HABAKKUKBy Keith Roland

 

Nothing is known about Habukkuk. Since the book is about the coming destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 BC), it was probably written around 600 BC. Assyria had been conquered in 612 BC. The book is written in a question-answer style similar to the book of Job and reminds us of Abraham questioning God about Sodom. The theme is about God’s acts of judgment are in accord with his holiness, righteousness, and mercy.

   

Hab 1:1-4

The burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.

2 O LORD, how long shall I cry,

And You will not hear?

Even cry out to You, "Violence!"

And You will not save.

3 Why do You show me iniquity,

And cause me to see trouble?

For plundering and violence are before me;

There is strife, and contention arises.

4 Therefore the law is powerless,

And justice never goes forth.

For the wicked surround the righteous;

Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

 

The prophet feels like Job and Jeremiah that God is not hearing his cry.

Job 19:7

7 "If I cry out concerning wrong, I am not heard. If I cry aloud, there is no justice.

Jer 20:8

8 For when I spoke, I cried out; I shouted, "Violence and plunder!" Because the word of the LORD was made to me A reproach and a derision daily.

He is living in a time of great wickedness

 Jer 6:7

7 As a fountain wells up with water, So she wells up with her wickedness. Violence and plundering are heard in her. Before Me continually are grief and wounds.

Amos 3:10

10 For they do not know to do right,' Says the LORD, 'Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.'"

Vs 4 “wicked surround the righteous”

Ps 22:13

13 They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion.

 

Hab 1:5-11

"Look among the nations and watch --

Be utterly astounded!

For I will work a work in your days

Which you would not believe, though it were told you.

6 For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans,

A bitter and hasty nation

Which marches through the breadth of the earth,

To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.

7 They are terrible and dreadful;

Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.

8 Their horses also are swifter than leopards,

And more fierce than evening wolves.

Their chargers charge ahead;

Their cavalry comes from afar;

They fly as the eagle that hastens to eat.

9 "They all come for violence;

Their faces are set like the east wind.

They gather captives like sand.

10 They scoff at kings,

And princes are scorned by them.

They deride every stronghold,

For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.

11 Then his mind changes, and he transgresses;

He commits offense,

Ascribing this power to his god."

 

God answers by declaring the coming punishment upon Jerusalem by Babylon. However Paul quotes this speaking of the upcoming punishment of God by the Romans.

Acts 13:38-41

38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. 40 Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:

41'Behold, you despisers, Marvel and perish! For I work a work in your days, A work which you will by no means believe, Though one were to declare it to you.'"

 

“You would not believe”

 Lam 4:12-13

12 The kings of the earth, And all inhabitants of the world, Would not have believed That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem -- 13 Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, Who shed in her midst The blood of the just.

“I will raise up” God always used other nations to punish Israel starting in the book of Judges and ending in the book of Revelation.

Judg 2:11-15

Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals; 12 and they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt; and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them, and they bowed down to them; and they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They forsook the LORD and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. 14 And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel. So He delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were greatly distressed.

1 Kings 11:14

Now the LORD raised up an adversary against Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was a descendant of the king in Edom.

Amos 6:14

14 "But, behold, I will raise up a nation against you, O house of Israel," Says the LORD God of hosts; "And they will afflict you from the entrance of Hamath To the Valley of the Arabah."

Rev 13:1-8

Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"  5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

From the beginning of the campaign of Cestius Gallus in Oct 66 to the destruction by Titus in May 70 is 42 months.

“breadth of the earth” once again the word earth should be translated land.

Rev 20:9

9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.

“fly as an eagle” here refers to Babylon but is also used of Rome.

Deut 28:47-51

47 "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything;

and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you. 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young. 51 And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.

The name Hebrew means beyond the river which was the Euphrates, Abraham came from Ur of the Chaldees which is to say they knew the Babylonian language. In Matt 24 Jesus is discussing the upcoming destruction of Jerusalem.

