ESCHATOLOGY
IN THE BOOK OF JOB
Darkness has settled over the land of Uz.
A solitary figure sits on the city dump in
abject silence. He looks like a "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." As he
sits among the ashes and the debris of the garbage dump, we notice that he is
covered with boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. He has
a broken piece of pottery with which he is scraping the pus from his putrefying
sores. Worms are devouring the remains of the purulence that once was healthy
tissue. The man's face is turned up ward as if in prayer.
Our eyes turn away in horror from the sight as we learn that this is the climax
to a series of horrendous episodes that have recently occurred in this man's life.
Until a few day ago, he was the wealthiest man in the east. Now, his 7,000 sheep
he burned to a crisp where a strange fire from heaven burned them alive. His 3,000
camels, 300 yoke of oxen and 500 she asses have all been stolen. All of his servants
but three have been killed. His maids, whose lives were spared, looked upon him as
a stranger and an alien. (Job 19:15..)
Before Job could catch his breath from these disasters, a whirlwind from the
wilderness demolished the home where his ten children were gathered. All were
killed. Job has recently returned from the cemetery after burying all ten of
his grown children in one day. To pour the final dregs of acid into the already
bleeding wounds, his wife has turned against him. We can hear him softly weeping
as he brushes away the worms and waits for the inevitable.
Joseph Parker notes with interest: Parker, loc. cit., p. 25:
Look at the picture, and as you look at it write underneath. This is what the
enemy would do in every case. If there is any other picture in human life, do
not credit that picture to the devil; if there is a happy little child anywhere,
do not say, This is the devil's work:' if today in all life's black misery there
is a man who is momentarily glad, call that gladness a miracle of God: we owe
nothing of beauty, music, love, trust, progress to the enemy; every smile is a
sunbeam from above, every throb of gladness is communicated from the life of God.
What terrible crime has this man committed that would cause God to punish him in
such a manner. Every heathen knows that when you please the "gods" things will go
well for you. When you displease them, however, you are punished. Compare
Acts 28:1-6:
Only a direct revelation from Almighty God can solve this problem. The fact of the
matter is, Job has not sinned. Not only that, he was a servant of God. God said of
Job, (Job 2:3),
How confusing to the depraved human mind that is filled with its own religious
philosophies and pagan ideas about how God should act and deal with humans. Later
God has revealed to this truth to Isaiah, (Isaiah 55:9-11).
WHY WOULD GOD ALLOW IT?
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For what reason would God allow a perfect, upright and evil shunning man to suffer
as though he were a wicked, God-defying, Hell-bound atheist?
Admittedly, even though Job walked with the Lord and had truth revealed to him that
modern man is recently discovering, nevertheless, Job had much to learn about the
ways of God Job did not have Psalm 23 to comfort him during his trials for It would
be over 1,000 years be fore God would give this Psalm to David. He did not have
Romans 8:28, for it would be over 2,000 years before God would reveal that truth
to Paul. Yet, without one verse of written Scripture upon which he could lean,
Job displays a faith in God that is remarkable. Lewis Sperry Chafer observes,
Chafer loc. cit., Vol VI, p. 70:
All that Job had on which to live for God was wholly apart from even one verse of
written Scripture.
Although Job was confused as to why he was suffering as he was, he could look up
into heaven and say, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him . . ." (Job 13:15).
At the conclusion of Job's experience when he meets again with God face to face,
the Lord never once apologizes to Job for putting Job through this time of agonizing
torment. This shows that God is perfectly just in dealing with the clay as the Potter
sees best. This is displayed in Paul's Epistle to the Romans. (Romans 9:21.)
Job recognized this
right. Rather than charging God foolishly, Job repented and yielded himself anew
to his Wonderful Lord. Someone has said, "Earth is the place for trusting while
Heaven is the place for under standing." The Divine record does not reveal that
God ever explained to Job why he had to suffer as he did. Job, on the other
hand, merely kept on trusting his Lord. The lesson for the saints today is
obvious.
