(5) Jeremiah 26-33

In chapter 26 Jeremiah predicts the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem by the confederate armies (Jer. 34:1; 2 Kings 24:2) under Nebuchadnezzar (vv. 1-9). He and his armies are, in the prophecy, a type of the King of the North and of the Arab Confederation.

Consequently, Jeremiah suffers persecution from the people because of his testimony of their wickedness and of his prediction of a judgment that was to come. Nevertheless God preserves him, providentially, from the people's intentions to kill him (vv. 8-16). In the same way the faithful Jewish remnant will have to warn the apostate nation about the coming judgment. They will preach the gospel of the Kingdom (Matt. 24:14) and will suffer persecution for this reason.

In chapter 27 Jeremiah sent messengers to the nations around Israel to warn them that the invading armies coming from the north under Nebuchadnezzar would not stop at Judah and Jerusalem, but would also seize their countries, placing them under his yoke.

In chapter 28 Jeremiah encounters greater opposition from those who followed the wicked king Zedekiah (who is a type of the Antichrist, the false Messiah of the Jews). Chapters 26-28 therefore refer, in the form of types, to point no. 2 of the summary.

In chapter 29 Jeremiah sends a message to the Jews captive in Babylon. He announces that Babylon (a type of the western powers under the Beast) will be judged and that they will be set free. In his exhortation he says that they must submit to God's ways, accepting the captivity and waiting until the seventy years are completed, when Babylon would then be judged. The faithful Jewish remnant, during the great tribulation, will receive similar encouragement and will wait day after day for the moment of the destruction of the Beast and of the Antichrist, which will happen at the end of the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27; Rev. 19:19,20). Just as the captives of that time had to wait for the seventy years to be fulfilled, so too the faithful Jewish remnant will wait until the seventieth week of Daniel is completed. Chapter 29, therefore, leads us to points 3 and 4 of the summary, namely, the destruction of the western powers under the leadership of the Beast. Chapters 30-33 contain the promises of the complete restoration of Israel. In chapter 30 the Lord promises to gather again the dispersed tribes of Israel and to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. In chapter 31 they are seen repenting and returning to the land of Israel. In chapter 32 the land is inhabited and cultivated again by the tribes of Israel that returned. In chapter 33 the city of Jerusalem is rebuilt and is inhabited again, with the Lord having His place among the people for their blessing (v. 15). Chapters 30-33 satisfy the interval between points 5 and 6 of the summary.