THE PROPHECY OF HABAKKUK
Installment 6

Habukkuk 3:1-7

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

In the Old Testament there are numbers of prophecies concerning the first coming of our Lord when He entered the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth. Chief among these prophecies is Isaiah 7:14, which is an echo of Genesis 3:14,15. There are also a number of outstanding prophecies which foretell the Second Coming of Christ—His glorious coming to earth at the conclusion of the Tribulation period. Among these prophecies are Deuteronomy 32:39-43, Psalm 18:1-19, and Habakkuk 3:1-15. There are passages which give the entire redemptive career of King Messiah, consisting of the two comings of the one Messiah and separated by the Christian dispensation, during which the rejected Messiah is seated at the right hand of the throne of God, awaiting Israel's repudiation of the national sin of rejecting Him. In this month's study of Habakkuk, we shall examine part of the prophecy concerning the Lord's Second Coming.

The caption to this prophecy is "A Prayer of Habakkuk the Prophet, set to Shigionoth." The Hebrew word translated prayer has a broader significance than is conveyed by the English word prayer. A study of the use of this word reveals the fact that sometimes it signifies praise; on other occasions it indicates a prophecy and in other connections it indicates a prayer. In Habakkuk 3:1 it refers to a prophecy introduced by a short prayer (verse 2). This prediction was to be used in connection with the temple service, for it is dedicated to the Chief Musician, as is stated in the last line of the chapter. This prophecy was to be set to a familiar tune called Shigionoth (v. 1).

"O Jehovah Revive Thy Work"

"O Jehovah, I have heard the report of thee, and am afraid:
 Jehovah, revive thy work in the midst of the years;
 In the midst of the years make it known;
 In wrath remember mercy" (Hab. 3:2).

Habakkuk, chapter 3, is cast in a mold of Hebrew poetry. The simplest form of Hebrew poetry is known as Hebrew parallelism. A statement is made by the selection of certain words. This line is followed by another which is parallel to it, and which repeats the exact thought of the first line or adds a supplemental thought. In this way, the second line is a comment on the first. Often the simple parallelism is expanded, as in the present case, and may be called an introversion. In the present case, line one is supplemented by line four, and line two by line three. Thus arranged, the verse reads as follows:

"O Jehovah, I have heard the report of thee, and am afraid: 
 In wrath remember mercy.
 O Jehovah, revive thy work in the midst of the years;
 In the midst of the years make it known."

In some way, or from some prophet, Habakkuk had heard something about the Lord Jehovah which terrified him. The thing that frightened the Prophet was the fact that the Lord's wrath was stirred to the very depths. Though the Lord is a merciful, gracious being, sometimes His wrath, rises to white heat. The Prophet, therefore, prays that the Lord will remember mercy, though He is justly indignant. Since this prayer is followed by a prediction of the coming of the Lord in wrath (vv. 3-15), and since, as is learned from parallel passages, the Lord returns to the earth at the end of the Tribulation period, the wrath of which Habakkuk speaks in lines one and four is the wrath of the Tribulation—a period of seven years during which God will purge the earth of all wickedness.

According to lines two and three, the work of God on the earth is brought to a standstill. The Prophet, therefore, prays for the Lord to revive the work in the midst of the years. Since the period of wrath is seven years, and since it is stopped in the middle of the period, there will be three and one-half years more for the pouring out of God's wrath. When these facts are viewed in the light of related passages, it is learned that the thing which stops the work of God "in the midst of the years" is the assumption of absolute power and control over the entire world by the Antichrist.

In answer to this prayer, and doubtless to the prayers of myriads of others, the Lord will revive His work in the middle of the Tribulation. It probably will go forward, but not with the same momentum which it has at the time when it is closed down. This work of God is that which is foretold in Revelation, chapter 7—a world-wide revival in which the greater portion of the human family will turn to God.

"God came from Teman,
 And the Holy One from mount Paran. [Selah]
 His glory covered the heavens,
 And the earth was full of his praise" (Hab. 3:3).

