Rev 14:14-20 It's time to reap.

 Previously we saw Babylon fallen. Perhaps another way of putting this, Babylon is finally taken down. On that note, we begin looking at Revelation 14:14 and beyond.

Revelation 14:14 NASB Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

The phrase “one like a son of man” is a major clue; this is Jesus. In the Gospels alone, and using the KJV to search for the “son of man,” there are 82 references where Jesus is referred to as the Son of man. In the Old Testament, there are 108 references scattered across the book of Numbers, Job, Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel – where the majority are found (93), and Daniel, where we find two references. I will give you one from Daniel as it speaks to Him coming with the clouds.

Daniel 7:13 NASB "I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.

When Jesus comes, seated on the cloud and crowned with a golden crown, I would be surprised if anyone sees Him unless this is an aspect of His return as the warring Messiah. Clues.

• There is a sharp sickle in His hand.

Why a sickle?

There is only one reason, to harvest a crop.

But which crop?

The instinctive thought is to gather the wheat crop, but not necessarily as some would say that the crop is the church, while others would tell you that the crop is the nation Israel. What if all three are wrong?

Look at what Mark's gospel tells us.

"But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." (Mark 4:29 NASB)

He merely says, “when the crop permits.” It is in Mark's gospel that we find the parable of the weeds, at least that is what the various translations call it.

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. (25) "But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. (26) "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. (27) "The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' (28) "And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves *said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' (29) "But he *said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. (30) 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" (Matthew 13:24-30 NASB)

Matthew 13:38 tells us that the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom. Lacking the desire to pursue a definition of such a simple phrase, as “no one would misunderstand it,” we miss what is being said here.

This particular phrase only shows up in one other location Matthew 8:12; there it says,

but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 8:12 NASB)

The context has everything to do with the Centurion who responded to Jesus with this, “just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Jesus responded to the Centurion by saying, “I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel;” and that elicited the comment that we see in Matthew 8:12. Well, that is rather alarming but expected, as He was so disappointed in the Jews.

Something else to note in this parable of the tares.

The farmer did not sow weed seeds, and yet they showed up. We are told, “his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.” (Who is our enemy? Satan and his legion of fallen angels – demons.) We are not told that the farmer watered, but it makes sense that he would as Israel is dotted with irrigation sources and methods, and water is a necessity for any crop. So the weed seeds got watered as well.

And what happened?

The weeds, scattered among the good seeds, grew. We do not know how many seeds the enemy sowed but it was enough to be noticed. Having done this intentionally makes me think this enemy meant to reduce the amount of crop they could harvest, and most likely reduce its value. This may have an analogy to our life in Christ as Satan tries to scatter weeds in our lives, and for what purpose? In the case of the C19 jab, he is desperately trying to take you out of the game. There is enough information out there to educate yourselves if you so desired, and then you would understand what I am talking about.

Why am I talking about this?

Because it is almost time to extend the sickle and harvest the crop. Just the usage of such words should speak volumes to you.

• A sickle, which has a sharpened blade. It is difficult to not realize that the blade can also represent damage – damage, which for wheat or weeding, is necessary.

• Workers; this is what the NLT uses to define those reaping the crop. The NASB chose to use the term slaves.

  If this is speaking to us, the body of Christ, are we then slaves?

  Well, yes and no. You are never without a choice. I suppose that means you could walk away from God's love at any time, but since our names are written in the Book of Life of the Lamb and tattooed on His hands, why would the God of Love loose His arms of love and let you go? He would not. It is peculiar how love, in its purest source – God, draws us into a position where we long to have Him constantly speaking love over us. This is the position that Paul eventually found himself in and, therefore, longed to be the slave of God.

