What does Book of Zephaniah say about destruction of Jerusalem and events at the End of Days

by David Zephaniah

Book of Zephaniah

Since I’m an original Zephaniah it only makes sense that I will post the Book of Zephaniah. He was one of the 71 prophets of Israel.

 Zephaniah lived in Jerusalem before the destruction of the first Holy Temple, about 2600 years ago. He was of royal descend from the house of king David. His prophecy warned the kingdom of Judah against practice of paganism. He said that for that reason the Maker decreed to destroy the kingdom!

In fact, the Creator warns against paganism almost on every page of the Bible. One might ask, why is it so important not to follow paganism and why is the paganism relevant today anyway? After all, we don't see pagan temples around anymore. Short explanation: since the dawn of history, most of the world followed paganism. Why? Because all pagan religions are man made. They don't need any particular observance and morals, and serve well the perversions of the mankind in their times. Pagans used to be very "sick" religions in Zephaniah's days and until the recent history. For example, they used to practice child sacrifices by burning and burying children alive. They claimed that their "gods" were asking for it. They used to worship human waste, dead people, trees, sun, domestic animals, rivers, and what not. Most of the people in the world today are descendants of pagans. Today's pagans serve money, dogs, power, greed, famous people, popularity, etc. Their priorities in life are wrong and produce people who are depressed, faithless, materialistic, dark, hating, etc. They don't really care about people around them. For example, most of them would trade their brother for an iPhone. That is exactly what God hates.
Christian religion was founded by the pagan Jews, that is why God killed so many Jews. After a while, practicing paganism produces even worse people, who are Atheists. Atheists also have "gods". Their "gods" are scientists, animals, greed, power, and money. They don't have any principles and morals, and bend rules as they go. They have hate and darkness in their hearts.

God hates the Atheists the most, because they try to force other people stray after their false beliefs. Torah calls them Amalekites (Amalek).

Moses was the most important prophet in the world. The Creator showed him His complete plan, from the beginning of this world, until the end. He told him that at the end of the world, 70% of the world population will be eliminated, because of pagans/atheists. He told Moses that because of this reason, " God will be at war with Amalek through the generations " in order to save as many people as possible. It is not because God forbid, Amalek has a chance to win, but they have a purpose for now. It is because of the fact that we humans are endowed with the free will. Our purpose in this life is to resist  and fight Amalekites (corruption) mentally and physically. If we try hard, we are always guaranteed to win, because the Maker sets the rules of the game.

 Free will and intelligence is what Torah means when it says that we are created in Gods "image". It doesn't mean a physical image, because God doesn't have any physical image. His presence fills the entire infinite world which is infinitely larger than our "small" universe. He told us that we are the only species in the universe with the free will (there goes the intelligent aliens theory...). In the end of this word, He only wants to keep people who love Him and who " walk in His ways". Meaning that they live by His rules.

Zephaniah said that the only way that Jews could save themselves, is by returning to practice of Torah, because the purpose of every single Jew is to set an example for the entire gentile world.

He also warned the kingdoms neighbouring the Land of Judah, because they were liable for the greater destruction. They were the ones who caused people of Judah to stray, because they were all pagan. In every world war in the human history, God always kills 10 times more gentiles than Jews, because He blames them for the world corruption. For example, if you research the information about the 2nd world war in our era, you will find out that 6 Million Jews died. However 60 Million gentiles died. It always works out to 1/10 ratio.

The end of the book deals with the events in the end of the world, which will happen in the Messianic era. I believe that it is very close.

