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"Is this the man that made not God his strength (maoz) . . . . . and strengthened (azaz) himself
in his wickedness?" (Psa. 52: 7).
Psa. 68: is also prophetic of the time of the end. It speaks prophetically of Christ's
ascension: "Thou hast ascended on high" (verse 18), and also of His second coming:
"His strength is in the clouds" (verse 34).
In the blessing pronounced by Moses, when he looks down the ages to the time of the
end, he says:--
"There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, Who rideth upon the heaven in thy help,
and in His excellency on the sky" (Deut. 33: 26).
This is the prophetic answer to the world's cry at the empowering of the Beast: "Who
is like unto the Beast? Who is able to make war with him?" If the power of the Beast is
the power of the "air", it is equally true that the Deliverer of Israel "rides upon the heaven
. . . . . and on the sky". In Psa. 68:, also, we read: "Who rideth upon the heavens"
(Psa. 68: 4, 33).
Isaiah speaks of the day to come when Israel will be tempted to trust in chariots and
horses, instead of looking to the Holy One of Israel (Isa. 31: 1). This will be following
the policy of the Man of Sin, "the man who made not God his strength". After rebuking
Israel for their trust in the arm of flesh, the passage goes on to speak of the deliverance
that will be accomplished by the Lord:--
"So shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for Mount Zion, and for the hill
thereof. As birds flying, so will the Lord of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also He
will deliver it; and hovering over He will preserve it" (Isa. 31: 4, 5).
We are anxious not to fall into the mistake of misusing the prophets by attempting to
prophesy ourselves. We simply draw attention to a series of facts, which have an obvious
bearing on the subject before us, and leave the reader to draw his own conclusions. It is
clear that the great world power at the time of the end will be considered invincible. Its
leader will receive power from Satan, and will worship one god only, a "god of
munitions" (Dan. 11: 38 Margin). As we also know that he will worship Satan it seems
clear that this god of munitions must be Satan himself. The Scriptures refer to Satan as
the Prince of the authority of "the air", and it is the general conviction among all nations
that supremacy in the air and world-wide dominion will, in the future, go together. It is
clear also that the allusions to the deliverance of Israel by the Lord, Whose "strength is in
the clouds", Whose excellency is "on the sky", and Who will at length defend Jerusalem
"as birds flying", cannot be explained away. The Second Coming of Christ is often
associated with "clouds", so much so that the Rabbins gave the Messiah the title: "The
Cloud Comer." Taking all these things into consideration the conclusion seems
irresistible that we are living in days when the last weapon is being perfected, the weapon
which will be used by Satan and his agents in their final bid for world power.
While we cannot help feeling saddened at the way in which all nations are preparing
for Armageddon, we are thankful to know that there is another Power that is to be as