  Paul, in his first letter to the church at Corinth, said, I have made myself a slave to all, that I may win more. Slave may be a poor choice of words. Slave is the Greek word douloō but the choice of words we can use are dependent upon the context. The alternate words include: to give yourself freely or become a servant of your own will. Consider that slaves have no say about their lives, but we do. Servants, in today's modern world, applied for the job, often because we needed to be able to eat or house ourselves. The servant, although it is NOT wise, has the ability to speak their mind about the working conditions or the demands placed upon them. I speak from experience when I say this, managers/employers do NOT appreciate you voicing your opinion about the way things are going on the job or the manager's demands.

  So Paul freely gave himself to the Law of the Spirit of Life. As long as you understand that compliance or submission is a choice for the believer, then the act of being a worker who tends to the crop is based on our obedience.

• To harvest the crop.

  To many this speaks of the church; the problem with that kind of thinking is that it was spoken in the Gospels, to a Jewish audience, and has nothing to do with the church. The disciples did not understand the parable and asked Jesus to explain it to them.

  This is what they got.

  And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. "So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. "The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:37-42 )

  • The field, in the Jewish context, is the world – NOT the church.

    The Gospels, while beneficial to us, is not spelling out the life of the church; that became Paul's mission. Ah, but why, as I previously noted, is the good seed the nation of Israel?

  • The good seed is defined as the sons of the kingdom.

    Again, many will try to say this is the church, it is not, it is the Jews. If you know your Bible stories, then you know that Israel was seldom good. Examples of this can be seen when Moses came down off the mountain; “God's” people had pushed Aaron to make the god Moloch for them, and they began dancing around it as they roasted their babies to this thing. Another example is seen when Israel went into 70 years of Babylonian captivity for disobeying God's laws. Nothing changed, and they will be attacked frequently, with two-thirds being killed by the time Jesus comes back as the warring Messiah.

  • The tares are the sons of the evil ones.

    To the Jews, this is anyone outside of the Synagogue, because the promises of God have been given to His people, not them.

  • The harvest is the end of the age.

    Ah, now here we have the most defining statement, and it does not apply to the church. To some degree there is a timeline; it starts with the departure of the church in the rapture. The earth and all those still living on it will endure God's wrath and the brutality of humanity. At the end of this period, Jesus will return, kill all who thought they could fight with Him, and He will bring about one thousand years of peace. How you separate this time from the rest of eternity is not clear to me, with one exception; the thousand years will still have people choosing to ignore God and live outside of His love. People like that tend to solve their problems with violence; the problem with that is that you have mortals against immortals, that can't be touched with your violence, and the law of the land will be peace. Expressions of violence will be dealt with swiftly and I suspect permanently.

When then, is the end of the age?

The short answer is at the end of the thousand-year reign.

We see this in Matthew 25 with the sheep and goat judgment, and also at the great white throne judgment. I see these as the same event shown from different points of view. Many will argue against this idea, because of tradition and false teachings. 

Let's take a look at comparative evidence anyway.

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. (Matthew 25:31 NASB)	In Revelation 20:11 it is referred to as a great white throne.
"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; (Matthew 25:32 NASB) In Matthew's account we are not told they are the dead, therefore, you have to ask questions, such as: at the final judgment, who is being judged? You do not get to fall back on religious tradition as you must use the Bible to get your answer. Immediately preceding the final judgment, Satan has deceived who? The nations. Now how can this be as religious tradition has told us there is nothing less than a perfect world going on. Look at Revelation 21 and you will see this peculiarity. "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." (Revelation 21:8 NASB) All this is going on during the thousand years – a time which some would say is filled with Christians alone. You have to dig a bit further in Matthew to see that these, at the judgment seat, are also being judged for their deeds. 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' (Matthew 25:35-36 NASB)	And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. (Revelation 20:12 NASB)
Ask yourself a question, is the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit one and the same? Then how is it that we can possibly think that these descriptions are not both Jesus and God? One conveys Jesus as the gentle shepherd, while the other depicts Him as an angry God. All of these characteristics are incumbent within God.
In Matthew's account no books are mentioned. You are left to assume that they are there.	In Revelation 20:12 we are told that there are books. Why would you cruelly tease those before you, holding out some hope that He might find their name in a book that grants them mercy unless mercy was a possibility? We are not told about anyone gaining entrance into the kingdom, as we are in Matthew's account, as Revelation 20 is representative of an angry God.
"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; (Matthew 25:41-42 NASB)	And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:15 NASB) It is logical to think that He looked into the book of Life to see if there was anything for which he could offer mercy, otherwise this is just a cruel joke.

