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The Gathering Work - A Time Of Great Upheaval

What is the mandate of the administration of The Life? It's a gathering work. The work of gathering all things - to make them obedient to Christ! Again, here is the key scripture:

The Gathering Work: Why So Important?

This gathering work is critical to the outworking of Jehovah's will! For it is through the gathering work that he expresses his judgements against the world. Put another way, before the gathering work starts, Jehovah executes no judgements against Satan's wicked system of things - creating a "ridiculer's" paradise, where they ignorantly claim: "Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as they were from creation’s beginning." (2Pe 3:4) That is where we were, up until three and half years ago, when the original version of Credentials was first published. Under the topic of why the gathering work is so important, we must first clear up some confusing facts. Otherwise, it will not be clear to us why the gathering work is necessary. In other words we must resolve two separate realities that have been conflated. That Jehovah has allowed to be conflated - until now.

Resolving Conflated Realities

Conflating means taking two things that are not dynamically the same and treating them as if they are. The classic example of this is the saying, "Corelation is not causation." This means, just because two things seem to be related doesn't mean the one causes the other. If you get headaches every time you go jogging, it doesn't necessarily mean jogging is causing your headaches. The root problem might be that the head band you are wearing is too tight. Correlation does not equal causation.

The opposite of conflating different realities, is of course - resolving them into their distinct states. This is what all scientific research is actually about. People believing the Sun revolved around the Earth, meant only one motion would be necessary - an orbit of the Sun. However resolving the issue showed that it was actually two motions that created the effect of night and day: an orbit, and the orbiting body rotating daily upon its axis! This is how resolution of conflated realities always works.

In our case, then, what two separate things have been clumped together and seen as one? Jehovah's judgements against Satan's system, have historically been treated as occurring throughout the 20th century, starting from when Christ ascended to his throne in 1914, all the way through the first and second world wars and into the turn of the century, in the 2000s. Only two entities are delegated by Jehovah to be expressions of his wrath against Satan and his system: Christ and his Heavenly army; and the holy ones. Thus for such destruction and devastation to have been occurring against Satan and his system - it has to be a function of these two factors.

"No, for Fear ... You Uproot the Wheat"

Appreciating the message of this scripture is central to understanding why no judgements could be executed while the holy ones were being anointed! The only reason Jehovah allowed Satan's system of things to go as long as it has is because he was still choosing anointed ones. Those who mistakenly believed that Jehovah was executing judgements against Satan's system in the 1900s, did so based on the mistaken assumption that the anointing of the 144 000 had been completed. It was not! Just recently I heard someone say, "The 8 000 or 9 000 anointed ...." There are currently around 21 000 anointed holy ones on Earth! Many of them anointed in just the last two or three years! As such, it was not possible for Jehovah's judgements against Satan and his system to be realized in the last century, if anointed ones are still being chosen in the 2020s! This is according to Christ, who in answer to the question: "Do you want us ... to go out and collect [the weeds]" said emphatically, "No, for fear that while collecting the weeds, you uproot the wheat with them!" This is clear. By the way the "collecting" spoken of in these verses is the final form of the "gathering" of the adminstration of The Life, spoken of in Ephesians 1:10! Jehovah does not allow any gathering to take place while the anointed are still being chosen - by him! Do you have clearly in your mind the two things that were being conflated - and understand why they cannot happen simultaneously, but only one after the other? I will separate them into their own headings below.

The Anointing of the Holy Ones

While the anointing are being identified by Jehovah and given the calling of becoming his adopted children: nothing destructive happens on the Earth! Nothing:

The anointed are most precious to both Jehovah and his Christ - and they will not allow any damage to come to them:

This precludes the possibility that Jehovah would execute judgements on an Earth where he is still choosing anointed ones. No execution of judgements will take place before the period Christ calls "the harvest season" arrives! (Mt 13:30)

Executing Judgements Against Satan & His System of Things - When?

For these reasons the judgements against Satan's system of things start to occur only once all 144 000 anointed have been sealed with the spirit "as a token of what is to come." (2Co 5:5) What is to "come," is realized when we all arrive in Heaven with Christ as mighty spirit creatures to meet our God and Father - Jehovah Most Precious! In the meantime the "token" of what is to come acts like a down payment or deposit, to give us a taste of the "coming powers." (Footnote of 2Co 1:22; Heb 6:5) The only two variables here are the advance "token" - and our eventual "inheritance":

What prompts the arrival of Christ's "harvest season" then? (Mt 13:30a) The same thing that always determines it - the ripeness of the fruits! As it is in nature, so it is with the holy ones. Once the holy ones are ready - the harvest season begins:

