newly freed from captivity get to see his return, they will hear him in their midst. At this time scripture says, “They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west.” (Hos. 11:9-10) The following scriptures allude to God’s people being able to hear him or at least suggest that they may be able to feel his presence as they are persuaded to return to him and eventually return back to their land. Consider the following scriptures:

• “I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth…” (Is. 43:6)

• “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.” (Is. 30:21)

• “The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” (Joel 3:16)

• “And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” (Is. 42:16)

This will be an amazing time when God’s righteous people realize they are close to seeing their long-awaited Messiah and Savior. His people will ultimately get to see him when he joins them and brings them back in their return to the land. God says that, “after I have plucked them out I will return” (Jer. 12:15).

The Lord leads his large remnant back into the holy land- their final destination

Although the presence of his Spirit has been with his righteous large remnant, and while they were drawn to him, heard him roar, and accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior in the Tribulation period, God will become more fully visible when he leads his people and they regather in their land at the end of the period. The following scriptures show how God is in the lead in directing his people back to their land and in their regathering:

• “And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.” (Jer. 12:15)

• “They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.” (Jer. 31:9)

• “That thou (‘Jacob’) mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.” (Is. 49:9)

The last verse above is God working through his servant ‘Jacob’ at the time that he will direct the house of Israel back to their land. God’s plan from the beginning of re-joining the house of Judah with the house of Israel will be accomplished at this time under Jesus Christ’s glorious reign.

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Both remnants of God’s people, the “ransomed of the Lord,” who return to the land will rejoice in their freedom from bondage and a recognition of the one true God- Jesus Christ- as the only one who saves and sets them free. This will be an answer to their faithful, ancient prophetic prayer as follows:

• “And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (Is. 25:9)

In retrospect, those in God’s faithful remnant will realize that their Lord has been present with them all along.

Grace & Peace,

Lion’s Lair (LL)