Chapter 1
2022 - In the chronological Bible, this book comes just before Jeremiah, just after 2Kgs 23 and 2Chron 35.
Verse 1 is very specific. Zephaniah is a fourth generation direct descendant of Hezekiah. He is a noble, a "royal" prophet. He prophesies in Josiah's time. Per MSB, it seem these prophecies come BEFORE the reforms of Josiah. This is most likely because Zephaniah is very critical of Jerusalem, and prophesies doom and destruction. But this could still have happened after the reforms. Have to remember that Josiah's son turned the people easily and immediately back to idolatry. There had to be a lot of insincerity by the reformed people for this to go back so fast. Josiah was a good king, and the destruction of Jerusalem was delayed because of the reforms that he made. But perhaps in national terms, the reforms were superficial. Perhaps most people did what he said, but their hearts didn't change. At any rate, after that first introductory verse, his prophecy starts with these words:
2 "I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. [Zep 1:2 ESV]
From this, and from vs 3, I'm guessing Zephaniah will be quite direct. Maybe because of his heritage. He is high up, he would not veil anything because he is high enough in the structure to be unharried by those around him.
vs 3 says he will cut off mankind from the face of the earth. This must be about Revelation. God swept man away by flood in Noah's time, and won't do so again until by fire in Revelation. MSB confirms. This is about the second destruction of the earth, this time by fire. The old heaven and earth will pass away. So Zephaniah starts at the end of time, just before eternity begins.
Then in vs 4, he focuses in on the near time, on Judah specifically. Zephaniah not only calls Judah by name, but he gives the "current" reasons for its coming destruction. Baal worshipers and the priests that lead this worship. Seems that many are going up on their roofs at night and worshiping stars, moon, and likely sun. They do this "at night" perhaps, and then in the daytime pretend to follow God's ways. This would lend itself to a charge against those who were not sincere in obeying Josiah's command to worship God and Him only. I think there would have been many that went through the motions just to keep the King's enforcers at bay, even though they continued to worship as they had before Josiah.
2024 - These:
4 "I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem...6 those who have turned back from following the LORD, who do not seek the LORD or inquire of him." [Zep 1:4a, 6 ESV]. God considers it sin if 1, we do not follow him, 2, if we do not seek him, and 3 if we do not inquire of him. Think about that last one. How many times in the OT do we see someone who has a decision to make inquire of the Lord. I think if David's "Shall I go up..." inquiries. We seem to leave this one out most of the time. We "ask" that someone we care about would be healed, would be helped, would be delivered. We "ask" for our family, our church, our nation. But how often to we "inquire" of the Lord, just ask him a question. Ask him how to explain a verse that's giving us trouble or ask him what we are to do to day. Inquire as to what may happen, or what part we are to play. Ask him whether to turn left or turn right, to get groceries or stay home? We do not inquire, and by not doing so we short circuit God's plans to bless us. We need to be where he wants when he wants us there if we intend to always do his will. So maybe it's just me. But I intend to do a lot more inquiring of God from here on.
Possible FB post for 2/22/24.
This verse:
7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests. [Zep 1:7 ESV]
First use of "the day of the Lord". MSB refers back to Joel 1:15 notes. From that, it seems that Day of the Lord refers not to any one specific day, but to a day of judgment against someone, some nation, some time. A more general term that we need to pin down to understand the prophecy. Through vs 9, the prophecy is declared to be imminent. Final preparations have been made.
vss 10-13 are about Judah and Jerusalem and what is coming there. Specific gates in the city wall are mentioned. This is not about Revelation now, it is about imminent destruction. It is their day of the Lord that is fast approaching. Local. This verse:
12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, 'The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.' [Zep 1:12 ESV] A verse for those who say God just watches what is going on, and does not get involved. Here, God is searching out those who are not committed wholly to Him. He is searching out those who go to church but then sit back all week and are indistinguishable from those who don't. Such was I for so much of my life. I think this too ties in with the reserved worship practices - following Josiah's lead, but only in ritual, not in heart.
vss 14-16 seem more like Revelation, but could be either or both. The interesting thing to me is that when the day comes, finally, it will come suddenly, quickly. The prophesied events will play out in a very abbreviated/accelerated time frame. It won't take years for God's wrath to play out on Jerusalem, nor will it take a long time in Revelation for Babylon to be judged. As it didn't take long for Ninevah to fall. Double check these things. Find out how long Jerusalem siege and Ninevah sieges really lasted (Ninevah was only three months in Nahum. A very short time for such a great city to fall).