This scripture is obviously a parallel to the words in Mt 13:24-30! But it gives us an additional clarifying detail. Did you notice what issues in, the start of God's judgements against Satan and his weeds (from the Matthew account)? It is when the wheat crop is ready! And it is from this time forward, that Jehovah will execute his judgements against Satan and all his followers. (Mt 13:30b) Those judgements are initiated by the arrival of the third administration - the administration which will give the world convincing evidence concerning judgement "because the ruler of this world has been judged!" (Joh 16:11b) By this fact we know that the harvesttime has arrived - for the publication you are reading is a function of that very administration - the administration of The Life. (Joh 14:6)

We must add an important caveat. Only Jehovah chooses the 144 000. The arrival of the harvest-time does not mean there will not be a new anointed ones in the coming years. (I will not make that mistake - because I know personally the frustrations of people believing the number is complete.) It may be that a new person is anointed because one of the holy ones rejected his calling - or for some other reason that Jehovah decides on. It's none of my business. Those issues are exclusively within Jehovah's jurisdiction. Not even Christ gets involved there! Much less me.

Having understood what factors were conflated into one, we now concentrate on how the resolution will proceed!

Defining the Gathering Work

Two things are important to note. The execution of God's judgements happen through two instruments Christ and his Heavenly army (in the final act: i.e, all the plagues of Revelation and finally - Armageddon), and through the administration of The Life - in the bringing "to nothing the things that are." (1Co 1:30) Christ per his own words will not act before harvest-time - before the "crop permits it." (Mr 4:29) And as for the anointed, our window of activity is defined by the rise and duration of the administration of The Life. In other words the decimating of the Intellectual class that props up Satan's institutions is only now getting started - with the advent of The Life.

There are, of course, no holy ones in Heaven. This is clear, because we now understand, that the ascension of the anointed to Heavenly life happens "together" - for both those who will survive until Christ's coming to fetch us; and those who had fallen asleep in death in the meantime! (1Th 4:17) Thus, the first resurrection is an event that happens "during the last trumpet" - and not before. (1Co 15:52)

These two important factors to note are an Evidence Profile that proves that there has been no judgements executed against Satan, or his system, during the 20th century.

Those of you who wear glasses will appreciate the next illustration. When someone is getting an eye test from their optometrist, he puts different corrective lenses on their eyes and continually asks which of two choices is better. Such assessments are the culmination of many "which is better" questions catalogued into one overall assessment. Our prescription is then the synthesis of this data into one corrective lens, which combines all the clear choices we have made in the test. Understanding how judgement is implemented through The Life is similar. We must know smaller truths and combine them, to understand the big picture - the overall dynamics.

Truths to Know - Before we can Understand

What is the Catalyst that Sparks Judgement?

We already know from Mark 4:29, that it is the crop of holy ones being ready for the harvest season. But more is involved. Judgement only starts in earnest with the gathering of the holy ones. Just like the creation of Light in Genesis 1:3 separates the epoch before that moment (before initial condition), with everything that came afterwards - in the creative days: so too, there is an Evidence Profile, that separates two epochs in the time of the end. One epoch is where Satan is still in charge of the world - and dominant. The other epoch is where Jehovah starts his judgements against Satan. What event separates these two time periods so that we can always clearly understand what falls where in the stream of time? For instance, once we know that Light is the great separator in Genesis it is easy to realize that the Sun could not have existed before the creative days began. Because the "expanse" Jehovah called Heaven didn't exist before Light, and the Sun didn't exist before the expanse. In this way we can arrange facts logically and understand why, or how, Jehovah is doing something! This clarity is immensely important to our piece of mind - and proper controlling of our anxieties.

The "Gathering"

The context for the above scripture comes immediately before, in Joel 2:30-32. The reason I have not included those verses is because I would like to focus your attention on the relationship between Jehovah gathering his holy ones and the judgements of all the nations. It is serial. In other words one happens first; and then the other follows ... after. Exactly like how the anointed who are dead will rise "first," and then "afterward" we the living who are surviving will together with them, be caught away in clouds to meet the Lord in the air. (1Th 4:16,17) Just like in that instance something will quickly follow an earlier event, so it is, in the fulfillment of the third adminstration. In the case of the anointed being taken to Heaven by Christ, this sequence of events - both dynamics - happen "in a moment, in the blink of an eye...." (1Co 15:51,52) Similarly the gathering of the holy ones and the gathering of the nations are also very closely coordinated, because the one causes the other! What is important to take away from this scripture is that the two events are linked chronologically - the gathering of the anointed coming first, and then "also" the gathering of the nations.

