I listen to podcasts, mostly Bible prophecy. In time, memories of any particular one tend to fade. But occasionally, there’s a single one that stands out.  So it was with a 2025 podcast on the subject of the Shroud of Turin.  Host Brandon Holthaus interviewed author Russ Breault on the topic at Tip of the Spear.  (Breault wrote Shroud Encounter: Explore the World’s Greatest Unsolved Mystery (2010) and more recently, Beneath the Surface: A Closer Look at the Shroud of Turin (2026)).

Breault’s insights packed a wallop. The story of the Shroud is Bible history made manifest right here in the present day, and with the strongest implications for those things that come next.

Like most, I knew of the Shroud, but thought its origin to be unprovable: perhaps it was the actual historical artifact, but perhaps not, perhaps just a Catholic relic, like saints’ bones.  I just didn’t know.  I didn’t think you could know.

Fortunately, Breault made it his business to investigate, studying the Shroud for some 40 years.  Listen to him hold forth on it, and you will soon be convinced, as he is, that this is the actual burial cloth of Jesus Christ. There is no other explanation for its singular characteristics.

Breault presents the evidence as a cumulative argument: a compelling convergence of physical, forensic, and historical features that resists conventional explanations and strikingly align with the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial.  Here’s a point-by-point summary of his main assertions:

Key Evidence for Authenticity

1. The Shroud Bears a Realistic Crucifixion Image

• Breault emphasizes that the Shroud shows the image of a crucified manwith wounds that match what the Gospels describe for Jesus (scourge marks, nail wounds, spear wound, etc.).

2. The Image Is a Photographic Negative

• One of the most frequently cited points by proponents of Breault is that the image behaves like a photographic negative— meaning the darker and lighter areas invert to give clearer detail in photographic print. This would be difficult or impossible to produce in medieval times without photography (which dates from 1826). On entering the tomb, John saw this image on the cloth, the likeness of the Master, an incredibly powerful witness to a resurrection, vis-à-vis a stolen body. “He saw and believed” (John 20:8, ESV).

3. Unexplained Image Formation

• The way the image appears on the cloth (superficial discoloration only on the top fibers) cannot be fully explained by painting, pigment, or simple contact — so they claim it suggests a unique formation process, likely by an intense energy burst at the moment of Resurrectionas a mechanism.

4. Blood and Physical Detail

• Breault cites bloodstains and details that look like human trauma— including patterns argued to match Roman crucifixion and the side wound described in John’s Gospel. Analysis shows the presence of a rare blood type (e.g., AB) consistent with this cloth having contact with a real crucified body.

5. Pollen and Geographic Indicators

• Pollen found on the Shroud is from plants that grow in the Jerusalem area.

6. The Shroud is an Unreproduced Artifact

• No one has successfully recreated a replica cloth with all the detailed properties of the Shroud(image characteristics, translucence, negative-like behavior, wound congruence), despite challenges and prizes offered to do so.

7. Radiocarbon Dating Controversies

• It should be mentioned that there is a controversy regarding the dating of the Shroud: 1988 radiocarbon analysis by three labs dated the cloth from 1260–1390 AD. However, there is an even bigger controversy regarding the testing itself; critics like Breault argue the sample was likely taken from repaired areas or contaminated (with cotton versus original linen) — thus not reflective of the whole cloth. Test data was withheld, as well, for many years after 1988 and had to be pieced together by researchers, leading some to question if the dating effort was even a good-faith inquiry.

Those are the highlights; more detail follows:

At the foundation of the author’s assertion that the Shroud matches the expected characteristics for a burial shroud for Jesus Christ is the widely accepted conclusion that the Shroud image is not the result of paint, pigment, or dye. Microscopic and chemical analyses have consistently failed to detect any artistic medium responsible for the image. Even skeptics generally concede this point. Closely related is the finding that the image exists only on the outermost fibrils of the linen fibers, without penetrating the threads. This extreme superficiality is unlike known artistic, chemical, or contact-based methods and remains one of the Shroud’s most puzzling features.

The author emphasizes as well the forensic coherence of the image itself. The man depicted bears wounds consistent with Roman crucifixion: nail marks through the wrists rather than the palms, scourge marks consistent with a Roman flagrum (a short-handle whip with attached lead balls or bone fragments or metal or sharp pieces), anatomically plausible blood flows governed by gravity, and a post-mortem spear wound in the side.