Although Job may have never known why he suffered as a criminal when there was not
another man on earth as upright as he; yet today, through God's additional revelations
through His words, our spiritual perception is increased. Let us take our spiritual
telescope and peer down through the ages until about the third decade A.D.
A rich man lives in the land of Palestine. This man was clothed in purple and fine
linen and fared sumptuously every day. There was a certain beggar named Lazarus
lying at his gate covered with sores, (compare Job). The beggar was slowly dying
with no one to comfort him or to attend to his aching body. Nobody, that is, but
the dogs who came and licked his sores. Lazarus, who by faith was saved through
grace, died and went to paradise. The rich man also died and in Hell he suffered
the agonies of the damned. His screams for a few drops of water to cool his
parched tongue echoed throughout the corridors of Hell and resounded to the
solitude of Paradise; but all to no avail. Jesus tells the story of these real
life characters in Luke 16:19-31.
The captivity of Lazarus has been turned. Joseph Parker comments. Parker, loc.
cit., p. 412:
"Do not ask a free man what liberty means; ask an emancipated slave."
While Lazarus en-joys his emancipation from an emaciated, pain racked body, the rich
man had entered into the captivity of an eternal torture where, " . . . . their worm
shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched . . ." (Isaiah 66:24).
Little did Job realize that God was giving him the privilege of foreshadowing the
truth that the ". . . light affliction of the saved is but for a moment . . ."
(2 Corinthians 4:17). On the other hand, the temporary agonies that he endured for
a season would be experienced by the lost for all eternity. Cf. Revelation 20:11-15
reveals to us this horrid fact.
The man in John Chapter Nine was born blind. Neither he, nor his parents were guilty
of any particular sins for which they were being punished. The purpose was to provide
the Savior with an illustration. The truth is given in John 9:1-5.
Likewise, Job was permitted to suffer wretchedly, as a righteous man, to comfort
all the saints such as Lazarus who will live a life of sickness, disease, starvation
and finally death, all without human compassion. When his captivity is turned,
however, then he will learn with Job that there will be nothing but peace and
joy evermore. Once again Joseph Parker calls attention to this dying truth. He
comments, Parker, loc. cit., pp. 3-5:
In what good man's sick chamber is not Job welcome? Welcome because he can utter
the whole gamut of human woe. We can find words for the heart that is ill at ease,
and prayers for lips which have been chilled and silenced by unbelief. His woe
belongs to the whole world. All other woe is as the dripping of an icicle compared
with the rush of stormy waters.
Sin's Hall Of Shame
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Job is also a picture of the agonies the sinner will suffer in Hell, so that the
poor lost sinner will he encouraged to be saved and avoid that ghastly future.
Job was willing to be a perfect example of what a sinner will suffer at the hands
of God in the Lake of Fire. Revelation 20:15 gives the account.
As we adjust the telescope to peer into the future a few more years from Job's
viewpoint, we see a bloody mass of humanity nailed to a cross. He is so horribly
mutilated that He does not look human.
Isaiah 52:14 relates the event as follows.
"As many were astonied at thee: his visage was so marred more than any man, and his
form more than the sons of men" (KJB). We look at His crimes nailed to the CROSS
above His head and see it merely says, "THE KING OF THE JEWS." John 19:19 declares,
"And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing wax, JESUS OF
NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS" (KJB).
Judas, His betrayer confesses that he had betrayed
innocent blood, (Matthew 27:1-4).
Pilate, His judge, who sentenced Him to death declared that he was innocent,
(Matthew 27:24.)
The centurion who watched Him die testified that Christ was the Son of God. (Matthew 27:54).
Obviously, the Lord Jesus Christ was dying without a personal cause, even as
Job suffered without a cause. In this manner. Job had the unspeakable privilege
of foreshadowing his Redeemer in His vicarious death on the cross of Calvary.
(Cf. Job 2:3; John 15:25.)
