Question
When Christ comes back at the end of the Tribulation, in His three-day path fighting unbelieving armies, how does he carry out that fight? Couldn’t he just say a word & the battle would be over?
Response
Following the “great tribulation” when the Lord ‘rides upon the heaven unto Israel’s help’ and comes as a “man of war” to execute His “great and terrible day,” He will fight both for Israel and with them following the same basic pattern as when He first fought not only for them but also with them according to His “Jehovah-ness.” Or in other words, the same basic pattern will be followed of what the Lord did from the time He brought them out of Egypt until the time He gave them rest in their land following the victorious campaigns of Joshua.
Now that basic pattern involved three major manners of military exploits: (1) it involved some fighting and battles in which the Lord alone did the fighting; (2) it had other fighting and battles which involved His angel and the hosts of heaven; and (3) it also had fighting and battles in which the people of Israel fought and the Lord fought with His people. All three of these manners were a part of the implementation of the military aspect of God’s “Jehovah-ness” for Israel when He first fought for them according to His “Jehovah-ness” and demonstrated its capabilities to them. And so, in accordance with this, all three of them will occur again when the Lord has His “great and terrible day” and He fully executes “Jehovah-nissi,” i.e. the military aspect of His “Jehovah-ness.”
So then when it comes to describing the fighting that the Lord will do in ‘His day,’ He is going to fight in all three manners. Which is why there are passages that describe the Lord fighting alone, as for example in the opening portion of Isaiah 63; and passages that describe Him fighting with His host of heaven, as for example in Joel 3; and ones that speak of certain of the people of Israel fighting with Him, as for example in Zechariah 10 and 12.
In accordance with this the ‘method of the Lord’s weaponry’ in that day will include His own personal armaments, like His own “glittering sword,” that are part of His personal “garments of vengeance” and that are part of His total military array. The host of heaven led by Michael the archangel will also be arrayed with all their fitting and similar weaponry. And, in accordance with, the pattern for the implementation of God being “Jehovahnissi,” both when the Lord fights alone, and when His hosts fight with Him, they will each employ their weapons to the destruction of His enemies and Israel’s enemies at (in) each of the battles and (at each of the) battle sites that are written in “the book of the wars of the LORD.” Then when those of Israel also join the fighting in one of the final battles, they too will employ their weaponry in the fighting.
Keith Blades
Enjoy The Bible Ministries
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