please have your Bibles open to the Old Testament and Tzpan'ya and please stand with me for the reading of God's Word. So tonight we're going to look at the final few verses here from verse 14 to verse 18 of Tzpan'ya in Yom Yahweh. Last week we saw God's judgment upon the elite, unbelieving religious elite in Israel, and tonight we're going to see the final installment of Yom Yahweh that applies not only to Israel but to the whole world. Spaniha chapter 1 beginning with verse 14. This is the reading of God's Word. Near is the great day of Yahweh, near and coming very quickly. Oh, the sound, the day of Yahweh! In it the mighty man cries out bitterly. A day of fury is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of clouds and dense gloom, a day of trumpet and loud shouting against the fortified cities and the high corner towers. I will bring distress on men, so that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against Yahweh, and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the fury of Yahweh, and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of his jealousy. For he will make a complete destruction, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth. Amen. Please be seated. Well, when we take a look at this passage, we see, first of all, I want you to take a brief glance in your text of scripture. If you have the LSB or modern translation, when you look at verse 15, it should line up really nicely. It should say, a day, a day, a day, a day. You see that? And count how many you count. One, two, three, four, five, six. I count six. That's the day. So the word Yom begins in verse 15 with six phrases, six pithy phrases describing the characteristic of that day in very strong and very frightening terms. And so that's Yom and Yom Yahweh, Day of the Lord. is this kind of a day. It's a day of judgment. It's a day of gloom. And so when we look back at Israel's history, have the Israelites experienced days like these? And when you read the Old Testament, you would have to agree. Yes, they have. They have experienced something like this, but not everything like this. Not entirely like this. And I want you to first see not only six pithy Phrases but that each phrase begins with Yom Hebrew word for day and then each Phrase has seven syllables. So it's an auditory oral culture when somebody is reading the scriptures they would hear seven syllables each time and Six statements of seven syllables each starting with the day and it would help them to recall not only their past history, but when they look back forward, they would see, wow, is there ever going to be another day like this? This is the great fear of the Jews. But as generations passed on, they had forgotten. For instance, in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar came and subjugated Israel, the southern kingdom of Yehudah, and took the elite captive to Babylon. He said, okay, you are now my servants. If I leave the rest of you here, if you do what I tell you, I will protect you. But if you do not, I will punish you. They say, yes, yes, your majesty. So Daniel and his three friends and other entourage of the royal family, they were taken. The first wave of the deportation in 605. 605, that's 622 BC, that's when Yoshiyahu started his reform. This is when Spania, the prophet, was preaching. But less than 20 years later, the Lord brought the Babylonians. But that wasn't a terrible day. It didn't seem that bad. There was no bloodshed. I mean, they were taken captive, but nothing like this. Then what happened? Just less than a decade later, in 597 BC, because the southern kingdom of Judah did not comply to Nebuchadnezzar's demands, he sent his military and took another second wave captive. That's when Ezekiel was taken captive. That's the second round. And the remaining people of the nation of Israel said, you know what? That wasn't that bad. We still have our temple. We have a monarchy. Of course, Nebuchadnezzar put a puppet king there. We have our land. We have our money. We have our lives. That's not that bad. The people's character did not change. So they didn't repent at 605. They didn't repent at 597. and they continued to rebel, not only against the political hegemon, Nebuchadnezzar and Babylonian Empire, not just as a vassal state did they rebel against Babylon, but they continued to practice evil, wickedness, and idolatry. They never repented. So the temporal reforms of Yoshiahu really did not transform the society and the people, especially the next generation. And they just became more corrupt. So in the third and final round, the temple was destroyed, a large amount deportation had happened, many lives were taken, they were killed, and they were enslaved. So now that continued, the majority of the Israelites were now living in exile. That was their history. So now let's take a look back From the first century, first century Jews, were they any different? When the Messiah came and he preached the gospel to them and said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, he offered himself to them as their Messiah. And many of the people said, Hosanna, Hosanna. But the religious leaders and the corruption in the heart of the people, they rejected Jesus because he was a humble king who came to die for their sins. And so what happened? Well, that happened in the 30s. And less than 40 years later, in 66 AD, all the way to 70 AD, a great devastation from the Roman Holocaust. Up to that time, the Jews never had such a devastating impact to their nation like that event. Over a million Jews were killed and taken into slavery. And then later on, another Roman Caesar came and made