These details are significant because they correct common medieval artistic errors about crucifixion anatomy. For example, the author argues that a medieval forger would almost certainly have depicted nails through the palms and would not have reproduced such precise trauma patterns without modern anatomical and archaeological knowledge.

A particularly strong claim concerns the blood evidence. According to the author, bloodstains appear to be present beneath the image rather than on top of it, suggesting that a wounded body contacted the cloth before the image was formed. He points to the presence of serum halos and blood flow patterns consistent with real wounds rather than painted simulations. While skeptics dispute whether all blood identification methods used in Shroud research meet modern standards, the stratigraphic relationship—blood first, image second—is regarded by many researchers as significant.

The author also draws attention to the Shroud’s photographic negative properties. When photographed, the image reverses light and dark values to reveal far greater clarity and detail. In addition, image analysis tools such as VP-8 reveal a form of three-dimensional encoding, where image intensity correlates with cloth-to-body distance. (The VP-8 Image Analyzer is a 1970s-era device developed by NASA/JPL. It converts brightness (light–dark values) in a 2-D image into vertical relief—in other words, it treats image intensity as height and produces a pseudo-3D rendering.)

Although critics argue that similar effects can appear under certain conditions in other images, the Shroud remains unique in how naturally and coherently this spatial information appears.

Another notable feature is the absence of decomposition signs. There is no evidence of bloating, decay staining, or putrefaction—features normally expected if a body remained wrapped for an extended period.

This fulfills prophecy: Psalm 16.10 states, “For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.” In context, this is part of David’s psalm, but in the New Testament, it’s explicitly applied to Jesus: Acts 2:27 – Peter quotes Psalm 16:10: “Because you will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let your Holy One see decay.” Acts 13:35-37 – Paul also cites this verse, saying Jesus’ body did not see corruption, emphasizing the resurrection.

Central is the claim that the image formation process remains scientifically unexplained. Again, no proposed natural, chemical, or artistic mechanism has successfully reproduced all of the Shroud’s known properties simultaneously: its superficiality, resolution, negative behavior, anatomical accuracy, and apparent three-dimensional information. The author is careful here, stressing that unexplained does not mean miraculous, but also insisting that existing hypotheses fail to account for the totality of the evidence.

Carbon dating controversy

The most contentious issue addressed is the 1988 radiocarbon dating, which placed the Shroud in the medieval period. The author challenges this result by citing the sampling location—taken from a corner believed by some to have been repaired—as well as potential contamination from fire, handling, and environmental exposure. He also notes later statistical critiques suggesting heterogeneity in the sampled material. However, he acknowledges that the dating has not been definitively overturned and remains the strongest single data point for skeptics.

Throughout the interview, the author contrasts his cumulative case with skeptical objections. Skeptics emphasize the plausibility of unknown medieval techniques, limitations of older blood analysis methods, alternative explanations for 3D effects, and the authority of radiocarbon dating. The author’s response is not that any single piece of evidence is conclusive, but that the convergence of independent lines of evidence makes conventional explanations increasingly strained.

In the end, it should be noted that the author is careful not to overstep and make claims about the metaphysical (yet his enthusiasm is clear enough in his voice, and that of his interviewer!). Breault does not claim that the Shroud proves the Resurrection or compels belief. Instead, he argues that the Shroud is a real burial cloth of a crucified man, formed by an unknown mechanism, containing physical and anatomical information far beyond what is easily explained by medieval forgery, and remarkably consistent with the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death. As he frames it, science has not explained how the image formed; it has largely ruled out what it is not.

Prophetic implications

So, since other possibilities have been reasonably ruled out, we can conclude with 99.9% certainty that the Shroud is, indeed, the remnant of an event that was prophesied many years in advance, the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ:

Prophecies of the Crucifixion

Psalm 22 (King David, c. 1040–970 BCE)
Often called the crucifixion psalm.

• “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (v.1) — quoted by Jesus on the cross
• “They pierce my hands and my feet” (v.16)
• “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots” (v.18)

Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 (the Suffering Servant); c. 740–700 BCE
The most explicit prophetic passage.