While Job is suffering in the land of Uz, a young man is living with his father,
Terah, far to the east in the Ur of the Chaldees. This man, whose name was Abram,
will soon be called to leave that land and travel to the land of Canaan. In this
land, God will make him the father of a nation of people called by various names;
Hebrews, Jews, Israel, the Children of Jacob and the Sons of Abraham. These
Hebrews will have a unique part In God's plan for the world.
It will be through this nation that the Messiah will come. As a result of their
relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ, Israel will be the special objects of
Satan's hatred amid attack. They will be a suffering people throughout their
life time as the special objects of Satan's hatred.
Rose Warmer, a personal acquaintance of the author, relates this incident from
her days of suffering as a Christian - Jew in Hitler's Extermination Camps,
She recalls: Myrna Grant, The Journey (Wheaton, 1978), pp. 118-119:
During roll call we could see the huge camp chimneys spewing flames and smoke.
Sometimes an SS person would tell us, ?Your people are burned alive here
? . . . When we arrived exhausted at the so-called showers, we were ordered to
strip . . . . The undressing was to view our bodies, to judge who among us still
had enough flesh to be able to work, who would be liquidated.... We were given
a stony piece of gray ?soap.' Stamped on it were the letters ?R.J.F.' . . .
Later I was appalled to learn that the letters stood for ?Reines Juddishes
Fett,' which means, ?Pure Jewish Fat.' What I held in my own hands was made
from the bodies of Jews after they were gassed.
The only way to explain such beast like actions by a nation 98% literate is to
know that the same Devil who tortured Job was the same Serpent who impelled an
otherwise brilliant people to behave like devils under orders from a higher
authority.
The persecutor of Job will cause the nations of the world to hate Israel without
a cause even though God has promised in Genesis 12:3, "And I will bless them
that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families
of the earth be blessed." (KJB). History has proved this promise to be true.
Satan, with his power to blind the minds of men and women. continues to curse
these people through his willing dupes. Sadly, these deluded masses will pay a
dreadful price by perpetrating these tortures, sufferings and cursing against
Israel.
Having introduced the reality of Job being used as a picture of future events,
we now adjust our telescope to a time that is yet in the future (beyond 1981).
The time will occur immediately following the Rapture of the Church. This period
is generally known as "The Time of Tribulation" lasting for seven years. This seven
year period is divided into two parts.
FROM TIMES PAST TO TIMES TO COME
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The first period begins when Satan will empower the world ruler, the antichrist,
to make a peace covenant with Israel. In the middle of the seven year period, the
antichrist will break this covenant by Satan's personal appearance as God to usurp
the throne of the True Messiah. At this time, Israel will suffer as no other people
have ever suffered who have walked on the face of this planet earth. This period
of dreadful torture will also be known as the "Time of Jacob's Trouble." Job's
experience is a foretaste of the grotesque tribulation of the nation of Israel,
who will suffer without a cause, at the hands of the same Devil who tormented
and tortured Job.
(Cf. Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:21; 2 Thessalonians 2.4.)
Charles Feinberg assures us as follows: Feinberg , Israel p.51
God delivered Job permissively into the hands and devices of the enemy Satan
for dreadful trials. In a similar manner God delivered over the dearly beloved
of His soul into the hands of her enemies (Jeremiah 12:7*). As Job was stripped
of all, so was Israel (Lamentations 5:1-5*). This is true in a greater measure
today than it was in Jeremiah's day when he wrote Lamentations. Many were the
waves and billows of woe that came over Job. How many and of what magnitude
have been that have swept over Israel and still engulf her in this hour!
After reciting the long history of Israel's suffering from the time of the
Pharaoh, through Amalek, Haman, Antiochus Ephiphanes, their suffering throughout
the Middle Ages (Dark Ages) together with the horrors of the bloodstained days
of the Spanish Inquisition, their suffering under Hitler, U.S.S.R. and many other
countries, Dr. Feinberg concludes by adding, "And the end is definitely not yet.
Israel's history has been a long concatenation of woes."
(Feinberg, Israel, p. 52).