Jewish habitation of Israel illegal. So if you're a Jew, you couldn't even live in your ancestral homeland. Now you would think, why is God doing this? Is this Yom Yom? Is this the day of the Lord? Is this the terror? Because we sinned against the Lord, did he judge us? Now many of the Jewish scholars, especially during the Middle Ages, had a long time to think about this and reflect on this. What do you think was their conclusion? Did they learn from the Babylonians? No, they did not. Did they learn from the Romans? No, they did not. And so after the Nazi Holocaust, when most of the Jews trickled in and came back, they came back unconverted, unbelieving. and they still reject the Messiah as a whole. And yet they're there in Israel. So what do you think that this final generation of Jews will do in history? They didn't learn their lesson and they didn't listen to the prophets in the Babylonian captivity. They didn't listen to Jesus and the apostles in the Roman Holocaust. And even today, they're not listening, they're not obeying the Lord. They're hardening their hearts against the Lord. And yet God has a wonderful plan for His people because He is a jealous God preserving them for the end times. What the prophets preached is that there's going to be a final day of judgment called Yom Yahweh. Not only is Israel involved, but the entire world will be judged. Israel is a microcosm of what God will do to the entire world. If God can judge Israel, His people, His chosen people, purge them, what do you think the world will experience? Well, this passage points to that, and the prophets taught that. Spaniel wasn't the first one to preach this message. Yeshayahu, Isaiah did it. Yoel preached it. Amos did. and Yehezkel, even Daniel, all the prophets proclaim a terrible day of the end times when God's people will turn away from God and yet God will not turn away from them. And so after pronouncing God's judgment against the criminal elite among Israel, The very people who should be providing exemplary leadership to the nation, they were the most corrupt ones in Israel. They were idolatrous, they were immoral, and they were totally indifferent to Yahweh, indifferent to God. Like many of the Jews today, they worship money, pleasure, they're incredibly immoral, and they're totally indifferent to God. Spanya moves on to Yom Yahweh that the day of the Lord, the judgment of the Lord is imminent. Imminent means that it could happen at any time but also means that it will happen so suddenly and so quickly that everybody would be cut off. And then he talks about the intensity of Yom Yahweh. It's going to be more terrible than anything they've ever experienced in history. Our Lord said that it would be unparalleled. And then ultimately God will bring forth his complete and final judgment upon the nation of Israel as he pours out his wrath upon the world and Israel in it in the full outpouring of his indignation. So Yom Yahweh is about the wrath of God. Now we're delving into the theology of the wrath and indignation of God, which is an uncomfortable doctrine. Most of us would like to think of God as a God of love and God of peace, but God of wrath? God of judgment? Very little teaching is done on those subjects. Well, That's why when we study the Bible in its entirety, we can't escape these inconvenient doctrines that most of us like to avoid. Sometimes things in the Old Testament are very complicated and difficult to understand, so it doesn't grab our interest. And so it takes our focus and a detailed study in order for us to come to an understanding of God's program. And then it really helps us to better understand and fine-tune our society, the world that we live in. We as parents, many of us are in the grandparent age, would like to see a bright future for our children and grandchildren. But the Word of God tells us that it's not going to be bright. It's going to get darker and darker. until the final judgment comes and so it gives us a sense of sobriety that our hope is not in the future of a comfortable life our really hope is in the future of the coming kingdom but before that kingdom is established God has to pour out his wrath and judge mankind and purge Israel through it So that was the message of the prophets. And here, Svanya gives us that message. And here now we go into the doctrine of the wrath of God in the Yom Yahweh, the Day of the Lord, or in the New Testament, the Great Tribulation. So this is the doctrine of imminence of the Great Tribulation, the imminence of Yom Yahweh. Let's take a look at verse 14. If you notice that the word near Alright, there's two stanzas. The first one, the first word is nir, karov in Hebrew. The second stanza, the first word is nir. That's a very important word. It's the language of eminence in eschatology. Yoel proclaims the same eminence of Yom Yahweh. This is for people who are lulled into complacency. They just don't think that the judgment of God is this near. Most people have lived throughout history thinking that it would not happen in their generation. Yoel proclaims this eminence in Yoel 115, Alas for the day, for the day of Yahweh is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty. It's like the generation of Noah's day. They just did not believe that all of a sudden there will be a catastrophic global flood, that they will be caught up in it. They didn't believe it because they rejected Noah, his work, and his message. They rejected the message of God through Noah. They laughed at him. They rejected his message. But 120 years of time was given to Noah to build the ark, finish the ark, and God sent the animals. He went