The Day of the Lord (Part 3)

In Part 1, I addressed the background and causes for God bringing his end times wrath on the inhabitants of the earth on the Day of the Lord. I also addressed the Lord’s personal vengeance and some aspects of his fighting against his and his people’s adversary on this Day.

In Part 2, I addressed the Day of the Lord as also being comprised of a war in heaven that will manifest with signs in the sun, moon and stars, which will in turn inform events on earth. I linked these signs as they will relate specifically to the Lord’s holy ‘Jacob’-Judah remnant who are his end times fighting army in the spiritual kingdom war that leads into the Day of the Lord.

In Part 2, I also briefly described how the Lord will destroy Satan’s end times worldwide Babylonian kingdom and the shroud of its mystery of iniquity. This mystery is referred to in one verse as the “face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations” (Is 25:7). Along these lines, the Day of the Lord is the same day about which we are told that, “all his purpose will be accomplished.” Jesus already won the kingdom war two thousand years ago, and about his work at the time, he said, “It is finished.” After he defeats his ‘Babylonian’ kingdom adversary on earth in the Day of the Lord we are told that he will say, “It is done.” This will be at a time just before he will make “all things new.”

Destruction of the evil adversary’s kingdom altogether will cause a need for a new heavens and a new earth. These, as they exist in their current state, will “pass away.” The prophet Jeremiah you will recall was a prophet to “all nations” who gave us many end times prophecies, and he shared an interesting vision that may give us a visual of the end state of the earth at the conclusion of the Day of the Lord. He said:

• “I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.” (Jer 4:23-28)

Jeremiah’s vision here in some ways may remind us of the earth that God created at the beginning, in the account we are given in the book of Genesis. However, this earth as described by Jeremiah is one that exists after God’s wrath in the Day of the Lord will have brought great destruction; thereby, demonstrating the need for a new earth to be created.

Contents of this passage

In this passage, I will discuss the Day of the Lord as it relates particularly to catastrophic events on earth and how we will go from the world we know today to the desolate one like Jeremiah described above in a relatively short period of time. The Day of the Lord is the time that God says that he will, “punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity…” (Is 13:11). The result of God’s wrath will be complete destruction of the earth that will leave few inhabitants remaining.

In the broadest sense, this destruction will represent the defeat of Satan’s kingdom on earth, along with the conclusion of his anti-Christ’s, kings’, and other minions’ ongoing schemes and activities that are all directly opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ and his coming kingdom. I will address the Lord’s war against them in this passage as it pertains in the following topical areas:

• Destruction on the earth and on its inhabitants
• Destruction of the earth’s anti-Christ system
• God’s warfare from heaven that will destroy the enemy and judge the earth

While this soon-coming Day of the Lord as it is described in Parts 1 and 2 of this series, as well as here in Part 3, will be terrifying and will cause extreme hardship for many, those who have true, demonstrated faith in Jesus Christ will be saved, or at the very least will be martyred saints of the faith who will be resurrected to God’s heavenly kingdom later. Believers are assured simply, that during this day, “Those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21, Joel 2:32).

[Please see my page on this site entitled Personal Salvation in Jesus Christ alone for more information.]

Destruction on the earth and its inhabitants

Complete destruction of the earth on the Day of the Lord cannot be overstated. This is God’s final wrath and judgment with an explanation point about his sovereignty, showing that he “alone will be exalted” on this Day. In his wrath, we are told that he “makes kingdoms tremble” (Is 23:11) and “his lightings light up the world” (Ps 97:3). In scripture describing how it is the God of the bible alone who will judge the earth on the Day of the Lord we are reminded that he/his:

• “ways are everlasting” (Hab 3:6)
• “is the Lord of all the earth” (Ps 97:5)
• “(is) King over all the earth” (Ps 47:2)
• “is the true God, the living God, and is an everlasting king” (Jer 10:10)
• “is the Mighty One of Jacob, the Lord (our) Savior, and (our) Redeemer” (Is 49:26)

The Lord’s sovereignty over the whole earth will also be readily apparent in terms of both the scale and supernatural nature of destructive events that occur. It is only the one true God who can shake the entire earth that he first created and cause the following devastation as it is described as follows in the Day of the Lord:

• “Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof…The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.” (Is 24:1,3-4)

• “The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.” (Is 24:19-20)

• “Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.” (Ps 18:7)

Additional descriptions that we are given about the Lord’s wrath that will come upon the earth include that: “the hills melt like wax” (Ps 97:5); “the earth shall remove out of her place” (Is 13:13); “the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10); and the “the land shall mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish” (Hos 4:3).