Matt 24:27-28

27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

Vs 14”his mind changes ” refers to Babylon’s pride.

Isa 14:13-15

13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' 15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.

Dan 4:30

30 The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?"

Hab 1:12-17

Are You not from everlasting,

O LORD my God, my Holy One?

We shall not die.

O LORD, You have appointed them for judgment;

O Rock, You have marked them for correction.

13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil,

And cannot look on wickedness.

Why do You look on those who deal treacherously,

And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours

A person more righteous than he?

14 Why do You make men like fish of the sea,

Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?

15 They take up all of them with a hook,

They catch them in their net,

And gather them in their dragnet.

Therefore they rejoice and are glad.

16 Therefore they sacrifice to their net,

And burn incense to their dragnet;

Because by them their share is sumptuous

And their food plentiful.

17 Shall they therefore empty their net,

And continue to slay nations without pity?

 

“we shall not die” refers to the fact that God’s judgment on Judah by Babylon is not the final judgment that will make and end of physical Israel.

Jer 46:28

28 Do not fear, O Jacob My servant," says the LORD, "For I am with you; For I will make a complete end of all the nations To which I have driven you, But I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you, For I will not leave you wholly unpunished."

But there are numerous prophecies regarding the end of Israel!

Deut 32:20

20 And He said: 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, For they are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faith.

Deut 32:29

29 Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!

Isa 10:23

23 For the Lord GOD of hosts Will make a determined end In the midst of all the land.

Ezek 7:2-4

'An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. 3 Now the end has come upon you, And I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways, And I will repay you for all your abominations. 4 My eye will not spare you, Nor will I have pity; But I will repay your ways, And your abominations will be in your midst; Then you shall know that I am the LORD!'

Dan 8:18-20

18 Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright. 19 And he said, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.

Dan 9:26

26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

Dan 12:13

13 "But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days."

Matt 13:49-50

49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

Matt 24:13-14

13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

1 Cor 15:24-26

24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.

 

Heb 6:11-12

11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Heb 9:26-28

26 He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

1 Peter 4:7

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers

Rev 10:5-7

5 The angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised up his hand to heaven 6 and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, 7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

NKJV

But “we shall not die” also refers to the righteous being saved and the ungodly Jews being appointed for judgment both then by Babylon and again later by Rome.

Isa 65:13-16

13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:

"Behold, My servants shall eat, But you shall be hungry; Behold, My servants shall drink, But you shall be thirsty; Behold, My servants shall rejoice, But you shall be ashamed; 14 Behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, But you shall cry for sorrow of heart, And wail for grief of spirit. 15 You shall leave your name as a curse to My chosen; For the Lord GOD will slay you, And call His servants by another name; 16 So that he who blesses himself in the earth Shall bless himself in the God of truth; And he who swears in the earth Shall swear by the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they are hidden from My eyes.

Vs 13 I believe the prophet has turned his attention to Babylon.

Isa 21:1-2

The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.

As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease.

Vs 15 “take them…with a hook”

Amos 4:2-3

2 The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: "Behold, the days shall come upon you When He will take you away with fishhooks, And your posterity with fishhooks. 3 You will go out through broken walls, Each one straight ahead of her, And you will be cast into Harmon," 

  

Hab 2:1-4

I will stand my watch

And set myself on the rampart,

And watch to see what He will say to me,

And what I will answer when I am corrected.

2 Then the LORD answered me and said:

"Write the vision

And make it plain on tablets,

That he may run who reads it.

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time;

But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.

Though it tarries, wait for it;

Because it will surely come,

It will not tarry.

4 "Behold the proud,

His soul is not upright in him;

But the just shall live by his faith.

 

“my watch” refers to his duties as a prophet of God

Isa 21:6-8

6 For thus has the Lord said to me: "Go, set a watchman, Let him declare what he sees." 7 And he saw a chariot with a pair of horsemen, A chariot of donkeys, and a chariot of camels, And he listened earnestly with great care. 8 Then he cried, "A lion, my Lord! I stand continually on the watchtower in the daytime; I have sat at my post every night.