into the ark. But none of the outsiders believed it. And that's how it will be. The reason why it is imminent is because people are unprepared. The reason why they seem to be caught off guard, it seems to come out of nowhere, is because they're not looking for it. And yet the Word of God says it is imminent. So who looks for it? Only the believers, only those who believe in the Word of God look for it. Only people like Noah and his family members who are involved in the work of God and God's plan of salvation of souls, eight souls, and the created order, the animals, only those are preserved. And so people are not looking for it. Isaiah 13 6 says, Wail for the day of Yahweh is near. It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Of all the people, The Jews should have been looking for it because the prophets warn again and again that there is a direct consequence of their disobedience and they have experienced that consequence in God's judgment. And so their entire history is a history of suffering because of disobedience. And yet the faithful, they don't curse God, they worship God, they thank God. Why? Because they understand that they exist because God protected and preserved them. And they're the ones that God is preparing for the end times. Notice the idea of destruction in both Yoel and here in Tzvanya as well as in Yeshayahu. But also in that one chapter book in Obadiah, in verse 15 it says, For the day of Yahweh draws near on all the nations. So this is not just applicable to Israel, this is on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done unto you. Your dealings will return on your own head. What's the theme here? Yom Yahweh, the day of the Lord, is about reciprocity. God will bring judgment upon the people for what they have done. Here's an additional idea of retribution. So notice in Spanish, Yom Yahweh is called great. great and that term is also used in Yirmiyahu chapter 30 verse 7 Alas for the day is great there is none like it and it is the time of Yaakov's distress but he will be saved from it. Great. Great means it's unparalleled severity. Same language is used by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 24 verse 21. So while the entire seven-year period is called Yom Yahweh, or the Tribulation Period, the technical term for the latter half of the seven-year period, namely the three and a half years, is what is referenced as the Great Tribulation. That's the Great. So here in Spanish it's described as the greatness of the destructive and retributive judgments of God. The greatness of destructive and retributive judgments of God. And here it says near and coming very quickly, the second stanza. This phrase highlights the speed in which Yom Yahweh will arrive. That's why people will be caught off guard. It's just going to be so fast when it arrives. They won't even know that they're in it until they're in it. That's how fast the rapture will happen. And that's how quickly the Antichrist will emerge. We're talking about all genuine Christians instantaneously disappearing from our planet in the rapture. There will be a very fast convening of the United Nations meeting and they will select the Antichrist. Antichrist will gain power. So the seven-year period will be fast and it will approach suddenly Scripture says in the New Testament, 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 2, For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. In other words, people will not be prepared for it. Some prepare. So the doctrine of imminence of the day of the Lord shows either you are prepared and ready, looking forward to, or you will be caught off guard. Those are the only two options here. God's judgment is coming suddenly, not gradually. Suddenly. Like Noah's flood. So who knew that the flood was coming? Noah and his family, of course. Only people who knew that the day of judgment had arrived were the very people who believed in it when God said that it would arrive. and they were busy about the business of doing God's work, and when that was finished, the day arrived. That's exactly what's going to happen. People who are attuned to what God is doing, they're busy about the Lord's business, and being witnesses of the gospel, looking forward to the glorious appearing of the Lord, it will come. Now when it does come it will come with spectacular events that it will be undeniable. Oh the sound the day of Yahweh. The first general description is of the sound that will be heard on Yom Yahweh. All of a sudden people will hear sounds that they never heard before globally. Here's the valley of the vision in Isaiah 22, verse 5. It says this, Yeshua 22, verse 5, it says, for the Lord Yahweh Tzva'ot, Adonai Yahweh Tzva'ot, has a day of confusion, oppression, and panic in the valley of vision, a breaking down of walls and crying to the mountain. And clearly the valley of vision points to the Kidron Valley, and the walls point to the walls of Yerushalayim, and the phrase crying to the mountains point to what Spania writes next, is that they look to the mountain, there's one mountain on the east side of Yerushalayim, that's the Mount of Olives, Yerushalayim is surrounded by hills, and they're going to look to the mountains for deliverance from God. It says, but in it, the mighty man cries out bitterly. The pain and the suffering will be so severe that even the mighty warriors, the gibor here, is the same word that's used in Isaiah to describe God, the almighty God, El Gibor. This is the mighty man. This is a soldier. This is a war hero. He cries out bitterly. This is the language of great pain and defeat in battle. And Yeshiahu 33 