4) The battle of that great day of God Almighty

The language of Revelation of the battle of that great day matches that in Zechariah.

Behold, the day of the LORD comes, and your spoil shall be divided in the midst of you. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall Yahweh go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. (Zechariah 14:1-3)

We can see that the precise conditions are met. First the nations all come against Jerusalem, due to 'spirits of evil fortune, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God', and manage to gain control over half of the city to take the people away, but they do not gain control of the city itself, as the Jews are not cut off from it. Then Yahweh 'gathers them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue 'mountain of the place of cutting' and then shall Yahweh go forth as in the day of battle. We have been given some details of this in the previous chapter, as the Bible often recaps,

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness. And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God. In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem. Yahweh also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. (Zechiariah 12:2-7)

We see the situation before that great day of the open revealing of the power of Yahweh Elohim of hosts is that both Jerusalem and all of Judah (Judea) is under siege, with half of the people taken away from Jerusalem and the Jews still undefeated in their heartland. Then it says that Yahweh will go forth and first save the tents of Judah. It is of most interest to note the fact that those who live in tents are saved first. Two things are possible: the tents may be due to the battle taking place at the time of tabernacles or that the people saved first are those living in temporary dwellings (mobile tin sheds), as seen in those dwelling of the settlers in the Judean hills right now. It is to be noted that already before Yahweh turns up the nations are not happy, and it seems that Elijah is with the people, as he comes before that great day, the day which Yahweh Elohim of hosts is revealed in power to the nations.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:5-6)

But the temporary dwellings of Judah are saved first, so the forces are gathered to the place of the 'mountain of the place of cutting'. We are not given details of this battle in Zechariah. Ffor that we go to Ezekiel, Daniel and Joel. Three witnesses whose accounts we must put together.

Ezekiel corroborates Zechariah in that he says that the focus of the action is the Mountains of Israel, which to Jews is also called Judea and Samaria (a.k.a. West Bank)

After many days you shall be visited: in the latter years you shall come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them. You shall ascend and come like a storm, you shall be like a cloud to cover the land, you, and all your bands, and many people with you. (Ezekiel 38:8-9)

So as a cloud they come up on Israel and ascend to lay siege the mountains. Note the point in italics,

And thou shall come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army: And thou shall come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes. Thus says the Lord GOD; Art you he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring you against them?

And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground. And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man's sword shall be against his brother. And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. (Ezekiel 38:15-22)

We see again the language of the place of the mountains that shall be cut down', and that this will occur throughout all my mountains. But where shall the sword first be seen on the mountains? We are told by Zechariah that it shall be first in Judah. And Ezekiel adds specifically in the mountains in an open field,

You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you, and all your bands, and the people that is with you: I will give you unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. You shall fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, says the Lord Yahweh. (Ezekiel 39:4-5)

This open field is in the mountains of Israel and the action saves Judah first. There is an interesting note that Gog's army though from the far North comes up, as if from the South like a cloud, as Israel would see a cloud of dust come from multitude of forces in the Negev, Daniel gives complementary detail,

And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him:

and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. (Daniel 11:40-45)

The king of the south has displaced the Ottomans already. Next the king of the north, as Ezekiel speaks of, comes against him. Note firstly that the King of the North has ships (and as we now know planes) and shall overflow and that Egypt is taken (with the help of the Libyans and Ethiopians) just as Germany, from Europe, came across to take Egypt in WW2. The detail is specific as the last location of the forces before destruction is between the seas, that is between the Mediterranean and Dead sea laying siege to the Holy Mountain. Modern terminology would call this a 'Front line'. From his position between the seas the King of the North, Gog, hears news from the North and East (in context out of Amman-Edom), which locates the forces of the Nations to the South of Jerusalem pushing up- from this location the nations are drawn, as Revelation says, to the place of the 'mountain of the place of cutting', where the king of the North, Gog is defeated by the open revealing of the power of Yahweh Elohim of Hosts.

The location of the place of destruction of the hosts of the Northern army between the two seas is confirmed by Joel, when speaking of those who come against the Holy Mountain of Zion

But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he has done great things. (Joel 2:20)

At the point of destruction in the mountains, where Judah is delivered first, they are in a open place, they are facing towards the Dead sea, between the seas and their objective something they have heard to their North and East.

Meanwhile Joel says in Jerusalem,

Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. (Joel 2:15-18)

and just before the great battle the sun is turned to darkness and moon to red,

And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. (Joel 2:30-32)

Joel agrees that both Judah and Jerusalem are under siege, and are in danger of going into captivity at this point that Yahweh brings the nations into the valley of Jehoshaphat.

For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. (Joel 3:1-3)

We are given the reason why the nations are come against Judah and Jerusalem as being that they might 'drink'. The nations have already parted the land and sent the people of Israel into the nations. Now Yahweh Elohim is to reveal himself openly with power and plead with the nations for his people, but we note that it is in a specific place, the valley of Jehoshaphat. We might think to miss this reference to the valley, but there is more detail given

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye nations, and gather yourselves together round about: there cause your mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision (threshing sledge): for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision (threshing sledge). The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. (Joel 3:9-15)

The valley of Jehoshaphat is also called here the valley of threshing or 'the sharp point of cutting'. The nation's mighty men are challenged to 'come down', but they then go up to this place, to this valley. The Hebrew word for valley requires it be 'deep'. They go up in elevation into a place seen as a valley.

The nations' great ones “come up” to fight, in a mountain of Judah (as their tents are saved first), in an open place where they gather in a depression in the landscape, to be cut down like a harvest, here again we have the Hebrew place name, 'mountain of the place of cutting'.

The valley of Jehoshaphat was called the valley of Berachah. The enemy approached from Engedi and the Ascent of Ziz and the open field where they cut each other down is seen from the wilderness of Tekoa. Tekoa means 'trumpet' and Joel begins his prophecy by the blowing of a trumpet. This area precisely fits the detail of every prophecy as:

In summary the place of the Hebrew name, 'mountain of the place of cutting/harvest':

• Is in the region of the mountains of Israel (Judea and Samaria), as the nations come against both Jerusalem and the mountains of Israel (Jerusalem is in the mountains of Israel).

• It must be a mountain in Judea which part of the siege, as the temporary dwellings of Judah are saved first

• It must be between the Mediterranean and Dead seas as the Nation's forces are located facing up to Jerusalem with their front line between the two seas, but are destroyed facing east to the Dead Sea.

• They are to go down to go up to the place which features a valley.

• They are to be destroyed in an open place in a wilderness where the vultures and carrion eating animals pick the bones.

For more on the Valley of Jehoshaphat here

We are not dogmatic as to the exact place, however, we do know that what is written will be fulfilled in detail and there is a defined physical place where the power and glory of Yahweh Elohim of Hosts will be first seen and felt by the nations, and where the core of the Northern army will be destroyed. The army may be destroyed as the enemies of Isarel were in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and the place will be known as the 'mountain of the place of cutting/harvest'. There will be yet another valley which shall be called Hamongog.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog. (Ezekiel 39:11)

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