Judgment on the earth’s inhabitants

I have commented before about the vast number and variety of weapons that God has in his arsenal that he will use for his judgment on the earth in his Day of the Lord. King David said about the Lord versus his wicked enemies, “If (his enemy) turns not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of death; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors” (Ps 7:12-13).

In thinking about God’s judgments as they will directly affect the inhabitants of the earth, first in high-level categories, we see in scripture that these include the ones God calls his four dreadful judgments. These are the “sword,” famine, pestilence and wild beasts. They will come upon the land and people of Israel first, but then will come upon the entire world. The heavenly sign of riders on horses in several of the seals opened in the book of Revelation show the unveiling of these judgments as they will come upon the entire earth.

Several of these judgments are also included in the set of signs that Jesus gave as those that will represent the “beginning of sorrows,” but at a time that Jesus said would “not yet (be) the end.” So we will have early warning signs of these events. Meanwhile, these events will all continue to increase in magnitude and intensity as we are told they will happen throughout the Tribulation period.

Additional events in the book of Revelation show the variety of destructive events that God will bring through his seal, trumpet, and vial judgments, ranging from great earthquakes to events originating in the heavens such as those I covered in Part 2. These will include great thundering, great hail, hail mixed with blood, fire, lightning, etc. Other unique judgments that will come upon the rebellious people of the earth and their arrogant rulers who refuse to repent, or who instead take the mark of the beast, will include “grievous” sores, scorching with fire and great heat, a darkness that causes them to gnaw their tongues with pain, etc. Of course, the Lord’s heavenly kingdom warfare conducted with his “sword” and all of its supernatural force will also visit the earth on the Day of the Lord. I will describe this later in this passage.  

Upon the Lord’s wrath displayed in a variety of forms as it will come upon the world, and the devastation that it will cause, it follows that the earth’s inhabitants, especially those who are not awake, not prepared, and most importantly are not followers of Jesus Christ, will be affected profoundly according to the following:

• “And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.” (Is 8:22)

• “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.” (Luke 21:26)

• “Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.” (Is 13:7-8)

While the Lord will employ an entire arsenal of judgments, the level of extreme distress on individual people and their livelihoods will exist because they will fear for their own existence. They will be firsthand witnesses to terrifying events and will also likely witness carnage all around them.

Indicators in scripture of coming large-scale loss of life are given in a couple accounts in the book of Revelation. At the time of the aforementioned rider of the pale horse (fourth seal), he is given power to kill over the “fourth part of the earth” with the sword, hunger, death and the beasts of the earth. At the sixth trumpet judgment, the four angels that are released from the Euphrates river are given charge to slay a third part of men (who are remaining at the time). At this time of the Day of the Lord, we are told that by fire and his sword that the Lord “will plead with all flesh” so that they will repent and be saved. Meanwhile, the scale of loss of life among those who remain stubbornly aligned against him is evident in the following scriptures:

• “And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” (Jer 25:33)

• “And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.” (Zeph 1:17)

• “Their slain also shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.” (Is 34:3)

In the book of Revelation, we are also told that every living creature in the sea will die at this time. 

Destruction of the earth’s anti-Christ system

Given the worldwide destruction and demolition described above, it follows that Satan’s kingdom that is already firmly in place and reaches all over the earth will be destroyed in the Day of the Lord. I have previously summarized on this site the background and purpose for God’s coming judgment on his adversary’s kingdom as follows in my passages entitled, Ezekiel’s personal and prophetic story:

God will be taking back his land and his inheritance for a coming heavenly Kingdom, and will destroy the counterfeit kingdom constructed by those who have rebelled against him and have persecuted his remnant people.