Moving on.

Revelation 14:15-16 NASB (15) And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe." (16) Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

Another angel, crying with a loud voice, saying to Him who sat on the cloud,

• “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.”

Hour? It is the Greek word hōra and means day, hour, instant, season, time.

The words reap and harvest, in the Greek, are essentially the same.

Ripe, it turns out, is not a good term and contrary to what we think. It is the Greek word xērainō and means to desiccate; by implication to shrivel, dry up, be ripe, wither (away). It also implies to mature.

Consider that this word xērainō implies that those, at this point in time, have exceeded their opportunity and useful purpose. 

How is it possible that God could feel this way? 

For the answer the context of Revelation 14:15 and how it is looking at the time in which the final judgment has come.

• “Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.”

Jesus is now swinging the sickle.

Revelation 14:18-20 NASB (18) Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe." (19) So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great winepress of the wrath of God. (20) And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the winepress, up to the horses' bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles.

• Now, instead of wheat, we have grapes. "Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe."

As you read the verses above you certainly get the sense that something has changed. We are no longer looking at merely collecting those intended for the final judgment throne, but a bloody battle. Although we have not been given a clear timeline, and, therefore, we do not know if Satan's last shot at deception lasts five minutes, or five years; keep in mind that God does not operate on our time frame. So deception happens, and all the nations, living outside of the New Jerusalem, many of which are referenced in Revelation 21:8.

These deceived people come to battle against God. There is clearly a separation. Could what we see in Revelation 14: 18-20 also be seen as a separation process, as wine, when it is pressed, separates the “good” juices from the seeds, stems, and skins? Revelation 20 verses seven through fifteen describes the deception, the battle in which all who attempted to fight against God were killed, and then finally, along with all the other dead, are brought before the throne of God and judged.

If there are those among the dead that perhaps deserve mercy, then they will receive mercy; this makes sense as He has gathered the dead from the beginning of time before Himself. Not all of these people have fought against Him, and not have walked in complete rejection; this becomes obvious when we read the sheep and goat judgment in Matthew 25.

So, how many Biblical battles do we see in end times scripture?

The next battle that I expect to see is the Ezekiel 38 war.

“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. "I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords;” (Ezekiel 38:2-4 NASB)

Gog is the leader of Rosh (we are fairly convinced that Rosh is Russia.) If Gog is Putin, then his interactions with the President of Turkey, his alliances with Iran, and his insertion of troops in Syria could easily play into this upcoming war. The next passage lists the players in this war.

Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah from the remote parts of the north with all its troops--many peoples with you. (Ezekiel 38:5-6 NASB)

Let me show you an old map of the Mediterranean region from which most of these combatants emerge.

The Northern African nations are under the persistent threat of Islam with names like Boko Haram and Al-Shabab

Many see an additional war when they read Psalm 83.

“Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation, That the name of Israel be remembered no more.” This is the common theme within the Quran. You might say, pay no attention to it, but it will happen. Strangely, the players in this scenario sound much like Ezekiel 38.

The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; They have become a help to the children of Lot. Selah. (Psalms 83:6-8 NASB)

When you read the context of Psalm 83 there is no mention of location outside the location where King David sits, Jerusalem. Philistia refers to the region of Gaza today.

As you can see, in the map above, the nations listed in Psalm 83 are surrounding Jerusalem. These same nations feed into the war of Ezekiel 38 and, therefore, may be defining the same war.

It seems as though Israel is to be bathed in warfare. Not that long ago rockets were being fired into Israel from Gaza, and Israel retaliated after warnings were issued.

