Habakkuk 1:5 Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told. -LORD God
In today’s vernacular, loosely, a covenant is a contract, agreement or a treaty. It depends on the context. It is an agreement that one person agrees to do something, usually if some other person fulfills a condition.
This is the Old Testament word berith: a covenant, treaty, alliance, or league. Simply put, it is an agreement. From God’s perspective, a divine constitution or ordinance with signs or pledges.
As people, humanity struggles as covenant keepers. We are broken sinners.
The covenants that God made with Israel differed than the agreement described above. God made promises to Israel that were not dependent on anything that Israel did. God takes the initiative. He draws up the terms and defines the terms. God guarantees their keeping. Israel does nothing. God swears by His own Word.
Key Theme: The Power of the Blood of Christ
The New Covenant is found in Jeremiah 31:31-34. This everlasting covenant is made with nation Israel. God is the initiator and He is the one to will it to happen. A regenerated heart and mind and forgiveness of sin are promised as part of the agreement.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
So how does this covenant with nation Israel affect us in the Church Age? The Church and Israel are separate. Nation Israel has yet to receive the benefit of the New Covenant. It is yet future in the Millennial Kingdom. How can this arrangement apply to us? The answer is in the blood of Christ.
Jesus’ death on the cross ushers in and ratifies the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 11:25).
It is His blood that is the covenant. The shedding of innocent blood allows for the forgiveness of sin. This is acceptable to God (Hebrews 9:14). According to the Law, all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of innocent blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:16). Christ’s blood is the bleach that removes the stain of sin. As believers, we get the spiritual benefits of the agreement when we believe that Jesus died as payment for sin. As believers, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:12-16 instructs us that we were separate from Christ and excluded from nation Israel. Translation, we were not a benefactor of the New Covenant. The text teaches us that we were without hope. Thankfully, we were brought near by the blood of Christ. It is the blood of Christ that unifies the two groups (Jew and Gentile) into one group.
Ephesians 2:12-16 …that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
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Romans 11:17 indicates that Gentiles were grafted into the root of the olive tree. We, Gentiles, were grafted because other original branches, Israel, were broken off. Gentiles get the full benefit of the root.
As we take communion and we hear the words, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” These words are a reminder that we, believers, have the spiritual benefits of the New Covenant: teaching of the Holy Spirit and forgiveness of sin. Communion is in memory of the work of Christ. He died once and for all to bear the sins of many (Hebrews 9:28). It is to be taken seriously (1 Corinthians 11:25-29).
SCRIPTURE teaches that there is an appointed date for the Rapture. Acts 17:31 …because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.
While only God knows the exact date, many prophecy watchers believe it could be the Feast of Trumpets.
Here are 10 reasons why:
1. TRUMPET THEMES
The fundamental theme of the Feast of Trumpets is the sounding of trumpets (Lev. 23:24). In the Bible, trumpet blasts are associated with . . .
• Resurrection (1 Thess. 4:13–18).
• The opening of a door to heaven (Rev. 4:1).
• A gathering of the people (Isa. 27:13).
• The coronation of a king (1 Kings 1:39; Ps. 47:5; 98:6) .
• Approaching danger (Ez. 33:4; Jer. 4:19–21).
• A battle cry (Jer. 4:19–21).
• A time of wrath and judgment (Joel 2; Zeph. 1:14–16).
All of these themes are denotive of the Rapture and arrival of Judgment Day.
Furthermore, the Hebrew word translated “trumpet blasts” in Leviticus 23, teruah, may also refer to a “shout” (Strong’s 8643). The Rapture is when the Lord descends with a “shout” and a trumpet blast (1 Thess. 4:16).
2. JEWISH TRADITION
According to Jewish belief, the Feast of Trumpets is when . . .
• The resurrection of the dead occurs.
• The wedding of Messiah occurs.
• The time of Judgment begins.
These themes are denotive of the Rapture and arrival of Judgment Day.
3. INVISIBLE MOON
The Feast of Trumpets begins on the first day of the biblical month, when the moon is in its ‘New,’ or invisible, phase (Lev. 23:24). The Rapture is when the Church—symbolized by the moon—disappears, or is hidden from sight (Mic. 7:1, 2 NLT; Isa. 26:20).
4. DAY AND HOUR UNKNOWN
The Feast of Trumpets begins at the first sighting of the New-Moon crescent. Since no one knows exactly when the crescent will be sighted, “no one knows the day or hour” that the festival begins (Matt. 24:36).