Ezek 3:16-18

17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:

“corrected”

OT:8433

towkechah (to-kay-khaw'); and towkachath (to-kakh'-ath); from OT:3198; chastisement; figuratively (by words) correction, refutation, proof (even in defence):

KJV - argument, chastened, correction, reasoning, rebuke, reproof, be (often) reproved.

 

Job 13:6

6 Now hear my reasoning, And heed the pleadings of my lips.

Ps 73:14

14 For all day long I have been plagued, And chastened every morning.

Prov 1:30

30 They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke.

Prov 13:18

18 Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.

 

“write the vision”

Isa 30:8

Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever:

Jer 30:2

2 "Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: 'Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you.

Rev 1:11

"What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea."

“appointed time” refers to God’s appointed time of judgment. It is not time in general. It is always used to signify the last judgment upon Israel when God destroyed Jerusalem by Rome and did away with the old covenant.

OT:4150

mowed` (mo-ade'); or moed` (mo-ade'); or (feminine) mow` adah (2 Chron 8:13) (mo-aw-daw'); from OT:3259; properly, an appointment, i.e. a fixed time or season;

Dan 8:19

19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.

NT:2540

kairos (kahee-ros'); of uncertain affinity; an occasion, i.e. set or proper time:

Matt 8:28-29

29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?"

Matt 13:30

30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."

Matt 16:2-4

When it is evening you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red'; 3 and in the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.

Matt 24:21

21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

  Luke 21:24

24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Acts 3:19-22

19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

Rom 13:11

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

Eph 1:10

10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth -- in Him.

1 Thess 5:1

But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you.

1 Peter 1: 5

5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 4:17

17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Rev 1:3

3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Rev 22:10

10 And he said to me, "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.

 

Vs 4 “ the just shall live by faith” Paul and the Hebrew writer quotes this and it signifies that at the end of the old covenant’s physical laws , in the new kingdom, men shall live by the spiritual law of God.

Rom 1:16-17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Gal 3:10-14

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them." 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Heb 10:32-36

32 But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: 33 partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; 34 for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. 35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: 37 "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. 38 Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." 39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

The Hebrew writer quotes the Septuagint which ties the second coming of Christ to the system of faith

Ps 96:13

13 For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.

Isa 62:11-12

11 Indeed the LORD has proclaimed To the end of the world: "Say to the daughter of Zion, 'Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.'" 12 And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

Mic 1:3

3 For behold, the LORD is coming out of His place; He will come down And tread on the high places of the earth.

Zech 2:10

10 "Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," says the LORD.

Zech 9:9

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation,

Mal 3:1-3

"Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts. 2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.

Matt 16:28

Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom."

 

Matt 24:3

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying,"Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

Matt 24:30-31

30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

John 14:28

28 You have heard Me say to you, 'I am going away and coming back to you.'

1 Thess 2:19

19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?

1 Thess 3:12-13

12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.

1 Thess 4:15

15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

2 Thess 2:1-3

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

James 5:7-8

Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

 

1 John 2:28

And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence

Rev 3:11

11 Behold, I am coming quickly!

Rev 22:7

7 "Behold, I am coming quickly!

 

Hab 2:5-8

"Indeed, because he transgresses by wine,

He is a proud man,

And he does not stay at home.

Because he enlarges his desire as hell, And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied,

He gathers to himself all nations

And heaps up for himself all peoples.

6 "Will not all these take up a proverb against him,

And a taunting riddle against him, and say,

'Woe to him who increases

What is not his -- how long?

And to him who loads himself with many pledges'?

7 Will not your creditors rise up suddenly?

Will they not awaken who oppress you?

And you will become their booty.

8 Because you have plundered many nations,

All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,

Because of men's blood

And the violence of the land and the city,

And of all who dwell in it.