“And now many nations have been assembled against you Who say, 'Let her be polluted, And let our eyes gloat over Zion.' "But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, And they do not understand His purpose; For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor. "Arise and thresh, daughter of Zion, For your horn I will make iron And your hoofs I will make bronze, That you may pulverize many peoples, That you may devote to the LORD their unjust gain And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.”
(Micah 4:11-13 NASB)

Because the seven-year period is filled with violence, warfare, plagues, and starvation, it is difficult to imagine anything but perpetual violence against Israel. Many religious folks cannot accept that God would bring wrath upon His own. Obviously, they are wrong as scripture undoes their arguments. Leviticus 26 is one of those places.

'I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you, so that you shall be delivered into enemy hands. (Leviticus 26:25 NASB)

Consider what God is saying here. He will execute vengeance for the covenant they broke. We know that Israel regathered to their cities, and so what does Israel have? Pestilence. Pestilence by definition is also plagues; and so, C19, a human manipulated flu virus, and its so-called antidote is all over Israel. Now, maybe there is more and worse to come, but the believers will not see it.

I asked the question of my friends, how many wars do you see in scripture, happening during the last seven years?

One quickly responded with the battle of Armageddon, and the other voiced his acknowledgment.

My Dake's concordance states that [Armageddon] Mount of Megiddo on the south side of the valley of Megiddo or Esdraelon southwest of Mount Carmen (2Ch_35:22; Zec_12:11). Megiddo was the capital of a portion of Canaan that was given to Joshua (Jos_12:21; Jos_17:11; Jdg_1:27). It is at the entrance to a pass across the Carmel mountain range, on the main highway between Asia and Africa, and is the key position between the Euphrates and the Nile. It has been the battlefield of many peoples throughout the ages. Thothmes III, the founder of the old Egyptian Empire, said, "Megiddo is worth a thousand cities".

If you do a word search for Armageddon, in the KJV, you will only find one reference, Revelation 16:16. Of course, I am going to give you the passage along with a few extra verses because it is important to see the context – a context that makes it an aspect of the sixth bowl judgment.

Knowing that this battle is associated with the bowl judgments makes me think that the battle comes before the thousand-year reign; but, there is this line “ the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty” that directs my thinking back to the final battle at the end of the thousand-years. If this is faulty logic, that would come from the repeated application of the “great day of God” for multiple events.

Don't park your brain, even if it's me doing the talking. You have to tear things apart and look at individual words if necessary.

“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. ("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.") And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon.” (Revelation 16:12-16 NASB)

Let's analyze the details of Revelation 16:12-16.

• “The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for the kings from the east.”

  This is preparation for another war within the seven years and I will demonstrate why.

• “And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs,”

  All three of these characters will have an unclean spirit, that looks like a frog; for they are demons.

  • The dragon is Satan - and we have seen that already. Revelation 13:2.

  • The mouth of the beast. We are told that the antichrist was given a mouth.

  • “ and out of the mouth of the false prophet.”

    Consider, when did the false prophet show up? That individual is here now. Israel's Jewish high council appointed Rabbi Baruch Kahane several years to be the high priest of the new temple. Is this the man? Well, the potential is tremendous, but try telling anyone that and they will laugh you to scorn. However, the relative answer to the question, when does this show himself, is halfway through the time of wrath.

    Now I want you to think about something else. What is a major factor that potentially causes the elect (the Jewish religious leadership) to be deceived? If you said he performs signs, you would be correct. As I have stated in previous posts God's two witnesses may well have been standing in the streets of Jerusalem since the rapture of the church. What have they been doing? Performing signs and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Seems to me that they set the pattern, which Satan has noticed, for the false prophet to follow, as well as the antichrist.

• “ three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God.”

  Suddenly, everything fell into place and now I understand.

