Zephaniah 3.20b-The Future Remnant of Israel Will Receive Honor and Praise Among All the Nations of the Earth
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday September 29, 2016
Zephaniah: Zephaniah 3:20b-The Future Remnant of Israel Will Receive Honor and Praise Among All the Nations of the Earth
Lesson # 96
Zephaniah 3:20 “At that time I will bring you in, even at the time when I gather you together; Indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the LORD. (NASB95)
“Indeed, I will give you renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth” advances upon and intensifies upon the previous two prophetic declarations in that the Lord will cause this future remnant of Israel to be transported and thus gathered back to the land promised to them under the Abrahamic and Palestinian covenants.
Therefore, the advancement and the intensification is that not only will God cause this remnant to be restored to the land promised to them under the Abrahamic and Palestinian covenants but He will also cause them to receive honor and praise from all the nations of the earth.
“When I restore your fortunes before your eyes” indicates that God will cause restoration of the prosperity of this future remnant of Israel while simultaneously causing them to receive honor and praise among all the nations of the earth.
Zephaniah 3:20 “During this specific period of time in the future, I will cause each and every one of you to be transported. Specifically, during this specific period of time, I myself will cause each and every one of you in the future to be gathered in one place. Indeed, I will cause each and every one of you to receive honor as well as praise among each and every one of the nations of the earth when I myself restore your prosperity before your eyes,” says the Lord. (My translation)
The third and fourth prophetic declarations in Zephaniah 3:20 echo the last prophetic declaration recorded in Zephaniah 3:19.
They will be fulfilled during the millennial reign of Christ as a result of the actions of Jesus Christ at His Second Advent.
At that time, He will destroy the tribulational armies, have Antichrist and the False Prophet thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:11-19), will imprison Satan for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3) and will establish His millennial reign on planet earth (Rev. 20:4-6).
All the unregenerate will be taken off the earth by the elect angels (Matt. 25) and thrown into Torments which is a compartment of Hades (Luke 16:19-31).
Eventually, they are transferred to the Great White Throne Judgment and then thrown into the lake of fire for their rejection of Jesus Christ as their Savior (Rev. 20:11-15).
Furthermore, there will be two judgments conducted by the Lord Jesus Christ immediately after His Second Advent and just prior to His millennial reign.
These judgments will result in only believers living at the start of the millennial reign of our Lord.
Those Israelites and Gentiles who reject Jesus Christ as Savior are removed from the earth whereas those who trust in Him as Savior will enter the millennium.
The judgment of those Israelites who survive the Tribulation is referred to in Ezekiel 20:33-37 and Malachi 3:2-6 whereas Matthew 25:31-46 speaks of the judgment of those Gentiles who survive the Tribulation.
The chronology of prophesied events by our Lord in Matthew 24 and 25 indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ will judge Israel immediately upon returning at His Second Advent and then after this He will judge the Gentiles.
The chronology of events listed in Matthew 24 and 25: (1) First three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week (Matthew 24:4-6) (2) Last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week (Matthew 24:7-28) (3) The Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:29-30) (4) The elect angels will regather Israel (Matthew 24:31). (5) The Lord Jesus Christ will judge Israel (Matthew 25:1-30) (6) The Lord Jesus Christ will judge the Gentiles (Matthew 25:31-46). (7) Millennium.
A comparison of Daniel 9:27, 12:11 and 13 teaches that the Lord Jesus Christ will conduct these judgments for 45 days.
This is indicated in that Daniel 9:27 teaches that Daniel’s Seventieth Week is divided into two periods of 1,260 days (Daniel 9:27).
Daniel 12:11 speaks of 1,290 days from the time of Antichrist abolishing the sacrifice and setting himself up as God, which indicates that there will be a 30-day interval to cleanse the temple.
Then, Daniel 12:12 says that blessed is the person who attains to the 1,335 days, which gives us an additional 45 days beyond the 30-day interval, giving us a total of 75 days, which refers to the period in which the Lord will judge both Israel and the Gentiles to determine who will enter His millennial reign.
As we noted in our study of the last prophetic declaration in Zephaniah 3:19, these actions on the part of the Lord at His Second Advent and immediately after prior to His millennial reign will result in the transformation of this future remnant of Israel.
They will be honored and praised as a result of the Lord removing their enemies from the earth, both angelic and human.
They will be honored and praised because only regenerate human beings will populate the earth at the beginning of the millennial reign of Christ.
They will be honored and praised because their Lord and Savior will be King over all the earth.
They will also be honored and praised by the Lord Himself for their faithfulness to Him during the time of their persecution during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week, i.e. the great tribulation.
Therefore, the third prophetic declaration in Zephaniah 3:19 and the third and fourth prophetic declarations in Zephaniah 3:20 predict the future vindication of the remnant of Israel.
Isaiah 60, Jeremiah 31 and Micah 4 echo the third prophetic declaration recorded in Zephaniah 3:19 and the third and fourth in Zephaniah 3:20 since they provide more details with regards to the treatment of this future remnant of Israel during Christ’s millennial reign.
This future remnant of Israel which will enjoy the millennial reign of Christ will of course be subjects of Jesus Christ during this time (Isaiah 9:6-7; 33:17, 22; 44:6; Jeremiah 23:5; Micah 2:13; 4:7; Daniel 4:3; 7:14, 22, 27).
However, in order for this to be the case, this remnant will have been converted through faith in Him (Ezek. 37).
Consequently, they will be made righteous (Isaiah 1:25; 2:4; 44:22-24; 45:17-25; 48:17; 55:7; 57:18-19; 63:16; Jeremiah 31:11; 33:8 50:20; 34; Ezekiel 36:25-26 Hosea 14:4; Joel 3:21; Micah 7:18-19; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:2-3).
Therefore, the remnant of Israel will be reunited during His millennial reign (Jeremiah 3:18; 33:14; Ezekiel 20:40; 37:15-22; 39:25; Hosea 1:11) and will be exalted above the Gentiles (Isaiah 14:1-2; 49:22-23; 60:14-17; 61:6-7).
They will become God’s witnesses during the millennium to the Gentile nations of God’s power and faithfulness (Isaiah 44:8, 21; 61:6; 66:21; Jeremiah 16:19-21; Micah 5:7; Zephaniah 3:20; Zechariah 4:1-7; 4:11-14; 8:23).