When Yeshua, in his End-time speech on the Mount of Olives, prophetically announced the fall of Jerusalem by the Roman legions for the year 70 AD, he painted the following ominous events that would then occur:
Furthermore, whenever you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that her desolation has drawn near. Then let those who [are] in Judea flee to the mountains; and let those in her midst, pull out, and let those in the regions not enter into her. For days of vengeance are these [days], that all the things written, may be fulfilled. Woe to the pregnant women, and to the ones giving suck in those days; for there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath on this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive into all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the Times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (Luke 21:20-24).
Yeshua then made mention of the Times of the Gentiles or: Times of the Nations. For Jerusalem restoration could only dawn when those Times would be fulfilled; that is: come to an end.
How should the Times of the Gentiles be understood? And what changes for Israel, but also for all humanity, will result when those Times are fulfilled in Elohim's purpose?
In our view, those Times correspond to the Seven Times of which Daniel was making mention in connection with the (temporary) madness of King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4). Moreover, to the best of our knowledge that period (in its greater fulfilment) had its start in the year of the Confusion of Tongues, according to the Anno Mundi calendar the year 1826 AM.
However, there may arise some questions:
* What is the duration of one prophetic time ?
* What evidence can be adduced for that year 1826 AM ?
* And perhaps the most pressing and spectacular question: Could it be possible that there are arguments to conclude that the ending of those Gentile Times will also mean the Speech-confusion coming to an end ?!
The first prophetic time mentioned in the Bible is the one recorded in Genesis 5:28-29, when Lamech uttered a prophesy at the time of the birth of his son Noah:
And Lamech lived on for a hundred and eighty-two years, and became father to a son, and he named him Noah, saying, “This one will bring us comfort from our work and from the toil of our hands, because of the ground which YHWH has cursed.”
That (provisional) consolation for humanity came in the year 1656 AM, 600 years after Noah's birth in 1056 AM. Compare Genesis 7:6 >> And Noah was 600 years old when the deluge of waters occurred on the earth.
On that basis, we consider the Seven Times in Daniel 4 as a period of 7 x 600 = 4200 years.
At the end of those Times, the Davidic Kingdom of Israel will be restored and given to David’s descendant Yeshua, the lowliest of mankind, as that Kingdom is named in Daniel:
Let its heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given to it; and let Seven Times pass over it.
The sentence is by the decree of watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind, and gives it to whoever he wants, and sets up over it even the lowliest one of mankind (4:16-17).
Therefore, if the Times of the Gentiles started in 1826 AM they expire in 6026 AM [1826 + 4200 = 6026].
See also: Acts 1:6 and Revelation 11:15.
Revelation 11:15-17 reads in full:
And the seventh angel blew the trumpet, and loud voices occurred in heaven saying: “The kingdom of the world has become of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will rule as king for ever and ever. And the twenty-four Elders seated before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: We thank you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, that you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king”.
When in the near future the sign of the angel with the seventh trumpet becomes reality, then the time has finally come! A special mystery or sacred secret of YHWH Elohim then ends: Loud voices resound as it were in the sky to announce the great news!
In the year 1826 AM, at the time of the Confusion and the coming into existence of individual nations, YHWH Elohim suspended temporarily his kingship over mankind. Then, those heathen nations [Hebrew: Gojim] were given the opportunity to exercise their own sovereign government. The Times of the Gentile peoples were initiated. From that year on it could truthfully be said what afterwards also the apostle Paul confirmed:
In the past generations he [YHWH Elohim] permitted all the nations to go on in their own ways (Acts 14:16).
And at the same time, behind the scenes of invisibility, something very special had happened, as is clear from a conversation that Yeshua had at the start of his earthly ministry with Elohim's Great Adversary. Led by the spirit of inspiration Luke recorded the following details:
Therefore, he [Satan] brought him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth in an instant of time. Then the Devil said to him: “I will give you all this authority and their glory, because it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. If you, therefore, do an act of worship before me, it will all be yours.”
