Nahum – a book of judgment on Israel’s enemy. 

Nahum lived in the time of Isaiah and Ezekiel. The book have only 3 important chapters, but cover a lot of history between the lines, regarding God shaping of Israel’s past as well as the future. 

Approximately 150 years after Jonah prophesied destruction over Nineveh, judgment did happen to Nineveh anyway, because they became backslidden. 

The king and the people repented in sack and ashes, when Jonah preached dead and dome for a day, therefor God relented and saved them at first.

Nineveh got judged, 80 years after Nahum had prophesied its fall. God is longsuffering and patient, before judgments occur.  

Background: 

2 king: After king Solomon died, the country was divided into the northern kingdom Israel, consisting of 10 tribes, and the southern kingdom Judah, consisting of 2 tribes. 

In the northern kingdom none of the kings followed the lord, were as the southern kingdom had some good kings. 

When king Ahab of Judah died, evil multiplied, at first, in the northern kingdom and later in the southern kingdom. 

God allowed the northern kingdom to be removed by the Assyrians, who carried the inhabitance to Babylon and replaced them with their own people.

2 king chapter 17 verses 35: People ignored the covenant, the Lord God had made with them saying: You shall not fear other gods nor bow dawn or sacrificed to them. They went so far as to sacrifice their own children to those, so called gods, on the high places.  

Therefor the northern kingdom was wiped out by the Assyrian empire, which at that point of time had its strongest era of power. It consisted of Iran, Iraq and Syrian and some parts of other countries.

2 king chapter 18 verse 13: When Hezekiah was king in Judah, the king of Assyria Sennacherib came up against the cities of Judah and sized them. 

Hezekiah agreed to give him 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold.

Verse 19 – 20:   King Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem anyway and stood by the Fullers field and challenged king Hezekiah with the words: Now – on whom do you rely, that you dare to rebel against me.  

Verse 31 – 35: Overcome with pride the king of Assyria began to boast about his greatness: Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand? Should your God deliver Jerusalem from my hand?

This is a historical case like David and Goliath, the king of Assyria dared to challenge the Lord God of Israel.   

Nahum started to prophesy against Assyria, a few years later, because they defied the almighty God, and because of their extreme cruelty and wickedness.

2 king chapter 19: King Hezekiah the elders and the priests put on sackcloth and fasting sought the Lord. They thereafter went to the prophet Isaiah to inquire of him.

Verse 6 – 7: Isaiah said to them: Thus you shall say to your master: I will put a spirit in him, so that he will hear rumor and return to his own land. I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.

The king lost his ability to discern the truth. 

That should teach us to fear the lord God of 

Israel.

Romans chapter 11 verse 22 – teaches us, that we are to continue in his kindness, otherwise we will be cut of. We cannot play around with Gods mercy. 

Nahum chapter 1 verse 2 and verse 14: The Lord is jealous and takes vengeance on his enemies. 

The Lord has issued a command concerning you.

That is what the book of Nahum teaches us.

Nineveh the capital of Assyria represents Assyria.

Chapter 1: The judgment on Nineveh is announced.

Chapter 2: The judgment on Nineveh is described.

Chapter 3: The judgment on Nineveh is demanded.  

Chapter 1 verse 14: The Lord has issued a command concerning you. Your name will no longer be perpetuated. I will cut of idol and images from the house of your god, I will prepare your grave for you are contemptible. 

God used the Babylonians, the Medes and the Scythians to dig a grave for Nineveh in 612 BC, for the fulfillment to this prophesies. 

See Ezekiel chapter 32 verses 22 – 23. Assyria is there and all her company, her graves are all around her. All of them are slain and fallen by the sword. 

Whose graves are set in the remotes part of the pit.  

God always has been and still is in charge of his creation. Every prophetic book talks about the last days. 

The Assyrian empire represents antichrist, and he will confront Christ at his second coming. 

Isaiah chapter 10 verses 12 – 14. So it will be, that when the lord has completed all his work on mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he will say: I will punish the fruit on the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness.

The king of Assyria also brakes about gathering all the earth. Some countries like Iran and Turkey today have similar attitude.

The long ongoing crises in the Middle East, is a war that newer has completely ended, but will come to an end, when Christ descend the second time to his people on the Mount of Olive. 

All nations have to appear before the lord Jesus Christ at his second return. They will be judged according to their stand towards Israel.

Nahum chapter 1 verse 19: Behold on the mountain the feet of him who brings good news who announces peace. Celebrate your feasts 0 Judah, pay your wows, for newer again will the wicked one pass through you, he is cut of completely. 