God will set up his own righteous kingdom on earth, ultimately with Jesus Christ, those Jesus calls his brethren, and with his chosen, righteous end times servants. God tells them, “For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted” (Is 60:12).

Many wicked nations and their kings who are drunken with their own illegitimate power and wealth who have always served other gods or have believed that they are their own gods will respond in their typical, entitled fashion. We are told about them when they learn that the Lord will set up his kingdom to come: “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged…” (Rev 11:18).

Below, I will address factors related to how it will become evident to citizens of the world that these oppressive kings, their kingdoms and their power will have been a complete failure due to their support of the anti-Christ world system. In the meantime, to substantiate how God will simply annihilate his adversaries’ kingdoms on earth in the Day of the Lord we are told:

• “Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth.” (Am 9:8)

• “And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them.” (Hag 2:22)

• “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” (Zeph 3:8)

In the final verse, God speaks of his jealousy, which we know from other scripture is directly linked to his people worshiping foreign, false gods. Satan is the “father of lies” whose kingdom and system on earth intentionally distracts people in turning them away from and against the one true God of Israel; thereby, causing them to worship false gods and idols and to break God’s and Jesus’ first commandment.

The adversary’s own destroying and stealing

We know from scripture that Satan not only lies but that he also steals, kills and destroys. About God’s coming wrath in the Day of the Lord, he says, “I will destroy those who destroy the earth” (Rev 11:18). So, if you are looking to assign responsibility for the coming destruction of the earth in the Day of the Lord, look to the one true destroyer, the enemy of God’s creation and humankind, Satan. The following timeless scripture has application specifically for the Day of the Lord that includes God speaking to his kingdom adversary directly:

• “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?” (Is 14:12, 16-17)

Lucifer and his underground minion, “mob” army on earth have carried out his secret purpose from ancient times. In addition to perpetuating lies and intentionally diverting people to worship false gods instead of Jesus Christ, this wicked army has assisted Lucifer in destroying the earth through an organized system of stealing and killing. The prophet Habakkuk who was very troubled in his vision, a vision God said was yet for an appointed time, foresaw a “mob” that would engage in “spoiling” (i.e. plundering) and violence as well as much strife and contention. Habakkuk lamented to God about wicked perpetrators prospering because of lawlessness and a lack of justice.

Satan’s chief officer on earth, the Anti-Christ, will continue to lead and carry out Satan’s mission toward establishing his own corrupt kingdom. I have described previously on this site how it is the end times ‘Assyrian,’ who is thought by some to be the Anti-Christ, who is the end times oppressor and plunderer-in-chief of the world as the head of his own worldwide, underground “mob” army that transcends countries’ borders. Even he is merely just another tool that God uses as a “rod of his anger” in the Day of the Lord. God’s following response to Habakkuk about his troubling vision above sounds much like that judgment that he assigned to Lucifer above, as well as the end times ‘Assyrian’ in the second scripture below.

• “Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them? Because thou hast spoiled many nations, all the remnant of the people shall spoil thee; because of men’s blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.” (Hab 2:7-8)

• “For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man…under (the Lord’s glory) he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire…and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day; And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body…” (Is 10:13, 16-18)

The end times ‘Assyrian’-Pharaoh is a spoiler of God’s house of Israel people in the end times ‘northern kingdom,’ ‘Babylon’-U.S. And scripture is clear that he sets his sights and ambitions far beyond this. This latter verse above and others we are given, however, show that the ‘Assyrian’s reign and life will ultimately come to an end in the Day of the Lord. I describe this in additional context below.