In reply, Jesus said to him: “It is written, ‘It is the Lord your Elohim you must worship and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.’”
(Luke 4:5-8). And compare: Matthew 4:8-10
But when the year 6026 AM arrives, 4200 year further in history [Seven Times, each one of 600 years duration], YHWH Elohim will surely take up again his great power. In full accordance of Daniel 4 the results will be: That the living may know that the Most High is Ruler in the kingdom of mankind, and gives it to whoever he wants, and sets up over it even the lowliest one of mankind.
Revelation 11 anticipates on that glorious event >> We thank you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, that you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king.
We reiterate intentionally both Scripture parts to show the reader even more clear that YHWH Elohim temporarily would suspend his world governance. However, through Yeshua’s kingship, he will again assert his great and irresistible power. By means of the Messianic Kingdom, given into the hands of David’s permanent heir, starting the year 6026 AM, he will again express his sovereignty over the whole world of mankind, without any competitive power and, moreover, forever and ever.
The ending of the 4200 years, of course, does not only mean the end of all earthly rule by humans, led by invisible spiritual demonic forces, but also the collapse of that whole world system of apostate religion, which also originated in the Speech-confusion, and - in full accordance with its birthplace – is referred to as Babylon the Great, the Harlot system:
And a name was written upon her forehead, a mystery: Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman being drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Yeshua… And the woman whom you saw means the Great City that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth [but in reality led by the bridle in the hands of wicked spiritual forces. See Eph 6:12].
(Rev 17:5-6, 18)
The name on the forehead of the Great Harlot is no longer a mystery, because now we can look back on the history of nearly 4,200 years.
From the time of the Confusion of Tongues, she represents the imperious, idolatrous religious system led by the demons, on earth promoting a climate of degenerating into superstition, but above all apostasy from the only true Elohim.
Because Babylon (Babel) means confusion, the Great Harlot has many ‘daughters’ and also in great variety.
With those daughters, she is the source of all mystical, idolatrous practices, including temple prostitution, drunkenness in honour of false gods, fortune telling, spiritualism, astrology, human sacrifice, and many other horrible and obscene practices. We may also remember the bloody Inquisition, many pogroms, the Holocaust and other innumerable massacres for which Babylon the Great created the climate.
According to Matthew 23:33-36, Yeshua therefore primarily kept responsible the religious leaders for all the righteous blood that was shed on earth, all the way from Abel, the first to be killed in an atmosphere of religious hatred.
Compare Genesis 4:3-10 and 1 John 3:11-12.
You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna? Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets, wise men, and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify; and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city; that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel… For this is the message which you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Don’t be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.
Babylon therefore is a Congregation of God in appearance; in reality, she is continually thirsting for the blood of the saints.
* After Seven Times of each 600 years Jerusalem, symbol of the Messianic kingdom, will no longer be ‘trampled’; obviously starting in the year 6026 AM.
* The Temple City New Jerusalem as a central body - comparable to the Davidic kingdom - will bring new Kingdom blessings to all the Gentile nations.
* A serious of divine predictions, starting with the first [mysterious] promise of a Seed that would crush the Serpent in its head, will then come to their fulfilment.
Also, see: Heel Wound
* At the time of the Confusion YHWH Elohim temporarily suspended his reign in the kingdom of mankind. However, from Rev 11:15-17 we learn that at the half of the 70th Year week for Israel, the kingdom of the world will become to our Lord and to his Messiah, and he will reign as king forever and ever.
Of course, in the meantime, he always remained the absolute Sovereign and nothing happened beyond his control, but Daniel, chapter 4, with the example of king Nebuchadnezzar, is showing us that the direct exercise of his rule over the world of mankind could be suspended. Involuntary that pagan ruler was used by YHWH Elohim to depict that state of affairs by a kind of pantomime.
He began to eat vegetation just like the bulls, and with the dew of the heavens his own body got to be wet, until his very hair grew long just like eagles’ [feathers] and his nails like birds’ [claws] – Daniel 4:33
However, during those intervening 4200 years, it happened very badly to mankind. As Ecclesiastes observed: Man has dominated man to his injury(Ecc 8:9).