Nahum chapter 3  – is all about the Lords overwhelming feeling towards the evil activity of this world. The book touches on very deep things. 

It shows the heart of the Lord towards his children for protection and restoration.

Nahum chapter 3 verse 4: The mistress of sorceries and harlotries who sells nations by harlotries and families by sorceries. 

Verse 5: I am against you declare the Lord.

Revelation chapter 18 verses 2 – 3: Fallen is Babylon the great. She has become a dwelling place for demons and a prison for every unclean spirit and hate full bird.

All the nations have drunk of the vine of her passion for immorality, and the king of the earth have committed act of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. 

Revelation chapter 17 verse 3: He carried me away into the wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast full of blasphemous names having 7 heads and ten horns.

See Daniel chapter 2 – Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

The 7 heads are 7 empires that oppressed and conquered Israel in the past: Egypt, Assyrian, Babylon, Media Persia, Greek and Roman Empire. Revised Roman Empire is jet to come. 

It is also called Jacobs’s trouble and is the last 7 years in the tribulation. A week stands for 7 years in the book of Daniel.

Daniel chapter 7 verse 20: 10 horns – 1 came up and conquered 3 horns, which is the beast the 8 empire.

Therefor the 10 horns must come up, before the beast can arrive. The 10 horns symbolize 10 kingdoms, and the beast conquers 3 of them. 

Revelation chapter 6 – The beast is a man of war.

We may not see him and the fall of Babylon, because believers are going to be taken out of the world before that event. 

1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 51 – 52: Behold I tell you a mystery, we will not all sleep, but we will be changed, in the moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 

Daniel chapter 7 verse 25: He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make changes in time and law. 

They will be given into his hand for a time – times and half a time. Meaning three and half a year.

Verse 26: The heavenly court will sit for judgment and his dominion will be taken away and destroyed forever.  

Verse 27: Then the sovereignty the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the highest one. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom and all the dominions will serve and obey him.

Daniel chapter 11 verse 45: He, the antichrist, will pitch his tent of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful mountain. Jet he will come to an end, and no one will help him.  

Revelation chapter 14. The calling of the 144000.

Verse 6: An angel is flying in the mid heaven having the eternal gospel to preach, to those who live on earth and to every nation tribe and tongue and people.

Verse 8: Fallen is Babylon the great, she who has made all nations drink of the vine of her passion of her immorality. 

There will still be people around, after the believers have been raptured. They to will be preached to, and many will believe. 

The dispensation time for the church will be finish, when believers are taken out of the world.

Revelation chapter 14:  Then there will be a Jewish dispensation time represented by the 144000 – 12000 from each tribe of the Jewish people. 

When Christ walked on earth only few recognize him as their Messiahs. The Jewish people will be given a second change to preach the gospel, after the rapture has taken place. That will happen in the first 3 and half a year of the 7 years tribulation, where antichrist will appear to Israel as a man of peace, and make a treaty with Israel for 7 years. 

After 3 and half a year the abomination of desolation takes place, and antichrist will proclaim himself to be god sitting in the temple demanding worship of all people worldwide. Many believers will be beheaded for not doing so. 

Revelation 12 verse 6: People in Israel will have a place prepared for them to flee to the last 3 and half a year.  Then Christ will return to his people. They will cry for him, whom they crucified.  

There are many signified details to the last 7 years before Christ return. The Old Testament prophets and the book of Revelation provides the most. Christ himself mentioned in: 

Matthau’s chapter 24 and 25 the circumstances before his second return to save the earth from destruction and setting up of the Millennium.

Matthew chapter 24 verse 12:  Lawlessness will increase, and peoples love will grove cold. 

Verse 14. The gospel of the kingdom shall be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Verse 15: When you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel, standing in the holy place, then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 

Ezekile chapter 38 verses 38 – 39:

This verse is for the Jews – a very strong earthquake will happen in Jerusalem. God always gives warnings ahead, question is – are we able to receive, because many people are going to die in that earthquake.

Verse 37: The coming of the son of man will be like in the days of Noah.

Verse 38: They were eating and drinking, marrying and given in marrying until the day Noah entered the arch. 

Verse 39: They did not understand until the flood came and toke them all away, so will the coming of the son of man be.

Matthew chapter 25: The lord gives a parable about the 10 virgins. 5 where ready 5 not. 

Those there were ready went to the marriage, to the other 5 the lord said: I do not know you.