• “He was despised and rejected by men.”
• “He was pierced for our transgressions.”
• “Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter”
• “They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death.”
• “After the suffering of his soul, he shall see the light of life” (53:11).

Zechariah 12:10 (20 BCE)

• “They shall look on me whom they have pierced, and mourn for him.”
  (Referenced in John 19:37)

Psalm 69 (King David, c. 1040–970 BCE)

• “They gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Daniel 9:26

• “The Anointed One shall be cut off and shall have nothing.”

Prophecies of the Resurrection

Psalm 16:8–11 (King David, c. 1040–970 BCE)

• “You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let your Holy One see corruption.”
  Explicitly quoted by Peter (Acts 2) and Paul (Acts 13) as referring to Jesus’ resurrection.

Isaiah 53 (again)

• “He shall prolong his days” after
• “He shall see his offspring.”
  Resurrection is implied by post-death vindication.

Hosea 6:2 (c. 755–725 BCE)

• “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up.”
  Early Christians saw this as a typological prophecy of the third-day resurrection.

Jonah 1:17 (c. 780–750 BCE)

• Three days and nights in the fish
  Jesus explicitly calls this a sign of His death and resurrection (Matthew 12:40).

Prophecies Combining Death and Victory

Genesis 3:15 (regarded as “the first gospel”; thought to be written by Moses, c. 1391–1365 BCE to c. 1270–1220 BCE

• The seed of the woman will be wounded (“bruised”) yet will crush the serpent’s head.
  Seen as the earliest Messianic prophecy: suffering followed by triumph.

Psalm 118:22 (Unknown author, likely 5th–4th century BCE)

• “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”
  Used repeatedly in the NT to describe rejection, death, and exaltation.

So, too, will the remaining tenets of Bible prophecy be realized and soon:  e.g., take just the Rapture, apropos the title of these pages.  Italian researcher Paolo Di Lazzaro and colleagues experimented with short-burst, 40 ms laser UV light, on linen, and to summarize (tests conducted 2005 to 2010), results mimicked the effects on the Shroud. “In the twinkling of an eye,” indeed, goes the verse, and one day all believers will be transformed by that same spiritual microburst energy, in a nanosecond, and be translated to glory, forever.

All remaining prophecies will be fulfilled as well: the Psalm 83 and Ez. 37/38 wars, the Seventieth Seven, the Tribulation, the Beast, the False Prophet, everything outlined in Genesis, Daniel, the prophets, Gospels, writings of Paul, Revelation. Every word, every jot and tittle. At whatever time and in whatever sequence.

And then, the greatest prophetic manifestation of all: the long-awaited establishment of the Kingdom of God on this earth.  The coronation of the King. Peace, safety, prosperity for all humanity. God himself living among his people.

A part of God’s character revealed

The Shroud illustrates an aspect of God’s character that defies easy naming. It has facets of paradox, irony, puzzle-making, mystery, hiding in plain sight, remote while being close (does that make sense?). “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the honor of kings to search it out.”  What is the word for that?

What is the word that depicts “we see through a glass darkly,” and we do, yet Ezekiel 40 to 48 is an architectural blueprint of the Millennial Temple? That “eye has not seen, nor ear heard the things that are prepared,” yet we are told David will be King of Israel (Ezekiel 34:23–24; Ezekiel 37:24–25; Jeremiah 30:8–9; Hosea 3:4–5; Isaiah 55:3–4, etc.), the 12 disciples will each rule one of Israel’s 12 tribes (Matt. 19.28, etc.).

Similarly, we learn that we will celebrate the feast of tabernacles (Zech. 14), that animal sacrifices will resume (Ezekiel 43:18–27; Ezekiel 44:15–29; Ezekiel 45:15–25; Ezekiel 46:1–15; Zechariah 14:16–21; Isaiah 56:6–7; Isaiah 66:20–23), as a memorial for the Great Sacrifice. More detail than is often cited.

The Lord God, in the end, does show himself, for those who look, sometimes through plain statements or sometimes via cryptic clues, but for those “with ears to hear, eyes to see.”  He stands at the door and knocks; he does not kick it in.