5. HEAVEN’S GATE OPENED
The Feast of Trumpets, or New Moon, is when the eastern gate of Jerusalem is opened: “The gate of the inner court facing east is to be shut on the six working days, but on the … day of the New Moon it is to be opened” (Ezek. 46:1). The Rapture is when, after “six (thousand-year) days,” God’s people enter through the gate into heavenly Jerusalem: “Behold, I am coming quickly …. Blessed are those who … enter through the gates into the [holy] city (Rev. 22:12, 14).
6. SIGN OF THE WOMAN
The Feast of Trumpets coincides with an annual astronomical alignment in which the constellation Virgo is “clothed with the Sun with the Moon under her feet.” This alignment, called the “Sign of the Woman” in Revelation 12, marks the beginning of Israel’s Tribulation period and, some believe, the Rapture that precedes it.
7. PEACE AND SAFETY
The Feast of Trumpets coincides with the annual assembly of the UN, the organization established 77 years ago with the mission of “maintaining international peace and security.” This is significant because Scripture says the Rapture will occur while people are saying “peace and security” (1 Thess. 5:3).
Coincidentally, the UN’s 77th assembly this year ends on September 27—the Feast of Trumpets.
8. WHEAT GATHERING
The Feast of Trumpets occurs around summer’s end, when the wheat harvest is gathered into barns or granaries (Deut. 16:13). The gathering of wheat into a barn is a picture of the gathering of believers into the Father’s house at the Rapture (2 Thess. 2:1; Matt. 3:12).
9. APPLES AND GRAPES
The Feast of Trumpets is traditionally associated with apples and grapes, fruits that are harvested around this time. Some Jews even deny themselves apples and grapes until the Feast of Trumpets, so that they may eat them with increased enjoyment at the festival. This is significant because apples and grapes are the fruits mentioned in Song of Solomon’s rapture-allegory where the Gentile maid is in the presence of her beloved shepherd, a picture of the Church in the presence of the Good Shepherd, Jesus (Song 2:3, 5, 13, 15).
10. WEDDING REMINDER
The Feast of Trumpets is called a “memorial” blowing of trumpets (Lev. 23:24). While Leviticus does not specify what the trumpet blasts memorialize, the context suggests it is the trumpet blast at Sinai when God gave Israel the Law as a ‘wedding contract’ on the Day of Pentecost (Ex. 19).
Thus, the Feast of Trumpets is a day to remember Israel’s wedding and, by association, the Church’s betrothal that occurred on the same day, centuries later (Acts 2).
Since the Feast of Trumpets is a day to remember past weddings and betrothals, it is a fitting time for the ultimate wedding, the Rapture.
With the above 10 reasons in view, the Feast of Trumpets is a plausible time for the Rapture.
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But there is more. Five major factors make this year’s Trumpets festival particularly auspicious:
1. STAGE SETTING
The current year, 2022, has seen an escalation of end-times “birth pains” like no other: wars and threats of war, new and resurgent viruses, extreme weather, earthquakes, famine and shortages (Matt. 24:6, 7). Yet, for most people, life carries on more or less as normal.
That a façade of normalcy exists, even as the world teeters on the brink, is significant as this is how Jesus said it would be at His return:
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed” (Luke 17:26–30).
2. SABBATICAL SIGNS
The God of the Bible is known for giving a seven-day or seven-year warning before bringing judgment (Gen. 7:1–4; Josh. 6:1–5; Gen. 41). Moreover, the Lord orchestrates prophetic events according to His seven-year Sabbatical cycle (Dan. 9:24–27).
With these two facts in mind, it appears God has been issuing ‘trumpet’ warnings for the last three Sabbatical cycles:
In 2001, we saw the 9/11 attacks, followed by a record stock market crash on the Feast of Trumpets.
In 2008, we saw the Global Financial Crisis and another record market crash—a 777-point drop when Congress failed to pass a $700 billion bailout plan—on the Feast of Trumpets.
In 2015, we saw no financial crash but, instead, an extraordinary display of “signs in the sun, moon, and stars”—the signs that portend the Day of the Lord (Luke 21:25; Joel 2:31). Significantly, the final sign, a blood moon eclipse visible above Jerusalem, occurred on September 28, exactly seven years prior to the Feast of Trumpets in 2022.
3. WEDDING SIGN
On June 24 this year, all seven planets in the Solar System lined up in their correct order on the same side of the Sun, to form an ultra-rare “planetary procession.”