  The great day of God is when Jesus comes back as the warring Messiah. Remember that just a few minutes ago I mentioned how this terminology “the great day of God” has been reused for multiple events and both God and Jesus. So here, the great day of God is referring to Jesus as we see Him in Revelation 19.

  I have often wondered how God/Jesus would kill all these combatants that attempt to challenge Him in this battle. I suppose I am forgetting how many people have been killed by the various means of the judgments, and how easily one angel killed all the firstborn, not protected by the blood of the lamb, in Egypt that night. Nothing is impossible for God.

  This battle will happen in the Megiddo Valley, and is the battle referred to as the Battle of Armageddon.

With this battle being over, this marks the beginning of the Millennial reign, where there will be 1000 years of peace. At the end of this time period, Satan will be released to deceive the nations (once again.) I have recently questioned how long it would take for Satan to deceive those who live outside the New Jerusalem, to the point where they think it is a great idea to try and fight against God and His city. But when I look at Revelation 16 and see these fallen angels going out and deceiving the antichrist and false prophet, it is rather easy to see these demons doing the same thing at the end of the 1000 years.

So I started with a question. How many battles does Israel experience between now and the end of time?

The short answer is three wars. Now, how many skirmishes does Israel have to try and defend against? It seems unending.

Does it really matter to the believer? Only in that people have so many questions and someone needs to answer them. Perhaps it could be you.

If you don't know Jesus Christ as your savior, you can.

Micah 5:9-15. They will be like a lion among the animals in the forest.

Since you have been following me, then you understand what I tried to convey as I spoke of the destructive properties of these last days, and the armies that converge on Israel. Allow me to point out now, that only a third of Israel's population will survive. With roughly eight million people in the land that will leave approximately two million survivors.
Some will ask, where do you get this information?
Zechariah 13:7-9 ERV  The LORD All-Powerful says, "Sword, wake up and strike the shepherd, my friend! Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will run away. And I will punish those little ones.  (8)  Two-thirds of the people in the land will be struck down and die," says the LORD, "but one-third will survive.  (9)  Then I will test those survivors by giving them many troubles. The troubles will be like the fire a person uses to prove silver is pure. I will test them the way a person tests gold. Then they will call to me for help, and I will answer them. I will say, 'You are my people.' And they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"
If Zechariah does not convince you, perhaps passages from Ezekiel will. Ezekiel may be giving us a more explicit definition of how the Jews within Israel die.
Ezekiel 5:12-14 ERV  A third of your people will die inside the city from diseases and hunger. Another third will die in battle outside the city. And then I will pull out my sword and chase the last third of your people into faraway countries.  (13)  Only then will I stop being angry with your people. I will know that they have been punished for the bad things they did to me. They will know that I am the LORD and that I spoke to them because of my strong love for them!"  (14)  God said, "Jerusalem, I will destroy you (and-) you will be nothing but a pile of rocks. The people around you will make fun of you. Everyone who walks by will make fun of you.
Never forget that God, has on occasion, used others, namely the nations, to wield His sword. The death and destruction will seem like it happened overnight, but the process will begin, either right before the church is caught away to Jesus, or, immediately after that.
With that information let's move on to the study:

A Remnant Shall Be Delivered

Micah 5:7-8 ERV  “But those from Jacob who are still living and scattered among the nations will be like dew from the LORD that does not depend on anyone. They will be like rain on the grass that does not wait for anyone.  (8)  Those from Jacob who are still living are scattered among the nations. But they will be like a lion among the animals in the forest. They will be like a young lion among flocks of sheep. If the lion passes through, he goes where he wants to go. If he attacks an animal, no one can save it. The survivors will be like that.”