The Shroud of Turin, similarly, is a quiet witness to God’s power to foretell what is to come. It is a quiet and peculiar communication that some Christians regard as a sign from God. The implication: past prophecy realized guarantees future prophecy to be realized: 

“Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods:
yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together” (Isa. 41:23).

“Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts;
I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me,
since I appointed the ancient people?
and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them” (Isa. 44:6-7).

“Declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, My counsel shall stand,
and I will do all my pleasure” (Isa. 46:10).

Who else can announce the future? Answer: no one. Only the Lord God of Israel.

Strangely (to my mind), many Christians avoid, demote or dismiss prophecy, but the fact remains: “…the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev. 19.10). Prophecy is part of his essential and infinitely generous nature. Prophecy is a gift to us.

Fact: Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection were foretold. And came to pass. And so it will be with all the remaining Bible prophecy, whether cryptic or plain, or even paradoxically hiding in plain sight, right there in his written word. End-time events have been foretold and will be realized.  Soon. The Shroud gives evidence of the fulfilled prophecies, and there is no doubt remaining those to follow. Maranatha.

Meanwhile:

“…ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence,
and give him no rest,
till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth” (Isa. 62:6-7).

***

The Shroud of Turin is currently kept in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, Italy. It is stored in a climate-controlled, bulletproof case in the cathedral’s Chapel of the Holy Shroud. Public exhibitions are rare and usually draw huge crowds.

John Hamilton wrote False Flags, State Secrets, Government Deceptions:  A Short History of the Modern Era and THE COVID VACCINE: And the silencing of our doctors and scientists. He is a frequent contributor to Rapture Ready.

 

 

2 Chronicles 20:1-30 contains one of the most remarkable narratives of God’s deliverance of His people in all of Scripture. Further, within the divine narrative, the student of the Word of God has what appears to be prophetic implications at their disposal.

In the same approach as our article, Prophetic Imageries in Esther, we will explore and assess the stunning parallels between God’s great victory over Judah’s enemies in the days of King Jehoshaphat and that of the Second Coming of Christ, as He comes to destroy His and Israel’s enemies. In this study, as with Prophetic Imageries in Esther, we will not be going through the entire account, but taking select passages and offering commentary along with corroborating Scripture.

Fascinatingly, some of these Prophetic Reflective Foregleams in 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 are exactly as our title suggests – that is, a mirror image of the prophetic future being a reflection from the past.

For example, our first Prophetic Reflective Foregleam of note is that in this miraculous event, the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem are living in their own land and will be coming out of their habitations in the Promised Land, while at the Second Coming of Christ, the remnant of Israel that inhabited Judah and Jerusalem will be living in the wilderness mountains of Petra, es Sela, and Mt. Seir during the Great Tribulation following the Abomination of Desolation (Matthew 24:15-21, Revelation 12:6, etc.) and will be following their Lord and Savior into the Promised Land. This is an example of “a mirror image of the prophetic future being a reflection from the past.”

Other passages within the 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 account, on the other hand, present more direct Prophetic Reflective Foregleams that are not mirror images of each other, per se, but are to be understood as quite linear in their reflectiveness of each other.

In this article, we will be studying topically in facilitating our attempt to communicate the Prophetic Reflective Foregleams we have observed within our eschatological understandings.

Underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.

The Enemies

“It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.” – 2 Chronicles 20:1

In 2 Chronicles 20, the enemy nations that are coming to war against the inhabitants of the children of Judah are Israel’s inveterate enemies of Moab, Ammon, and Edom [Mt. Seir (vs. 10)]. These three nations, descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot (Moab and Ammon) and Jacob’s brother Esau (Edom/Mt. Seir), have always despised Israel’s God, His chosen people, and coveted the land God gave to Israel for themselves.

Prophetically, these three ancient enemy nations who incessantly hated Israel are representative of all the nations of Earth at the end of the Tribulation that will also despise Israel’s God and His chosen people, and will come to Jerusalem and into Judea en masse, emanating down and around the Dead Sea/Salt Sea all the way to Bozrah in modern-day southern Jordan.

King Jehoshaphat did what needs to be done by every believer in the Lord in every trying circumstance: He offered heartfelt prayers to the God of Israel!

