Habakkuk 3:14-The Lord Jesus Christ Will Cause the Army of the Antichrist to Turn Their Weapons on Themselves as They Confidently Attack Him

Habakkuk 3:14 You will as a certainty pierce his soldiers’ heads with their own arrows. They will storm forward in order to cause us to disperse. They shout for joy as when devouring the poor in secret. (Author’s translation)

As we have noted many times in our exegesis and exposition of Habakkuk 3:3-13, Habakkuk 3:3-19 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 many times in verses 3-13 that Habakkuk 3:3-15 is not only poetic but also prophetic referring to the events of the seventieth week and Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

They are also alluding to the mighty acts of God which He performed on behalf of the nation of Israel in past history such as during Israel’s exodus from Egypt under Moses.

As we also noted many times in detail in our study of Habakkuk 3:3-13, this author adheres to the eschatological interpretation of Habakkuk 3:3-15 in the sense that he interprets these verses as being fulfilled in the future during the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Christ.

Habakkuk 3:14 contains three more poetic, prophetic statements which will be fulfilled at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

The first solemnly asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ will certainly pierce the heads of those who soldiers who belong to the leader from the wicked house composed of evil people who are mentioned in Habakkuk 3:13.

In Habakkuk 3:13, the noun rō(ʾ)š (רֹאשׁ), “the leader” is figurative language for the Antichrist.

We also noted in this verse, that the noun bǎ·yiṯ (בַּיִת), “house” refers to the house of Satan or the empire which Satan has built which opposes God.

It speaks of a race of moral rational creatures and specifically human beings who originate from Satan who are thus children of the devil. (cf. John 8:44).

Lastly, we noted that the adjective rā·šāʿ (רָשָׁע), “wicked people” refers to unregenerate humanity who are children of the devil.

The one piercing the heads of these men is of course the God of Israel, who is the Lord Jesus Christ since as we noted earlier and in previous studies I adhere to the eschatological interpretation of Habakkuk 3:3-15 in that I interpret these verses as being fulfilled in the future during the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Christ.

Therefore, this first prophetic statement is asserting that the Lord Jesus Christ will as a certainty pierce the heads of Antichrist’s soldiers with their own arrows.

This would imply that the soldiers in the army of the final stage of the Roman Empire will die because of friendly fire.

In other words, they will kill each other unintentionally.

The second poetic, prophetic statement recorded in Habakkuk 3:14 solemnly asserts that the soldiers in the army of the final stage of the Roman Empire led by the Antichrist will storm forward in order to cause the nation of Israel to disperse.

The first person pronominal suffix ʾǎnî (אֲנִי) means “me” referring to the prophet Habakkuk.

However, the prophet is speaking as the representative of the faithful remnant of believers in Israel.

Thus, it should be translated “us” rather than “me.”

Now, the question then arises as to who “us” is referring?

Does it refer to regenerate Jews living on the earth at the Second Advent of Jesus Christ or is it referring to Old Testament saints like Habakkuk coming back with Jesus Christ at His Second Advent while in their resurrection bodies.

The latter would appear to be the case since Habakkuk is speaking of being a part of the Lord Jesus Christ’s Second Advent and defeating His enemies on earth.

In other words, they are with the Lord as He wages His attack against His enemies on planet earth.

Thus, logically speaking, the referent of this first person pronominal suffix ʾǎnî (אֲנִי) must be regenerate Jews from the nation of Israel who lived during Old Testament dispensations when the Jews were governed by the Mosaic Law.

The third and final poetic, prophetic statement in Habakkuk 3:14 solemnly asserts that the soldiers of the Antichrist will shout for you as when devouring the poor in secret.

This would imply that the soldiers of the final stage of the Roman Empire will attack Old Testament saints from the nation of Israel, like Habakkuk, who will be in their resurrection bodies, arrogantly believing that they could defeat these regenerate, resurrection Old Testament saints from the nation of Israel.

Therefore, these three prophetic statements in Habakkuk 3:14 are describing some more of the events which will take place at the Second Advent.

At that time the Lord Jesus Christ will cause the soldiers from the army of the final stage of the Roman Empire led by the Antichrist to fire at each other with their own weapons, which we call today, “friendly fire.”

In other words, He will cause them to become confused so that they fire upon themselves.

Zechariah 12:4 and 14:13 allude to this confusion breaking out among the ranks of the army led by the Antichrist.

Zechariah 12:4 In that day, declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. (NASB95)

Zechariah 14:13 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. (NASB95)

Habakkuk 3:14 also describes these same soldiers belonging to the army of the Antichrist attacking regenerated, resurrected saints from the nation of Israel who lived during the Old Testament dispensations in which Israel was governed by the Mosaic Law.

These soldiers under Antichrist will be so arrogant and presumptuous that they can defeat these immortal saints and Jesus Christ Himself, that they will rejoice while waging this attack just as the powerful often devour economically poor individuals in secret.

In this last prophetic statement, the soldiers of the army of the final stage of the Roman Empire under Antichrist are compared to murderers, who lurk in dark corners waiting to attack a unaware and defenseless person, and who look forward with rejoicing for the moment when they may be able to murder him.[1]

O. Palmer Robertson writes “The irony of the whole process of the destruction of this enemy is amplified by the intimation of self-destruction. with his (own) rods the enemy destroys itself. In his distinctive way of working, the Lord sees to it that the enemies of his people suffer from the severest of humiliations—they destroy themselves with their own weapons. Often God’s people find themselves severely disturbed because they see no visible power as strong as their enemies. But the prophecy of Habakkuk encourages the faithful to assume a strange perspective. They must look at the strength of the enemy as the very source of their own protection. The stronger the enemy, the more sure its own self-destruction. For as God sovereignly raises up powers and brings them down again, he turns the strength of the enemy against itself. Haman hangs on his own gallows (Esth. 7:10). Daniel’s adversaries perish in the very den of lions into which they had cast him (Dan. 6:25 [Eng. 24]). He who digs a pit to entrap the righteous falls into the same ditch that he has made (Ps. 7:6 [Eng. 5]). Abimelech and Shechem, conspiring rebels in the days of the Judges, are cursed with the curse of self-destruction (Judg. 9:19–20). Facing a mighty coalition of enemy nations, Judah under Jehoshaphat must stand still and see the salvation of the Lord (2 Chr. 20:17). When God’s people look across the wilderness, they see a vast array of the corpses of their enemies, for the Lord had set them against one another (2 Chr. 20:24). Characteristic of the last great conflict will be a warfare in which each of the Lord’s enemies shall eat the flesh of his own arm (Isa. 9:19 [Eng. 20]; cf. Ezek. 38:21; Zech. 14:13). Rather than being terrified at the strength of their enemies, God’s people ought to rest confidently in the assurance that the strength of the enemies’ power only displays their capacity to destroy themselves.”[2]

Richard Patterson writes “Verse 14 is particularly picturesque. The enemy’s self-confidence is compared to certain brigands who, confident of realizing their nefarious ends, lurk with eager anticipation in dark, secret places so as to set upon unsuspecting passersby. However, Israel’s overconfident enemy will be rudely disappointed.”[3]

[1] Keil, C. F., & Delitzsch, F. (1996). Commentary on the Old Testament (Vol. 10, p. 426). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

[2] Robertson, O. P. (1990). The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah (p. 240). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

[3] Patterson, R. D. (1995). Habakkuk. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Vol. 3, p. 672). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.