Zephaniah 1

1.The word of the Lord that came  to Zephaniah son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Amariah, son of Hezekiah , in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah.
2. I will totally destroy everything from off the face of the earth, says the Lord.
 3. I will totally destroy man and beast; I will totally destroy the fowl of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, and the pagan deities with the wicked; and I will cut off man from the face of the earth, says the Lord.
 4. And I will stretch out My hand over Judah and over all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And I will cut off from existence the remnant and remembrance of Baal,  as well as their worshippers with their priests,
 5. and those who prostrate themselves on the roofs to the host of the heavens, and those who prostrate themselves who swear by the Lord and swear by their king (They make the pagan deity the main one to swear),
 6. and those who turn away from following the Lord, and those who did not seek the Lord nor inquire after Him.
7. Be silent before the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is near. For the Lord has prepared a slaughter;  He prepared His armies for the appointed day.
 8. And it shall be on the day of the Lord's slaughter, that I will visit upon the princes, and upon the king's sons, and upon all those who wear ornaments of the idols.
 9. And I will visit upon everyone who leaps over the threshold [a Philistine idolatrous practice of pagan god Dagon], [and] those who fill the houses of their masters with violence and deceit.
 10. And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord; A sound of a cry from the fish gate [of Jerusalem], and a wail from the second gate, and great destruction from the hills.
 11. Wail, O you inhabitants of Tiberias (which has lowest altitude from the sea level), for the entire people of Israel [who’s deeds resemble deeds of Canaan] is cut off [from God's protection]; all the rich people who are laden with silver have been cut off because their wealth won’t help them. It will be a burden to them.
 12. And it shall come to pass on that day, that I will judge Jerusalem’s iniquities very strictly, and I will visit upon the men who float on their lees, who say in their heart, "The Lord shall do neither good nor harm"
13. And their wealth shall become a booty, and their houses a desolation, and they shall build houses and not dwell in them, and plant vineyards and not drink their wine.
14. The great day of the Lord is near; it is near and hastens greatly, the sound of the day of the Lord, wherein [even] the mighty man cries bitterly.
 15. That day is a day of wrath; a day of trouble and distress; a day of ruin and desolation; a day of darkness and gloom; a day of clouds and thick darkness;
 16. a day of shofar and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers.
17. And I will bring distress upon Israel, and they shall walk like the blind, for they have sinned against the Lord. And their blood shall be shed like dust, and their flesh like dung.
 18. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath. And with the fire of His passion the entire land shall be consumed; for an end, yea, a sudden end, He shall make of all the inhabitants of the land.

Zephaniah 2

1. Gather yourselves together! Yea, gather together, O nation that has no desire [to return to Torah],
2. before the arrival of decree, as chaff that passes..the sun; before the fierce anger of the Lord comes upon you; And you shall be like the chaff that the wind blows, like smoke that passes from before the sun.
 3. Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth who executed His judgement; Seek righteousness, seek humility! Perhaps you will be concealed on the day of the Lord's wrath (because if you are righteous, He will save you).
4. For Gaza shall be deserted, and Ashkelon shall become wasteland. Ashdod At noon will be plundered, and Ekron shall be uprooted. For Gaza shall be deserted: For, if you will do so, [as in verse 1,] I will visit retribution upon your evil neighbors; Philistia, Ammon, and Moab.
 5. Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of Cherethites [who are liable for destruction]! The word of the Lord is against you, Canaan land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you so that there shall not be an inhabitant.
 6. And the seacoast shall be [so deserted that it will be a temporary ] breakfast nooks for shepherds and sheepfolds.
7. And it shall be a lot for the remnant of the house of Judah (the righteous ones who will be saved. Their descendants will come back to the land), whereupon they shall pasture. In the houses of Ashkelon they shall lie down in the evening, for the Lord their God shall visit upon them and return their captivity.
 8. I heard the taunts of Moab and the jeers of the children of Ammon, who taunted My people [Israel] and they aggrandised themselves on their border.  When [the people of] Israel were being led into exile toward the land of the Chaldeans [Babylon], and they were passing through Ammon and Moab, and they would see Israel weeping, sighing, and crying out, they would taunt them.
 9. Therefore, as I live-says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel for Moab shall be like Sodom, and the children of Ammon like Gemorrah; a rattling of nettles, and a salt mine, and desolation forever. The remnant of My people shall plunder them, and the remnant of My nation Israel shall inherit them.  
10. They shall have this instead of their haughtiness, for they taunted and aggrandised themselves over the people of the Lord of Hosts.
11. The Lord shall be feared by them, for He weakened the influence of all the pagan gods of the earth. And every man shall prostrate himself to God  when they see that their diety has deteriorated, all the isles of the nations.
 12. You, too, Cushites -they are the slain of My sword.
 13. And The Creator shall incline His hand on the north, and destroy Assyria and make Nineveh (the Capital) desolate wasteland like the desert.
14. And flocks shall lie down in its midst, all the beasts of the nations. Also, both the pelican and the owl shall lodge in its lintels. Their voice shall sing in the window; desolation, in the doorposts for the cedarwork has been destroyed (And they demolished its roof. That is the roof of the house that is ceiled with cedar).
15. This is the joyful city, dwelling securely, saying to herself, "I am, and there is none besides me" How did it become desolate, a resting place for the beasts? Yea, everyone who passes by her shall hiss and wave his hand.