 

“he transgresses by wine”

Dan 5:1-4

Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been

taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

“he enlarges his desire as hell”

Prov 27:20

20 Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.

“all these take up a proverb”

Isa 14:3-7

It shall come to pass in the day the LORD gives you rest from your sorrow, and from your fear and the hard bondage in which you were made to serve, 4 that you will take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say: "How the oppressor has ceased, The golden city ceased! 5 The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of the rulers; 6 He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He who ruled the nations in anger, Is persecuted and no one hinders. 7 The whole earth is at rest and quiet; They break forth into singing.

“shall plunder you”

 Isa 21:1-2

The burden against the Wilderness of the Sea.

As whirlwinds in the South pass through, So it comes from the desert, from a terrible land. 2 A distressing vision is declared to me; The treacherous dealer deals treacherously, And the plunderer plunders. Go up, O Elam! Besiege, O Media! All its sighing I have made to cease.

Isa 43:14-17

14 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: "For your sake I will send to Babylon, And bring them all down as fugitives --The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships. 15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King." 16 Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea And a path through the mighty waters, 17 Who brings forth the chariot and horse, The army and the power (They shall lie down together, they shall not rise; They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):

 

Hab 2:9-14

9 "Woe to him who covets evil gain for his house,

That he may set his nest on high,

That he may be delivered from the power of disaster!

10 You give shameful counsel to your house,

Cutting off many peoples,

And sin against your soul.

11 For the stone will cry out from the wall,

And the beam from the timbers will answer it.

12 "Woe to him who builds a town with bloodshed,

Who establishes a city by iniquity!

13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts

That the peoples labor to feed the fire, And nations weary themselves in vain?

14 For the earth will be filled

With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,

As the waters cover the sea.

 

“set his nest on high” denotes pride and self confidence

Num 24:21-22

21 Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:

"Firm is your dwelling place, And your nest is set in the rock; 22 Nevertheless Kain shall be burned.How long until Asshur carries you away captive?"

Jer 49:16

16 Your fierceness has deceived you, The pride of your heart, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Who hold the height of the hill! Though you make your nest as high as the eagle, I will bring you down from there," says the LORD.

Obad 4

Though you ascend as high as the eagle, And though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down," says the LORD.

 “sins against his own soul”

Prov 8:36

36 But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death."

Prov 20:2

2 The wrath of a king is like the roaring of a lion; Whoever provokes him to anger sins against his own life.

“stone will cry out”

 Dan 5:1-7

Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. 5 In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.

Luke 19:40

40 But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

“build a town with bloodshed”

Mic 3:1-4

And I said: "Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice? 2 You who hate good and love evil; Who strip the skin from My people, And the flesh from their bones; 3 Who also eat the flesh of My people, Flay their skin from them, Break their bones, And chop them in pieces Like meat for the pot, Like flesh in the caldron." 4 Then they will cry to the LORD, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds.

Hab 2:12-14

Professor Rawlinson (2:528, etc.) tells of the extreme misery and almost entire ruin of subject kingdoms. Not only are lands wasted, cattle and effects carried off, the people punished by the beheading or impalement of hundreds or thousands, but sometimes wholesale deportation of the inhabitants is practised, tons or hundreds of thousands being carried away captive. "The military successes of the Babylonians," he says (3:332), "were accompanied with needless violence, and with outrages not unusual in the East, which the historian must nevertheless regard as at once crimes and follies. The transplantation of conquered races may, perhaps, have been morally defensible, notwithstanding the sufferings which it involved. But the mutilations of prisoners, the weary imprisonments, the massacre of non-combatants, the refinement of cruelty shown in the execution of children before the eyes of their fathers, - these and similar atrocities, which are recorded of the Babylonians, are wholly without excuse, since they did not so much terrify as exasperate the conquered nations, and thus rather endangered than added strength or security to the empire.