The Authorized Version of 1611 preserves for the English reader a remarkably designed
coincidence relative to the Book of Job. For example: The Old Testament of our
Savior's day was divided into three divisions; The Law (Torah); The Prophets
(Nevi'm); and the Writings (Kethuvim). Our Savior who used The Hebrew Tanakh, Who
never, never used Greek scrolls; (as silly Bible teachers would have us believe),
confirmed these divisions and parameters in two places:
Matthew 23:35, "That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth,
from the blood of righteous Abel (Genesis) unto the blood of Zacharias son of
Barachias, (2 Chronicles) whom ye slew between the temple and the altar" (KJB).
Luke 24:44, "And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you,
while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in
the law of Moses , (Torah) and in the prophets, (Nevi'm) and in the psalms,
(Kethuvim) concerning me."
The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible)
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The Bible of the Hebrews is called "The Tanakh." The "T" stands for Torah; "n"
stands for Nevi'm and "k" stands. for Kethuvim. The Tanakh contains the exact
amount of material as the Authorized Version of 1611. However, the Tanakh combines
some books and places the books in a different order.
The last Book in the Tanakh is 2 Chronicles which ended with a command from a
Gentile king for the Hebrews to go up to Jerusalem and build the Temple. Therefore,
the Hebrew Bible ends with the following command to the Hebrews, 2 Chronicles 36:23,
"Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God
of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem,
which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be
with him, and let him go up." (KJB). This is not without design. Although its
immediate fulfillment took place under Cyrus, King of Persia, circa 538 B.C.,
its future fulfillment is yet to occur under the direction of the antichrist.
In other words, God designed the words of tile Hebrew Bible to meet the needs
of the Hebrew People. It is interesting to note in passing that the last prayer
in the Sedar service which begins the Passover season is, "1'Shanah ha'ba' a' b'
Yerushalayim" or ?Next year in Jerusalem." This refers to carrying out the
commands in the last verse in the Hebrew Bible to go up to Jerusalem to build
the Temple.
In contrast, our Authorized Bible ends with the Book of Malachi and the words,
"with a curse." (Malachi 4:6.)
Whereas the last verse in the Hebrew Bible
instructs the Jews to go up to Jerusalem and build the Temple, the Gentiles Bible
places Gentiles under a curse. Our New Testament develops into a study of how
Gentiles can escape the curse of sin and be justified by faith through the Lord
Jesus Christ. The last command to the Hebrews could very well be the first
command the antichrist will issue to the Jews when he makes his covenant with
them. (Daniel 9:27.)
On Monday, January 16, 1604 A.D., Dr. John Rainolds, a Puritan, received permission
from King James of England to give the English speaking people a new translation.
(Gustavus S. Paine, The Men Behind The King James Bible, (Grand Rapids, 1979), p.1).
The king consented. Rainolds then gathered the greatest group of scholars who were
ever assembled to accomplish this task. They began with 48 men, but the concluding
number was 54 who worked on the translation because of the deaths of six of the men
who were replaced.
The amazing thing is that Rainolds chose men, most of whom violently disagreed with
him in doctrine. They were chosen for their leadership in some area of linguistics.
They ranged from High Anglican churchmen to Puritans: absolutely extremes as far as
doctrinal beliefs were concerned. There was one main stipulation. The entire committee
must agree with every word that would be entered into this new translation. They
violently argued, disagreed and at times became angry because one did not get his
own way. A miracle happened. In the final analysis, when the work was completed
every man on the committee agreed with every word that was placed in the Authorized
Version (KJB). Although they were highly recognized scholars, their testimony was
that they had produced a work that was beyond their individual or collective
capabilities.
H. L. Menchen gives this testimony: Ibid., . viii.): .
It is the most beautiful of all the translations of the Bible; indeed, it is
probably the most beautiful piece of writing in all the literature of the world.
Many attempts have been made to purge it of its errors and obscurities. An English
Revised Version was published in 1885 and an American Revised Version in 1901.
Since then many learned but misguided men have sought to produce translations
that should be mathematically accurate, and in the plain speech of everyday.