Let's talk about the context for one moment. Events that are prophesied from Joel 2:28 onwards all apply after pentecost 33 CE. Peter explained to his fellow countrymen, that the convincing evidence they were witnessing, of speaking in tongues, was a fulfillment of Joel 2:28 and 29:

In quoting Joel Peter continued the quote and included events that are only prophesied to take place in our time, also. But the point is: everything after Joel 2:28 relates to Christianity - and not the ancient nation of Israel. So, when God says "in those days and in that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem," he is not talking about ancient Israel, but rather members of the "Israel of God" - the anointed. (Ga 6:16)

Further, on the issue of context, we realize what the preceding three verses to Joel 3:1,2 describe:

These events have to do with Armageddon. More on that later. But that is the context for the gathering of the holy ones - the time leading upto, and including, Armageddon! So the very next verse, which is our point of focus, starts with: "Look! in those days and in that time...." (Joe 3:1) So, the captives of Judah and Jerusalem are brought back - or gathered - in those days of the end. At what point in those last days? At their "full limit!":

This verse is one of the many Evidence Profiles confirming that the "captives of Judah and Jerusalem" are the anointed. Part of the mandate of the last administration before we go to Heaven is to "gather all things in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the Earth." The Heavenly things refers to the anointed, because as you will remember, our citizenship is in the Heavens. Two points of confirmation. This gathering everything together in the Christ, means bringing it under his control! This is the transition from Satan's epoch, to where Christ holds sway! Part of that is bringing Heavenly things under Christ. Let's focus on other possible candidates, other than the anointed, to make the point clear. This cannot refer to Jehovah, for obvious reasons. It cannot refer to the righteous angels, because they are already under Christ's command. He is the "archangel" remember. (1Th 4:16; 1Pe 3:22) It cannot refer to Satan and his demon minions because they are no longer in Heaven! Revelation 12:9 clearly says, "nor was a place found to them any longer in heaven." Since 1914, they are completely restricted from having access to Space! Besides they are classified as physical not spiritual - or Heavenly beings in the Bible. (Ja 3:15) That's why thinking Satan's thoughts is equated with thinking "thoughts ... of men." (Mt 16:23) So it is not Devil and the demons either. The only Heavenly entity left, of course, are the "sons of the Kingdom." (Mt 13:38) What's more the Bible directly states that the anointed are the "Heavenly things.":

And thus, we come to understand that the gathering of the anointed is the catalyst that starts the gathering of Jehovah's opposers! Of course, gathering the anointed in Christ - just means our being perfected, or attaining to full maturity. Christ being formed in us, or us putting him on. (Heb 12:23; Eph 4:12,13; Ga 4:19) There are many ways this state of the anointed being able to be fully obedient to the Christ is described in the Bible - including the one we have looked at in great detail: being born again.

Not confusing The Gatherings

The holy ones are responsible for gathering ourselves through the administration of, The Life. (Eph 1:10) But angels are also responsible for gathering the holy ones at the end. (Mt 13:38,39) So which, is which? The Life, gathers the holy ones in readiness for completing the good works that Jehovah has "determined in advance for us to walk in them." (Eph 2:10). The gathering of the holy ones by the angels is a physical collecting of all anointed, into one location, so we can meet the Lord in the air. (Mt 24:31; 1Th 4:16,17)

It is simple to tell these 'gatherings' apart, because they have different Evidence Profiles. For one: The Life gathers the anointed first, and then gathers the wicked for judgement. (Joe 3:1,2) The angels gather and bind the wicked first, and then gather the anointed. (Mt 13:30) Remember, meeting with Jesus, happens during the last trumpet. This visual of the "last trumpet" call comes from ancient Israel and their war campaigns. The last trumpet meant the war was over. So, the anointed go to Heaven once the war of Armageddon is finished - at the last trumpet: that is, after, the wicked have been destroyed! That's the significance of the military analogy. Secondly, after the holy ones have all been gathered by The Life, when Christ comes for us, we are still described as being taken "from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity." (Mt 24:31) This means from all over the Earth. Further, our work is before Armageddon. We bring down Intellectuals while their system is still standing. (1Co 1:19,20) While the angels only come for us at the last trumpet - when Satan's system will be lying in ruins! (1Co 15;52; 2Th 1:7-9)

There are other Evidence Profiles showing the difference, but three is enough to make the point.

The Gathering Work is the Great Divide Between Epochs

We have covered how the gathering work is like the appearance of Light at initial conditions - and how this helps us understand what, happens when. This understanding is of great importance because it makes conflating separate realities impossible!