(from The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 2001 by Biblesoft)

 

“earth will be filled”

Isa 11:9-10

9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea. 10 "And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious."

Isa 2:2

2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.

Mic 4:1-2

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. 2 Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

 

Hab 2:15-20

15 "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor,

Pressing him to your bottle,

Even to make him drunk,

That you may look on his nakedness!

16 You are filled with shame instead of glory.

You also -- drink!

And be exposed as uncircumcised! The cup of the LORD's right hand will be turned against you,

And utter shame will be on your glory.

17 For the violence done to Lebanon will cover you,

And the plunder of beasts which made them afraid,

Because of men's blood

And the violence of the land and the city,

And of all who dwell in it.

18 "What profit is the image, that its maker should carve it,

The molded image, a teacher of lies,

That the maker of its mold should trust in it,

To make mute idols?

19 Woe to him who says to wood, 'Awake!'

To silent stone, 'Arise! It shall teach!'

Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,

Yet in it there is no breath at all.

20 "But the LORD is in His holy temple.

Let all the earth keep silence before Him."

 

“that you may look on his nakedness”

Gen 9:20-23

20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard. 21 Then he drank of the wine and was drunk, and became uncovered in his tent. 22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside.

Lam 4:21

21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, You who dwell in the land of Uz! The cup shall also pass over to you And you shall become drunk and make yourself naked.

 

“the cup of the Lord”

Ps 75:8

8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, And the wine is red; It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth Drain and drink down.

Isa 51:17

wake, awake! Stand up, O Jerusalem, You who have drunk at the hand of the LORD The cup of His fury; You have drunk the dregs of the cup of trembling, And drained it out.

Jer 25:15-16

For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: "Take this wine cup of fury from My hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send you, to drink it. 16 And they will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them."  

“violence done to Lebanon” refers to the destruction of the temple whose doors were made from wood from Lebanon

Isa 14:8

8 Indeed the cypress trees rejoice over you, And the cedars of Lebanon, Saying, 'Since you were cut down, No woodsman has come up against us.'

Isa 37:24

24 By your servants you have reproached the Lord, And said, 'By the multitude of my chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, To the limits of Lebanon; I will cut down its tall cedars And its choice cypress trees; I will enter its farthest height, To its fruitful forest.

“what profit is the image”

Isa 44:9

Those who make an image, all of them are useless, And their precious things shall not profit; They are their own witnesses; They neither see nor know, that they may be ashamed.

Jer 2:11

1 Has a nation changed its gods, Which are not gods? But My people have changed their

1 Cor 12:2

2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led

“the Lord is in his holy temple”

Ps 11:4

4 The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

Mic 1:2

Hear, all you peoples! Listen, O earth, and all that is in it! Let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, The Lord from His holy temple.

“keep silent”

Zeph 1:7

7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; For the day of the LORD is at hand, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.

Zech 2:13

13 Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!"

 

Hab 3:1-7

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet, on Shigionoth.

2 O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid;

O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years!

In the midst of the years make it known;

In wrath remember mercy.

3 God came from Teman,

The Holy One from Mount Paran.

His glory covered the heavens,

And the earth was full of His praise.

4 His brightness was like the light;

He had rays flashing from His hand,

And there His power was hidden.

5 Before Him went pestilence,

And fever followed at His feet.

6 He stood and measured the earth;

He looked and startled the nations.

And the everlasting mountains were scattered,

The perpetual hills bowed.

His ways are everlasting.

7 I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;

The curtains of the land of Midian trembled.

 

“shigionoth”

OT:7692

Shiggayown (shig-gaw-yone'); or Shiggayonah (shig-gaw-yo-naw'); from OT:7686; properly, aberration, i.e. (technically) a dithyramb or rambling poem:

KJV - Shiggaion, Shigionoth.

Ps 7:1

7:1 Shig-ga'-ion of David, which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite.