But the Authorized Version has never yielded to any of them, for it is palpably
and overwhelmingly better than they are, just as it is better than the Greek New
Testament, or the Vulgate, or the Septuagint. Its English is extra ordinarily
simply, pure, eloquent and lovely. It is a mine of lordly and incomparable
poetry, at once the most stirring and the most touching ever heard of.
For readers who may wish to pursue this investigation farther, you might consult
the scholarly works of Dean Burgon, Robert Dick Wilson, David Otis Fuller and
Edward F. Hills to mention a few.
Pre-Millennial Order Of Books
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The author has introduced this point to make the comparison between the Hebrew
Bible that God gave and preserved for the Jews and then to observe that God gave
and preserved for the English speaking people His words in the English language.
Since the translators of the Authorized Version acknowledged that they were led of
God in their translation, it proves interesting that they included unobserved truth
that God led them to include. For an example: No one would accuse most of these
translators of being Pre-Millennial in their doctrine. Nevertheless, in their
order of Old Testament arrangement of Books, with reference to Job, we see an
obvious Pre-Millennial order to the Books.
Observe:
? In 2 Chronicles the Jews are given permission by a Gentile king to return to
their homeland. In Ezra, they return to Palestine as they did in 1948.
? In Nehemiah they began rebuilding the land as they are doing at this present time.
? In Esther, we find a wedding and a great feast taking place and lasting for seven
days.
? At the Rapture, a great feast and a wedding will be taking place in Heaven for
seven years. Job, the next Book in order is a picture of Job suffering persecution
at the hands of Satan. Job sits on the ash pile for seven days and seven nights.
Job is a picture of Israel suffering at the hands of the Devil for seven years.
God Was Silent During Job?s Suffering
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As God was silent during Job's suffering, God will be silent during the years of
Israel's tribulation. The time of Jacob's Trouble or the Great Tribulation will
last for 42 months.
It is a designed coincidence that there are exactly 42 chapters in the Book of Job.
Remember, the Hebrew had no chapter and verse divisions, only Parashahs. Yet. when
these Hebrew scholars gave us our English Bible, they assigned 42 chapters to the
Book of Job.
At the end of the Book of Job, Satan appears in the form of Leviathan exactly as he
will appear in the middle of the Great Tribulation Period (Revelation 12:3-17).
In Job, after Satan's appearance, the Lord appears and "turns the captivity of
Job" exactly as the Lord will do at the close of the Great Tribulation for the
nation of Israel (Revelation 19:11-16).,
When the Lord appears again to Job, the Lord restores Job and doubles all of his
wealth. Not only that. but Job's ten children are all resurrected, exactly as
there will be a resurrection of the tribulation saints at the end of the Great
Tribulation. Note these references for your continued Bible study
(Revelation 14:15-18; 11:12; (All these references here) Matthew 24:31; Luke 17:30-36;
Job 19:25-27; Matthew 3:12; Matthew 25:1-13; Isaiah 26:20-21; 1 Corinthians 15:23-30).
Andersen scoffs at the resurrection of Job's ten children. He objects,
(Andersen, loc. cit., p. 294:
C. H. Gorden, in a public lecture, has suggested that Job's children in chapter
42 are identical with the ones in chapter 1, raised from the dead. This is
building too much on the minor difference in wording between 1:2 and 42:1 3.
The author replies, when a scholar takes a critical view of the word of God, he is
judged by God so that he can see only the words that are written on the paper that
appear to him as any other words written in any other man's book. The Bible is a
"spiritual" Book that is to be "eaten" to sustain our souls and spirits. When a
critic fails to appreciate this fact about the Bible, it becomes merely another
book about which he can have his own opinions, taking what appeals to his intellect
and rejecting that which may not suit his inclination.
The Lord Jesus Christ said, "In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said,
I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth. that thou hast hid these things
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father;
for so it seemed good in thy sight" (Luke 10:21).