The next question is: what changes does the gathering work bring about? It changes everything! I will list the most prominent.

God Rejects Worldly Wisdom

Civilizations are based on their institutions. When God rejects the wisdom of Intellectuals it strips institutions of all credibility, utility - and purpose. This episode: Credentials, is the beginning of such "rejection" of the empty theories of atheistic scientists that have been popularized over decades and centuries. Credentials dealt with cosmology, but subsequent episodes will deal with other disciplines. For instance, evolutionary biology is a downstream philosophy of the standard model of cosmology - the Big Bang. If the Big Bang is not true - neither can evolutionary biology. Soon, all the downstream dominoes will start to fall. Credentials is just the first in a series of 300 episodes that will set matters straight about what exists - and how it works on one hand; and what does not exist, on the other!

Judging the Nations

Judging the nations means bringing them to kneel before Jehovah. The nations under Satan's control, hate Jehovah. Lovers of Jehovah, willingly kneel before their God - without the need for any prompts. We call it worship. However, for worldly people, there is no more distasteful thought. Thus Jehovah bringing the nations to heel will be through immense pain. These judgements will have the effect of proving that God was right all along. They will also decimate Satan's system of things. They will bring the whole system to its knees. This will cause unimaginable hardship - the whole world over! Such judgements are going to be realized in three ways:

The three ways are: "rocking the heavens" - that means destroying Satan's entire system of things at Armageddon; "rocking ... the earth" - which refers to Jehovah using Christ and his angelic forces to crush the earth's militaries. This also entails arranging that those militaries turn on each other - as you will soon find out. This is also at Armageddon. There is another, third fulfillment, that occurs before the War of Armageddon. In this judgement, Jehovah depletes the nations - on an individual and collective basis - of all their resources. These three judgements will be explained in greater detail below.

Rocking the Heavens

In the Bible, the heavens represent a seat of power. By Jehovah stating that he is going to rock the Heavens, he is indicating that he will remove Satan's power base - the ruler of this world. (Mt 24:29; 1Jo 5:19; Joh 16:11) The Apostle Paul explains that Jehovah using the phrase "yet once more" means he will never have to do it again, as whatever is being destroyed will never exist again! This explanation of the fulfillment of Haggai's prophecy is found in Hebrews chapter twelve:

The finality of the statement, "'Yet once more'" indicating "the removal of the things that are shaken," is an Evidence Profile that the fulfillment of this aspect of Haggai's prophecy is the war of Armageddon. That is the war that destroys Satan's system and there is no war before it, that has the power to do so. Any war that completely destroys Satan's system of things, is by definition - Armageddon. For if such destruction occurred before Armageddon, there would be nothing left at Armageddon to destroy. Moreover, this scripture shows us that Armageddon is not a man made war. Rather it is a judgement from Jehovah!

Rocking the Earth

The "throne of kingdoms" is Satan's throne or authority over the kingdoms of the Earth. Jehovah will overthrow it, and "annihilate" the strength of the kingdoms Satan rules over, as we have just covered. This mirrors, and expands, on Jehovah's earlier words, at Haggai 2:6,7. It is this expanded explanation that shows us what is in store for the world's militaries when they try and oppose Jehovah. Verse 22 tells us that Jehovah will "overthrow the chariot and its riders ... each one by the sword of his brother." There are many other details about this war that are gleaned from other scriptures on the subject, but they always reflect this same outcome - the world will end, not only because of defeat at the hands of Christ and his angelic army, but through self-destruction:

Rocking the Nations

Notice the subtle difference between "rocking" the Earth (global human society), and rocking "the nations" (a country by country focus). Unlike the war of Armageddon, this is not a short one-time campaign. This rocking of the nations will be an extended period of immense turbulence, deep anxiety, unimaginable pain and life or death decisions. Since the rocking of the nations is part of Jehovah's judgements against Satan's system of things: we know at once - that it will only be starting now. It is not something that was occurring in the 20th century for reasons we have already well established in our discussion about conflation and resolution of distinct realities. This section on rocking the nations is going to be rather extensive, because it weaves together the whole Bible.

Settle in and buckle up.

It's a "Repayment!"

I have told you long ago, That Jehovah is a God of vengeance not debate. He does not right wrongs in real time. Rather:

He "stores" up wrath! The rocking of the nations is an example of such stored up wrath. To understand what is being spoken about in Haggai 2:7, we must study the relevant portion of the prophecies of Joel. Below I will restate Haggai 2:7, and then below that, we will start going through the prophecies of Joel in detail. This exercise is critically important to understanding the third administration of the Christ through the holy ones: The Life.

