Zephaniah 01
Zephaniah 01:1 This is the prophetic message that the Lord gave to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah. Zephaniah delivered this message during the reign of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah:
Jehovah gave a prophetic message to Zephaniah. Zephaniah means “Jehovah has hidden.” He is the only prophet whose genealogy goes back four generations. This may have been because King Hezekiah was his great-great grandfather, making him a member of the royal household. If so, then he knew Jerusalem very well, which is apparent in his writing.
Zephaniah prophesied from 630-626 B.C. during the reign of King Josiah. King Josiah followed the evil reign of his father King Manasseh. King Manasseh corrupted Judah with religious syncretism, which was the blending of the worship of Jehovah with other pagan demonic gods. However, Josiah was a good king who led many reforms in Judah. Zephaniah was a contemporary prophet with Nahum, Habbakuk, and Jeremiah. At this time, the Assyrian Empire was in decline.
2 “I will destroy everything from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
During the Great Tribulation, the earth will be dirty. Therefore, Jehovah will metaphorically take a broom and sweep away everything from the face of the earth.
3 “I will destroy people and animals; I will destroy the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea. (The idolatrous images of these creatures will be destroyed along with evil people.) I will remove humanity from the face of the earth,” says the Lord.
The first purpose of the Great Tribulation is to make an end to wickedness and wicked ones. Therefore, God will pick up His broom and sweep away everything, including birds, animals, and humans.
4 “I will attack Judah and all who live in Jerusalem. I will remove from this place every trace of Baal worship, as well as the very memory of the pagan priests.
During the Great Tribulation, Baal worship will return to Israel. Jehovah will remove Baal worship and pagan priests.
5 I will remove those who worship the stars in the sky from their rooftops, those who swear allegiance to the Lord while taking oaths in the name of their ‘king,’
During the Great Tribulation, Jehovah will remove astrology and syncretism.
6 and those who turn their backs on the Lord and do not want the Lord’s help or guidance.”
During the Great Tribulation, God will remove apostates who are spiritually indifferent to Jehovah. Apostates live as if there is no god.
7 Be silent before the Lord God, for the Lord’s day of judgment is almost here. The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; he has ritually purified his guests.
Israel needs to be silent, because the Day of Jehovah is approaching, The Day of Jehovah always refers to the Great Tribulation. Jehovah has prepared a sacrificial meal for His guests. The sacrificial meal is the dead bodies of the Christ-rejeceters. The guests are the birds of the earth who are going to eat the corpses of the Christ-rejecters.
8 “On the day of the Lord’s sacrificial meal, I will punish the princes and the king’s sons, and all who wear foreign styles of clothing.
During the Great Tribulation, the royal house will be wearing foreign apparel of the Gentiles. They will also be part of the sacrificial meal.
9 On that day I will punish all who leap over the threshold, who fill the house of their master with wealth taken by violence and deceit.
During the Great Tribulation, the priests who worship demonic gods for money will be part of the sacrificial meal.
10 On that day,” says the Lord, “a loud cry will go up from the Fish Gate, wailing from the city’s newer district, and a loud crash from the hills.
During the Great Tribulation, the Jewish temple will be rebuilt. The industrial quarter of Jerusalem will shout out a cry.
11 Wail, you who live in the market district, for all the merchants will disappear and those who count money will be removed.
Those living in the market district were called “Canaanites,” because the chosen people of God were buying and selling like Canaanites. This market district was the western part of Jerusalem. These businessmen will also be removed from their marketing ploys so that they can become a delicacy of the feast.
12 At that time I will search through Jerusalem with lamps. I will punish the people who are entrenched in their sin, those who think to themselves, ‘The Lord neither rewards nor punishes.’
In Greek mythology, the gods used a lamp to search cities to find one righteous man. During the Great Tribulation, Jehovah will search through all of the cities of the earth with a lamp. He will find all of the unrighteous men and punish them by exterminating all of them from the face of the earth. The first purpose of the Great Tribulation is the destruction of sin and sinners.
13 Their wealth will be stolen and their houses ruined! They will not live in the houses they have built, nor will they drink the wine from the vineyards they have planted.
During the Great Tribulation, the wealthy men will lose their houses to foreign armies.
14 The Lord’s great day of judgment is almost here; it is approaching very rapidly! There will be a bitter sound on the Lord’s day of judgment; at that time warriors will cry out in battle.
The Day of Jehovah can arrive at any time. It will approach very rapidly, so the Jews need to live as though they expect it to happen on any day. The Day of Jehovah will be a day of bitterness. Warriors will cry out in battle.
15 That day will be a day of God’s anger, a day of distress and hardship, a day of devastation and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and dark skies,
God will be very angry on the Day of the Lord. It will be a day of distress and hardship for Israel. It will be a day of devastation and ruin. It will be a day of darkness and gloom. It will be a day of dark clouds and dark skies. Whenever the Day of the Lord is mentioned in Scripture, it is always a negative day.
16 a day of trumpet blasts and battle cries. Judgment will fall on the fortified cities and the high corner towers.
During the Day of the Lord, there will be many world wars. Many fortified cites all over the earth will be destroyed.
17 I will bring distress on the people and they will stumble like blind men, for they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dirt; their flesh will be scattered like manure.
Jehovah will bring down His wrath upon the people who are living during the Great Tribulation. The people living during the Great Tribulation will stumble like blind men. They will not be able to recognize what is going on during this time period. The reason they will stumble is because they sinned against Jehovah. Their punishment will be death. Every unbeliever will be killed during the Great Tribulation. Only Jewish and Gentile believers will enter into the Millennial Kingdom.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s angry judgment. The whole earth will be consumed by his fiery wrath. Indeed, he will bring terrifying destruction on all who live on the earth.”
During the Great Tribulation, the wealthy will possess silver and gold. However, their wealth will not be able to save them from the Day of the Lord. This judgment will not affect just Israel, but it will affect all of the nations of the world. The unbelievers all over the world will be consumed by the wrath of God. His wrath will spread upon them like fire. Jehovah will terrify all of the Christ-rejecters. Every evolutionist, atheist, agnostic, cult, ism, and Christ-rejecter will recognize that Jehovah is God.