Let us now take note of the strong and timely warning the Lord, through Zephaniah, gives to Israel—and to all people. It is a powerful caution, echoing Yeshua’s own words found in Matthew 16:2. It is a warning that we need to discern the signs of the times.
The Zephaniah 2:2 passage reads, Before the decree takes effect— The day passes like the chaff, Before the burning anger of the Lord comes upon you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you. What is meant by, before the decree takes effect? What decree is that which precedes the Day of the Lord? It must be related to the false peace treaty that Daniel the prophet speaks about, the one which will trigger the seven-year Tribulation. This is the same one which Israel will trust in so much that she will open her borders, thus making the country vulnerable to attack.
This is what the Lord says through Ezekiel 38:8, speaking to Gog, who is the main leader, the serpent himself. He says, …in the latter years you will come into the land that is restored from the sword, whose inhabitants have been gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel which had been a continual waste; …and they are living securely, all of them. Ezekiel speaks of Israel at the beginning of the Tribulation and says, they will be living securely. But this will not be true security or peace at all.
The Hebrew for securely is betah, from batah speaking of one who feels safe, who trusts but it also describes one who is careless. It is first mentioned in Genesis 34:5 describing the people of Shechem who were living in unawareness just before Simeon and Levi surprised them and killed all the males of the city. It is translated by the word unsuspecting in Judges 8:11 when Gideon attacked his enemies who did not expect such an attack. This is how Ezekiel explains the condition of Israel before this decree is signed.
Notice how the accomplishment of this decree is described; it says before the decree takes effect. The words take effect is one word in Hebrew, yeled, meaning child. This word is normally used in reference to the birth of a child, but to use it in relation to a decree is unique in the Bible. But the choice of this word describing the start of this decree reminds us of the words of Yeshua when He speaks of the time preceding the Tribulation as birth pangs in Matthew 24:8. The signing of this decree represents the birth of the Tribulation times. Birth pangs, as we have seen, is also a rabbinic expression for the times preceding the Day of the Lord. The words here are all selected to bring us to see their connection with the Tribulation times.
And it is at this point when we get into the prophecies of Zephaniah who describes this coming invasion and surprisingly, the nations he mentions are those we are so familiar with these days, even the most aggressive ones against Israel. The first one he mentions is Philistine in the west, which is today the Strip of Gaza. He even mentions the city of Gaza in vs.4 and speaks of it as forsaken before the Day of the Lord, something we might be witnessing these days. Then he goes to the east side of Israel and mentions Moab and Ammon, two brothers who together represent much of today’s West Bank. Then he goes south and mentions Ethiopia or Cush and from there he mentions Assyria with Nineveh to the north. In speaking of Assyria, Iran is in view.
Why speak of Cush here? Could this be a sign of the rise of the enemies from the south, like the rise of the Houthis (Yemen which is south). Are others going to rise as well? Why were these nations singled out here? One can see the importance of this prophecy not so much by the places just named, but and especially by the places not named at all.
Why was Egypt, who played such a major part in Zephaniah’s time, not mentioned? Some believe that he must have made a mistake and instead of Cush he meant Egypt. What about Edom? It is also not mentioned here, yet they will play a major role in the end. And why is Assyria mentioned and not Babylon which plays a major role in the end times. There is a reason behind all these omissions, and the map outlined by Zephaniah closely resembles the alignment of Israel’s present-day enemies.
Let us begin with the Strip of Gaza called in Zephaniah, the land of the Philistines, Canaan and the land of the Kerethite people. We see that since the time of Zephaniah and even as far back as David, the shape of this territory has not changed much. It is basically the same, and it stands as a constant warning for Israel. Also, this place was strategically located; it was on the Via Maris, a major trade route between Egypt and Mesopotamia so it was sought after by different kingdoms. See how the Lord describes this land in Zephaniah 2:5, Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, The nation of the Keretim! The Word of the Lord is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines; And I will destroy you So that there will be no inhabitant.
It begins with a woe, הוֹי in Hebrew which functions as a warning of great and impending danger.
Yeshua used it in the Gospels before the destruction of Jerusalem. But who are the Kerethites? Elsewhere, they are associated with the Philistines however here in Zephaniah they are one and the same as the Philistines. So, who are they? Some see the root of the word as coming from כָּרַת [karath] meaning to cut off, to destroy. At the time of the Targums, around the 2nd century B.C., some 2200 years ago, they translated Zephaniah 2:5 as, Woe to those living on the seacoast, the people who deserve to be destroyed; the decree of the word of the Lord is against you. Because of the animosity coming from this place, they understood the Kerethim as the destroyers.
It was the inhabitants of this land who caused Israel to lose 38 years in the wilderness. About two years after their departure from Egypt, the Jewish people were right at the threshold of the land of Israel, right in front of what we call today, the Strip of Gaza. This is when Moses sent 12 spies to scout the land, but 10 of them came back fearful saying that there were giants in the land, the anakim. In the book of Numbers, they are called the niphilim (Numbers 13: 33). In Hebrew nephilim means the fallen ones and it gives us the demonic origin of these giants. Israel got so scared because of these giants and lost their trust in God. This then caused them to stay 38 years out of the land of their destination. Since then, this territory has become a great point of opposition even to the present time. And their defeat is highly celebrated in the Book of Deuteronomy when Israel finally entered the land. In the first 3 chapters of this book, the defeat of these giants is mentioned many times.
Click Here for the Video: Zephaniah, Part 4: Ancient Prophet, Timely Word