Prayers Offered to God as Creator, King, and Redeemer

“And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen [nations]? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?” – 2 Chronicles 20:5-7

King Jehoshaphat reminds the Lord that Israel, at God’s command, allowed these three nations – who would become a real threat to the nation in the near future and beyond – to exist on their borders when Israel entered the Promised Land under Moses and Joshua (not to mention that Israel lived amongst a remnant of Canaanites that were never totally destroyed as God commanded them), just as Israel today (though not at God’s command) allows their enemies not only to live on their borders, but to live within their borders. The parallels to the threats of ancient Israel and modern-day Israel are striking in this regard.

One cannot help but consider Jehoshaphat’s prayer, made in the city of Jerusalem in the Temple, to be a Prophetic Reflective Foregleam of the prayers that remnant Israel will be offering to God before Messiah returns while waiting for Him in the wilderness mountains of Petra, es Sela, and Mt. Seir. Certainly, remnant Israel will be petitioning the Lord and reminding God that truly He rules “… over all the kingdoms of the heathen [nations]… and in [His] hand is… power and might, so that none is able to withstand [Him].”

Furthermore, remnant Israel’s prayers will assuredly be reiterating how God in Israel’s past “didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever,” reciting the Lord’s covenantal promises concerning Israel and the Promised Land.

Due to the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ from Christians before the resurrection/rapture of the church and the materials they will have left behind, the powerful testimony of The 144,000 Israeli Witnesses and The Two Witnesses in the first half of the Tribulation, the preaching of the gospel by an angel from heaven unto the whole Earth at the midway point of the Tribulation, the witnessing of the multitudes who will come to Jesus during the Tribulation, and Israel’s recognition that Antichrist was not their “Messiah” or friend, Israelis from throughout the world will have finally come to saving faith in Messiah Yeshua.

For at this time “… all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer [Messiah Yeshua], and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11:26-27). Irreversibly and passionately, the Israeli remnant will be earnestly praying to “Abba our Father, the Father of our LORD Yeshua the Messiah” – Abba Avinu, Avi Yeshua HaMashiach Adoneinu – while having learned from the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) Scriptures that their Lord and Savior is soon to come back to deliver them from their enemies, just as King Jehoshaphat was praying so long ago!

Petition for Israel’s Covenantal Possession of the Promised Land

“And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.” – 2 Chronicles 20:10-11

Observe that the enemies of God’s people in 2 Chronicles 20:10-11 are determined “to come to cast us [Judah/Jerusalem] out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.” In the case of remnant Israel at the end of the Tribulation, they have already been “cast out of [their] possession, which God hast given [them] to inherit,” following the Abomination of Desolation, so that God would draw them back to Himself and their collective acceptance of Messiah Yeshua, whom they had rejected up to that point. But God is faithful in that, when remnant Israel comes to the end of themselves and accepts Yeshua as their Messiah, God will once again, for the very last time, give Israel back the Promised Land “which [God] hast given [them] to inherit.”

Israel will finally and irrevocably acquire by the Lord’s powerful hands the borders promised to them, and Israel will be the head of all nations with their ruling and reigning Messiah, Creator, Lord, Savior, Redeemer, and King in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom!

Prayer for God’s Judgment against Israel’s Enemies

“O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” – 2 Chronicles 20:12

Just as King Jehoshaphat and Judah had “no might against this great company that cometh against [them], neither [did they] know [what they should] do,” so too will remnant Israel be in distress as they see the hordes of Antichrist drawing near to them as they are hiding out in Petra, es Sela, and Mt. Seir, for the enemies who are amassed from Jerusalem to Bozrah will be closing in on them, whether these armies are aware of it or not.

Nevertheless, because of their newfound faith and trust in Messiah Yeshua and His promises to His beloved people, Israel knows that Messiah is coming back to destroy their enemies, as God had done to the armies of Moab, Ammon, and Edom in the days of Jehoshaphat so long ago!

The Location

“Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.” – 2 Chronicles 20:2

Why are we comparing the locations mentioned in 2 Chronicles 20 where the armies of Moab, Ammon, and Edom were gathered together in the days of King Jehoshaphat with the hordes who will have taken the Mark of the Beast and are loyal to Antichrist will gather together to battle Jesus, attempting to keep the Lord out of Jerusalem and Judea and to prevent remnant Israel from returning to their God-given land at Messiah’s Second Coming?