KJV

“in the midst of years” refers to the period between the prophecy and the fulfillment of it.

Hab 2:3

For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.

“in wrath remember mercy”

Deut 7:9-10

9 "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His

commandments; 10 and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face.

“God came from Teman…Mount Paran” Teman was in Edom and Paran in the Sinai peninsula. I believe this refers to God bringing Israel out of Egypt.

Gen 36:31-34

Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel: 32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. 33 And when Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place. 34 When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

Num 10:12-13

And the children of Israel set out from the Wilderness of Sinai on their journeys; then the cloud settled down in the Wilderness of Paran.

“Selah” unknown term but it is often used in Psalms. Some scholars think it means “to pause in singing”

Vs 4 “rays flashing from his hand”

Deut 33:2

"The LORD came from Sinai, And dawned on them from Seir; He shone forth from Mount Paran, And He came with ten thousands of saints; From His right hand Came a fiery law for them.

Vs 6 “mountains were scattered” is figurative judgment language

Mic 1:4-5 against Jerusalem

4 The mountains will melt under Him, And the valleys will split Like wax before the fire, Like waters poured down a steep place. 5 All this is for the transgression of Jacob And for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem?

Nah 1:5 against Assyria

5 The mountains quake before Him, The hills melt, And the earth heaves at His presence, Yes, the world and all who dwell in it.

“Cushan”

CUSHAN

[KOO shan] (belonging to Cush) - a name referred to in Hab 3:7. It is difficult to tell whether Cushan refers to a place (some suggest Ehtiopia, Mesopotamia, or the land of Midian) or to a person-perhaps the same as "Cushan-Rishathaim king of Mesopotamia" (Judg 3:8,10).

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

 

Hab 3:8-12

8 O LORD, were You displeased with the rivers,

Was Your anger against the rivers,

Was Your wrath against the sea,

That You rode on Your horses,

Your chariots of salvation?

9 Your bow was made quite ready;

Oaths were sworn over Your arrows.Selah

You divided the earth with rivers.

10 The mountains saw You and trembled;

The overflowing of the water passed by.

The deep uttered its voice,

And lifted its hands on high.

11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation;

At the light of Your arrows they went,

At the shining of Your glittering spear.

12 You marched through the land in indignation;

You trampled the nations in anger.

 

“rivers”

Ps 106:9-10

9 He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; So He led them through the depths, As through the wilderness. 10 He saved them from the hand of him who hated them, And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.

“rode upon horses” refers to the Babylonians but God was the one who brought the punishment.

Ps 18:13-14

3 The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, Hailstones and coals of fire. 14 He sent out His arrows and scattered the foe, Lightnings in abundance, and He vanquished them

“your bow was made ready”

Deut 32:41-42

41 If I whet My glittering sword, And My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, And repay those who hate Me. 42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the heads of the leaders of the enemy."'

“sun and moon stood still” is judgment language; in every occurrence God used a foreign nation to punish.

Isa 13:10 Medes against Babylon

10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.

Joel 2:10 Babylon and Rome against Jerusalem

10 The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.

Matt 24:29-30 Rome against Jerusalem

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

“marched through the land” here they translated “land” correctly. Most of the time it is translated incorrectly “earth”

OT:776

'erets (eh'-rets); from an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth (at large, or partitively a land):

Ex 10:15

15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

Deut 1:8

8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

Ps 37:11

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Ps 37:29

9 The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever.

Prov 2:21-22

21 For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it; 22 But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.

Isa 24:1-3

Behold, the LORD makes the earth empty and makes it waste, Distorts its surface And scatters abroad its inhabitants. 2 And it shall be: As with the people, so with the priest; As with the servant, so with his master; As with the maid, so with her mistress; As with the buyer, so with the seller; As with the lender, so with the borrower; As with the creditor,

so with the debtor. 3 The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, For the LORD has spoken this word.

 

Hab 3:13-19

13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people,

For salvation with Your Anointed.

