Isaiah 13:15
15 Every one that is found [matsa'] shall be thrust through [daqar]; and every one that is joined [caphah] unto them shall fall [naphal] by the sword [chereb]. KJV-Interlinear
15 Anyone who is found will be
thrust through, And anyone who is captured will fall by the sword. NASB
In those final days in
history, which we call the Tribulation, there will be great destruction, great
chaos, and death all around as a result of God’s just execution of justice.
The empires of old grew
up over periods that took decades or even centuries, and then faded each in
their turn in like manner.
Isaiah lived in the
early 700s BC. The current empire in place was the Assyrian Empire. The
Babylonian Empire would not come into its own until the mid-600s BC, and it
would be replaced by the Persian Empire in the mid-500s BC, which in turn will
be replaced by the Greek empire in the mid-300s BC, which in turn will be
replaced by the Roman Empire in the mid-100s BC.
Each of these
historical empires rose and fell over long periods of time.
The last great empire
which will occur in the Tribulation, and is generally known as the revived Roman
Empire, will fall very rapidly at the end of that seven-year period known as
the Tribulation.
While the entire Tribulation
will see a rapid deterioration of all of the worlds nations throughout that
seven-year period, the end will come at the second advent Jesus Christ, and the
end will not take decades or years or even months. The end of that empire will
occur over the space of hours and minutes and seconds.
The anti-christ, who is
Satan’s number one choice for ruling the world, will be the leader of history’s
shortest lived empire.
We have already seen
that at the second advent the evil armies and people of the world will turn and
run in rapid retreat and terror and fear. They will scatter in all directions,
they will hide anywhere they can. But there will be nowhere to hide, nowhere to
run, and anyone who associates themselves with any of these retreating forces
will be dealt with in the same manner as all of the evil forces are going to be
handled.
No one will be captured
as prisoners, no one will be allowed to get away. Jesus Christ, who is the God
of this universe and the just ruler of all that is true, is and will destroy
all evil without exception. In this last great battle there will be no
survivors among the evil forces that have rallied to Satan’s will.
The age of evil will end,
and not the tiniest bit will be allowed to enter into the kingdom of God.