Well, note our text verse that says, “There cometh a great multitude [Moab, Ammon, and Edom] against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.”

“Engedi” is located on the western shore of the Dead Sea/Salt Sea in Israel. “Hazazontamar” is, as the text says, another name for “Engedi.” “Hazazontamar” or “Engedi” is believed by some to be not far from where Sodom and Gomorrah was located and may also be the northern edge of the perpetually visible graveyard that we studied in Isaiah 66:24 – Corpses and The Worm That Never Dies.

The Dead Sea/Salt Sea has a direct association with the Second Coming of Christ, which we will document more thoroughly in the section entitled The Valley of Berachah and The Valley of Jehoshaphat.

In 2 Chron. 20:16, we are given two other locations for our consideration.

“To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.” – 2 Chronicles 20:16

“The cliff of Ziz,” according to Topical Bible: Ziz: A Pass in the Territory of the Tribe of Judah, “… is believed to be located near the wilderness of Jeruel, which is thought to be in the vicinity of the Dead Sea, southeast of Jerusalem. The exact location of Ziz is not definitively known today, but it is generally considered to be part of the rugged terrain that characterizes the Judean wilderness. This area would have been strategically significant due to its natural defenses and its position as a route for armies moving toward Jerusalem.”

Bible Map: Jeruel (Ziz) (bibleatlas.org), has the following to say regarding “Jeruel”: “Jahaziel prophesied that King Jehoshaphat should meet the hordes of Moabites and Ammonites, after they had come up by the “ascent of Ziz,” “at the end of the valley (i.e. wady), before the wilderness of Jeruel” (2 Chronicles 20:16). The particular part of the wilderness intended is unknown. Cheyne (Encyclopedia Biblica) thinks this may be an error for the Jezreel of Judah, mentioned in Joshua 15:56.”

I noticed in my research of “Ziz” and “Jeuel” that directly west of Engedi is the city of Zif or Ziph, and directly west of Zif or Ziph is the city of Jezreel of Judah. These three locations are in a direct line from the western shore of the Dead Sea/Salt Sea westward. If Ziz was originally Zif or Ziph and Jeuel, as Cheyne (Encyclopedia Biblica) suggests, was originally Jezreel of Judah in the earliest autographs of the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures), then this would make sense, since these two locations are only mentioned in Scripture in this one verse.

Nonetheless, one thing we do know is that the Moabite, Ammonite, and Edomite host was a “great multitude” gathered together in this region on the western side of the Dead Sea/Salt Sea. We will have more on why this strategic location is important concerning Christ’s Second Coming momentarily.

The Battle Belongs to the Lord

“And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.” – 2 Chronicles 20:13

In my mind’s eye, I can see all of exiled Israel in the wilderness mountains of Petra, es Sela, and Mt. Seir , standing “with their little ones, their wives, and their children” patiently and eagerly watching and waiting for “the Lord” to return and fight for them against their enemies!

“And he [Jahaziel] said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” – 2 Chronicles 20:15

Just as “Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph,” declared God’s truth by “the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Chronicles 20:14) to the “inhabitants of Jerusalem, and king Jehoshaphat,” assuredly one or more of the leaders of remnant Israel, just before Messiah comes back at the last moment to deliver His people who have been supernaturally protected up to this point in Petra, es Sela, and Mt. Seir, will stand up, inspired by the indwelling Holy Spirit, and proclaim the same truth to the remnant, “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” And undeniably it will be!

“Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.” – 2 Chronicles 20:17

Judah and Jerusalem in Jehoshaphat’s day would “not need to fight in this battle,” nor will remnant Israel at the end of the Tribulation need to fight in the battle to save them from their enemies, for they shall “see the salvation of the Lord with [them].” They will not “be dismayed,” for remnant Israel will “go out against [their enemies], for the Lord will be with [them].”

Worshiping the Lord

“And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.” – 2 Chronicles 20:18

One can envision remnant Israel, when they shall “see the salvation of the Lord,” also bowing their heads with their faces to the ground as “all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem [will fall] before the Lord, worshipping the Lord,” Yeshua HaMashiach, when they see Him returning in glory!