You struck the head from the house of the wicked,

By laying bare from foundation to neck.

14 You thrust through with his own arrows

The head of his villages.

They came out like a whirlwind to scatter me;

Their rejoicing was like feasting on the poor in secret.

15 You walked through the sea with Your horses,

Through the heap of great waters.

16 When I heard, my body trembled;

My lips quivered at the voice;

Rottenness entered my bones;

And I trembled in myself,

That I might rest in the day of trouble.

When he comes up to the people,

He will invade them with his troops.

17 Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls --

18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

19 The LORD God is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer's feet,

And He will make me walk on my high hills.

To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.

 

“You went forth”- the prophet is speaking of the future but speaks as if it has occurred because of the certainty of God fulfilling his word.

Isa 42:13

13 The LORD shall go forth like a mighty man; He shall stir up His zeal like a man of war. He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud; He shall prevail against His enemies.

Mal 3:1

"Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," Says the LORD of hosts.

“your anointed”

OT:4899

mashiyach (maw-shee'-akh); from OT:4886; anointed; usually a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint); specifically, the Messiah:

KJV - anointed, Messiah.

Early in the OT is was a generic term.

Lev 4:16

16 And the priest that is anointed shall bring of the bullock's blood to the tabernacle of the congregation:

KJV

2 Sam 1:16

16 And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD's anointed.

KJV

2 Sam 23:1

23:1 Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel,

But later was specific for the Messiah, the Christ

Dan 9:25-26

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

“You struck,,,the house of the wicked” refers to the destruction of God’s enemies.

Mal 3:2-5

2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like launderers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness. 4 "Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the LORD, As in the days of old, As in former years. 5 And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness Against sorcerers, Against adulterers, Against perjurers, Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, And against those who turn away an alien --Because they do not fear Me," Says the LORD of hosts.

Matt 13:36-43

Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." 37 He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine

Luke 19:11-27

Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.' 15 "And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.' 17 And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.' 18 And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' 19 Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.' 20 "Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 21 For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.' 22 And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?' 24 "And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.' 25(But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.') 26'For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"

Luke 20:41-44

And He said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? 42 Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms: 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right

hand, 43 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."' 44 Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He th

Heb 10:12-14

12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

Vs 16 “when I heard, my body trembled” the prophet here acted similarly to what Daniel did when he saw what would happen to Israel.

Dan 7:28

28 "This is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I kept the matter in my heart."

Dan 8:27

27 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king's business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.

“the day of trouble when he comes up to the people, he will invade with his troops” As we saw earlier, God used foreign nations to punish Israel.

Isa 2:12

12 For the day of the LORD of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up --And it shall be brought low --

Isa 22:5

5 For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord GOD of hosts In the Valley of Vision --Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain.

Isa 61:2

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,And the day of vengeance of our God;To comfort all who mourn,

Joel 1:15

15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.

Zeph 1:14-15

14 The great day of the LORD is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the LORD is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out. 15 That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness,

 Zech 12:10-12

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

Zech 14:1-2

Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, And your spoil will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken, The houses rifled, And the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Mal 4:1

"For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch.

Luke 21:20-24

"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

 

Vs 17 “the fig tree” is often used in reference to the day of judgment.

Isa 34:4

4 All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, And the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down As the leaf falls from the vine, And as fruit falling from a fig tree.

 Joel 1:7

7 He has laid waste My vine, And ruined My fig tree; He has stripped it bare and thrown it away; Its branches are made white.

Matt 24:32-35

"Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near -- at the doors! 34 Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Rev 6:12-13

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. 13 And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind.

Vs 18 “the God of my salvation” Also “salvation” is tied into the judgment.

Mic 7:7

7 Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.

Luke 21:25-28

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26 men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near."

Rom 13:11-12

And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

 1 Thess 5:9-10

9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

Heb 9:27-28

27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

Rev 12:10

10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.