This passage reminds one of Deuteronomy 33:2 and possibly is an echo of it:

"And he said, Jehovah came from Sinai,
 And rose from Seir unto them;
 He shined forth from mount Paran,
 And he came from the ten thousands of holy ones:
 At his right hand was a fiery law for them."

Allied with these two verses is Judges 5:4,5:

  "Jehovah, when thou wentest forth out of Seir,
   When thou marchedst out of the field of Edom,
   The earth trembled, the heavens also dropped,
   Yea, the clouds dropped water.
5 The mountains quaked at the presence of Jehovah,
   Even yon Sinai at the presence of Jehovah, the God of Israel."

Though these three passages may point back to the time of the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai, it is quite certain that Habakkuk was also looking forward to the Second Coming of Christ; for, immediately, the Prophet speaks of our Lord's glorious return to earth at the end of the Tribulation. Confirmation of this interpretation is found in Isaiah's prediction of the Lord's coming in Isaiah 63:1-6.
 

In Habakkuk 3:3, line 1, the verb came appears in the text, but on this verb there is a footnote which reads "or, cometh (and similarly to the end of vs. 15)." Grammatically, both renderings are possible. As is well known by all Bible scholars, verbs in the original Hebrew and Aramaic languages do not express the time element. The action expressed by the verb is either completed or incompleted. Usually verbs in the perfect tense express actions in the past, but the facts of each context must indicate definitely the exact meaning intended. Verbs in the imperfect tense always refer to incompleted action, but the facts of the context must likewise point to the exact meaning.

If one adopts the text reading in these verses (3-15), he must understand the Prophet as speaking of the vision of the coming of the Lord as an experience which he had enjoyed in the past. On the other hand, if one adopts the marginal rendering, he is to understand that the Prophet is relating what he sees at the time of the vision. If this second interpretation be adopted, the passage is a prediction of the Second Coming given in terms of the present, tense which has a future significance.
 

   "And his brightness was as the light;
    He had rays coming forth from his hand;
    And there was the hiding of his power.
5  Before him went the pestilence,
    And fiery bolts went forth at his feet.
6  He stood, and measured the earth;
    He beheld, and drove asunder the nations;
    And the eternal mountains were scattered;
    The everlasting hills did bow;
    His going's were as of old,
7  I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction;
    The curtains of the land of Midian did tremble'' (Hab. 3:4-7).

The description of the Lord's Coming by Habakkuk reminds one of a similar prediction found in Psalm 18:1-19. When the Lord returns at the conclusion of the Tribulation, midnight darkness will envelop the globe (Matt. 24:29-31). Suddenly there will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. It will burst forth with a brilliancy that will startle all tribes and people living at that time, and they will mourn because of Him.

According to verse 4, there will flash forth rays from His hand. The word rendered rays means literally "horn," but the word rays seems to fit the context better than the word horns. Since it is said that in these rays is the hiding of His power, it is highly probable that these rays may be some kind of miraculous manifestation which may accurately be thought of as "death rays''—as has been suggested by some Bible students. If these rays do not slay men, they will in some way inflict injuries on the wicked.

Before the conquering Son of Man there will go forth pestilence and fiery bolts (vs. 5). Without a doubt this passage is related to the one found in Jeremiah 25:30-38. We see by an examination of Jeremiah's prediction that the slain of the Lord will be from one end of the earth to the other. These slain ones will be the wicked who spurn all offers of mercy and love.

As He marches forth against His enemies, He stops and shakes the earth by His omnipotent power. Then He charges forward against the armies of the world which are under the command of the Antichrist. A passage related to this one is found in Revelation 19:19-21. When the strong Son of God goes forth to battle against the armies of the nations, the carnage will be appalling.

According to verse 6, the earth will tremble and quake under His mighty power. The mountains will be thrown down, and all the cities of the world will become a shamble. The inveterate enemies of God and of His people will then tremble through fear—as is seen in verse 7.