The reason Jehovah is rocking "all the nations," is chiefly to "fill this house with glory." The house is, of course, his temple. Haggai was written in 520 BCE, about 87 years after 607 BCE. That was the year the Israelites were taken captive to Babylon and Jerusalem was burned down by the Chaldeans. Part of that victorious military campaign by the Babylonians was looting the temple of Jehovah! These details were prophesied in the book of Joel, which was written around 820 BCE - about 300 years before Haggai, and 213 years before the fall of Jerusalem! Joel is important to us, because it details the whole saga that was to face the Israelites - and its eventual resolution, down to our day! Down to The Life! (The whole Bible is important to us - but Joel is relevant to the discussion at hand.)

The prophecies detailing how Babylon would invade Judah are found in the first part of Joel, specifically, chapter 1 and chapter 2 upto verse 27. What we are interested in, are the prophecies about how the Babylonians treated God's people, for that will be highly significant later. First, we establish the lay of the land. What is the substance of the prophesied military campaign against Judah? Jehovah gives us the details:

The "day of Jehovah" is the universal Biblical term for a period of judgement from Jehovah. We will not get involved in the details of why Jehovah was angry with his chosen people - as I have already explained to you, elsewhere in this blog. (Ro 11:17-21) It is none of our business: we are not Jehovah; nor are we the natural Jews. (Pr 26:17) Instead we will concentrate wholeheartedly on how these prophecies impact our time.

We now consider who Jehovah was to send as the executioner of his day of vengeance and what they would do to the Jews:

This passage gives us a clear picture of the efficiency of this army. It is spoken of as unique in world history on the basis of its mightiness. Next the narrative shows how effective they are in bringing total destruction: "The land ahead of it is like the garden of E'den, but behind it is a desolate wilderness, and nothing can escape." Pretty emphatic. The effect? "Because of them, peoples will be in anguish. Every face will grow flushed." Verses 11 to 13 speak about Jehovah reconsidering the calamity if the Jews would repent. Historically, the invasion went ahead as prophesied. We now want to identify the invading army. The fact that they were a "people numerous and mighty; never before has there been one like it" establishes that this nation was the dominant world power at this stage in human history. But we need more details.

We fast forward to verses 18 and 20 where Jehovah lays out how he will comfort the exiled Jews and repatriate them to their homeland. In this passage we glean another detail about the invading army - a geographical clue:

Since the Jews were taken into exile as a result of losing this war, Jehovah being "zealous for his land and [showing] compassion on his people" meant repatriation of the Jews. Next, we learn that the invading army are labeled as "the northerner." The world power at this time was Babylon. Babylon was situated north of Israel. And history shows that the Babylonians invaded Judah and took the Jews captive for 70 years! The Evidence Profiles match up. The invading army were the Babylonians. That is the background to our saga. Next, we want to understand how the unfolding of this particular day of Jehovah (there have been multiple days), set the stage for what is unfolding in our time!

Why Was Jehovah Displeased with his Executing "Army?"

In verse 11, we are told that, "Jehovah will raise his voice before his army, for his camp is very numerous. For the one carrying out His word is mighty; for the day of Jehovah is great and very awe-inspiring. Who can endure it?" Yet later on we find Jehovah very displeased with their conduct. What did they do wrong?

They "kept rejoicing" at the destruction of Jehovah's people! Do you see why I am so averse to criticize ancient Israel? They are God's chosen people - and no one is exempt from treating them badly. Babylon lost sight of the fact that, the people they were "pillaging" were Jehovah's "own inheritance." Now we know why God was angry. What else can we learn?

The definition of "repayment.":

And ...

Also ...

"Do to her just as she has done." "Reward you" with the "treatment you inflicted." And repaying "for all the evil that they have committed." These are all definitions of the term "repayment" that we all recognize - and love, because they represent justice for the downtrodden. That is as far as we will go with the ancient tale of Babylon and how it treated God's people. But before we leave this narrative, let me mention one detail:

Jehovah Will Surely Repay

Jehovah being a God of retribution, as opposed to debate, means "he will surely repay." How did that work out with Babylon? Not only was she devastated, but Jehovah removed her completely from the world scene. You can go and visit Athens. You can go to the Colosseum in Rome. You can't visit Babylon - there is nothing there:

Truer words have never been spoken. Whatever Jehovah decides - is what comes true! For no one has the power to thwart his decisions. (Isa 43:13)

Now that we have established that the Biblical definition of "repay" is the exact same as the everyday version of the word - what does it portend for the nations? We were interested in learning the history of this particular invasion because it holds all the variables that are relevant to us in the case of the further prophecies of Joel and Haggai.