• “But those from Jacob who are still living and scattered among the nations.” A read of Zechariah's prophecy doesn't inform us that Israel may, once again, be scattered. The idea of scattering comes across more like, run for your life! The Complete Jewish Bible translates this verse in this manner. “The remnant of Ya`akov among the nations, surrounded by many peoples, will be like a lion among forest animals, like a young lion among flocks of sheep—if it passes through, tramples and tears to pieces, there is no one to rescue them.” (Micah 5:7 CJB)

This reference to a young lion in the forest comes across as though the nations are now in fear of Israel. Understanding the text requires a look through spiritual eyes, for perhaps the nations have always been afraid of Israel, and that is why they have unceasingly tried to destroy Israel.

• “Those from Jacob who are still living are scattered among the nations. But they will be like a lion among the animals in the forest. They will be like a young lion among flocks of sheep. If the lion passes through, he goes where he wants to go. If he attacks an animal, no one can save it.”

Micah 5:9 CJB  "When that day comes," says Adonai, "I will cut off your horses from among you and destroy your chariots.
Most translations say something like this: “Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries.” We want to believe that, and if we watch the news, you can actively see Israel retaliating against aggressive acts, of which there are many. If I chose to read this loosely, and not study the verse out, I could take this statement, seen here in the CJB, as being one against Israel. The NASB and the NLT prove otherwise.
Micah 5:9 NASB Your hand will be lifted up against your adversaries, And all your enemies will be cut off.
Micah 5:9 NLT  The people of Israel will stand up to their foes, and all their enemies will be wiped out.
This standing up to one's foes all sounds bold, but it is in stark contrast to the devastation that we see coming against Israel. Destruction, however, does not mean that Israel did not put up a fight. Regardless, scripture shows two-thirds of Israel being killed off, and the city being trampled by the invaders. (Zechariah 13:7-9)
There is only one point in time in which I can envision Israel acting so boldly, and that is when their Messiah returns to earth as the warring King they expected. Revelation 19 clearly shows us this King.
Revelation 19:11-16 NLT  “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.  (12)  His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself.  (13)  He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God.  (14)  The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses.  (15)  From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a wine press.  (16)  On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.”
A consideration. If you have spent your life living in a state of fear, as I have, then you tend to look at this scenario in one of two ways. You either see yourself rejoicing that you are finally going to be rescued from the bullies of the world or, you feel that with the appearance of Christ you will grow a backbone and gladly lend a hand. Imagine living in a world without fear or retaliation from enemies. It is possible that none of my scenarios is a reality, and we may be asked to stand back while Jesus clears the world of bullies for us. This hope is not a fairy tale; it is a scriptural reality that both Micah, Joel, and the prophet Isaiah spoke of.
Isaiah 2:3-4 NASB And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. (4) And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples, And, they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. A nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.
Micah 5:10 NASB "It will be in that day," declares the LORD, "That I will cut off your horses from among you And destroy your chariots.
Again, we have to ask, which day? The answer is the day when Jesus comes back as the warring Messiah. So many things will happen quickly.
The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury has this to say about this verse. “This seems to refer to those happy times when the Jews shall be converted and restored to their own land, and all their enemies being destroyed, shall have no further need of cavalry or fenced cities.”
Is this statement by the writers of the UCRT a solid supposition?
We understand that the remnant, after the Messiah's return, will come to the mountain of Lord, to worship the Lord, and, they will be the teachers of the nations. In case you missed what I said there - The Jews are the remnant, and by my archaic calculations, there will be well over two million of them.
Will they live in a restored Jerusalem?
No, but they will live in the NEW Jerusalem.
If they are restored to their land, could they live outside the walls of the New Jerusalem?
I don't see why not, as there is evidence that free will still exist during the millennial reign.
What of this statement, “all their enemies being destroyed, (Israel, and those who also live as citizens during this period,) shall have no further need of cavalry or fenced cities.”?
We already understand this from Isaiah 2:4, as you can see above. As one trained in Horticulture, I get a little excited about growing my own crops; and some of these Jews may feel the same way. Micah gives us this:
“Each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.” Micah 4:4 NASB
The context of Micah 4:4 applies to the nations, and not the Jews, or me. So, my assumption (and I think it is logical,) is that while there would no longer be a need for weapons of war; there may, however, indeed be a need for horses and farming equipment. This line of reasoning could apply; nonetheless, there is clearly a dissembling of the large and small scale war machine. Fences, though not entirely war-related, could still fit into this scenario, as they keep people divided from one another.
Micah 5:11-15 NASB "I will also cut off the cities of your land And tear down all your fortifications. (12) "I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you will have fortune-tellers no more. (13) "I will cut off your carved images And your sacred pillars from among you So that you will no longer bow down To the work of your hands. (14) "I will root out your Asherim from among you And destroy your cities. (15) "And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath On the nations which have not obeyed."
There are some interesting statements in Micah 5:11-15.