Seven days later, the Sun and Moon, which symbolize the Bridegroom and Bride in Scripture, came together in the constellation Gemini, the sign depicting the marriage union between a man and woman.
Notably, this ‘celestial wedding’ occurred on the biblical date Tammuz 1, exactly three months prior to the Feast of Trumpets on Tishrei 1. This is significant because a rabbinic law called Havchana requires a three-month waiting period before a Gentile bride can marry a Jew. (The purpose of the law is to ensure that the bride is not already pregnant before marrying, thereby avoiding any confusion concerning the lineage of the child.)
With the traditional three-month waiting period in view, it is possible that the wedding sign on Tammuz 1 was pointing to the ultimate Gentile–Jewish wedding, the wedding of the Church to Messiah, three months later at the Feast of Trumpets.
4. JUPITER NEAR APPROACH
On the Feast of Trumpets this year, Jupiter will make its closest approach to Earth in 70 years. This is noteworthy for a few reasons.
First, Jupiter, the planet with the red spot on its side, is a symbol of Messiah, wounded for our transgressions (Isa. 53).
Second, because it is the largest planet, Jupiter is called the King Planet. This is significant as Jewish tradition holds that the biblical month of Elul, which ends at the Feast of Trumpets, is when the “King is in the field,” i.e., nearest his subjects. It is thus striking that the King Planet is at its nearest point to Earth in 70 years as Elul ends and the Feast of Trumpets begins.
Third, in Scripture, the number 70 denotes a generation-timespan, a period of judgment, and/or liberation for God’s people (Ps. 90:10; Jer. 29:10).
With the above in view, Jupiter’s near approach on Feast of Trumpets signifies . . .
The number one reason Feast of Trumpets 2022 is particularly auspicious is a convergence of prophetic timelines. For details on this convergence, please see the article, video, or chart linked below.
The most important timeline pointing to 2022 relates to the Year of Jubilee. While numerous attempts have been made to pinpoint the Jubilee based on historical events or patterns, I believe that Daniel’s Weeks Prophecy provides the simple formula needed to calculate the year of redemption:
“From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the prince comes, there will be seven weeks” (Dan. 9:25).
Daniel says Messiah will appear “seven weeks,” or one jubilee period, after a restoration of Jerusalem.
The only modern restoration of Jerusalem occurred in June 1967, when the Jews took possession of the Holy City for the first time in nearly 2,000 years.
Counting seven weeks from the start of the first Sabbatical week following the restoration of Jerusalem, which is 1973, the Jubilee begins in 2022.
It is awe-inspiring to consider that 2,000 years ago, Jesus stood up at the synagogue to declare His role as Messiah and fulfiller of the Jubilee:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18, 19).
Today, if our reading of Daniel’s prophecy and the Sabbatical cycle are correct, “the Year of the Lord’s favor” is upon us.
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SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
Scripture teaches that there is an appointed date for the Rapture (Acts 17:31). We are told to watch for this day, and that we will see it approaching (Mark 13:37; Heb. 10:25).
The themes of the Feast of Trumpets are denotive of the Rapture. Furthermore, a convergence of signs and timelines suggests that 2022 may be a climactic year.
Will the trumpet blast that changes the world be heard at the impending Feast of Trumpets? Only God knows. But the prospect is utterly thrilling.
Torah Calendar, which bases festival timing on the projected sighting of the New-Moon crescent, has the Feast of Trumpets beginning the evening of September 27: https://torahcalendar.com/Calendar.asp?YM=Y2022M6
2. In the Bible, the Sun symbolizes Jesus the Bridegroom (Ps. 19:5; 84:11). The Moon, the Sun’s heavenly counterpart, represents the Bride, or Church. The Moon is emblematic of the Church as it has no light of its own, relying entirely upon the Sun for its light (Ps. 19:4, 5; 84:11). Likewise, man has no light of his own. We were created in the image of God to reflect His brilliance and glory (Gen. 1:27). When we turn to face the majesty of God, when we surrender to Him and seek Him with all our hearts, we reflect His glory, just like the Moon reflects the glory of the Sun (Matt. 5:14)
3. The UN was established 11 Sabbatical cycles ago on October 24, 1945, corresponding to the Jewish calendar date of the biblical Flood: Cheshvan 17.
4. More on why the Feast of Trumpets in late summer or early fall could be the time of the Rapture:
5. An indication that the Feast of Trumpets is a remembrance of the giving of the Law (Sinai) is the fact that Ezra read the Law to the Israelites, newly returned from exile in Babylon, on the Feast of Trumpets in Nehemiah chapter 8.