verse 7 says, Behold there brave men cry in the streets, the messengers of peace weep bitterly. Brave and mighty men do not weep unless the tragedy of their loss of their fellow comrades and their family members are involved. Death and carnage will be their experience. We just read in the blowing of the sixth trumpet that a third of mankind will be destroyed in one sweep. Can you imagine the carnage? of billions of people dying? Well, that's going to also hit Jerusalem and Israel. Only a third will be saved. Two-thirds will be destroyed. Great carnage during this time. Mighty men will weep because it will come so unexpectedly, so suddenly. Tzvanya says, the unbelieving and those who are unrighteous will not prepare for. Let's take a look at the second characteristic of Yom Yahweh, the theology of the Great Tribulation. It will be intense. So this is the intensity of Yom Yahweh. We saw the imminence of Yom Yahweh, it's now the intensity of Yom Yahweh. Verses 15 and 16. Yom Yahweh will be a time of great military defeat for Israel great military chaos and carnage for the nations and it will be utter ruin of all the buildings and all the projects, all the infrastructure, it will be a time of great ruin. If you've seen a beautiful city before the war like Lebanon or like Ukraine or Kiev, certain parts, and look at the beautiful architecture that they have built over a hundred years and now you go and it's in rubble. That's what you see. That's the time. Each pithy statement as I said begins with Yom, six phrases, to masterfully constructed complete standards that carries the idea of completion and perfection of God's judgment. Pithy, memorable, seven-syllable statements. Verse 15, first, a day of fury. This is the language of Yeshayahu. Yeshayahu 13.9, Behold, a day of Yahweh's coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation, and He will exterminate its sinners from it. Very severe language. Most people can't fathom this because they've never seen it. They've not experienced this post-war zones. But this is the picture of Yom Yahweh. The second stanza, day of trouble and distress. Look at Luke 21 with me in the New Testament. Luke 21. Look how much anxiety and emotional turmoil there will be, fear and panic there will be during the tribulation period. Luke 21 verse 25, And there will be signs in the sun, moon, and the stars, There'll be cosmic signs. And on the earth, anguish among the nations. Look at great anxiety here. And perplexity. They just don't have answers. They don't know what's going on. At the roaring of the sea and the waves. Roaring of the sea and the waves. That's post major earthquake in the tsunamis. And the roaring of the sea and the waves. 26, men fainting from fear. And the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world. That is Those who are surviving says, oh no, something worse is going to happen tomorrow. They just won't have any peace. It'll be constant paranoia. Why? Because for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Cosmic. unparalleled events will happen during that time Jesus said there will be wars but not only wars but famine not only famine but plagues not only plagues but earthquakes in various places not just isolated not just in the nations around the rings of fire not just in the tectonic movements of certain countries all over the place a day of destruction and desolation halfway point to the seven-year tribulation period, the Antichrist will set up the abomination that causes desolation. They're just begging God to judge them as they set up an image of the Antichrist worshiping Satan. And if you don't bow down and worship it, you can't buy or sell. In other words, you can't live. Matthew 24 verse 15 says, therefore when you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken through Daniel the prophet, you have to be living in those times, you have to be a Jew, you have to be in Jerusalem to see that standing in the holy place. In the holy place that presupposes that the Jews will first build a temple. I wonder if this new appointment with Governor Mike Huckabee being the ambassador to Israel will have anything to do with it. I wonder if the Abrahamic Accords which had been signed will have anything to do with setting up these parameters for a temple to be built. Are we this near to the end times? This is something to be alert and to be watchful for if you're a student of scripture. But the details of the Bible are superb in giving us clarity in what's going to happen that the armies of the Antichrist will wreak havoc in Israel and will enter into the land devastating the land killing all those who oppose his rule and reign when he desecrates the temple many of the Jews will be outraged and they will be willing to die in opposition and they will be summarily be put to death. They won't stand a chance against the Antichrist and his armies. And their best chance is to flee to the Judean mountains and come under the protection of God. for a harsh life and wait out the remaining years of the Great Tribulation while the Antichrist is engaging in a global war of the Armageddon. These are some terrible times. And this is the time, the final second half, when God pours out His great wrath. The Lord will send judgment upon judgment of cosmic proportions. People will be perplexed There'll be cosmic signs, there'll be terrestrial disasters. When did Israel experience this? Well, they experienced it in the Exodus events. They worshiped the sun god Ra. God judged their god and said, your god is nothing. And he gave them three days of darkness. Until Pharaoh said, please, please, We have sinned against