Sabbath Service
Eight Days That Change the World
Songs of Praise
Opening Prayer
As we read on the Day of Shouting, Shouting marks the day that Jeshua battles Satan and his armies, defeats them and thus becomes the undisputed Ruler of Earth, as the head of Jehovah’s Kingdom on Earth. The Jews observe the Days of Awe as the eight days between the Day of Shouting and the Day of Atonement. It is during these days that the great Battle at Megiddo, also called Armageddon, will be completed. The Battle will be between all the armies of earth’s anti-God governments and Jeshua, who will be accompanied by His army composed of both envoys and transformed humans. We will look at some of the Scriptures relating to this Battle today. The conclusion of this battle leads to the next Holy Day, the Day of Atonement, which marks the imprisonment of Satan and the judging of the world’s survivors of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord, leading into the Millennium of Peace.
First, Jehovah God announced on the Feast of Weeks that He will be taking direct control of the Earth, through His Son Jeshua: (Revelation 11:15-18)
Satan and his appointed rulers respond by assembling a massive army against Jeshua and His followers:
“And the ten horns of the beast are ten kings who have not received a kingdom yet, but they receive authority as kings for one hour with the beast. These all have one will, and give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings; and because His people are called, chosen, and faithful.” Revelation 17:12-14
Indeed, this is what Jeshua says about this time: (Matthew 24:15-16 & 21-22)
So we see that it will be only because of God’s mercy that anyone will survive. Left to our own depravity, the entire earth would become a lifeless battlefield.
Ezekiel is given some other details about this battle, which will likely begin on the Day of Shouting, and about cleaning up the battlefield after the war: (Ezekiel 37:15 to 39:29)
Again the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, “As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for his companions from the children of Israel.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all of his companions from the house of Israel.’ Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.
“And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’; say to them, ‘Thus says Lord Jehovah: “Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and his companions from the tribes of Israel, and I will join them with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand.”’ And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes.
“Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been wastelands; they were brought out of the nations, and now they all dwell safely. You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”
‘Thus says Lord Jehovah: “On that day it will come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely: they are all dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’; to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the inhabited wastelands, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land.
“Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’”’
“Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says Lord Jehovah: “On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it? Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.”
“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says Lord Jehovah: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. You will fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to many winged birds of prey and to the wild animals to be devoured. You will fall on the open field; for I have spoken,” says Lord Jehovah. “And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they will know that I am Jehovah.”
“And as for you, son of man, thus says Lord Jehovah, ‘Speak to every winged bird and to every wild animal: “Assemble yourselves and come; gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal which I am sacrificing for you, a great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of the mighty, drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams and lambs, of goats and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. You will eat fat until you are full, and drink blood until you are drunk, at My sacrificial meal which I am sacrificing for you. You will be filled at My table with horses and riders, with mighty men and with all the men of war,” says Lord Jehovah.
Therefore thus says Lord Jehovah: “Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy Name; after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid.
When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they will know that I am Jehovah their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their own land, and left none of them captive any longer. And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says Lord Jehovah.” Ezekiel 37:15 to 39:29
Paul says this about these times and what will follow: (2 Thessalonians 1:2-12)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jeshua the Anointed.
Therefore we always pray for you that God would make you worthy of your calling, and would completely fill you with the pleasure of goodness and works of faith in power, that the Name of our Anointed Lord Jeshua may be glorified by you, and you also by Him, according to the grace of our God and our Lord Jeshua the Messiah.
Yes, there are a lot of horrible things that will happen during the Great Tribulation and the war when Jeshua returns. But they are necessary so God can prove who is willing to obey Him and destroy the rest. And the Tribulation will be followed by the most wonderful time the earth has seen since Adam and Chavvah fell. Let us all remain worthy of the Calling that Jehovah has given to us, that we may live in that glorious time.
The Days of Awe are also called the Ten Days of Penitence, marking the last days that people can get themselves right with God before the judgement on the Day of Atonement begins. And when they see the destruction of Satan’s massive armies, they will understand how great Jeshua is, and how vital it is that they accept the salvation that Jeshua is offering them. We will next explore the meaning of Atonement on that Day.
Closing Prayer
Prepared by the Central Highlands Congregation of God
Revised 9 April, 2024
Permission is given to copy and distribute this service provided it is copied entirely and distributed without charge.
Scripture quotes are from the CHCoG translation, based on the Aramaic Peshitta New Covenant.
Endnotes
1 As in the Peshitta.
2 The Greek adds “and who is to come”
3 Dan 9:27, Dan 11:31 and Dan 12:11
4 2Pe 3:12, Rev 7:14, Rev 16:18
5 Zec 12:1-14:16
6 Tit 2:14
7 Hos 3:4-5 & Mar 11:10
8 Isa 35:1-10, Jer 30:3-10. This return at the start of the Millennium is foreshadowed in the Jubilee (Lev 25:8-13).
9 2Co 6:16
10 Jehovah M’Kaddesh יְהׂוָ֨ה מְקַדֵּשׁ , meaning Jehovah Sanctifies.
11 Jehovah says that He sanctifies Israel; having His sanctuary there will remind people of this fact.
12 Gog גּוֹג means ‘mountain’ and Ha Magog הַ:מָּגוֹג means ‘the land of Gog’.
13 Meschech מֶשֶׁךְ means ‘drawing out’, and Tubal תֻבָל means ‘you will be brought’. These people are the descendants of the brothers Magog, Meshech and Tubal, from Noah’s son Japheth (Gen 10:2).
14 Jer 6:22-23
15 Zec 12:1-14:13, Rev 8:3-9, Rev 16:7-21
16 Rev 20:7-9
17 Hamon Gog means “Multitude of Gog”.
18 Hamonah means “Multitudes”.
19 Isa 66:10-24
20 Rev 19:17-18
21 Isa 66:15-16, Jer 10:25, Eze 37:15-39:29, Rev 16:8, 18:8, 19:11-16 & 20:9
22 Rev 6:14-16 & Rev 21:8