Compare with Rev 16:14-16, and the sixth bowl judgment. The Euphrates has been dried up to make way for the Kings of the East, the three frog spirits begin recruiting the armies of earth for Armageddon. The bowl judgments are bowls of the final wrath of God. My how well the verses in Zephaniah and Revelation overlap.
2024 - And note that "the day of the Lord" is not something you want to see, ever! These verses:
14 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. 15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. [Zep 1:14-16 ESV]. I think we ought to think twice about wishing for the day of the Lord. It seems from that, also, that we must separate the day of the Rapture or the second coming from the day of the Lord. We need to wish for the first two, because the Bible says so, but not for the day of the Lord. This message was delivered to the Jews about a time of punishment that they were to endure. Perhaps we will wish for the rapture to take us out of the part of end time day of the Lord stuff that we are going through. Perhaps today's troubles are nothing compared to then.
This verse:
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. [Zep 1:18 ESV]
Can we say that wrath refers to end times? Is that what this modifier always means? (Mostly this is right, but I think it can also refer to the prophets current time. But I'm not sure...I had always thought before that wrath was a term reserved for the end, after the rapture.) Notice that "complete end" is associated with wrath, and the "fire of his jealousy" is mentioned. This would certainly seem to be about the end times.
2022 - "a full and sudden end of all the inhabitants of the earth". Hmm. Perhaps at Armageddon there will be an end to this entire army. But life survivors of Armageddon - actually of Great Tribulation - will be judged by Christ at the sheep and goat judgment, and people will go into the Millennial. Who is left on earth when the old heaven and earth are destroyed by fire? Well...today, I cannot find the destruction of earth by fire. Hopefully, when I do find it, I can come back and reference it here.
2024 - 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [Rev 21:1 ESV].
Come back and put in the parts where it says the earth will be destroyed by fire. All the earth will burn up. Here it is:
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. ... 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? [2Pe 3:10, 12 KJV].
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. [2Pe 3:13 KJV]
I am surprised it is Peter who says this. And he really doesn't give us a lot of context for when this will happen. One thing though. What Peter says fits with what Zephaniah says!
2025 - These verses:
14 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. 15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. [Zep 1:14-16 ESV]. Zephaniah writes between Isaiah and Jeremiah. He is prophesying the fall of Judah. I believe it is the fall of Judah that he is referencing here. If so, then we see a great example here of the term "great day of the LORD" applied to a non-eschatological event. But it gets more interesting with this verse:
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of the LORD. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. [Zep 1:18 ESV]. All the earth, all those ON the earth, burned up. Surely that sounds like "melt with fervent heat", as in these two: 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. ... 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? [2Pe 3:10, 12 KJV]. These have to be talking about the same time. Are all of these tied to this verse: 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. [Rev 21:1 KJV].
Have to be careful here. I do not know if the elements melting is elsewhere called "day of the LORD". But I do think Ze 1:18 and Rev tie. I just never knew that people would burn up in that fire.
2026 - This is yet another example of the "preview event" as indicator of the future "perfection" of the prophecy delivered by Zephaniah. Zephaniah was just before or even possibly during the time of Jeremiah, who lived and prophesied when Babylon sacked Jerusalem. So the visible, demonstrable fulfilment of this prophecy of Zephaniah was that event(s). But I think we also have to see that Zephaniah certainly prophesies about the event to which these other verses refer also. That future day, when the ENTIRE EARTH passes away along with all who are on it, all creatures...even the elements themselves. And like the other prophecies like this, we might also be able to overlay the "near" details onto other things we know about those future events, and understand better what all will be going on.
2026 - I did a new tag - Preview Events - that I will use from here on to tag such prophecies as I am finding them quite regularly now that I can recognize them. I added the tag to Isa 7 but I am also sure there have been some places in between. Joel perhaps.
2026 - Do a search back through 2026 notes - this will only show up as 2026 additions because it is now that I am recognizing it - that talk about near/far, perfected prophecy, typology, future...all the words that you can come up with. And I also know that this just showed up for me during the Christmas 2025 season (whoops...there may be some 2025 notes that talk about this also...) so that narrows down the Bible books I've read and to which I can confine this search. Objective is to add the "Preview Event" tag to the ones I've already found, and start adding it going forward when I find more.
2026 - Here's a thought...Is Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 24 following this same pattern??? Oh my the clarification that might come with this idea!!! Surrounded Jerusalem COULD be about the Romans sacking the city in 70 AD, while ALSO being about some future event - the perfected precise exact event - during the last days. Wow!