Babylon- the worldwide system of destruction that will be destroyed itself

While the nation of ‘Babylon’-U.S. will be seized and invaded early on in the Day of the Lord, the worldwide harlot system of ‘Babylon’ will have its tentacles spread far and wide over the earth. This is the primary, deceptive system of Satan’s destruction of the earth. It represents the system of witchcraft God is speaking of when he says that he will “destroy the vail that is spread over all nations”; it is also the system that has “made all of the nations drunken.” It is a silent system that has immorality and criminality built-in along with a no-talking policy; it is instead filled with mocking, blaspheming, visual signs, and strange symbols and idols, all of which are anti-Christ propaganda.

Since this system is anti-Christ by design, it also propagates and lifts up many false and foreign gods, ones that this system’s minions worship, but will find will not be able to save or provide answers (i.e. “will not be able to deliver the burden”) when the Day of the Lord arrives. Instead, the Lord will shatter these false gods as follows:

• “Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.” (Jer 10:11)

• “The Lord will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the heathen.” (Zeph 2:11)

• “Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.” (Jer 50:2)

I have described before on this site that a system based on false gods is always accompanied by sinful, rebellious behavior that is against the commands of the God of Israel, Jesus Christ. We are told in various scripture that at the time of the Day of the Lord people will despise his word, obey not his voice, transgress the laws, change the ordinance and break the everlasting covenant. It is peoples’ associations with and allegiances to these false gods that perpetuate their rebellious, sinful behavior and immorality as it is defined in God’s word. This will be shown to be the case when it is all revealed in the Day of the Lord.

Members who have pledged blood oaths to this false god, dialectic anti-Christ system that is already in place have merely always obeyed the matrix/algorhythm’s commands to oppress, persecute and violate others’ rights in many cases, aided by today’s (backdoor) technology and electronic devices. This system of control using mafia-like tracking and surveillance has ensured that powerful leaders and rulers have remained in power and has enabled them to continue to be insulated from their own oppressive, persecuting and lawless actions.

Captive, “puppet” leaders who are in power, however, are also imprisoned by their own system, but must remain loyal because it has rewarded them well; yet it has also recorded their transgressions. A dialectic system that has its worldly rewards always demands a payback, however. The ‘man,’ so to speak, who represents the false gods of the world and who runs this single system that rulers serve is the one who says, ‘You can pay me now or pay me later.’ A dialectic system has no loyalties and will destroy its own servants.

A self-destructing system

The self-destructing anti-Christ system that is already in place worldwide is ‘Exhibit A’ that represents Jesus’ principles of how “Satan cannot cast out Satan” and how “every kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.” Now that today’s highly interconnected technology has been designed around this system’s algorithm and matrix, and is fully in motion, the system cannot be “turned off” until it is destroyed. This is why some warn about today’s AI (artificial intelligence) system as one that may not necessarily be a friend of humanity. Recognition of this worldwide system that will indeed go awry is the only way that we can make sense out of some prophetic verses in scripture about destruction in the Day of the Lord that use terms such as, “curse,” “wound,” “snare,” “scourge,” etc. Just a few of these scriptures are as follows:

• “Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.” (Is 24:6)

• “Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.” (Is 24:17)

• “For her (Samaria’s) wound is incurable; for it is come unto Judah; he is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem.” (Mic 1:9)

• “Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.” (Is 28:15)

• “Thy shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria: thy nobles shall dwell in the dust: thy people is scattered upon the mountains, and no man gathereth them. There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually?” (Nah 3:18-19)

This current anti-Christ system is also described in scripture as an incurable “sickness” to end times ‘Ephraim’-‘Samaria,’ which is the ‘northern kingdom,’ ‘Babylon’-U.S., and as a “wound” to Judah (country of Israel).  ‘Babylon,’ where this “sickness” originates, is described as a system and a nation that cannot be healed in the Day of the Lord. God will have turned this anti-Christ system against itself, mingling an evil spirit within, so that it will cannibalize. This is a fulfillment of the Proverb, “The wicked falls by his own wickedness” (Prov 11:4), as well as an example of how God will set his adversary in “slippery places” so that they fall. In the book of Jeremiah we read God saying that he will bring disaster on the wicked “in the year of punishment” so that, “Their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness” (Jer 23:12).

