33:1 The destroyer is as good as dead, you who have not been destroyed! The deceitful one is as good as dead, the one whom others have not deceived! When you are through destroying, you will be destroyed; when you finish deceiving, others will deceive you!
The destroyer will be the Antichrist. He is called the destroyer in Zechariah 13, because he will kill 2/3 of the Jewish population. He is called the deceiver, because he will violate the seven‑year peace treaty which he will make with Israel. He will die for violating the Abrahamic covenant, attacking Jerusalem, and killing 2/3 of the Jewish population. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth, then the Antichrist will be the first casualty. He will be the first person thrown into the Lake of Fire.
33:2 Lord, be merciful to us! We wait for you. Give us strength each morning! Deliver us when distress comes.
Verse 2 will be the prayer of the Jewish believing remnant during the Great Tribulation. They will pray for Jehovah to save them from the Antichrist. They will wait for their Messiah. They will ask Jehovah to give them strength each day of the Great Tribulation. They will ask Jehovah to deliver them from the distresses which will come upon them.
33:3 The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; the nations scatter when you spring into action!
Verses 3-6 prophetically recorded God's answer to these prophetic prayers of the Jewish believing remnant. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns, the goat Gentiles will scatter. The Goal Gentiles will be the unbelieving Gentiles of the Great Tribulation who side with the Antichrist in order to commit genocide on the Jews.
33:4 Your plunder disappears as if locusts were eating it; they swarm over it like locusts!
The Gentile nations will come to spoil Israel, but it is the Gentiles who will be spoiled.
33:5 The Lord is exalted, indeed, he lives in heaven; he fills Zion with justice and fairness.
When the Antichrist and his Gentile army is defeated, then Jehovah will be exalted among all of the nations. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns from heaven, then He will establish a Millennial government in Jerusalem which will administer justice and fairness. He will establish the only non-corrupt government in the history of the world.
33:6 He is your constant source of stability; he abundantly provides safety and great wisdom; he gives all this to those who fear him.
The Jewish remnant does not need to worry about the Antichrist. The Lord Jesus Christ will provide security.
33:7 Look, ambassadors cry out in the streets; messengers sent to make peace weep bitterly.
Verses 7-12 prophetically recorded the state of Israel during the future invasion of the Antichrist. The treaty with the Antichrist will fail. The Jewish ambassadors will weep, knowing that Israel has no chance of victory against the Antichrist.
33:8 Highways are empty, there are no travelers. Treaties are broken, witnesses are despised, human life is treated with disrespect.
When the Antichrist begins his massacre on the Jews, then the highways of Israel will be emptied.
33:9 The land dries up and withers away; the forest of Lebanon shrivels up and decays. Sharon is like the desert; Bashan and Carmel are parched.
During the Great Tribulation, the land of Israel will dry up and decay. Lebanon will be full of cedar trees, but she will shrivel up and decay. Sharon will be a fertile ground on the coast with lush vegetation, but she will become a desert. Bashan was a fertile plain east of the Sea of Galilee which was known for her oak trees, but she will dry up. Carmel was a well-watered mountain even during Elijah’s drought, but she will become parched.
33:10 “Now I will rise up,” says the Lord. “Now I will exalt myself; now I will magnify myself.
When things look bad for Israel, then King Messiah will arise, exalt Himself, and magnify Himself.
33:11 You conceive straw, you give birth to chaff; your breath is a fire that destroys you.
The armies of the Antichrist carry their own destruction within their own bodies. Their bodies will give birth to chaff. Their own breath will ignite the chaff and burn them up.
Anytime that a nation becomes anti-Semitic, then that nation violate the Abrahamic Covenant. They receive the curses of the Abrahamic Covenant. They destroy themselves from within their own soul. They set their own souls on fire. This fire will burn inside of their soul and consume them.
33:12 The nations will be burned to ashes; like thorn bushes that have been cut down, they will be set on fire.
When Gentiles violate the Abrahamic Covenant and attack the Jews without his permission. then the Lord Jesus Christ will cut them down. The armies of the Antichrist will be cut down just as a farmer cuts down a worthless thorn bush and burns it.