Obviously, Bible critics will never be able to see the truths that God will reveal
through His word to those who will come with a submissive, humble, child-like
attitude. To these, God reveals His secrets.
Not only does Job give us the Pre-Millennial position for the Great Tribulation,
but the next Bible Book is the Book of Psalms. In Psalm two, we see the Lord
Jesus Christ reigning as King of kings and Lord of lords exactly as He will reign
following the Great Tribulation when He will put all enemies under His feet,
(1 Corinthians 15:25).
The antichrist and false prophet go into the Lake of Fire
while Satan is chained in the bottomless pit with a "dragon-chain" for 1,000
years until God is finished with him, (Revelation 20:1-3).
Then, Satan will
be cast into the Lake of Fire where he will suffer forever, (Revelation 20:10).
JOB AS A TYPE OF ISRAEL
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The next clear picture we see of Job as a type of Israel suffering at the hands of
the Devil during the Tribulation Period has to do with God's hiding of a remnant of
His people in the exact land where Job suffered his persecution at the hands of Satan.
Matthew tells the Jew when to expect this terrible tribulation . (
Matthew 21:15-16; Matthew 24:21.)
At this time Satan will attempt to exterminate every Jew on the face of the earth.
Isaiah 1:9 informs us, "Except the LORD of hosts had left unto us a very small
remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah"
(KJB):
Scofield has this note concerning the remnant of Israel, (Scofield, loc. cit., p.
Note Page 1205_1):
. . . But the chief interest in the remnant is prophetic. During the great
tribulation a remnant out of all Israel will turn to Jesus as Messiah, and will
become His witnesses after the removal of the church (Revelation 7:3-8)*.
Some of these will undergo martyrdom (Revelation 6:9-11*),
some will be spared to enter the millennial kingdom (Zechariah 12:6-13*).
Our interest in the remnant relationship to the Book of Job is that the remnant will
be spared and hidden away by God. In Revelation 12:14 God tells us. "And to the woman
were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into
her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, (42 months)
from the face of the serpent."
We have already established in Chapter 2 of this study that the land of Uz was
located in the land of Edom. One of the leading cities was the city of
Petra.
It is possible that this was the very city of Job, but as yet this cannot be
proved conclusively. A description of the city of Petra as we know it today might
prove to be helpful. (Zachariah 14:5.)
Salem Kirban suggests:
"There are some who have suggested that the area to which the Jews will flee is
the rock city of Petra. Petra, once called ?the rainbow city' because of its
various hues of color in the stone. had 275,000 inhabitants." (Salem Kirban,
The Day Israel Dies (Huntingdon Valley, Pa., 1975),p. 219).
AN EAGLE IN VIEW
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The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible describes the city as follows:
(Tenny, The Greek word "Petra" means "rock." The name describes an ancient city
in Edom, near the Arabah. The setting of these rums is most impressive, reached by
descending the Wadi Musa and passing through a magnificent gorge with high and
frequent nearly-touching walls, known as the SIQ. This gorge is over a mile in
length, which provided an excellent defense for the city. The city was situated
in an open Basin, approximately a mile in length by three-fourths of a mile in
width. . . Perpendicular cliffs are covered with tombs and other facades carved
into the native rock. These date primarily from the Nabatean times, as Petra was
their capital from about the close of the 4th century B.C. to A.D. 105, when it
was incorporated into Roman Territory.
The name "Sela" seems to have been associated with the ancient settlement, but the
only Edomite ruins with the ancient settlement, but the only Edomite ruins are
found at Umm el-Biyyara, a fortress built on the top of a high and nearly
inaccessible mountain standing independently toward the northern part of
the basin.
References may be found in Judges 1:36; 2 Kings 14:7; Isaiah 16:1; 41:11).
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary describes Sela as follows:
SELA ? [SEE luh] (rock, cliff)-- the name of three places in the Old Testament:
? 1. A fortress city, the capital of Edom, situated on the Wadi Musa ("the Valley
of Moses") between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba (2 Kings 14:7); (Selah, KJB).