On the other hand, as Ecclesiastes mentioned earlier:
I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and, behold, the tears of those who were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter (Ecc 4:1).
Oppression and exercise of a brutal form of domination often were the results of human rule. In that we see the truth of Daniel 4:16 >> Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a animal’s heart be given to him; and let seven times pass over him.
In the 'pantomime', king Nebuchadnezzar changed into a cow eating grass and he could behave no better than a brute beast. During the seven timesfor him - apparently deliberately stated in vague terms - he began to look like a bird of prey: His hair was long like the feathers of eagles, and his nails like the claws of birds (Dan 4:33).
In addition, this scene – which showed Nebuchadnezzar's abasement and humiliation - connects the seven times with the report of the Speech-confusion: After all, Nebuchadnezzar’s situation was the result of his bragging. While Daniel had advised him to avoid all iniquity, and rather to show mercy - especially towards the poor among his people – a year later he blustered in an expression of great pride and hubris: Is not this great Babel, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty? (Dan 4:27-32).
Well, the Confusion also was a response from YHWH Elohim to the pride of Nimrod and his supporters. In their enmity against him, they had said one to another:
“Come, let’s build us a city, and a tower, whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth.” (Gen 11).
Just as Elohim then deep intervened into the brain of those tower builders so that they were mistaken in their mutual communication, he also caused a state of total disturbance in the mind of Nebuchadnezzar. So, just because of the prophecy of the Seven Times in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, the Times of the Gentiles can be valued at their correct (negative) impact. As in Daniel the one chapter after the other handles about domination, and eventually the temporary (poor) human governments will be replaced by the Kingdom of the Son, so also in Daniel chapter 4. Behind the 'pantomime' of Nebuchadnezzar, great Messianic truths lie hidden.
In the Hebrew Scriptures of the Bible, chronology gets a lot of attention. And that's certainly not surprising in view of Genesis 1:14 >>
And Elohim went on to say, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to make a division between the day and the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years
The chapters 5 and 11 of the book of Genesis provide striking proof that YHWH Elohim' himself is giving a lot of attention to precise tracking of times, years and days, Apparently, he does so with the intention to implement each part of his purpose (prophetically recorded in Scripture) at the exact appropriate time.
He uses his own calendar; but that calendar is not found crystal-clear in his Bible.
Accordingly, in Genesis 7:11 we do not read: In the year 1656 AM YHWH brought the Great Deluge upon the earth. No, that event took place in the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month.
It is up to us, the readers, to calculate the year 1656. And fortunately, chapter 5 provides the keys for that calculation. However, things are not always that simple, and certainly not in the second situation where YHWH Elohim rigorously intervened to curb the wicked developments on earth in relation to man: The confusion of Tongues.
Genesis 11:6 is telling us that if Elohim had not intervened at the tower building, humanity would have reached the present wicked stage on earth much and much earlier. On the technical level, after all, all seems to have become accessible, including weapon systems that can wipe us out all in a moment.
When YHWH thwarted those tower builders, by confusing their language, in the end that action caused the present wicked age to exist. From its startthe earth (in terms of rule) was made to a patchwork of individual national groups. and Satan immediately seized the opportunity making himself the god of this age and becoming the ruler of the world.
Because of the following Scripture parts, the reader can convince himself of that development:
Therefore, the Confusion was by no means an insignificant event; the opposite is true!
A complete new world era arose in which the nations were allowed to exercise their own national sovereignties. Of course, YHWH Elohim surely knew all the time the exact calendar dates for the duration of that wicked world era, both for its start end its ending. However, in his Word, he does not mention directly the years according to the Anno Mundi chronology. Rather, he has provided certain principles that help us in gaining further insight. In our opinion, one such principle is the method of gematria.
With regard to the year in which the Confusion was caused, we have a key in Genesis 10:25 >> To Eber were born two sons. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days was the earth divided, or split [in two; the meaning of the name Peleg], apparently caused by the Confusion of Tongues and the coming into existence of the Heathen Nations, the Gojim (Gentiles).