We are interested in understanding the meaning of the words at Haggai 2:7 - especially in the context of the temple. To learn more, we now fast forward to chapter three of Joel and focus on what happened to the temple!:

First, Jehovah rejects the behaviour of certain national groups that surround the Jewish state - his inheritance. Next, he asks "Are you repaying me for something?" After which he promises to "repay" them for their current actions. Since we now know the definition of "repay" from Jehovah, it is not difficult to figure out what will happen to these opposing nations. All we have to do is catalogue what they did to Jehovah's temple and people, and we will know what he will do in return. We will know what the repayment consists of. Because as we have learned, repayment just means: "doing to them, just as they have done to us." What then did these nations do? Jehovah tells us "... You have taken my silver and gold, and you have brought my finest treasures into your temples; and the people of Judah and Jerusalem you have sold to the Greeks, in order to remove them far from their territory" (Joe 3:5,6) Our main point of interest is the temple. What did they do to it? They took the treasures of Jehovah's temple and brought them into the temples of their own gods! This is a way of claiming victory over Jehovah. My god is stronger than you. But Jehovah is not a God of debate, he is a God of "retribution" - he "will surely repay." (Jer 51:56)

Thus, when Jehovah says in Haggai that "I will rock all the nations, and the desirable things of all the nations must come in; and I will fill this house with glory" he is speaking of "repayment!" The repayment that is prophesied in Joel 3:4. As we have noted before, all the events that are recorded in the third chapter of Joel relate to our time - the last days. There is other evidence up and above the context supplied by Joel 2:30-32, I will give an additional Evidence Profile of that fact shortly - when we arrive at the relevant passage in our verse-by-verse discussion.

Thus, the treasures spoken of in Haggai are actual gold and silver - and not analogies. Belteshazzar was actually drinking from the treasures of Jehovah's house when he saw the writing on the wall with a message of doom. He died that night for his insolence!:

You know the outcome. In the case of the nations mentioned in Joel chapter 3, they didn't keep Jehovah's treasures in their treasuries, but in their temples - to add to the glory of their false gods. We realize that these "treasures" represent actual metals and not people because Jehovah's people had a different outcome - than the treasures. While the silver and gold and the finest treasures of Jehovah were taken to the temples of their false gods - they "sold" God's people, his inheritance, to other nations: the Greeks in this case. Thus the people and the treasures have different Evidence Profiles. Meaning they are not the same thing. Therefore in the "repayment," which is sure, as Jehovah is a God of retribution: the people are gathered from all the lands they were sold to; and the gold and silver come back to Jehovah's temple! Then it is the children of the conquering nations who suffer the treatment that their forefathers gave to the Jews:

This verse doesn't mention the treasures though, you may think. But knowing what the payment was means we know what the repayment is too. A parallel scripture of returning Jewish exiles fills out the details:

The whole 60th chapter of Isaiah has this theme: of Jehovah's people draining the nations of all their wealth. But how do we know that this is a parallel account to Joel's which is about the end? Because Isaiah chapter 60 prophesies about everlasting conditions. (Isa 60:19-21) The only time God's people will achieve a triumph that will never be reversed in Satan's system of things - is at the very end. Whenever you come across a verse in the Bible that speaks of the nation of Israel having a blessing that starts then and lasts forever, it applies to the anointed! Always. For the Israel of God is the only Earth-bound entity that gains eternal victory over Satan. All the other times in history eventually ended in sorrow. We will not detail them. We move on to our main focus: the Temple.

The Temple

The prophecy in Haggai is about the time of the end, yet it speaks of a temple - and a temple that we have now learned is going to have the resources of the nations directed to it, according to all of Isaiah chapter 60: "for [Jehovah] to be beautified." (Isa 60:21) What is going on? Which temple is being spoken of here? Evidence Profiles make short work of any confusion.

In all, there were three temples built in Jerusalem. Though historically, the last one built by Herod was classified as a "rebuild" by the Jews of the time, due to their hatred of him. The first temple, was of course, built by Solomon and was the height of glory. That temple was destroyed and looted in 607 BCE. Thereafter, when the Jewish exiles returned to their homeland by Jehovah's decree, Zerubbabel, the Govenor of Judah rebuilt the temple. However, since this temple was the work of repatriated exiles - it did not match Solomon's temple in grandeur. Moreover, it did not contain the ark of the covenant. The last recognized temple was built by the universally hated leader Herod. As Insight on the Scriptures Vol. 2, explains: "This temple is not described in any detail in the scriptures." (p. 1079) Zerubbabel's temple was finished 5 years after Haggai's prophecy was recorded - in 515 BCE. From these profiles then, we know that none of these temples match the Evidence Profile where Jehovah says, "The future glory of this house will be greater than the former.... And in this place I will grant peace." (Hag 2:9) How do we know?