A rock formation about 1,160 meters (3,800 feet) above sea level, now known as Umm
el-Bayyarah, the great acropolis of the Nabatean city of PETRA dominates the site.
Sela was near Mount Hor, close to the Wilderness of Zin. Its name was changed to
Joktheel by Amaziah, king of Judah, after he captured it (2 Kings 14:7). Amaziah's
men took 10,000 of the people of Seir (Edomites), "brought them to the top of the
rock, and cast them down... so that they all were dashed in pieces"
(2 Chronicles 25:12).
? 2. A place apparently in the territory of Judah near the boundary of the Amorites
(Judges 1:36); (the rock, KJB). Some scholars believe the site was in Amorite
territory. Its exact location is unknown.
? 3. An unidentified site in Moab mentioned by Isaiah in a prophecy of doom
(Isaiah. 16:1). (Copyright ? 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers).
This great vacant rose colored city in the land of Job is surely one of the
remaining breath taking wonders of the ancient world: This deserted ancient
city has stood desolate since the fall of Rome: It has been a silent city of
the forgotten past until recent years when it has been opened for tourists: To
reach it requires a long and arduous trip through the desert including a bone
shaking ride through the SIQ on pack animals: The guides estimate that this
natural amphitheater could hold one and a half-million people:
Two fascinating sights capture your attention as you travel through the SIQ.
The first is"Ain Muse" or the spring of Moses where he caused water to gush
forth from the rock: The account is given in Numbers 20:8-11.
The waters from this spring are still flowing after 3,500 years. Clay pipes carry
water into the city completely hidden from all who would try to find them.
The second eye catching sight is the carving of a huge eagle that faces you as you
move through the SIQ. It is assumed the eagle was carved there by the Romans, but
how interesting that Revelation 12:14 ties the remnant of Israel's flight to this
land with an eagle.
Did God have the Romans carve the eagle there to mark the spot
where He wanted His remnant to hide from the antichrist? The author believes
this is so.
In the author's evaluation of this ancient city of Job, together with all the other
Bible clues, Petra is the place where God will hide His people from the antichrist
for 42 months The water for drinking and making life easier is already there. Once
the remnant is safely inside, one hand grenade could bring the walls of the SIQ
together to seal the inhabitants off from the outside world: Micah 7:14-15 tells
us that God will feed Israel with manna as He did in the days of the Exodus from
Egypt.
This city of Job is described in Jeremiah as a place where eagles dwell arid Edom
as desolation whereby people who pass by will be astonished and shall hiss at it,
(Jeremiah 49:16-17; Jeremiah 49:22 indicates that the Lord
will hover over that bowl city like a helicopter to protect His people.
Although the Lord will provide His people in Petra with Manna and water while
He hovers over them and covers them with His wings, Satan will have one more
plan. Here is where our "old friend, Behemoth" enters into the picture. In
Job 40:23, we read of Behemoth. "Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth
not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth" (KJB).
The Jordan River is due north of Petra. God's Remnant is safely protected
aerially by the Lord and surrounded by impregnable cliffs. The one weapon
remaining is a flood that would pour into that gigantic amphitheater and
drown all of its occupants. Evidently, the Devil will try this scheme.
Daniel 9:26 declares "and the end thereof shall be with a flood . . . ."
The context is the Great Tribulation. (Cf. Revelation 12:15-16.)
The Lord Protects His Remnant
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The Lord protects His Remnant from this flood of water by causing the earth to
open and swallow up the flood waters before they can drown His people in the
"bowl" city of Petra. Behemoth will be frustrated in this attempt to draw the
Jordan River up into his mouth and then spew the water into the city of Petra,
Observe how otherwise obscure passages of Scripture when analyzed together give
us a very plausible picture of the work of Satan and the protecting hand of an
Almighty God.
As with Job, in the blackness of suffering and despair; when Israel will be at the
end of her strength and endurance; perhaps with Job, cursing the day she was born
as a nation to be hated by all the people of the world; then it will happen. Israel
will look up and as with Saul of old will see the Savior. They will cry, "Baruch
ha ba'b'shem Adonai," ("Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the I Lord.").