God’s Defeat of Israel’s Enemies

“And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.” – 2 Chronicles 20:24

Harkening to the prayers and petitions of His people, God defeated and destroyed the enemies of Judah and Jerusalem after assuring them that the battle belonged to Him!

When it comes to our continuing Prophetic Reflective Foregleams, we read of the massacre of Messiah’s enemies at His return in many passages, with perhaps the most comprehensive being the following:

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

“And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

“And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

“And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.

“And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

“And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” – Revelation 19:11-21

Though the methods that God used to destroy His and Israel’s enemies are different in the days of King Jehoshaphat and the return of Messiah, the deadly results are the same.

[For some of our major studies on the details of the Second Coming of Christ, please see A Study of Zechariah 14:1-11 and A Study of Zechariah 14:12-21, The Mark of the Beasts, and The Kings of the East: Mission Impossible.]

Israel Gathering the Spoil of Those Who Would Destroy Them

“And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.” – 2 Chronicles 20:25

Judah was indeed blessed with the spoils of their adversaries after God Himself delivered them from their enemies; after all, it took them three days to gather the plunder!

The returning remnant of Israel from the wilderness mountains of Petra, es Sela, and Mt. Seir, following behind the King of kings and Lord of lords, will also have a great spoil to take, not only from the dead, but also from those who had ruthlessly taken their possessions, habitations, and land during the Great Tribulation.

Divine justice by the Lord will be unyielding, relentless, and severe upon those hateful people who have defied and despised the God of Israel, usurped and taken over His land, and sought to annihilate His chosen people with national genocide!

“… and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.” – Zechariah 14:14b

“Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.” – Jeremiah 30:16

“For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. For, behold, I will shake mine hand upon them, and they shall be a spoil to their servants: and ye shall know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me.

“Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

“And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.” – Zechariah 2:8-13

Not only will the Israeli remnant in the wilderness mountains of Petra, es Sela, and Mt. Seir take a spoil from the defeated armies of Antichrist, the other remnant of Israel – those who had been dispersed into the nations of the world as slaves to the Gentiles – will receive a spoil from the hands of their masters before they are gathered together by the Lord’s holy angels and brought to Israel!

Together, the spoil remnant Israel will take back from those who robbed them and the spoil they take from the armies of the world who worshiped Antichrist and took his Mark of The Beast, along with the spoil the rest of remnant Israel who were delivered to the nations as slaves, will be immense!

The Valley of Berachah and The Valley of Jehoshaphat

“And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the Lord: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.” – 2 Chronicles 20:26

“Berachah” in Hebrew is the proper name 1294 בְּרָכָה “bᵊrāḵâ” derived from 1288 בָּרַךְ “bāraḵ” which, in context, means to kneel, bless (God), blessing.

Kneeling to and blessing God for His sovereign miracles of protection and victory over their enemies is certainly what Judah did on this illustrious day!

In connection with our Prophetic Reflective Foregleams, we have the following to share with the reader.

In A Study of Zechariah 14:1-11, along with other articles, we included the following map that shows the area where the hordes of Antichrist’s followers will congregate at the Lord’s Second Coming. From Bozrah in the south/southeast in modern-day southern Jordan, where Messiah will begin His campaign (Isaiah 63:1-6), on to and wrapping around the Dead Sea/Salt Sea in Judah and going north/northwest straight up to Jerusalem is the vast area where the enemies of God will be amassed as they seek to thwart the Second Coming of Messiah Yeshua.

The midst of the enemy multitudes that are spread out from Jerusalem to Bozrah at the end of the Tribulation is obviously in the Dead Sea/Salt Sea region; more specifically, the western shore of the Dead Sea/Salt Sea, near Engedi, where the armies of Moab, Ammon, and Edom were congregated in 2 Chronicles 20.

As the Lord leads His heavenly armies and remnant Israel, destroying His enemies single-handedly up from Bozrah, around the Dead Sea/Salt Sea and coming up to the western shoreline at or around Engedi – and the cliff of Ziz/Zif, Jeuel/Jezreel of Judah – is when and where I suspect Messiah will allow Israel to begin taking vengeance on their enemies who have taken their country, homes, and possessions for the past three and one-half years, “devour[ing] all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left,” as they make their way from Judah up to the Holy City of Jerusalem together with the Lord.

