End Times Prophecy was written about extensively in the Old Testament. The Minor Prophets Nahum and Habakkuk were also inspired by the Lord to provide details about what will happen in the last days.
Nahum 1
God Is Awesome
1:2 A jealous and avenging God is the LORD; The LORD is avenging and wrathful. The LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies. 3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way, And clouds are the dust beneath His feet. 4 He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; He dries up all the rivers. Bashan and Carmel wither; The blossoms of Lebanon wither. 5 Mountains quake because of Him And the hills dissolve; Indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, The world and all the inhabitants in it. 6 Who can stand before His indignation? Who can endure the burning of His anger? His wrath is poured out like fire And the rocks are broken up by Him.
1:7 The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble, And He knows those who take refuge in Him. 8 But with an overflowing flood He will make a complete end of its site, And will pursue His enemies into darkness.
1:9 Whatever you devise against the LORD, He will make a complete end of it. Distress will not rise up twice. 10 Like tangled thorns, And like those who are drunken with their drink, They are consumed As stubble completely withered. 11 From you has gone forth One who plotted evil against the LORD, A wicked counselor.
1:12 Thus says the LORD, “Though they are at full strength and likewise many, Even so, they will be cut off and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no longer. 13 “So now, I will break his yoke bar from upon you, And I will tear off your shackles.”
1:14 The LORD has issued a command concerning you: “Your name will no longer be perpetuated. I will cut off idol and image From the house of your gods. I will prepare your grave, For you are contemptible.”
The above verses list many terrors to expect on the Day of the Lord – hurricanes, storms, darkness, drought (in some areas), floods (in other areas), earthquakes, fire.
1:15 Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; Pay your vows. For never again will the wicked one pass through you; He is cut off completely.
Nahum 3
18 Your shepherds (rulers) are sleeping, O king of Assyria; Your nobles are lying down. Your people are scattered on the mountains And there is no one to regather them. 19 There is no relief for your breakdown, Your wound is incurable. All who hear about you Will clap their hands over you, For on whom has not your evil passed continually?
Habakkuk 2
2 Then the LORD answered me and said, “Record the vision And inscribe it on tablets, That the one who reads it may run. 3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.
2:14 “For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.
(Isaiah 11:9 had written the same thing – “For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”)
Habakkuk 3
God’s Deliverance of His People
Glory of God
3:3 God comes from Teman, And the Holy One from Mount Paran. His splendor covers the heavens, And the earth is full of His praise. 4 His radiance is like the sunlight; He has rays flashing from His hand, And there is the hiding of His power. 5 Before Him goes pestilence, And plague comes after Him. 6 He stood and surveyed the earth; He looked and startled the nations. Yes, the perpetual mountains were shattered, The ancient hills collapsed. His ways are everlasting. 7 I saw the tents of Cushan under distress, The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.
3:8 Did the LORD rage against the rivers, Or was Your anger against the rivers, Or was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, On Your chariots of salvation? 9 Your bow was made bare, The rods of chastisement were sworn. You cleaved the earth with rivers.
3:10 The mountains saw You and quaked; The downpour of waters swept by. The deep uttered forth its voice, It lifted high its hands.
3:11 Sun and moon stood in their places; They went away at the light of Your arrows, At the radiance of Your gleaming spear. 12 In indignation You marched through the earth; In anger You trampled the nations. 13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For the salvation of Your anointed. You struck the head of the house of the evil To lay him open from thigh to neck.
3:14 You pierced with his own spears The head of his throngs. They stormed in to scatter us; Their exultation was like those Who devour the oppressed in secret. 15 You trampled on the sea with Your horses, On the surge of many waters.
Joshua’s Long Day:
Habakkuk’s verse 3:11 – ‘sun and moon stood in their places’ is quite similar to what happened in Joshua 10:12-13 – “On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: ‘O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.’ So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, til the nation avenged itself on its enemies…The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.”
This is referred to as, “Joshua’s long day”. It is indeed fact. Many countries around the world reported this ‘long day/night’ in their annals.
Is Habakkuk 3:11 alluding to another ‘long day’ on the Day of the Lord for God to perform His work?
Isaiah prophesied in 28:21 – “For the Lord will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the valley of Gibeon, to do His task, His unusual task, and to work His work, His extraordinary work.”
Isaiah is also referencing Joshua’s long day in the ‘valley of Gibeon’ mention.
Isaiah’s ‘Mount Perazim’ reference is when the Lord helped David defeat the Philistines at Perazim. 2 Samuel 5:19 – “…and the Lord said to David, ‘Go up, for I will certainly give the Philistines into your hand.’ So David came to Baal-perazim and defeated them there; and he said, ‘The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like the breakthrough of waters.’ ” The Lord fought for David and his army at Mount Perazim.
The Lord will do so again when He saves Israel and Jerusalem from their enemies. see: The Lord’s Deliverance of Israel and Jerusalem – Part One
The Lord will indeed defeat His enemies – on the Day of the Lord. First, fighting for Israel and Jerusalem. Followed by His appearing at Megiddo. “For it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord.” – Zechariah 14:7
click here for: Salvation Call – God’s Love
click here for: Book of Micah – End Times Prophecy