Based on Genesis 11:16-19, the days of Peleg can be determined: the period 1757 - 1996 AM. But where precisely within that period of time took place the division of the earth? Apparently, we need more evidence. So let us again consider Genesis 10:32 - 11:1 >>
These were the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations; and from these the nations were spreadabout in the earth after the Deluge. upon the earth. Now the whole earth had one language and one set of words.
From this we can deduce that we obviously need to think broader than just the lifetime of Peleg. The holy spirit of inspiration directly connects the period in which the name Peleg is playing with the Flood. Consequently we then get a period of 340 years, viz 1656 - 1996 AM. And when that periodis split, we reach the year 1826 as the year for the Confusion: (1656 plus 170).
Is that a fair reasoning?
In Genesis 10:24-31 Sem’s lineage is provided. In verse 25 Peleg appears. Joktan can be left aside because his lineage did not lead to Abraham.
From Gen 11:10 the main line is picked up again, but with the opening words: These are the genealogies of Shem.
From this, we can conclude that within the period that followed immediately after the Flood, the ‘tone was set’ by the genealogy of Shem. Now, Shem’ numerical value is: 300 and 40; which also leads to 340.
Thus, we obviously have the extra check for our preconceived reasoning: the agreement with the 340-year period (1656 to 1996 AM).
But we can go further.
After all, we now have a new point of departure: the year 1826 AM, marking the point in human history that the Gentile Nations came into existence and (apparently) began to dominate the world’s scene. In the course of time, some of those nations would develop to world powers, but that turned out later.
In 1826 AM the question could arise: Within Elohim's purpose, what would be the fate of those newly created national groups? How long would he allow them to exercise dominion, in complete independence of his rule?
In the year 2084 AM - Shem was still alive – YHWH Elohim began to answer that question to Abraham, during his stay in Charan, when he had reached the age of 75 years:
Now YHWH said to Abram, “Get out of your country, and from your relatives, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse him who curses you. And in you alle the families of the earth shall bless themselves.” SoAbram went, as YHWH had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old [lit: a son of 75 years] when he departed out of Haran (Gen 12:1-5).
Now, that matter took place in the year 2084 AM, since it is known that the event occurred 430 years before the Exodus (in 2514 AM, the year of the Exodus). Compare Galatians 3:17.
But we have another check!
Charan, the place where Abraham lived until his 75th year, has the numerical value: 8+200+50; total 258.
And indeed, in 2084 AM we were 258 years beyond the year 1826 AM!
Finally, an additional argument can be presented for the use of the gematria method in the case of the Confusion at Babel. As is well known, the man Nimrod was the initiator of that ambitious tower project. As the first rebel after the Flood he took the lead in building the city of Babel and the tower therein (Gen 10:8-10 and Gen 11:4).
Well, just as Nimrod is prominent present in the Babel story, the same is true in Revelation 13:18, where YHWH provided the precedent for the biblical method of gematria:
Here is wisdom! Who has understanding count the number of the Beast. For it is the number of a man. And his number six hundred sixty-six.
So, the identity of the Beast, can be found in the identity of a particular person but the road to the solution of that problem must be found in the gematria value of that particular person: 666.
In summary: the Beast represents the Antichrist of the End times and the rebel Nimrod was (is) a prophetic picture of that Pseudo-messiah, the manin Rev 13:18.
Why? What evidence is available for that conclusion?
After his violent death, his many supporters deified Nimrod and he became known by many names: Adonis, Osiris, Bacchus, Tammuz, and others.
However, the Beast of Revelation 13 has a Roman background. In the figure of the Little Horn he appears on the head of the 4th beast in Daniel, chapter 7, and that beast represents the Roman world-empire. And WHO was the god to whom Rome especially described prosperity?
Indeed, Saturn! But Saturn represents the English spelling and pronunciation.
It is of interest, therefore, to examine what is the spelling of Saturn in the writing of the Chaldean mysteries.
