Chapter 1-3 + Summary of Zephaniah

Summary of Zephaniah:

The book of Zephaniah is Narrative History and Prophetic source of wisdom. Zephaniah wrote it shortly before the fall of Judah in the Southern Kingdom. The purpose of this book was to show the complacent Southern Kingdoms that they were wicked, God used a prophet (Zephaniah) to be His mouth piece and raise a flag of warning for them to change their ways.

Zephaniah speaks of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and the Restoration of the Gospel. It is interesting that we read in Ephesians 4:11-15; “And he [the Lord] game come, apostles; and come, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ [His church]; Till we all come in the nity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11-15)

Zephaniah and Paul both spoke of a time when people would be “unified with one language”, religions around the world would cease to exist, because the Lord would be here and those who wanted to follow the Lord will follow HIS Church and not the church of man, where they might be deceived.

Chapter 1: The Second Coming

The word of the Lord came unto Zephaniah, who was the great great grandson of Hezekiah. He prophesied in the days of Josiah.

Zephaniah explains that the Lord will utterly consume everything from the face of the land and promised judgment to idolaters in the last days. Zephaniah also says that right before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ that “…they shall also build houses, but not inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, but not drink the wine thereof.” (Zephaniah 1:13) When I read this, only one thing came to mind; the housing market bubble. Think about it, how many homes in the U.S.A are left vacant, while we continue to build new subdivisions? Farms, homes they are all desolate in today’s economy. The day of the Lord will be characterized by darkness, gloominess, cloud, trumpet and alarm.

Chapter 2: Seek Righteousness

The Lord calls for the people to gather themselves, seek righteousness and humility while there is still time. Essentially we shouldn’t procrastinate until the end, because then it will be too late. God promises to destroy the cities of the Philistines and give their land as pasture for the remnant of the house of Judah. Moab is described to be like Sodom, and Ammon is described as a likeness of the people of Gomorrah. The Lord will reduce all the gods of the earth to nothing; people from all shores shall worship Him. Ethiopians will be slain by the sword, and the Assyrians will be destroyed because of their great wickedness and pride.

Chapter 3: Nations shall gather to battle

At the Second Coming, all nations shall assemble to battle. Jerusalem is described as being rebellious and polluted. After having poured his indignation onto the nations, the Lord will give the world a common language “…with one consent.” (Zephaniah 3:9), this is when people will understand that His gospel has been restored and religions will no longer exist.