Habakkuk 3.5-Plague Goes Before the Lord at His Second Advent and Pestilence Follows at His Feet (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Sunday December 31, 2023

Habakkuk: Habakkuk 3:5-Plague Goes Before the Lord at His Second Advent and Pestilence Follows at His Feet

Lesson # 42

Habakkuk 3:3 God will travel from Teman. Then, the Holy One will travel from Mount Paran. Selah. His majesty will cover the heavens so that His praise will certainly fill the earth. 4 In fact, His splendor will be like lightning. Flashing rays of light will come from His hand on His behalf. Indeed, there it covers His strength. 5 Plague will proceed from His presence. Correspondingly, pestilence will follow at His feet. (Pastor’s translation)

As we noted in our study of Habakkuk 3:3-4, Habakkuk 3:3-20 is a prayer which the prophet Habakkuk offered up to the God of Israel, which he directed to be sung in the temple as part of the worship of the God of Israel.

We also noted in verse 3 that Habakkuk 3:3-15 is prophetic referring to the events of the seventieth week and Second Advent of Jesus Christ but alluding to the might acts of God which He performed on behalf of the nation of Israel.

Habakkuk 3:3 contains four prophetic statements with an interjection place after the second.

The first prophetic statement asserts that God will travel from Teman.

The second asserts that the Holy One will travel from Mount Paran.

Both of these prophetic statements refer to the actions of the Lord Jesus Christ at His Second Advent.

These first two statements in Habakkuk 3:3 not only echo Isaiah 63:1-3 but also Obadiah 18, which describes the Israelites destroying Edom, which they will accomplish through their Savior-King, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The third prophetic statement recorded in Habakkuk 3:3 asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ’s majesty will cover the heavens.

Therefore, since Habakkuk 3:3-15 is prophetic, this term “majesty” speaks of the manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ’s sovereign authority over both the human and angelic races as well as over all of creation at His Second Advent.

Now, the fourth and final prophetic statement in Habakkuk 3:3 asserts that praise of the Lord Jesus Christ at His Second Advent will certainly fill the earth.

This statement presents the result of the third.

Thus, a comparison of the two indicates that praise from both men and angels will fill the earth as a result of the Lord Jesus Christ’s majesty covering the heavens at His Second Advent.

This praise will come from both human beings and angels.

This is indicated by the fact that the Scriptures teach that every church age believer in a resurrection body will take part in the Second Advent (cf. Rev. 19-20) as well as every Old Testament saint in resurrection body will do so as well.

Every regenerate human being that survived the prophetic events of the seventieth week and Second Advent will take part in it as well.

Lastly, the elect angels will take part in the Second Advent as well (cf. Rev. 19-20).

This praise of our Lord at His Second Advent speaks of praise as an expression of worshipping the Lord in the sense of offering words of homage to Him as an act of worshiping Him.

The first prophetic statement in Habakkuk 3:4 asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ’s splendor will be like lightning.

This statement is advancing upon and intensifying the third and fourth prophetic statements in Habakkuk 3:3.

The third prophetic statement asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ’s majesty will cover the heavens and the fourth presents the result of the third and assert that His praise will certainly fill the earth.

Therefore, a comparison of these statements indicates that the advancement and intensification is with regards to the Lord manifesting His presence at His Second Advent.

This indicates that not only will the Lord’s majesty cover the heavens so that His praise fills the earth but this manifestation of His presence will be as bright as lightning or in other words, it will be as bright as lightning when it flashes across the earth’s atmosphere.

This first prophetic statement in Habakkuk 3:4 echoes our Lord’s description of His Second Advent in Matthew 24:27 where He compared His appearance at His Second Advent to lightning flashing across the sky.

The second prophetic statement in Habakkuk 3:4 asserts that flashing rays of light will come from the Lord Jesus Christ’s hand on His behalf since they will result in the destruction of His enemies.

The third and final statement in Habakkuk 3:4 asserts that the Lord’s hand covers His strength.

It is advancing upon and intensifying the second prophetic statement in that it is advances upon and intensifies the use of the Lord’s hand.

In other words, not only will flashing rays of light proceed from His hand on His behalf but also His hand covers His strength, i.e. His omnipotence.

His hand covers His strength in the sense that these flashing rays of light which will issue forth against His enemies at His Second Advent are a small manifestation of His infinite power or omnipotence.

In other words, His hand localizes His omnipotence which is infinitely greater than these flashing rays of light which will issue forth from His hand against His enemies at His Second Advent.

Now, here in Habakkuk 3:5, we have two more prophetic statements which will find their fulfillment at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

They also echo the actions of the Lord on behalf of the nation of Israel when delivering them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt to Pharaoh.

The first prophetic statement asserts that plague will proceed from the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ while the second corresponds to the first and asserts that pestilence will follow at the Lord’s feet.

These two prophetic statements correspond to each other because the nouns dě·ḇěr (דֶּבֶר), “plague” and rě·šěp̄ (רֶשֶׁף), “pestilence” both pertain to any epidemic disease with a high death rate.

They both refer to a pandemic occurrence of sickness that causes widespread death, often with the associative meaning of judgment from God.

Also, both prophetic statements correspond to each other because if plague proceeds from the Lord’s presence, then logically pestilence marks the path which the Lord follows.

In Habakkuk 3:5, the noun dě·ḇěr (דֶּבֶר), “plague” is personified as an agent of destruction in the presence of the Lord as He advances against His enemies at His Second Advent.

It is personified here as the forerunner of the Lord’s advance against His enemies or in other words, it is personified as going ahead of Him as He marches against His enemies at His Second Advent.

Like the noun dě·ḇěr (דֶּבֶר), the noun rě·šěp̄ (רֶשֶׁף) is also personified as an agent of destruction in the presence of the Lord but this time from the perspective of passing through His enemies.

Pestilence is personified here as bringing up the rear of the Lord’s army.

It is the aftermath of being confronted by the Lord’s presence.

Now, since the first prophetic statement asserts that plague will proceed from the Lord Jesus Christ’s presence, it is referring to the Lord exercising His righteous indignation by administering the seven seal, trumpet and bowl judgments against the inhabitants of planet earth during the seventieth week of Daniel (Rev. 6-18).

On the other hand, since the second prophetic statement asserts that pestilence will follow at the Lord’s feet at His Second Advent, it is referring to the aftermath of His Second Advent.

In other words, the Lord’s enemies will have experienced His righteous indignation after being confronted with His presence at His Second Advent.

Pestilence will be the result of experiencing His righteous indignation in His presence.

Thus, pestilence follows at the Lord’s feet.

Habakkuk 3:5 is not only prophetic describing what the Lord will do to His enemies at His Second Advent but also echoes the ten plagues He inflicted upon Egypt to deliver the Israelites from the bondage to that nation.

Correspondingly, the Lord Jesus Christ at His Second Advent will inflict plagues and pestilence upon His enemies in order to deliver Israel from her enemies just as He did when He inflicted the ten plagues on Egypt to deliver Israel from the bondage to Pharaoh.

Zechariah 14:12 Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. 13 It will come about in that day that a great panic from the LORD will fall on them; and they will seize one another's hand, and the hand of one will be lifted against the hand of another. 14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the surrounding nations will be gathered, gold and silver and garments in great abundance. 15 So also like this plague will be the plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey and all the cattle that will be in those camps. 16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Feast of Tabernacles). (NASB95)