Jacob’s Trouble
Just addressing another question forwarded to “This Side of the Whirlwind” via Twitter and or https://thissideofthewhirlwind.wordpress.com/.
Just a note: thought the text of this excerpt may seem to suggest the Holocaust alone was Jacob’s Trouble this is not the author’s position; rather, God’s Word implies Jacob’s Trouble remains an ongoing prophecy in the throes of fulfillment since before the Holocaust of WWII and continuing until Christ’s return during the Battle of Armageddon and the beginning of Christ’s Millennial Reign.
Excerpt taken from, “This Side of the Whirlwind, The Coming Apocalypse” chapter 12; pages 193-196:
Mistaken Doctrine 7
Jacob’s Trouble Is the Great Tribulation
Many eschatologists mistakenly consider Jacob’s Trouble as found in Jeremiah 30:1–24 to be the time of the Great Tribulation. There are those who mistakenly believe Jacob’s Trouble will represent the world’s greatest time of trouble and if not the world’s, then at least the Jews’ most overriding period of misfortune. Whether the trouble belongs to the world or the Jews, Jacob’s Trouble must have the additional effect of returning the Israelites to the lands of their forefathers in the Fertile Crescent.
Scripturally Supportable Doctrine 7
When one carefully follows the outline of Jeremiah 30:1–24, Jacob’s Trouble is seen to embrace numerous aspects of the modern world’s Holocaust of World War II. The Holocaust was a key catalytic element by which Israel returned to the Promised Land.[1] Though there were other requisites equally responsible for Israel’s return to their homeland, the Holocaust was without question a significant factor. Another important component prophesied within Jeremiah’s text was the relentless cruelty employed against the victims of the Holocaust.[2] Such malevolent debasement stimulated the world’s sympathies toward the Jews, promoting an extraordinary global emphasis concerning Israel’s restoration to their original homeland. Israel’s reemergence is the key reason the world is currently living during the Latter Days.[3] God used Jacob’s Trouble to restore the land of Israel to the Israelites, which was and is a crucial prophetic element central to Jacob’s Trouble and the Latter Days. Without the advent of the Holocaust (Jacob’s Trouble), it would be very unlikely for the lands of Israel to currently belong to the Jews. Jeremiah 16, 23, and 30 each clearly indicate the Israelites would be restored to the Promised Land during the time of the Latter Days. The significance of this truth cannot be overstated. The Latter Days began with Israel’s restoration to the lands of their forefathers! It is also a prophetic imperative during the Latter Days for the temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem before the return of Christ.[4] It is not, however, required for the temple to be rebuilt out of a permanently established block or mortar construction. As long as the Israelites are able to erect and sanctify a tabernacle on the Temple Mount, cloth or otherwise, then sacred ceremonies can be performed and prophetic conditions can be met. Such an endeavor could reasonably be completed in less than two to three months. Realistically, the text of Revelation 11:1–2 suggests an actual stone temple will be constructed, including the inner court of the Most Holy Place.
Jeremiah 30:1–3 indicates God will cause Israel to return to the Promised Land. Jacob’s Trouble will take place during the Latter Days because the overall verbiage of the text and the last two verses of the chapter reinforce such a concept.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, “Thus speaks the LORD God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, that I will bring back from captivity my people Israel and Judah says the LORD. And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave their fathers, and they shall possess it.’” (Jeremiah 30:1–3 NKJV)
The Holocaust of World War II can be seen in the text of Jeremiah 30:4–7. The events of the Holocaust took place throughout Europe in Nazi concentration camps of that day. Shortly after the war, professional photographers and soldiers alike presented the world with photographic evidence depicting the abuses perpetrated on the Jews and other tortured fringe groups. Much of the evidence revealed unbelievable atrocities enacted by Hitler’s Nazi regime. Years later, while researching photographic and textual evidence related to the Holocaust, this author discovered a revealing connection between Jacob’s Trouble and the great and sad emancipation of the Jews of that day. Photographs presented victims who could barely walk but still clung to some semblance of dignity as they literally covered their genitalia and feebly attempted to celebrate their deliverance from Nazi brutalities. These images were burned into my mind and re-experienced as I read through Jeremiah 30:1–24.