33:13 You who are far away, listen to what I have done! You who are close by, recognize my strength!”
The people who are far away are the Gentiles. The people who are near are the Jews. God called on both Jews and Gentiles to acknowledge His righteous actions and His power.
33:14 Sinners are afraid in Zion; panic grips the godless. They say, ‘Who among us can coexist with destructive fire? Who among us can coexist with unquenchable fire?’
The sinners in Zion will be the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem who serve the Antichrist. These apostate Jews will ask, "Who can endure God’s awesome judgment?"
It is important to note that there will be four types of Jews during the Great Tribulation.
The first group will be the unbelieving Jews who sign a peace treaty with the Antichrist. This Jewish group will be the largest group, consisting of 2/3 of the Jewish population. They will take the mark of the beast. None of them will survive.
The second group will be the 144,000 Jewish witnesses of Revelation 7. They will be sealed and protected. Everyone of them will survive the Great Tribulation.
The third group will be the Hebrew unbelievers who will be saved by hearing the gospel from the 144,000 Jewish evangelists. Many of them will be martyred.
The fourth group of Jews is mentioned in the next verse.
33:15 The one who lives uprightly and speaks honestly; the one who refuses to profit from oppressive measures and rejects a bribe; the one who does not plot violent crimes and does not seek to harm others— 16 This is the person who will live in a secure place; he will find safety in the rocky, mountain strongholds; he will have food and a constant supply of water.
The fourth group will be the unbelieving Jews who do not take the mark of the beast. They will be Orthodox Jews who attempt to keep the Mosaic Law. They will not agree with the policies of the Antichrist. They will not take the mark of the beast. The Antichrist will attempt to kill them. They will flee Jerusalem into the wilderness. They will find security in Petra. Since they refused the mark of the beast, then they cannot buy or sell. Jehovah will miraculously provide them food and water at Petra, just as He did with the Jews during the Exodus. During their exile in Petra, Jehovah may rain down manna from heaven and provide water from rocks.
33:17 You will see a king in his splendor; you will see a wide land.
The fourth group of Jews will survive the Great Tribulation. They will see King Messiah appear at his Second Coming in his Shechinah-Glory form. They will all believe in His name. During the Millennial Kingdom, they will all see the entire land of Millennial Israel.
33:18 Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, and you will ask yourselves, “Where is the scribe? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?”
This Jewish remnant will think back on their former times and realize that the unrighteous are no longer with them.
33:19 You will no longer see a defiant people whose language you do not comprehend, whose derisive speech you do not understand.
During the Millennial Kingdom, Israel will no longer be rebellious against the Lord Jesus Christ. Every Jewish person will believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. They will no longer be held captive by those who speak foreign Gentile languages.
33:20 Look at Zion, the city where we hold religious festivals! You will see Jerusalem, a peaceful settlement, a tent that stays put; its stakes will never be pulled up; none of its ropes will snap in two.
During the Millennial Kingdom, Jerusalem will be a peaceful seaport city. It will no longer be attacked by Gentile armies. They will still hold festivals, such as the Feast of Tabernacles.
33:21 Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; no war galley will enter; no large ships will sail through.
God will rule from Jerusalem. Military ships will not sail through the new port in the Millennial Jerusalem.
33:22 For the Lord, our ruler, the Lord, our commander, the Lord, our king— he will deliver us.
During the Millennial Kingdom, there will be no more powerful and brutal nations like Assyria to humiliate and enslave Israel. King Messiah will reign on earth. He will keep the Jews safe from Gentile armies who want to perform genocide on the Jews.
33:23 Though at this time your ropes are slack, the mast is not secured, and the sail is not unfurled, at that time you will divide up a great quantity of loot; even the lame will drag off plunder.
During the Millennial Kingdom, Jerusalem will be one of the wealthiest cities in the world.
33:24 No resident of Zion will say, “I am ill”; the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.
During the Millennial Kingdom, there will be no more illnesses. Every Jewish believer will have his sins forgiven, because as the Apostle Paul predicted, "all of Israel will be saved."