According to Hislop סתור s-(a)-th-u-r, expressed in terms of values: 60 + 400 + 6 + 200 = 666 (!).
In his famous book THE TWO BABYLONS, page 269, Hislop wrote:
Among these innumerable names, how shall we ascertain the name at which the Spirit of God points in the enigmatical language that speaks of the name of the beast, and the number of his name? If we know the apocalyptic name of the system, that will lead us to the name of the head of the system. The name of the system is "Mystery" (Rev 17:5). Here, then, we have the key that at once unlocks the enigma. We have now only to inquire what was the name by which Nimrod was known as the god of the Chaldean Mysteries. That name, as we have seen, was Saturn. Saturn and Mystery are both Chaldean words, and they are correlative terms. As Mystery signifies the Hidden system, so Saturn signifies the Hidden god.
To those who were initiated the god was revealed; to all else he was hidden. Now, the name Saturn in Chaldee is pronounced Satur; but, as every Chaldee scholar knows, consists only of four letters, thus--Stur. This name contains exactly the Apocalyptic number 666:
S = 060
T = 400
U = 006
R = 200
We can, therefore, on the basis of the gematria method, conclude the following:
1) A special time period of 340 years (1656-1996) is supported by the numerical value of a man (Sem = 340).
2) A time period of 258 years (1826-2084) is supported by the numerical value of a place (Charan = 258).
Hence, for the reader it is not strange that a particular year, 2514 AM, is supported by the sum of the numerical values of the 10 plagues, directly related to that year:
1. Blood (Ex 7:17) 4 - 40 = 44
2. Frogs (8:2) 90 - 80 - 200 – 4 - 70 - 10 - 40 = 494
3. Gnats (8:16) 20 – 50 - 40 = 110
4. Gad flies (8:21) 70 - 200 - 2 = 272
5. Pestilence (9:3) of 4 – 2 - 200 = 206
6. Boils (9:9) 300 - 8 – 10 - 50 = 368
7. Hail (9:18) of 2 – 200 - 4 = 206
8. Locusts (10:4) 1 - 200 – 2 - 5 = 208
9. Darkness (10:21) 8 – 300 - 20 = 328
10. Every firstborn (11:5) 20 – 30 - 2 - 20 – 6 - 200 = 278
Total: 2514
The ten numerical values, together 2514, represent 38 separate letters. How exactly the terms that describe in Hebrew the ten plagues, were chosenby YHWH Elohim for obtaining that result!
When God intervened through the Confusion of Tongues, Nimrod’s project stagnated, but now – almost at the end of the 4200 years period - it is in its final form among us. In addition, could there be listed reasons, for us to believe that the end of the Seven Times must also lead to the reversal of the Speech-confusion?
We believe that for that possibility some powerful arguments certainly can be enumerated!
When King Nebuchadnezzar was beaten with madness so that he behaved like a beast in the field for seven times, YHWH Elohim must have intervened deeply in his mental faculties. However, something similar must have happened at the time of the Speech-confusion. At the critical moment the then language, apparently Hebrew, was 'erased' from the minds of all the people outside the lineage of Noah and Shem. Instead, YHWH planted a variety of other languages in the minds of those people.
And what happened to Nebuchadnezzar when the seven times ended in his case? In Daniel 4:34-37 we read:
At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured him who lives forever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or tell him, what do you? At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me; and my counsellors and my lords sought to me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, extol, and honour the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase.
The huge tree that the king had seen in his dream - a picture of his kingly power, but in reality picturing YHWH’s universal sovereignty - the tree that grew up and became strong and finally reached the heavens in its very height, but that was chopped down and its stump banded with bandings of iron and of copper, at last, after seven times had elapsed, would again sprout.