Now these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah. “For thus says the LORD: ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; foreigners shall no more enslave them. But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king whom I will raise up for them. Therefore do not fear, O My Servant Jacob,’ says the LORD, ‘nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. For I am with you,’ says the LORD, ‘to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished.’” (Jeremiah 30:4–11 NKJV)
- The Jewish, homosexual, and black citizens of Europe were tormented during the Holocaust. These individuals were so sorely abused and mistreated many resembled living scarecrows by the time the Allied soldiers liberated their starving masses. Because of the naked and desperate condition of these former prisoners, many stood in stunned relief, covering their genitalia with their hands, attempting the meanest and merest of modesties. In their emaciated situations, their faces were transfixed, pale and sorrowful visages, shadows of their former selves. Nearly all suffered from severe malnourishment and physical abuse. The description found in verse 6 mirrors many of Jacob’s descendants at the time of their rescue.
Jeremiah 30:4–11 speaks of the Jewish liberation at the hand of God as He maneuvered the world into handing the Promised Land back to His chosen people. Evidently the Lord fulfilled the prophetic words found in Jacob’s Trouble as well as the prophecies related to Israel’s reemergence in Jeremiah 16 and 23.
- Through the Holocaust, God orchestrated Israel’s return to the Promised Land, making it possible for Israel to be free from the bondage of others. This is a cursory fulfillment of verses 4 through 10. The complete fulfillment will not take place until the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
- Israel’s restoration as a Jewish nation is the fulfillment of verse 9, affording Jewish freedoms related to worshiping God.
- When the United States of America joined the war against Germany and Nazism, it reinforced the fulfillment of verse 10, calling for the liberation of the Israelites from afar. Israel was liberated by the efforts of Great Britain, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United States.
- God used the Big Three to establish alliances with Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Greece, Holland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and Yugoslavia, to name many of the more vested allies. God also used and is using the Holocaust to fulfill verse 11’s mandate toward making a full end of all nations. Verse 11 will be fulfilled by the end of the Battle of Armageddon. Even now, preparations are underway.
God’s promise for a future leader to be “raised up” on King David’s throne will be fulfilled when Christ returns and assumes the throne of David following the Battle of Armageddon. This event will begin the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant.
Following the Second Advent of Christ, Israel will see its Messiah’s return. The verses covered in Jeremiah 30:12–17 foretold Israel’s plight between the times of Israel’s return to the Promised Land in 1948 and the dawn of the Battle of Armageddon. In order for God to fulfill these plans with the Israelites, He must alienate Israel from every other nation. Hence, verse 14’s castigation for their sins. By the end of the Battle of Armageddon, God will deliver the Israelites from their previous state of rebellious iniquity, bringing them to a place of righteousness through the shed blood of their Creator (Romans 11:23–29). Without exception, all must bend their knee and hearts before the Lamb of God![5]
Many End Times issues are confusing since God withheld information related to the Latter Days until the Latter Days. Scholars and theologians alike have confused Jacob’s Trouble with the Great Tribulation. The hidden information has been released, making it possible for the saints to finally understand the message embedded within Jacob’s Trouble.
After determining Jacob’s Trouble could not be the Great Tribulation or the Wrath of God, it became immediately apparent God would use the horrors of the Holocaust to fulfill His will and benefit His chosen people in the fulfillment of the Time of the Gentiles. The Holocaust of World War II embodied a portion of Jacob’s Trouble used by God in the furtherance of His will and purposes in these Latter Days.
(End of Excerpt)
[1] Jeremiah 30:3.
[2] Jeremiah 30:5.
[3] Psalm 90:10; Jeremiah 16:14–21, 23:5–8, and 30:1–24; Matthew 24:32–35; and Luke 13:14 to name only a few.
[4] Daniel 9:26, The destruction of the sanctuary is foretold during the Second Advent when Christ returns with the saints.
[5] Isaiah 45:23 and Romans 10:9–10.
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I grew up in a religious (Christian) environment and I occasionally heard stories about the coming of the Great Tribulation. A scary event to be sure, horrible judgment which would be coming on the world.