Zephaniah 3

1. Woe to her who is filthy and polluted-the dove-like city (Like a silly dove, with no heart). (Until now, Zephaniah was speaking of Nineveh, but now he refers to Jerusalem) Woe to her who is destined to be plundered and sullied like dung. It will be polluted with the filth of its iniquity.
2. She did not obey, she did not accept reproof. She did not trust in the Lord. She did not draw near to her God.
3. Her princes in her midst are roaring lions; her judges, wolves of the evening who hasten to devour their pray at night (because they were taking bribes and issuing wrong judgments). They did not leave over the bones for morning.
 4. Her prophets are unstable, treacherous people. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary; they have removed the Torah (they didn’t teach it).
5. The Lord's Shechina (Spirit) is just in her midst; He commits no injustice. Every morning He brings His judgment to light. It does not fail, and there is no injustice with Him. But the unjust judges do not take it to heart, to be ashamed because of the Righteous One Who dwells among them.
 6. I have brought retribution upon the heathen nations so you should see and fear; their towers have become desolate. I have destroyed their streets so that no one passes by. Their cities have become waste so that there is no man so that there is no inhabitant.
 7. I said, "Surely you will fear Me, you will accept reproof, and her dwelling shall not be cut off, all that good I ordained upon her" But they arose early and corrupted all their deeds.
 8. Therefore, wait for Me, says the Lord, for the day that I will rise up to meet [with you]. For it is My judgment to assemble nations, to gather kingdoms, to pour out My fury upon them; yea, all the kindling of My wrath, for with the fire of My jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.
 9. For then [at the end of this world] I will convert the peoples to Judaism that all of them call in the name of the Lord, to worship Him of one accord.
(From this point, Zephaniah is predicting what will happen at the end of the world).
10. From the other side of the rivers of Cush, My supplicants, the community of My scattered ones whom I scattered, the ones who pray to me (Jewish people) - they shall bring Me an offering.
11. On that day you shall not be ashamed of all your deeds [with] which you rebelled against Me, because you already suffered, and your iniquitie has been expiated [with two exiles]. Then I will remove from your midst those who rejoice in your pride, and you shall no longer continue to be haughty on My holy mount [Jerusalem].
 12. And I will leave over in your midst a humble people and poor people, and they shall take shelter in the name of the Lord.
 13. The remnant of Israel shall neither commit injustice nor speak lies; neither shall deceitful speech be found in their mouth, for they shall graze and lie down, with no one to cause them to shudder.
14. Sing, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O Israel! Rejoice and jubilate wholeheartedly, O daughter of Jerusalem!
15. The Lord has removed your afflictions; He has cast out your enemy [the armies of Gog and Magog and their irk]. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst you shall no longer fear evil.
16. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, "Have no fear! O Zion, let your hands not be slack.
17. The Lord your God is in your midst-a Mighty One Who will save [Israel from the enemies]. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will conceal your transgressions with His love (He will forgive and " erase" small sins from remnant of Israel, from those who generally follow the Commandments). He will jubilate over you with song"
 18. I will destroy those who did not keep my Shabbats and Festivals. They were of your [Jewish] people and they were as a burden of shame on you (here we see that at the end of the world it is the intention of God to destroy all the Jews who don't believe in Him, don't keep the Commandments, and who assimilate. It is a wake up call!).
 19. Behold, I wreak destruction upon all those who afflict you at that time. And I will save the one who limps, and I will gather the stray one, and every place where they were for their shame, there I will make them to be a praise and a name.
 20. At that time I will bring them, and at [that] time I will gather you, for I will make you a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your captivities before your eyes, said the Lord.

Wisdom of Zephaniah

Amazon's David Zephaniah page