• “I will cut off sorceries from your hand, And you will have fortune-tellers no more. I will cut off your carved images And your sacred pillars from among you So that you will no longer bow down To the work of your hands.”

Most people don't read the Bible for themselves and therefore are unfamiliar with this young man. Manasseh, the 12-year-old who became king over Judah, and ruled for 55 years. Look at how 2 Chronicles describes his actions.
“He made his sons pass through the fire in the valley of Ben-hinnom; and he practiced witchcraft, used divination, practiced sorcery and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger. Then he put the carved image of the idol which he had made in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon, his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen from all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever; (9) Thus Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the sons of Israel.” 2 Chronicles 33:6, 7, 9 NASB
Keep in mind that Manasseh learned none of this on his own. He was taught, either through active training or by observation.

• "I will root out your Asherim from among you And destroy your cities. Strong's Concordance tells us:'ăshêrâh - asherah (or Astarte) a Phoenician goddess. While The Word Study Dictionary gives us this: A feminine noun which signifies the Canaanite fertility goddess believed to be the consort of Baal. Because of this association, the worship of Baal and Asherah was often linked together (Jdg_3:7; 1Ki_18:19; 2Ki_23:4). The noun is most often used for a carved wooden image of the goddess instead of a proper name (Jdg_6:26; 1Ki_14:15). Israel was deeply entrenched in idol worship, and Aaron's making of the god Molech should be all the evidence you need.
• "And I will execute vengeance in anger and wrath On the nations which have not obeyed." It is evident that the nations played a role in the idolatrous downfall of Israel. The prophet for hire, Balaam, told King Balak how he could bring about the destruction of Israel by bringing in women from nearby nations to them. The men of Israel gave up their souls for these young girls. "Therefore wait for Me," declares the LORD, "For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My indignation, All My burning anger; For all the earth will be devoured By the fire of My zeal.” Zephaniah 3:8 NASB

While on the one hand, this ends with the Messiah ruling over a restored kingdom - a kingdom into which we, the followers of Christ, have been engrafted. And although I despise the word, sin, Israel has been neck deep in it, and God told them they would have pay severely if they did not stop; and, they did not. So we have a nightmarish mix of damage, but it will, someday, end in peace. I know that so many of you are living amidst the horrors of the Islamic invasion, brought under the guise of refugees. Joel chapter speaks of some of us standing our ground in the Name of Jesus. I don't know you, but I know the God you serve, and I am calling you out to speak against these things, just as the Prophet Elijah spoke to the rain. If you have a relationship with Christ, then you have the most powerful force on the face of this planet living within you, the HOLY SPIRIT. Stand your ground, and declare, NOT ON MY WATCH!

Assemble and come together, from everyside to my sacrifice. Eze 39:17-20

 As I talked previously about Ezekiel's prophecy against Gog and his armies; and how they will be killed on the mountains of Israel; I explained how Israel gathers Gog's weapons for use as firewood for the next seven years. The time frame involved seemed so obvious to me, as this all happens moments before the rapture of the church and the Antichrist persona steps onto the stage.