Yahweh. Please take this away. Your God is true God. Our God, we're defeated. But did they learn their lesson? No. All of the plagues were supernatural events that God was shown, showing the Egyptians and their polytheism that it was all satanic, that he was judging their satanic worship and to release his people, to free them. So yes, in their history they have experienced supernatural events. Yes, they have experienced the death of all the firstborn of Egypt. Yes, all their livestock got devastated. Yes, because of hail, because of boils, they experienced plagues, because of gnats and flies, they've experienced devastation. Nile being worshipped, turning to blood, frogs coming out. just devastating the land. Their entire economy had collapsed for over a century. They just took a long, long time to recover from that devastation. That's just history. Yes, they have experienced it, but that's nothing. The whole world will experience it. So that is a microcosm of God's judgment upon the gods of Egypt, the satanic system where Israel was in the center of it. Now this is going to be a globally applicable time the day of darkness and thick darkness that's the language of the prophets as we shall soon see a day of clouds and dense gloom so these two phrases go together when you have darkness and thick darkness like the Egyptians experience there's something cosmic is going to happen where they're not going to see the sunlight for days and days days of clouds and dense gloom Yehezkel chapter 30 verse 3 says this, For the day is near, even the day of Yahweh is near, it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations. So not only will they not get natural sunlight because it would be so dark, they will be in dread. It will have a psychological impact as a physiological impact. Yoel chapter 2 verse 2 says, a day of darkness and thick darkness. That's the language of Yoel. A day of clouds and dense gloom. Same phrasing that appears in Yoel 2.2 is what Spaniard writes here. The dawn is spread over the mountains, so there's numerous and mighty people. Oh yeah, there's going to be great and many nations that will come against Israel. There has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it for years from generation to generation. Again, Joel 2, chapter 2, verse 2, this is what Jesus was talking about, unparalleled. There has never been a day like it, nor there will be. Here's another passage in Yoel chapter 2 verse 31. It's also quoted by Peter in Acts 2 20. which is a really interesting phrase because there's going to be cosmic signs before the appearance of the Son of Man. The heavens will be darkened so that the brightness of the Lord's appearing will be unmistakable. Notice Spaniel's prophecy coincides directly with Yoel's prophecy which the Lord Jesus also proclaimed in Matthew 24 verse 29. Let's go there. And you see that passage in Yoel being quoted here. So Spaniel, Yoel, Yeshayahu, and the Lord Jesus. quoting Joel 2 Matthew 24 verse 29. But immediately after the tribulation of those days, now look at the language, after the tribulation of those days, this is right before the appearing of the Son of Man. So all seven years had now elapsed. The sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. See the cosmic signs? And then the sign of the son of man will appear in the sky and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of the sky. You see how the Lord Jesus is coming? The sign appears first and they will see which means that the Lord himself will slowly descend for all the inhabitants of the world, the survivors of the seven-year tribulation period, to see. And what is their response? They will mourn, because they know they're going to be judged. Everything that the witnesses, the two witnesses, 144,000 evangelists, everything that they've heard before the rapture of the Christians, everything that they read in the Bible regarding what will happen is coming true. and what they have realized that they have believed and they have promoted was all a lie. They followed a liar. Their entire life was a lie. They rejected the truth. Now they must face the consequences. Some will mourn in repentance while others with grinding their teeth, hardening their hearts in sin. Whereas Spania and Yoel leave out the appearance of the Son of Man in glory, the cosmic signs which precede the Lord's appearing is unmistakable. Against this cosmic backdrop of darkness, the brightness of the Son of Man is manifested. But Spania doesn't give a proper chronological order. He just describes statements of the characteristic of the great and terrible day of the Great Tribulation. Verse 16 says, a day of trumpet and loud shouting. Now every Jew understood that these are qualities of warfare. And when we read the blowing of the sixth trumpet, we saw the weapons of war. Fire coming out of the mouth of the lions and the tail was the serpents. I mean, it's a shooting in both ways, right? These are mechanized weapons of warfare in the end times. But here, what we're finding here is a day of trumpet and loud shouting. Yom Yahweh will contain the greatest global conflict of mankind, World War III, the Armageddon War, surrounding Israel. Israel has been and will be and always will be the center of global conflict as it is today. The two largest faith religions, the Islamic faith and of course Jewish and Judeo-Christian faith will clash in the end times and everybody else will be dragged into it because it's about alliances. It's about the BRICS nations versus the Western bloc. And the Eastern bloc is watching to see who will gain hegemony. They're joining both sides. Things are being