Transgressions that will be revealed will lead to fighting and destruction

The unveiling of the mystery of iniquity which is the anti-Christ surveillance system that traps people in their acts, “shakes them down,” holds them captive, and uses them for additional sinful acts will happen so that true lawlessness and iniquity will become known to the world. What will also become known and understood will be the transgressions of those who previously believed their sins to be protected and hidden by the “insider club” that they belonged to. The Lord will turn their system upside down so that their own transgressions will testify against them. This is how the Lord will bring down the proud, arrogant and haughty rulers and kings who have supported, and have been supported by, this end times ‘Babylonian’ harlot system that holds entire nations, institutions and peoples captive.

The aggregate level of sin and transgressions associated with and perpetuated by this previously unknown matrix system is what is being described in the following verses. These show how the world will break down under the weight of its own rampant lawlessness:

• “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” (Is 24:5)

• “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.” (Is 24:20)

• “For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.” (Rev 19:2)

The sheer massive scale of worldwide transgressions, evil and sin is just one more reason that the Lord will have to destroy those who continue to destroy the earthly kingdom. We are told in scripture that the Lord’s end times servant ‘Jacob’ makes previously revered institutions and “altars” in ‘Babylon’ to be destroyed, and “like chalkstone.”

Meanwhile, previously secret transgressions that become revealed as they have been committed by those who are pledged servants of an oppressive, rights-violating, spying-surveillance system will trigger fighting and struggle by common people against their power-hungry, controlling, enslaving dictatorial leaders all over the world. Transgressions that will be revealed at a household and individual-person level will be a signal for, and a microcosm of, the type of transgressions and treason that will have occurred among entire institutions, nations and kingdoms. The severity of fighting back that will begin by those who are oppressed victims (including individuals, institutions and nations, alike) is the reason we are told that, in the last days, “there would be no flesh remaining” unless the Lord had shortened these days for his elect’s sake. Trust will be gone, and only confusion will remain; fittingly, confusion is the meaning of the name ‘Babylon.’

This scenario is precisely why Jesus originally said that he came to bring division, not peace. It will be through his truth and light that will reveal the evil nature and tactics behind the oppressive anti-Christ system that seeks to catch, capture and/or destroy its targeted victims. Below are verses representing how this system will apply in these end times at a household level where we are told that “no man shall spare his brother”:

• “From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:52-53)

• “And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.” (Jer 13:14)

• “For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord: but, lo, I will deliver the men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.” (Zech 11:6)

This secret system that reveals itself and then fatally fractures will affect the highest levels of institutions and entire nations because of the sheer numbers of people secretly captured or supporting it, but also because rulers, kings, business executives, etc. who are in power have had to play the game in return for their power and wealth (as mentioned above). The blood oath taken by these participants to support and perpetuate this system of lies supersedes all other oaths and commitments, thereby greatly impairing business dealings, government policy development and negotiations, justice proceedings, etc.

War that breaks out both within and between entire countries will be similar to the division in the household just described. Conflict will arise because of nothing but confusion, lies and a lack of truth. Thus, leaders will continue to blindly follow an occult-based narrative that is already “pre-programmed into the plan” of destruction of God’s creation by the adversary. This is a prime example of Jesus’ Parable about the blind leading the blind. In the Day of the Lord, because of the evil spirit causing meaningless wars and senseless killing of others, we are told that the Lord will be “furious with their armies.” Satan’s tricks are extremely powerful.

God’s plan is infinitely more powerful, however. In fact, God will mingle an evil spirit within these armies and we are told that even they will turn against themselves. In speaking about how he will overthrow the earth’s kingdoms in the Day of the Lord, he says that, “Their horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother” (Hag 2:22). As this applies to those armies who fight against his anointed servants of Israel, there will be a similar result. God says again that “every man’s sword will be against his brother” (Ez 38:21), and that he will feed those oppressors of his people “with their own flesh, and they will be drunken with their own blood” (Is 49:26). These nations and their “horses” that come against Jerusalem will be supernaturally smitten with “astonishment.”  