6. More on how the Feast of Trumpets relates to Pentecost:
*Jupiter, the planet with the red spot on its side, has 53 named moons. Coincidentally, Isaiah chapter 53 talks about the sin-bearing Messiah who was wounded for our transgressions.
*It was a Jupiter–Venus conjunction that produced the Bethlehem-Star sign at Jesus’ birth. Significantly the Bethlehem Star conjunction recently reoccurred on June 30, 2015, exactly seven years before the ‘wedding sign’ on June 30 (Tammuz 1), 2022.
11. Jubilee calculation:
The jubilee count begins at 1973 because Daniel says to count “weeks,” which are fixed periods on God’s calendar. Since the modern restoration of Jerusalem occurred in June 1967, after a portion of the current Sabbatical week had already passed, a count of seven full weeks could not begin until the start of the next Sabbatical week, which is 1973.
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Jubilee Q and A: Is the Year of Redemption Upon Us?
IMPORTANT MESSAGE: No one knows the day or hour of Jesus’ return (Matt. 24:36). However, a convergence of biblical signs and timelines suggests it is near. To escape the judgment reserved for a God-rejecting world, one must be in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. If you have not yet done so, call on His name and believe that He is the Son of God who died for your sins and was raised from the dead (Romans 10:13).
Leviticus 23:15-16 ‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.
On a Gregorian calendar in the year of 2022, the holiday of Shavuot/Feast of Weeks/Pentecost begins at sunset on Saturday, June 4. The God Appointed holiday ends at sunset Monday, June 6. The Feast takes place in the month of Sivan on the 6th and 7th of a Hebrew calendar. This is the Hebrew year 5782.
Exodus 23:14-17 “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me. You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. As I commanded you, you shall eat unleavened bread for seven days at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in it you came out of Egypt. None shall appear before me empty-handed. You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the first fruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field. You shall keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in from the field the fruit of your labor. Three times in the year shall all your males appear before the Lord GOD.
Shavuot is one of the three holidays where Jewish men are required to come to Jerusalem. The men were to make their presentation and sacrifice before God at the Temple. This holiday is one of seven holidays appointed by God.
Two loaves of bread are made from the new wheat harvest. The loaves are made with leaven. The Biblical symbol for sin is leaven. The two loaves of bread at Shavuot are the only sacraments made with leaven.
Some believe that one loaf represents the Jewish people and the other loaf represents the Gentiles. The loaves represent the church which is comprised of Jews and Gentiles. Sinful people, Jews and Gentiles, are formed with the first fruits of the wheat harvest. (And yes, the church was and is still sinful despite being saved by the grace of God.) The loaves are brought and waived by the Son, the High Priest, before the Father.
Ephesians 2:11-22 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Together, sinful Jews and sinful Gentiles sealed with God the Spirit worshiping God the Father through the sinless God the Son.
Which begs the question…
How long before the two loaves of bread, the church, are waived by our High Priest before the Lord in Heaven?
Leviticus 23:15-20 You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD. You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as firstfruits to the LORD. And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. And you shall offer one male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.
In the Old Testament and in the Hebrew, this holiday is referred to as Shavuot. The word means: weeks.
Shavuot is one of the three holidays where Jewish men are required to come to Jerusalem (Exodus 23:14-17). The men were to make their presentation and sacrifice before God at the Temple. This holiday is one of seven holidays appointed by God.
Shavuot and Pentecost are synonymous. Shavuot is often associated with God giving the Torah, the birth of Judaism. Pentecost is often associated with God giving the Holy Spirit, the birth of the church.
On a Gregorian calendar in the year of 2018, the holiday of Shavuot/Feast of Weeks/Pentecost begins at sunset on Saturday, May 19. The God Appointed holiday ends at sunset Monday, May 21.
Two loaves of bread are made from the new wheat harvest. The loaves are made with leaven. The Biblical symbol for sin is leaven. The two loaves of bread at Shavuot are the only sacraments made with leaven.
Some believe that one loaf represents the Jewish people and the other loaf represents the Gentiles. The loaves represent the church which is comprised of Jews and Gentiles. Sinful people, Jews and Gentiles, are formed with the first fruits of the wheat harvest. (And yes, the church was and is still sinful despite being saved by the grace of God.) The loaves are brought and waived before the Lord.
