Assembled and Recovered a Second Time
Back to 1The Bible’s Greatest Prophecies Unlocked!
Before discussing the surviving number further, let’s move to Isaiah 11:11, as we continue to make ever more clear the picture of what will occur. This passage offers more about the many places where God’s people have come to be scattered across the globe: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time [the first time was when Israel was delivered and brought out of captivity in Egypt] to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar [modern Iraq], and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.” These locations indicate East and West Africa and Europe—also notice Assyria and Egypt again—plus perhaps certain other African nations, and suggest South America along with various “islands of the sea.”
Truly, this will have been a worldwide scattering and enslavement. Take time to mull—to ponder deeply—what lies ahead for whole populations who still—today!—have absolutely no idea—not a hint, inkling or clue—what is coming or why, and ask again whether God would, in effect, “ambush” His people with such awful punishment without having given powerful prior notice of its arrival.
Isa 11:12 then describes how God will “assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Also see Ezekiel 12:14-16,Jeremiah 30:11, 49:32.) Isa 11:15 and 16 describe how God will dry up the multiple mouths of the Nile River delta so that escaping Israelites can come back again from Egypt, but also from other places in Africa (“Cush”).
A Trumpet Blast!
It is also in Isaiah that we are given the method of just how God will notify the entire world that Israel is being brought from captivity: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem” (Isa 27:13).
Words cannot describe the poignancy of this most special moment to God. It is interesting to notice how Numbers 10:2 explains that trumpets were always blown whenever God wanted to assemble the tribes of Israel. This pattern is seen to reappear one final time at the end of the age, except that the awesome volume of the blast will exceed human comprehension. More of God’s mind in a moment.
Realize first that something else accompanies the trumpet blast in this moment like none other.
Also a Mighty Earthquake
At the time of the heavenly signs, introducing the Day of the Lord, and as the trumpet blast occurs, the Bible records that Israel’s moment of liberation is also accompanied by a mighty earthquake. This earthquake was covered earlier in the book.
The description of the sixth seal of Revelation 6:1-17—the heavenly signs—we saw begins with this: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places” (Rev 6:12-14).
Compare this description to what Jesus said about the heavenly signs and it becomes clear why the earthquake is so great: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken” (Matt. 24:29).
How great is an earthquake that moves every mountain and every island—“out of their places”? The answer is one that involves even the heavens shaking, rocking the earth’s orbit as stars fall. The world has never seen such a powerful earthquake. But it is no accident that an earthquake accompanies Israel’s escape from enslavement. It is, in fact, another type of ancient Israel’s escape from Egypt.
Let’s read most of the short Psalm 114: “When Israel went out of Egypt…The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. What ailed you, O you sea, that you fled? You Jordan, that you were driven back? You mountains, that you skipped like rams; and you little hills, like lambs? Tremble, you earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob” (Psa 114:1, 3-7).
Just the earthquake described in Psalm 114:1-8 would probably shatter every seismograph on Earth. The one described by Christ and John in Revelation is obviously much greater!
Back to Isaiah
We return to Isaiah 27:1-13, 12: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt [the Nile], and you shall be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel.”
What an absolutely astonishing picture presents itself as millions of broken, shattered, terrified human beings are brought together “one by one” out of enslavement. This regathering process begins with a trumpet blast unlike anything ever heard before—an ear-splitting sound no doubt heard in every corner of the world. This will be accompanied simultaneously with a planet-rattling earthquake, also greater than anything ever experienced. When these occur, they will also be heard and felt by God’s people, then protected in the place of safety, and will send a special signal of this awesome moment for Israel.
Try to imagine 60 million human beings being brought literally from all over the world—every part of the earth!—weeping, loathing themselves, seeking God as never before, as they ask the way back to Zion. Beginning with the heavenly signs, plagues of every sort will be occurring all around these deeply humbled and sorrowful people during their incredible journey back to the homeland in which God always intended they reside.
One is left scarcely able to imagine the combination of pathos, repentance and, at the same time, electrifying excitement, all amidst continuing miraculous intervention, that this scene brings to mind. In fact, a very different kind of miracles than those allowing Israel’s escape will also be occurring all around the world. But none will want to experience them…
The Year of the Lord
The Day of the Lord has now begun—the time we saw of God’s wrath on the rebellious, sinning nations of Earth! (Recall this one-year period begins with the heavenly signs.) While God’s faithful are being protected in the place of safety, this entire year is witnessed by these same millions who are promised by God that they will “live in His sight.”
To get a better picture of what is occurring during this period all around the escaping and protected Israelite remnant, a number of final passages, all but one from Isaiah, must be examined. The “world setting” tells its own most amazing story.
The Day of the Lord is not merely a reckless God’s mindless BIG BLAST against the world. The true God’s carefully crafted purpose is at work. Besides the need for their own punishment due to sin, the Gentile nations receive special attention from God. Remember again this basic difference: The Great Tribulation is Satan’s wrath on the people of Israel, allowed by God because it serves His purpose in punishing His rebellious people, but the Day of the Lord is God’s wrath on the also sinning nations who enjoyed carrying out the punishment. This comes mostly in the form of powerful plagues.