Is this the cry that will bring hack the Messiah as recorded in Matthew?
(Matthew 23:38-39.)
Matthew 24:30 describes the return of the Messiah.
The Remnant of Israel will then recognize their Messiah to be the One
long ago rejected by their forefathers. The cry of Israel will break the air,
(Zechariah 13:6),
Israel will then break out in tears of repentance and joy as
they recognize their Messiah, (Zechariah 12:10),
The next in the series of events is recorded in Revelation 19:11-21.
It is interesting to note, however, when the Lord returns to fight the battle of
Armageddon, He does not come first to the Mount of Olives. No! He comes sweeping
out of Heaven on His White Horse and heads for the land of Job to pickup His Remnant
He has been nurturing for 42 months in the land of Job. We read in Isaiah 63:1-4.
After gathering up His own in Petra, the King sweeps north to the Mount of Olives,
then on farther north to complete the battle of Armageddon and the total defeat of
Behemoth and Leviathan of Job. As with that old saint who foreshadowed the
Devil-harassed nation of Israel, finally the "captivity of Israel will be turned;"
the resurrection of the Tribulation saints a reality and the beginning of the
thousand year reign to commence.
As Job was rewarded for his role by God, the faithful of Israel will have the joy
of Zechariah Chapter 14 fulfilled. Charles concludes; Feinberg, loc. cit., 64):
The problem of Job is solved; that of Israel will he too. Then it will be seen that
afflictions try piety as well as iniquity. Trials develop faith. Hardships lead to
clearer views of God. Tribulations draw the soul nearer to God. What formerly
considered an unbearable burden is seen to be an abiding blessing. What matters
if God permits us to he delivered into the hands of the enemy, or allows us to he
subjected to the vitriolic ministration of physicians of no value, as long as in
the end of it all we may have that meeting with Him face to face, to minister to
our every need.
The Book of Job has a happy ending. Somehow, the human heart feels that this is as
it should be. Since there is a God, then we feel that He must balance all accounts.
Those who love and serve Him, no matter how deep the testings and trials, must live
happily ever after. Those who have been wicked, unrepentant and Christ- rejecting
somehow must be made to pay the dreadful price. This is exactly how God's program
works. Job lived happily ever after.
Not all scholars are pleased with this fact, however. The happy ending of Job
provoked this comment from Andersen. He said, (Andersen, loc. cit., 294),
Some scholars have complained that the story is ruined by the happy ending, as if the
author had slipped back into the crude theology of punishment and rewards which it
was his aim in the discourses to discredit, or had been unable to expurgate this
feature from the basic folk-story, even though it contradicted his theses."
This crude analysis, of course, falls under the weight of its own absurdity. We quote
it merely show how far the unregenerate mind can drift into a cloud-land of
unreality. Job's life ends exactly as every child of God knows it will.
For Israel, of whom Job was a type, her blackest night time of suffering and despair
lies before her. As we close the Book of Job, let us listen to one of Israel's
daughters as she returns home from the nightmare of a Nazi death camp to face a
future of service for her Lord in Palestine. Rose Wanner relates her happy landing
in Israel: (Grant. loc. cit., p. 204):
It was a hot summer dawn when I stepped from the plane. My foot touched the pavement.
I was automatically a citizen. Hitler had not prevailed. I was living proof that God
remains faithful to His people. Tears of happiness streamed down my face. In a blur
of blue I saw above me the Star of David proudly billowing in the morning sky. I
was part of the Promise! I had returned.
From a tormented part of my mind came the chant I had heard from those entering the
gas chambers at Auschwitz. "Ani ma'amin be'emuns shlema beviat ha-Mashia" (I believe
in perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah)!" I had returned, but the best of us
did not return.
I would not fail their memory, nor the One who had His own Auschwitz on a cross so
many centuries before. My hand tightened around the little Bible I was carrying I
had much work to do.
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