split up. The stage is being set. For what? A day of trumpet and loud shouting. For war. Matthew 24 verse 6 says, Does that sound like a bright future for you and your children? Or does this sound like a realistic picture of the world being set and staged for the must-happening inevitability of the judgment of God and Yom Yom? Now this warfare, verse 16 of Day of Trumpet and Loud Shouting, is against the fortified cities and the high corner towers It points to the fact that there will be defenses, fortified cities. Why do you fortify a city? Because that's where people live and you fortify it, you put walls around it, you put missile guidance system for surface-to-air missiles, iron dome, to try to fortify the places where your citizens live. and high corner towers, strategic points where you place radio towers, communication centers, and protective defensive measures. Will it be any good? Well, scripture says no. Israel will be invaded. Jerusalem will be captured. None of Israel's military defenses will prove to be effective in Yom Yahweh. Why is that? Because Not only will there be enemies of Israel who will conquer fortified cities and overcome their watchtowers and command posts, but God himself is personally involved in causing all these things to happen. So let's take a look at Revelation chapter 6. Revelation 6 verse 15. Revelation 6 15 says, then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong. It starts out with the mighty, right? The elite. And look at this. And every slave and freed man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks and the mountains. And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, fall on us and hide us. Notice what they say. From the presence of him who sits on the throne. Who's that? That's God. And from the wrath of the lamb. Who's that? That's Jesus Christ. For the day of their wrath, see they both recognize God and Christ. Day of their wrath has come. They know why this is happening and who is able to stand. They're terrified and they have no hope of resistance. This will be the mentality and the emotional psychology of Israel. They will just be hopeless. Their hearts will melt. There are absolutely no defenses that will be overrun. Wicked men of the world from the greatest to the least will recognize this great and terrible experience that they're experiencing is from God. It's divine, it's heavenly origin and is from Christ. The intensity of Yom Yahweh is beyond human comprehension. we just try to understand just a little bit, get a glimpse of it to imagine what it would be like but it would be unimaginably brutal and terrible. So we saw the imminence of Yom Yahweh and the intensity of Yom Yahweh. Now let's take a look at third and final point here in verses 17 and 18, the indignation of Yom Yahweh. We began with a discussion on the doctrine of the wrath of God. Well this is clearly teaching us that doctrine. Notice all of a sudden there's a pronoun change. I will bring distress on men. So the first person singular as well as the verb which is active points to Yahweh who is the subject of the verb. It's him who's doing the action and it points to his indignation and personal involvement These troubles upon Israel and the world are not natural, nor caused by random events. People will figure it out. They realize, no, this is not natural. This is not random. No amount of spinning and lies will cover up the absolute clarity. of what they witness and what they have been told by the two witnesses and 144,000 evangelists as well as the Christian testimony before the rapture. They know why this is happening. It's because of the one who sits on the throne, God, and the wrath of the Lamb is being revealed. Notice the judgment is not limited to Israel. It's coming upon men, the whole world. In the Torah, God warned Israel that he would punish them for their sins. And when we compare what God said there to what God says here in Spania, we see God's holy character and his perfect righteous standards has not changed. So let's take a look at Deuteronomy 28. Deuteronomy 28. Verse 28 and 29. Let's take a look at those two verses. Notice the judgment of God is not just physical, but it's also psychological and emotional as well. Verse 28, Yahweh will strike you with madness. It's insanity, right? and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart. Perplexity, confusion, anxiety, all of that is psychological. It's emotional. Verse 29, and you will grope at noon as the blind man gropes in darkness. They will not be able to see or discern. They will be in complete darkness and you will not succeed in your ways, but you shall only be oppressed and robbed all your days and none to save you. What hopelessness. to imagine that most of the Jewish population lived and died like this. You know, when you look back at anti-Semitism for the last 2,000 years, they've experienced some devastating pogroms and hatred from the nations. Wherever they went, they thrived. And the Gentile nations were really angry at them, jealous of them, because they maintained their ethnic identity and their religion. While the Gentile world sees this, a small minority group just thriving. And of course it was easy to target them, as it is easy now. Huge rise in anti-Semitism. Well that's been, it's not recent, it's been like that for 2,000 years. And why is that? Deuteronomy 28 just gave us the answer. The Lord God is personally doing it. It's not just natural events of human jealousy working itself out in society. No. God said this is a direct result of me cursing you and judging you because you have broken your covenant with me. That's it. And