The former temple refers to the first glorious one built by Solomon. To match the Evidence Profile of the prophecy, the succeeding temples would have to have two factors: be more glorious than Solomon's temple; and last forever, for "in this place I will grant peace."

Zerubbabel's Temple Fails Evidence Profile

While Zerubbabel's temple isn't around today, it did last longer than Solomon's temple: almost 500 years compared to 420. But it's most glaring mismatch with the prophesied Evidence Profile is that it was less glorious that Solomon's temple. A disqualifying mismatch in Evidence Profiles with the temple of the prophecy.

Herod's Temple Fails Evidence Profile

Next, we consider Herod's temple. Jesus Christ called Herod "... that fox." (Lu 13:32) So we can hardly consider his temple to be a contender. However, the truly disqualifying variable is longevity.

Herod finished building his temple about 7 years before the fall of Jerusalem and the temples destruction. You will agree: not a match for the prophecy, where Jehovah says of his glorified temple: "And in this place, I will grant peace." (Hag 2:9b) Let me give you the full 'b' part of the verse, so you can fully appreciate why the declared peace would indeed be guaranteed:

It is "Jehovah of Armies," who gives the guarantee. No one can overturn it! The fact that Herod's temple was destroyed in 70 CE is proof that it was not the prophesied temple of Haggai. Now, we fast forward to the near future.

In the new system of things the structure that will be responsible for bringing healing benefits to all mankind is the holy city, called New Jerusalem. (Re 21:2) This entity is also known as the "tent of God." (Re 21:3) It has a unique feature - it has "no temple!" (Re 21:22):

This city descends from Heaven to Earth immediately after Armageddon. That means up until now we have not had the fulfillment of the temple of Haggai's prophecy, and in the near future it will no longer apply as New Jerusalem will be the source of universal blessings for mankind - and it doesn't have a temple! But if there is one thing that can be counted on, it is the complete and total fulfillment of all prophecy - down to the letter! We know that, because the Bible tells us so:

And ...

That leaves us with one conclusion to be drawn from the facts: since the prophesied temple has not yet been built, but must be built before Armageddon - It will be built in the intervening time, to fulfill the prophecy.

Our next task is to identify this temple - through Evidence Profiles. We will come back to this task. For now, let us change course and talk about another critical reality - Zion!

"Zion!"

Zion, is in quotation marks to indicate it is taken from somewhere. That somewhere is, of course the only where - God's holy Word, the Bible. I will not give you a specific scripture since Zion is everywhere mentioned - in the Bible. Why though discuss Zion? Because of its pivotal role in the outworking of Jehovah's will! Zion is irreplaceable, from Jehovah's standpoint. In fact, you cannot understand anything about scripture, prophecy, or the outworking of Jehovah's will: if you do not understand what Zion is; and what roles it plays in God's Kingdom.

At this point, you might be thinking Zion is historical; the Kingdom of God is present and also has an eternal future - what do the two have to do with eac other? Evidence Profiles will prove otherwise:

Let that be our theme scripture on the subject. We will return to it later. We continue.

To grasp firmly in our minds the importance of Zion, we will do an exercise that will highlight its unique place in Jehovah's will. We will simply list all the works Jehovah has decreed that are a function of Zion. In other words, all the things that Jehovah has prophesied to occur, but will not - if not for Zion! You will remember back to our section on functions and how they work: what it means for something to be a function of something else. Here, once again, we refer to the brilliant short video by the uber hip, husband and wife creative design duo Charles and Ray Eames. Below, is a quote from their video, defining the term - "function.":

After the definition, the video goes on to give examples of both what is a function and what is not a function. A ballon growing in size is a function of the air being blown into it. However, a blond train driver, driving a train was the basis for understanding what was not a function. The speed of that train would not be a function of the colour of the train driver's hair. Both a blond and brunette train driver could drive the train equally well. (I think.) In our case, then, we want to know what functions depend on the existence of Zion? Spoiler alert: it's a long list.

Functions of Zion:

1)

Jehovah becomes King in Zion!:

And ...