That became true in Nebuchadnezzar’s case, but of course, it will also become reality in the case of Elohim's universal kingship. After the end of the Seven Times for the Gentile peoples, in the year 6026 AM, YHWH’s universal sovereignty will again be expressed in Yeshua’s Messianic kingdom, as was also indicated in Daniel, but then in chapters 2 and 7 >>
And in the days of those kings [of verse 43> iron / clay empires] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that never will be brought to ruin. And the kingdom shall not be passed to any other people. It will shatter all the other kingdoms and destroy them, but it itself will last forever. Therefore, you beheld that, not by human hands, from the mountain a stone was cut, and it crushed the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and gold. The great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation reliable (Dan 2:44-45).
I kept beholding in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of the heavens someone like a son of man, and to the Ancient of days he gained access, and they brought him near before that One. And to him there were given dominion, dignity and kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should all serve even him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be brought to ruin (Dan 7:13-14).
So, we can hardly imagine that the Confusion of Tongues would not be reversed!
Because
a. a significant relationship can be ascertained between Genesis 11, the Speech-confusion, and Daniel 4, the madness of King Nebuchadnezzar,
b. there was recovery, both in the intellectual powers of the king and his return to the exercise of his royal power,
c. the tree that represents Elohim's sovereignty will be stripped of its bands and therefore can sprout again,
Leave the stump with its roots in the ground, with a banding of iron and of copper, among the grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of the heavens, and let its portion be with the beasts among the vegetation of the earth. Let its heart be changed from that of a human, and let it be given the heart of a beast, and let seven times pass over it.
However, there is something else to take into consideration seriously:
Within all the ethnic groups that arose since that Confusion, gradually a variety of diverse forms of government were exercised, and that by a variety of rulers too, but all of pagan origin and nature. Around 250 years later, when YHWH Elohim got involved exclusively with Abraham and his "seed" the earth had become a patchwork of pagan dominion.
After Abraham's attempt to sacrifice his son Isaac, YHWH could therefore confirm his promise to the patriarch in the following terms: And in your seed all the nations [Gojim] of the earth shall be blessed (Gen 22:18)
For that reason, when Yeshua (in Luke 21:24) predicted about the Jews:
And they shall fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the Times of the Gentiles are fulfilled
he announced that the establishment of his Messianic Kingdom could be expected when the Times of the Gentiles had come to an end, were fulfilled.
In accordance with that development, the good tidings of that newly established Kingdom would be heralded by a Jewish remnant to the peoples in all the oikoumenè, (or: inhabited earth), before the End would come. Compare Matthew 24:14.
However, for that time and those circumstances in Zechariah 8 a marvellous reaction to that special message was prophetically announced:
Thus says YHWH of Armies: “Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come; and the inhabitants of one shall go to another, saying, ‘Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of YHWH, and to seek YHWH of Armies. I will go also.’”
Yes, many peoples and strong nations will come to seek YHWH of Armies in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favour of YHWH.
Thus says YHWH of Armies: “In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
Note that this multitude of Gojim is interested in connecting with that special ‘man’, a type of the Jewish End-time Remnant. Why?
Partly because they had to leave behind their own languages, and on the other hand because they obviously distinguish clearly that on those - the ones who meanwhile continue in speaking their own Hebrew language, announcing the newly established Messianic kingdom - Elohim's favour is resting. The only true God is clearly the Elohim of that faithful Remnant, but what is more, he has blotted out all the other languages, out of the minds of all the people on earth.
Obviously, for that reason it is said about them that they come out of all the languages of the Gentiles.
And imagine, what a blow such a dramatic turn of events must be for the many adherents of the Evolution theory! Especially in the “enlightened” West, the doctrine is honoured that the many languages gradually developed, over many millions of years! For them, there exists no living, creative God at all! However, how sustainable will be that doctrine when suddenly, in a moment, all other languages are cleared from the minds of men and filled, or replaced, with the only remaining language, Hebrew!
But what a shock also for those millions of Islamists who, from one moment to another, no longer are able to read the Arabic script of their holy books! We can easily imagine the hatred of the Arab world against Israel will therefore be even more intense.
When during the tower construction YHWH Elohim analyzed the activities of the builders, he concluded: “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.”