this is very uncomfortable for people. But a sincere Jew, a Bible-believing Jew will acknowledge this. Everybody else will have difficulty with that. because they have this faulty notion, well God can't do that. He can't punish. He can't be angry and wrathful. You sure about that? Because the scripture is very clear. Even though the verbs are now passive in form, Yahweh is still the one who is the prime causation, and their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. The blood of the victims will be so cheap and so prevalent, like water being spilled to the ground, and so impure and defiled like dung on the ground and psalmist says this in psalm 79 verse 3 they have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem and there was no one to bury them. There's so many dead corpses and not enough people to bury the dead. So rotting corpse, the stench and the smell of rotting corpse is what's being described here. Listen to the defilement that Yirmiyahu describes in Lamentations. Lamentations 4.14. They wandered blind in the streets. They were defiled with the blood so that no one could touch their garments. Part of this blindness is just insanity. You know, when you see your loved ones being butchered right in front of you, you just lose it. And that was a common experience as the aftermath of warfare. and the Israelites have experienced this. This is part of their history. And yet what's being described here is in their future. This is a devastating time. Listen to what one commentator wrote. The dead bodies would be left there where they fell, meaning that the total destruction left no one to bury them. Both sand and filth refer to that which is worthless. The enemy would show utter disdain for the Judean victims. That's been their experience. Why did the German Nazis so despise the Jews and saw them worse than rats and vermin that they had to be exterminated? This is why. This is why. It wasn't just the Nazis. It was the Assyrians too. And the Babylonians. And the Greeks. And the Romans. And European so-called Christians. And the Russians. Everywhere they went, they experienced this kind of disdain. Many of them died without a proper burial because the enemy would show utter disdain to the Jews. This is in their lot in the future. Now, what do you think God will do if the Gentile nation so despised the Jews and treat them this way? Do you think that God would treat the Gentile nations any better? Now Yom Yahweh is exactly about that. Verse 18, we come to the final passage. Notice the double entendre here regarding material wealth, silver and gold, and the verb of rescue, deliver. Both money and trust, well as the worship, was associated with idols which were clad with gold and silver in those days. So household idols were not only objects of pagan worship, but of trust, of blessing, and of deliverance. They would actually pray to these idols, dead dumb idols, asking for deliverance out of trouble. Asking these dumb idols to bless them with wealth. Just as people rely on money for financial security, the godless Israelites and pagan materialists both trusted in their money to deliver them. But not on Yom Yahweh. This is what Yeshayahu also prophesied would happen. In Yeshayahu chapter 2 verse 20, In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship. It's really interesting that moles and bats are mentioned. If this is an accurate translation of the Hebrew, and these animals are indeed moles and bats, moles live under the ground, bats live in caves. So the imagery here that men will just throw away their riches, their idols of silver and their gold, to the creatures that live underground and in dark caves. Well, they will find themselves trying to hide. from the wrath of God being poured out in the end times through cataclysmic judgment. None of their wealth, none of their resources, none of their technology will help them. Yehezkel chapter 7 verse 19, That's true. Look at all the wealth that people consider. Savings account, checking account, investment account, Houses, can they feed you one thing? Only when the economy and the financial system is working can you trade that in for food. Well, not in Yom Yahweh. None of man's accumulation of wealth will give them even one morsel to eat. That's the description. That's why people throw their silver and their gold into the streets and become an impure thing. Be useless. When the enemy invades a nation, people can collect all their money, gold and silver, and plead and pay them off and saying, please take our tribute, take this money, and please leave the land alone. We will serve you. Please leave us alone. And so the invading forces say okay, I will take your money and next year I'll come back and you pay us and then we leave you alone. And that was it. That's how you ward off the enemy, a superior army as you gather your money and pay them off. That still goes on today. But how do you protect yourself when Yahweh is the one who is attacking? That's exactly what the text says. And all the earth will be devoured in the fire of his jealousy. God is a jealous God who is jealously protects his glory and what you will not share with another. As we see in Exodus 34 verse 14. For you shall not worship any other God for Yahweh whose name is jealous, Kinah, is a jealous God. Why is he jealous? Isaiah 42 verse 8, I am Yahweh, that is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven images. Deuteronomy 4 24, for Yahweh your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God, because he's holy, because he alone is God. He is the creator. Therefore, no creature can compete with him. He has to be