“And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the Lord of hosts their God.

“In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.

“The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah.” – Zechariah 12:5-7

For me, this is so reminiscent of the vengeance the Jews in the days of Esther inflicted on their enemies, which sought to destroy them at the instigation of Haman:

“Thus the Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction, and did what they would unto those that hated them.” – Esther 9:5

And, as with many battles ancient Israel waged against their enemies, the Lord will lead them in the battle and fight with them against their adversaries!

The Valley of Berachah, thought by some, including myself, also came to be known as The Valley of Jehoshaphat, for obvious reasons.

Henry Morris’ short note on 2 Chronicles 20:26, in the Henry Morris Study Bible, concurs with our supposition:

The Hebrew word, “berachah,” means “blessing.” This valley was evidently so identified with Jehoshaphat that, as a result of the great deliverance there, it later came to be known as “the valley of Jehoshaphat.”

The Prophet Joel connects The Valley of Jehoshaphat/The Valley of Berachah (a.k.a. The Kidron Valley) as ground zero for God’s concluding wrath against His and Israel’s enemies within the day of the Lord at Messiah’s Second Coming as He takes back the Holy City of Jerusalem for Himself and His chosen people, Israel.

“Let the heathen [nations] be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge [vindictive, condemning punishment at final judgment] all the heathen round about.

“Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” – Joel 3:12-14

Thus, in our view, linking The Valley of Jehoshaphat with The Valley of Berachah in the days of King Jehoshaphat is quite reasonable.

The Valley of Jehoshaphat would be the last leg that began at Bozrah of Messiah’s destruction of His enemies as He enters Judah, going on towards Jerusalem, with remnant Israel and the armies of heaven following close behind. Antichrist and the False Prophet will be awaiting His imminent arrival in this prophetic valley, no doubt in great consternation, anxiety, and fear.

Why is this valley the optimum location for Antichrist, the False Prophet, and their personal armies to be congregated and stationed, awaiting the returning King? Because The Valley of Berachah/The Valley of Jehoshaphat (a.k.a. The Kidron Valley) is right in between Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives, and the Scriptures clearly state that Yeshua is returning to Zion, the Holy City of Jerusalem, and will set His feet down on the Mount of Olives when He gets there – and Messiah’s enemies will know that!

Israel Returning Home with the Joy of the Lord

“Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.” – 2 Chronicles 20:27

Just like in the days of Esther, and especially at the end of the Tribulation, Judah and Jerusalem did rejoice for “for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.”

King Jehoshaphat, as a type of King Yeshua, was “in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies,” just as King Yeshua will be “in the forefront of them [the returning remnant of Israel from the wilderness mountains of Petra, es Sela, and Mt. Seir], to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies.”

The bride of Christ and the rest of the resurrected redeemed will have a front row seat to this wonderful and praiseworthy spectacle!

There will indeed be much praise and worship for the returning remnants of Israel following the Second Coming of Messiah Yeshua; but there will also be a national mourning for Israel that must also take place. You can read more about this national mourning of Israel in Zechariah 12: The Second Coming and The Mourning.

Following the mourning, however, will again come the praise and worship due to Messiah Yeshua, Israel’s Redeemer and Savior, as the Messianic Millennial Kingdom is set to rise with Yeshua taking His rightful place on the throne of David in the Holy City of Jerusalem, where He will rule and reign with a rod of iron.

Fantastically, we, the bride of Christ, along with the twelve disciples and the rest of the resurrected Saints, will have the immense privilege of ruling and reigning with Him!

Israel’s Kingdom Safe and Secure from Their Enemies

“And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel.” – 2 Chronicles 20:29

“The kingdoms of those countries” throughout the world who survived the Tribulation and those born during the Messianic Millennial Kingdom will also have “the fear of God” when they will have “heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel”!

“At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

“In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.” – Jeremiah 3:17-18

“So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.” – 2 Chronicles 20:30

Just as “the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest round about,” so, too, will the Lord Himself find the “realm” of His Messianic Millennial Kingdom “quiet, for his God [will give] Him rest round about.”

What a glorious thousand years this will be!

***

May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”

Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!

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