I love Jehovah! I love him because of the benefits of the fact that he is a worker and not a magician! By creating the universe based on the concept of work - all his creations are part of a 'system.' I just love that! Systems mean everything that exists works like the circumference of a circle. You start at any point and go around to complete the circle. It is not a whirlpool where the starting point doesn't meet an end point. Nor, is it like an outward tending spiral, where instead of the circle connecting at the end - it spirals out to infinity. A system works! 5 x 5 = 25. And 25 / 5 = 5. I love my God for this feature of reality. This section is just supposed to be a point form presentation, but I just had to express my awe of my God. Incidentally - not to get ahead of ourselves - but, the Sun and moon becoming abashed because Jehovah has become king is the meaning behind the universal sign of the Day of Jehovah, that is Armageddon arriving! You are familiar with this sign from many scriptures:

There are many other examples, which anyone who knows the Bible is familiar with. What is the point of this sign? Just like a spotlight on an actor or singer in a beautiful theater has an effect if all the other lights are dimmed, so the dimming of all the lights that Jehovah created to "shine" on the Earth occurs just as he becomes King - to give him the 'spotlight!' Verstaan jy! That smart curator lady I once met did tell me: "No one knows how to stage something beautifully - like Jehovah!" Amen to that. We continue.

2)

Israel's salvation comes from Zion:

The next verses go together. They show how the last verse works - in practice:

That was the petition. Here is the solution:

If you're paying attention - you've spotted a connection. You know why this section follows the last subheading! We continue ...

3)

Jehovah's praises start in Zion ... and spread to the whole Earth

Which leads to ...

And ...

Lest you think, the initiative from this development is from humans - here is the first principle's prophecy:

And the fulfillment:

That "salvation" started being administered with The Way, then later The Truth, and will culminate with The Life. Final decisions. Do you count yourself worthy of that salvation? Or are you planning on going down with the ship of Intellectuals?

4)

It is out of Zion that God shines forth: Remember we spoke about the spotlight effect? But if all the lights are off how will people "see" God?:

And ...

5)

Jehovah has chosen Zion as his eternal resting place:

And ...

6)

When kings bring Tribute to Jehovah, it is due to the temple - in Zion:

7)

Jehovah starts judging in Zion:

Without this vital functionality: the final judgement of Devil, his system, and all the individuals who follow him - despite "convincing evidence" - could not be implemented!

8)

It is out of Zion that Christ subdues his enemies!:

Jehovah placed Christ's enemies as a stool for his feet in 1914! So, we realize from the scripture, that Christ's subsequent action of "subduing" his enemies "out of Zion" comes afterward.

9)

The "yet once more," never to be repeated "rocking" of Heaven and Earth that we discussed earlier - happens from Zion! Here's the Prophecy:

And fulfillment:

10)

Jehovah "blesses" from Zion:

And the fulfillment:

We know this applies to all future blessings - not just historical ones, not only because of Isaiah 65:17 and 18, but also because of the scripture we read in Psalm 132 that Jehovah has chosen Zion as his "resting-place forever!" Additionally:

We close with an everlasting promise:

11)

People who love and meditate over Jehovah and his wonderful works - do so from Zion. As we learned about in Isaiah 56:7z. Here is more evidence:

12)

Everyone including the "unbelievers" of Jesus' generation are seeking "everlasting life." (Joh 5:39) Incredibly, Mount Zion is where historically, Jehovah decreed the gift of everlasting life ...

And where that promise will be fulfilled!:

This is a key scripture! On the same level as our theme scripture for this section. You will notice that it does not name the mountain as Mt Zion. So how do we know that it is? You will find out very shortly!

13)

We have spoken at length about what defines "repayment" in light of the current repayment from Jehovah to his enemies. Such repayments come out of Zion:

And ...

14)

This point combines the last two: surviving Armageddon and Jehovah repaying his enemies will both occur on or from Mount Zion:

That was survival. Here is the repayment:

15)

We end where we started - with Jehovah!:

As I have explained before, we can tell whether a prophecy about something that involves ancient Israel has had fulfillment or not whenever we see the word "forever." If that word appears in a scripture: the fulfillment applies to our current time. Only from now and into the everlasting future, will the triumph of Jehovah and his people be everlasting. All previous triumphs were temporary - to be reversed by later setbacks. Having understood that, the phrase we want to see more than ever, is one that combines those elements: "from now" and "forever!" That tells us definitively that the prophecy can only apply in our times - at the end of days.

That is just what we get from this wonderful scripture that combines four, nay five things together - all of which are of paramount importance to us. One: the remnant; two: a might nation; three: Jehovah ruling as king; four: Mount Zion; and five "from now on and forever." And with that we have all the pieces of the puzzle.

You will recall the lesson I learned from Dan Brown. So, next we will discuss why and how the Temple relates to Mount Zion!