jealous. He's holy. He has to preserve his glory. He can't share that glory with somebody else. You can't assume there is another religion that rivals God. There's no room for polytheism when he is the creator and everything exists because of him. And so, all the earth will be devoured in the fire of his jealousy. For he will make a complete destruction. Since in the end times all the inhabitants of the earth will follow the Antichrist and the idolatrous image he has set up, they will be under the terrifying wrath of God. God is a jealous God. He will not allow them to continue their false worship. He will put an end to it. And it will be a terrifying end. That's what it says. Indeed a terrifying one of all the inhabitants of the earth. because the punishment will fit the crime. This is the language of fearful and complete destruction prophesied by Yeshayahu. As we see in Isaiah Yeshayahu 10 verse 23, for a complete destruction, one that is decreed, Lord Yahweh, Tzva'ot, will do in the midst of the whole land. God's judgment is universal and no one will escape his judgment without his tender mercies. So as we read in Revelation 9 at the beginning of our Bible study tonight, verse 20 to 21, And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. And they did not repent of their murders, nor their sorceries, nor their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts. We don't think much of God's vengeance, but scripture clearly teaches that God will avenge, he must avenge his enemies who have assaulted his glory, try to usurp, try to steal his glory, usurp his glory, refuse to give him glory, refuse to honor him, and then try to get God's people to disobey God, And if they don't, to persecute God's people against God's glory? Let me read a few passages for us as we close. What does God think about all this? Well, take a look at what the Bible says about the Great Tribulation, Yom Yahweh. Deuteronomy 32, 35. Vengeance is mine and retribution. In due time their foot will stumble for the day of their disaster is near and the impending things are hastening upon them. Isaiah 124, Therefore the Lord, Yahweh Tzva'ot, a mighty one of Israel, declares, Ah, I will be comforted concerning my adversaries, and I will avenge myself on my enemies. This is one of the doctrines of God's dealings that we can worship him. He's not only a holy God of mercy and grace and love, he is a God of vengeance. He's a jealous God who must avenge his honor. Therefore, When we worship Him, we consider His holy wrath, His perfect wrath and His vengeance upon all of His enemies who refuse to give Him glory. Would rather worship dead dumb things, worship man and of animals, environmentalism anybody? Loving animals more than loving God? Serving Him? To rob Him of His glory? He will vanquish in all righteousness. That doctrine is also very comforting for believers. Believers who are abused, who are persecuted, simply because we worship God, simply because we love Christ, simply because we love our fellow man and want them to turn to Christ and to be forgiven. And yet, instead of turning to Christ and being forgiven, they turn in hostility and vileness and evil and unnatural hatred, and they persecute, revile, try to subjugate and eliminate God's people. Now you see why the Jewish people have been hated for so many years. Now you see why Christians for 2,000 years have been persecuted. All genuine believers will experience persecution to a certain degree. Suffering is part of our experience as Christians. All genuine believers. But you understand the doctrine of God's wrath and his vengeance. Romans 12 verse 19, How and when he chooses to repay is up to his sovereign will. How and when he will do it in the end times is clearly laid out for us. His holy righteousness His glory and honor and His revenge and protection of His glory and His people and to make all wrong right. That's what vengeance is about, a holy vengeance of God. Vengeance is mine, I will repay. That should alleviate us from growing a bitter spirit, an angry spirit, a vengeful heart against people who hurt us and persecute us. Now you understand, beloved, what it means to trust in the Lord and rest in Him. Now you understand what it means to wait patiently upon Him, His ways, His perfect timing. This is what it's about. He will reward the faithful. but be sure he will pour out his wrath and take vengeance upon all who oppose him and who do not believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and who reject Christ, Christians, and the message of the cross. God has spoken. May the word of God comfort you as you continue to persevere in faith. Father thank you for giving us a picture of your holiness, your justice, your righteousness. You have demonstrated it through your chosen people in history through Israel and you have a plan and purpose to purge Israel of her sin and idolatry and self-reliance and prepare a remnant for the millennial kingdom. Thank you for loving us in Christ and uniting us with him and calling us to be people of faith, of peace, and of salvation. You have not destined us for wrath, but for salvation, and we praise you and we rejoice. in the coming salvation, the ultimate salvation, not only of our souls, which have already been done through the cross, but the salvation of the world and the glorious kingdom that is to come. May your people find rest and comfort in your vengeance and in your future judgments. And may we continue to trust you and be faithful building and preparing for that day to come. As Noah did, help us, Lord, to be faithful until the day of Christ Jesus. In his precious name we pray. Amen.