Big Picture Hope

1. Yahweh’s word came to me, saying, 2. “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3. and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4. I will turn you around, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords; 5. Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6. Gomer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes; even many peoples with you. 7. “ ‘ “Be prepared, yes, prepare yourself, you, and all your companies who are assembled to you, and be a guard to them. 8. After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, on the mountains of Israel, which have been a continual waste; but it is brought out of the peoples, and they will dwell securely, all of them. 9. You will ascend. You will come like a storm. You will be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your hordes, and many peoples with you.” 10. “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “It will happen in that day that things will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. 11. You will say, ‘I will go up to the land of unwalled villages. I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates, 12. to take the plunder and to take prey; to turn your hand against the waste places that are inhabited, and against the people who are gathered out of the nations, who have gotten livestock and goods, who dwell in the middle of the earth.’ 13. Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions of it, will ask you, ‘Have you come to take the plunder? Have you assembled your company to take the prey, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’ 14. “Therefore, son of man, prophesy, and tell Gog, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “In that day when my people Israel dwells securely, will you not know it? 15. You will come from your place out of the uttermost parts of the north, you, and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16. You will come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land. It will happen in the latter days, that I will bring you against my land, that the nations may know me, when I am sanctified in you, Gog, before their eyes.” 17. “ ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Are you he of whom I spoke in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for years that I would bring you against them? 18. It will happen in that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh, “that my wrath will come up into my nostrils. 19. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath I have spoken. Surely in that day there will be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20. so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all creeping things who creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the surface of the earth will shake at my presence. Then the mountains will be thrown down, the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. 21. I will call for a sword against him to all my mountains,” says the Lord Yahweh. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22. I will enter into judgment with him with pestilence and with blood. I will rain on him, and on his hordes, and on the many peoples who are with him, an overflowing shower, with great hailstones, fire, and sulfur. 23. I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am Yahweh.” ’

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1. “You, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 2. I will turn you around, and will lead you on, and will cause you to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring you onto the mountains of Israel. 3. I will strike your bow out of your left hand, and will cause your arrows to fall out of your right hand. 4. You will fall on the mountains of Israel, you, and all your hordes, and the peoples who are with you. I will give you to the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the animals of the field to be devoured. 5. You will fall on the open field; for I have spoken it,” says the Lord Yahweh. 6. “I will send a fire on Magog, and on those who dwell securely in the islands. Then they will know that I am Yahweh. 7. “ ‘ “I will make my holy name known among my people Israel. I won’t allow my holy name to be profaned any more. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh, the Holy One in Israel. 8. Behold, it comes, and it will be done,” says the Lord Yahweh. “This is the day about which I have spoken. 9. “ ‘ “Those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out, and will make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the war clubs and the spears, and they will make fires with them for seven years; 10. so that they will take no wood out of the field, and not cut down any out of the forests; for they will make fires with the weapons. They will plunder those who plundered them, and rob those who robbed them,” says the Lord Yahweh. 11. “ ‘ “It will happen in that day, that I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of those who pass through on the east of the sea; and it will stop those who pass through. They will bury Gog and all his multitude there; and they will call it ‘The valley of Hamon Gog’. 12. “ ‘ “The house of Israel will be burying them for seven months, that they may cleanse the land. 13. Yes, all the people of the land will bury them; and they will become famous in the day that I will be glorified,” says the Lord Yahweh. 14. “ ‘ “They will set apart men of continual employment, who will pass through the land. Those who pass through will go with those who bury those who remain on the surface of the land, to cleanse it. After the end of seven months they will search. 15. Those who pass through the land will pass through; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, then he will set up a sign by it, until the undertakers have buried it in the valley of Hamon Gog. 16. Hamonah will also be the name of a city. Thus they will cleanse the land.” ’ 17. “You, son of man, the Lord Yahweh says: ‘Speak to the birds of every sort, and to every animal of the field, “Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat meat and drink blood. 18. You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19. You shall eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20. You shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war,” says the Lord Yahweh.’ 21. “I will set my glory among the nations. Then all the nations will see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. 22. So the house of Israel will know that I am Yahweh their God, from that day and forward. 23. The nations will know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed against me, and I hid my face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. 24. I did to them according to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions. I hid my face from them.

1. After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God; 2. for his judgments are true and righteous. For he has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.” 3. A second said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever.” 4. The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne, saying, “Amen! Hallelujah!” 5. A voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great!” 6. I heard something like the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! 7. Let’s rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let’s give the glory to him. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready.” 8. It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9. He said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.’ ” He said to me, “These are true words of God.” 10. I fell down before his feet to worship him. He said to me, “Look! Don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy.”

12. “Have you commanded the morning in your days, and caused the dawn to know its place, 13. that it might take hold of the ends of the earth, and shake the wicked out of it? 14. It is changed as clay under the seal, and presented as a garment. 15. From the wicked, their light is withheld. The high arm is broken. 16. “Have you entered into the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep? 17. Have the gates of death been revealed to you? Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death? 18. Have you comprehended the earth in its width? Declare, if you know it all. 19. “What is the way to the dwelling of light? As for darkness, where is its place, 20. that you should take it to its bound, that you should discern the paths to its house? 21. Surely you know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great! 22. Have you entered the treasuries of the snow, or have you seen the treasures of the hail, 23. which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war? 24. By what way is the lightning distributed, or the east wind scattered on the earth?