God’s warfare from heaven that will destroy the enemy and judge the earth

As part of the massive worldwide scale of destruction in the Day of the Lord that will make the earth desolate, the “sword” of war is a primary weapon that God will use to accomplish his purpose. This can be thought of as his heavenly kingdom war on earth. A couple of signs from heaven that we are given about supernaturally-driven warfare that will come onto earth in the book of Revelation include the aforementioned rider on the red horse in the second seal who is given a “great sword” and power to take peace from the earth. In the fourth seal, the aforementioned rider on the pale horse is given power “to them over the fourth part of the earth” to kill with the sword and with other modes of punishment.

In terms of warfare that comes from heaven to the earth in the Day of the Lord, I will classify this according to the following: 1) armies that the Lord ordains for his own vengeance; and 2) warfare that is conducted as part of the angels’ judgments that are administered from heaven. I will discuss each of these areas separately below.

Warfare conducted by the Lord’s ordained armies

First, I have addressed in detail on this site, including in my passages entitled, The Lord with us, and in Part 1 of this series, how the Lord’s Spirit of truth will fight in the end times spiritual kingdom battle on earth versus the anti-Christ system. This is a battle that begins even prior to the time of the Day of the Lord. He and the ‘Jacob’-Judah remnant army of warriors who fight this unconventional, behind-the-scenes battle are the Lord’s camp on earth. This “camp” is described as “very great”; it is one that we are told the Lord “utters his voice” before. God describes this army, his “portion of Jacob,” as follows:

• “Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider…” (Jer 51:20-21)

Clearly, this holy, “small flock” remnant army receives supernatural assistance in order to be able to destroy entire kingdoms, nations and peoples. I have described previously on this site how it is their unconventional battle that will first shed light on the mystery of iniquity. This will then bring siege and invasion upon corrupt oppressors in both the country of Israel and the nation of ‘Babylon’-U.S., followed by fighting and confusion worldwide. These initial invasions will occur virtually simultaneously and will likely represent only the beginning of the Day of the Lord.

It is these invasions on the Lord’s disobedient house of Israel adversaries that will be conducted by Gentile armies that he will use for his own purpose. These armies are described as very fierce and terrible, including multiple nations and peoples, as represented by those who come upon the “two sisters” of end times ‘Samaria’ and ‘Jerusalem in Ezekiel, Chapter 23. While the end times ‘Assyrian’ will lead these, the multitudes of these armies will include, “The Babylonians, and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, and Shoa, and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them: all of them desirable young men, captains and rulers, great lords and renowned, all of them riding upon horses” (Ez 23:23). The following are additional descriptions of Gentile armies that will come upon ‘Babylon’-U.S. and the country of Israel at or near the beginning of the Day of the Lord.

• “And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly: None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken: Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind.” (Is 5:26-28)

• “Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children.” (Is 13:15-18)

• “Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.” (Jer 6:22-23)

It is God himself who will invite these armies to come against his wicked people to administer vengeance on his behalf. As he has done from ancient times, God will again use Gentile armies for his purpose against his people, but then he will also destroy the destroyers. Historically, this has been because of their own pride, overreach and refusal to acknowledge the God of Israel as the source of their power in the first place. An example of this in the Day of the Lord will be the aforementioned ‘Assyrian’-Pharaoh whose (underground) kingdom of ‘Egypt’ we are told “rises like a flood,” and who says, “I will go up, I will cover the whole earth; I will destroy the city and inhabitants thereof” (Jer 46:8). Not only are we told that the ‘Assyrian’ will be “beaten down,” but God will then invite other fierce Gentile armies to rise up against him. The following scriptures show armies that will come against the ‘Assyrian’ and his forces:

• “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height; I have therefore delivered him into the hand of the mighty one of the heathen; he shall surely deal with him: I have driven him out for his wickedness. (Ez 31:10-11)