Ephesians 2:11-22 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands, remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Together, sinful Jews and sinful Gentiles sealed with the God the Spirit worshiping God the Father through the sinless God the Son.
Which begs the question…
How long before the two loaves of bread, the church, are waived by our High Priest before the Lord in Heaven?
Revelation 13:1 And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
Who is the dragon? That is answered in Revelation 12:9. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Chapter 12 of Revelation discusses how the Satan and his angels have been ejected from Heaven to Earth. He is described as having great wrath or thumos in the Greek. Per Strong’s Concordance, thumos means: passion, angry, heat, anger forthwith boiling up and soon subsiding again; glow, ardour, the wine of passion, inflaming wine (which either drives the drinker mad or kills him with its strength). This anger is modified as great or megas (used of intensity and its degrees: with great effort, of the affections and emotions of the mind, of natural events powerfully affecting the senses: violent, mighty, strong) in the Greek. To say Satan is not happy is an understatement. The focus of his angst will be Israel.
Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea… From where does the beast or antichrist emerge? Is he Jewish or gentile? This is a topic of great debate. There are reasonable presentations suggesting he is Jewish. Our eternal salvation is not dependent on this issue. Bible believing people can respectfully disagree.
This blog’s position: The antichrist is a gentile.
The antichrist is the last leader of the times of the Gentiles. In today’s world (January 2015), would the United Nations allow a Jewish man to be Secretary General? Would the Muslim world be agreeable to this idea? Stranger things have happened. Jerusalem, Israel is going to be pummeled prior to the return of Christ. Of those Jews who are not killed, the antichrist will try to disperse the Jews again from Israel. He wants to purge Israel of their people. Luke 21:24 …and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Historically, Gentiles have lead invasions of Israel. Gentiles persecute the Jews. Look at the leaders who have done this in the past: Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon), Tiglath-Pileser (Assyria), Antiochus Epiphanes (Greek King, Seleucid Empire), also Nero and the Romans. Would a Jewish leader of a foreign army launch an invasion of Israel?
In the Bible, the sea is equated with gentile nations. There are examples in the Old Testament and New Testament.
Isaiah 17:12 Alas, the uproar of many peoples who roar like the roaring of the seas, and the rumbling of nations who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!
Ezekiel 26:3 therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre (Lebanon), and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves…
Luke 21:25 There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves.
A primary key to understanding and interpreting Revelation 13:1 is given later in Revelation 17. In regards to the beast coming out of the sea…Revelation 17:15 And he said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
Eventually, a Jewish man will descend from Heaven. And He will rule. Acts 1:11 They (angels) also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Isaiah 10:21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God.
God always sets aside a group of core believers that is called the remnant. There are examples of the remnant in both the Old and New Testaments. Two examples include 2 Kings 19:31 and Romans 11:4-5. Notice, it is God who achieves and chooses this remnant. There are many examples noted throughout the Bible of God choosing a remnant. The chosen people in this verse is specific and will come from the line of Jacob, nation Israel.
Gibbowr is the Hebrew for “mighty”. It could also be translated strong or brave. Some scholars think this term is Messianic in nature and hints at the return of Christ or their Davidic King (NET Bible).
Isaiah 10:22 For though your people, O Israel, may be like the sand of the sea, only a remnant within them will return; a destruction is determined, overflowing with righteousness.
The positive is there will be a group of people preserved. The negative is the majority will be judiciously removed. There is a reminder of the promise God made to Abraham imbedded in the verse. The promise to Abraham is noted in Genesis 22:17 …indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. See also Genesis 15:5.
In Romans 9:27 the Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 10:22. The context of the passages in Romans is Israel will not be cast away. A remnant of Israel will be preserved. God is not through with nation Israel. Paul’s message is directed to Gentiles Romans 11:13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles…
It is also a reminder to the gentiles that God is saving a remnant of gentiles as well. Romans 11:5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time a remnant according to God’s gracious choice. Gentiles are a grafted branch in the place of a natural broken branch (Israel) of the olive tree, God’s family (Romans 11).
Isaiah 10:23 For a complete destruction, one that is decreed, the Lord GOD of hosts will execute in the midst of the whole land.
In Romans 9:28 the Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 10:23. Judgment will be thorough and swift.
The verses regarding nation Israel were not prophetically fulfilled during the writing of the Apostle Paul and they have not been fulfilled as of November 2013. God has not finished his work with Israel to date. These difficult events are yet to come. A remnant of Israel will be preserved.