If the builders at that time not were curbed, the world had reached much, much earlier the stage of the current time, where indeed ostensibly, on a technical level, everything seems accessible. However, with all the bad consequences for the environment that now virtually has been destroyed.
On the other hand, for YHWH Elohim everything is within his reach; with him, no saying will be an impossibility. When Mariam wondered how she could become pregnant without intercourse with a man, his envoy Gabriel said to her:
“Holy spirit will come on you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also what is born will be called holy, God’s son… For everything spoken by God is possible.”
(Luke 1:35-37)
For that reason he can in an instant remove all languages from the minds of all people, and in place implant one language, obviously his own language that was given to man in the Garden of Eden.
In Jeremiah 30:11 YHWH Elohim predicted the full end of all the Heathen nations; for us another good reason to assume that with the complete end of their governmental structure, all their various languages will be undone too:
For I am with you, says YHWH, to save you [Israel]: For I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.
From that prophecy we can again conclude that only Israel will remain, apparently still in possession of its own vocabulary.
Zach 8:23, however, prophetically reveals even more details: So many Gentiles will turn to the Jewish End-time Remnant that they will be ten times her members! Everywhere on earth in the Diaspora, Gentile people will cling to the faithful ones among the Jewish people, joining them to stand in their care. That is, after all, the meaning of the term that they 'grasp the slip ".
Often in the Bible important prophetic sayings are announced more than once. This also is the case with Elohim’s promise that in the End times many Gentiles will join the Jewish remnant: Thus says YHWH: The labour of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and of the Sabeans, men of stature, to you they shall come over, and they shall be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains; and they will bow down to you. In awe they will say to you: Surely God is in you; and there is none else. There is no other god (Is 45:14).
That action on the part of those Gentiles reminds us strongly to the Esther story. When King Ahasuerus granted the Jews permission in order to defend themselves in all the different jurisdictional districts of his empire against the extermination which the Jew-hater Haman cunningly had plotted, many of the peoples of the land were declaring themselves Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen upon them (Es 9:17).
Compare also Ruth 3:9; Isaiah 4:1-3 and Ezekiel 16:8.
From Matthew 25 we learn that those Gentiles, for their part, will show their gratitude towards that Jewish Remnant, especially during the hard times of the Tribulation period, Jacob’s trouble (Matth 24:21-22; Jer 30:7; Dan 12:1).
For that reason, in advance they are designated by Yeshua himself as the sheep that he will put on his right hand of grace at the time of his judging the Gentiles. Why that favour? The king himself explains:
‘Most assuredly I tell you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
In fact such will be his answer to their stunned reaction:
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’
The final sentence of Zach 8:23 - For we have heard that Elohim is with you - reminds us powerfully of 1 Samuel 17:46, when the youthful David said to Goliath, the giant: People of all the earth will know that there is a God belonging to Israel.
Isaiah 66:18 brings a similar idea. Within an End-times setting we read: I am coming to gather people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory
Another reason why it seems to us not unlikely that the Confusion of tongues will be reversed at the end of the Seven Times, is the prophetic announcement in Isaiah 19:18, about the circumstances that at that time will prevail within the antitypical Egyptian world > >
On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear by YHWH of armies. One will be called City of Liberation (Isaiah 19:18).
That one of the five cities would be named The City of Liberation, seems to be confirmed in verse 20 (b), where we obviously read about the (Messianic) Liberator:
When they cry to YHWH because of their oppressors,
[Apparently because of the cruel Ruler, the antitypical Assyrian, announced in verse 4: A harsh master, and a severe king, in reality the anti-messianic suppressor]
He shall send them a Saviour; Yes, a great [Saviour], that will deliver them.
Apparently, Zephaniah further supports the assumption concerning the reversal of the Speech-confusion effects:
“Therefore wait for me,” says YHWH, “until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations [Gojim],that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour on them my indignation, even all my fierce anger, for all the earth will be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that they may all call on the name of YHWH, to serve him shoulder to shoulder”.
(3:8-9).
What a relief; what a fresh new beginning; all the foul, polluted language leaving behind us!