• "On that day I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel... So they will bury Gog there with all his horde, (Ezekiel 39:11 NASB)
• "For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them to cleanse the land .. (Ezekiel 39:12-13 NASB)

An obvious factor that we tend to ignore in our group Bible studies is that Israel will still be filled with a level of violence during these burials. Think about what goes on there in Israel on a daily basis: rock throwing, stabbings, car rammings, and, an occasional bomb, but this is almost daily.

And yet, at some crucial moment, when the world thinks they need peace, a man will step forward and say, I have everything in control; let us have peace, and he will enact a seven-year peace treaty with many.

Daniel 9:27 NASB "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

How could you have any of these things happen unless it fits into a little crack of time just moments before God pours out His wrath upon the earth?

As clear as the previous verses in Ezekiel seemed to me, Ezekiel 39:17-20 has clouded my mind once again. Let me show you why.

Ezekiel 39:17-20 NASB "As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, "Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. 18) "You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19) "So you will eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. 20) "You will be glutted at My table with horses and charioteers, with mighty men and all the men of war," declares the Lord GOD.

The entire passage speaks of flesh eating birds being gathered to God's great sacrifice. He includes mighty men and the blood of princes, and, “you will be glutted at My table.” This is just a recap, but immediately my mind said, I know this scenario, or at least I think I do.

Let me point something out you may have missed.

So, while the citizens of Israel may be making note of where bodies are, seven months later, someone will make a search.

Ezekiel 39:14 NASB "They will set apart men who will constantly pass through the land, burying those who were passing through, even those left on the surface of the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months, they will make a search.

This time of burial, although affected by extenuating circumstances, is going on for quite some time.

What happens in the mean time? (We are notorious for assuming that everything gets put on hold while the scenario painted for us happens.) The scavengers come out. Birds like Condors; Vultures; Ravens; Sea Gulls, and the like. But aren't they around somewhere, close by, even when you don't want them?

Why does something like flesh eating birds create a point of confusion about the end times? Because what we see in Ezekiel 39:17-20 is remarkably similar to what many call the wedding supper of the Lamb. I am telling you this because I have sat under false teachers and their teachings that do no more than cloud your mind and make you hate prophecy and the prophetic books of Revelation, Ezekiel, and Daniel, to name a few. In my momentary confusion, I thought, I have advocated two distinct wars, at two distinct times, but then I see this aspect that sounds just like the “great supper of the lamb”, which made think I too have taught falsely. It was not until I looked the scenario in Revelation 19 that it all became clear again. These wars are completely different, at different times, and yet have many similar properties. Keep your heads clear. The answers are there in the scriptures themselves.

You find this “great supper of the Lamb” in Revelation 19.

Revelation 19:17-18 NASB 17) Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God, 18) so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men, and slaves, and small and great."

You might think at first glance they are talking about the same thing. The man who leads the Monday morning Bible study has intertwined these two events on several occasions. It is not simply a mistake on his part since he has been shown, from the Word of God, how and why they are different events. (His lack of concern and unwillingness to adjust himself to align with the Word of God, make him a false teacher.)

Why then is Revelation 19 so different from Ezekiel 39?

• In Ezekiel 39 it is Gog and his armies amassed against Israel specifically, and they are killed by brimstone, hail, lightning, and floods.

• In Revelation 19 Jesus, at the end of the time of wrath, has come riding across the skies upon a white horse. (This, by the way, is the only passage in the book Revelation that Islam believes, and that is because they believe that this is their savior, not ours.)
Revelation 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness, He judges and wages war.
Revelation 19:14, 15 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

This time they are not amassed against Israel, they are gathered to fight against the King of Kings.

Revelation 19:19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

There is no Gog listed in this war, but there are the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies.

Quick question. Who is this beast? He is the same person that proffered the peace treaty seven years before. We do not know his identity as yet, but I can guarantee you he is here.

One more thing. When does the war of Revelation 19 take place? When Jesus comes back to earth as the Messiah; the King of Kings; after the seven years of wrath has come to an end.

So yes, there are multiple wars, both major and minor, with ongoing skirmishes constantly.