• “For thus saith the Lord God; The sword of the king of Babylon shall come upon thee. By the swords of the mighty will I cause thy multitude to fall, the terrible of the nations, all of them: and they shall spoil the pomp of Egypt, and all the multitude thereof shall be destroyed.” (Ez 32:11-12)

So the Pharaoh-‘Assyrian’ and his multitudes will be destroyed by other Gentile armies. It will be the king of ‘Babylon’ and his armies who will ultimately come against the end times ‘Assyrian’ in what appears to be somewhat of a replay of the ancient conflict between Babylon and Egypt. Note that, while I have described previously on this site that end times kingdom terms such as ‘Babylon,’ ‘Egypt,’ and ‘Assyria’ as these are used in a last days context are all global-reaching underground “mob” kingdoms under the same anti-Christ umbrella, end times fracturing and fighting that occurs among these kingdoms is just another example of how Satan’s house will always ultimately divide and not be able to stand.

Warfare conducted by angels’ judgments that are administered from heaven

Warfare from the heavens is that which we see addressed primarily as it occurs in several of the judgments described in the book of Revelation. In the fifth trumpet judgment, there is a locust army that is released upon the earth that has the ability to torment like scorpions those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. This army is also described in the book of Joel as having the appearance of horses. We are told that the earth will “quake before them,” a fire devours before them, and that they will leave a “desolate wilderness” behind them. At the next trumpet judgment (sixth), the four angels bound at the Euphrates river will be loosed for a time to slay a “third part of men” on earth with a 200 million man army.

Combined, seal, trumpet and vial judgments that are specifically war-related (in addition to other judgments discussed earlier in this passage) are very large events that will kill multitudes upon multitudes; thus, they will be a major contributing factor behind the world’s destruction and desolation that occurs, and an obvious driving force behind the slain and corpses lying refuse on the ground as referred to earlier.

Other heavenly kingdom-driven signs of warfare events that will occur on the Day of the Lord include the Dragon/Satan being cast out from heaven to the earth along with his other rebellious angels and who then proceeds to make war with the woman who brings forth the manchild in the book of Revelation, Chapter 12. We are told that the Dragon will pursue after the woman and her seed, which is the remnant of Israel.

Next, we are told that the Beast that will arise from the sea will worship the Dragon/Satan, will blaspheme God, and will make war with the saints at this point. He will be given power for 42 months and all on earth will worship him except those who are found in the book of the Lamb. This is the beast described as having seven heads and 10 horns; these are his supporting kings who we are told are all of one mind- “to make war with the Lamb” (Rev 17:14). Although these kings will be a part of, and serve, the very harlot woman anti-Christ system of Babylon, the “great city,” which reigns over them, we are told that they will ultimately turn against this harlot system due to their disdain of it. Ironically, it is a creation of their own Satanic kingdom, however, which again becomes one that is merely confused and divided.

Although the Beast and his kings will make war against the Lamb and his servants, we are told that the Lamb will overcome them. Lucifer, the king of Babylon himself, will be thrown into the pit. At this time, we are told that the remnant servants of the house of Israel who are saved will celebrate and say:

• “That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers.” (Is 14:4-5)

In this final phase of the heavenly kingdom war that happens on earth, the harvest judgment of the wicked will come. An angel from heaven with a sharp sickle will thrust his sickle into the earth to tread the winepress of judgment. God says, “Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about” (Joel 3:12). Here, the Lord will have supernatural assistance in the form of mighty warriors who come down to earth. This is a response to Joel’s prophetic request, “Cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord” (Joel 3:11). Resulting blood of this judgment that comes from the trodden winepress is described in the book of Revelation as coming up to the horse bridles for a length of 1,600 furlongs.

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In summary, I mentioned earlier in this passage about that the purpose of the Day of the Lord simply being so that God can destroy his enemy and set up his heavenly kingdom under Jesus Christ and his servants. This outcome is summarized by the prophet Daniel as follows:

• “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” (Dan 7:27)

Once God’s kingdom enemy has been destroyed and his own kingdom is set up, the whole (new) earth will finally be at rest.

Grace & Peace,

Lion’s Lair (LL)