Zephaniah 2:11
ESV - 11 The Lord will be awesome against them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth, and to him shall bow down, each in its place, all the lands of the nations.
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Zephaniah 2:11 proclaims that the people of Moab and Ammon would eventually worship the Lord. Immediately after predicting the destruction of Moab and Ammon, the prophet says, "The LORD will be awe...
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Although God's judgment is pronounced on Moab in Jeremiah 48 for all her sins and pride, yet at the end of the chapter is a promise of hope: 46 Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh are destroyed; your sons are taken into exile and your daughters into captivity. 47 "Yet I will restore the fortunes of Moab in days to come," declares the Lord. Jer 48:46-47 (NIV) It is also interesting to note that the line of the Messiah goes through Ruth, a Moabitess, so in some sense Moab is given a place of honor in the end. In Jeremiah 49, judgment is pronounced on Ammon, but it too is left with a message of hope: 5 I will bring terror on you from all those around you," declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. "Every one of you will be driven away, and no one will gather the fugitives. 6 "Yet afterward, I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites," declares the Lord. Jer 49:5-6 (NIV) So both nations will not be utterly wiped out, but will have their fortunes restored, even though nations with their names do not exist today.
Moab and Ammon will exist, at least spiritually speaking, at some time in the future. At the time the 10-horned beast is establishing his reign over the earth, he will invade Israel (Dan 11:41) but Moab and the chief of the children of Ammon shall escape out of his hand. Afterward, according to Zeph 2:9, Moab and Ammon will be a perpetual desolation, and the remnant of the people of Israel will possess their land. No scripture indicates Moab and Ammon specifically will ever worship the Lord. It is better to use more than one translation for difficult prophetic passages. The KJV says for Zeph 2:11 "The LORD will be terrible unto them: for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, everyone from his place, even all the isles of the heathen." This does not imply that every heathen nation will survive, only that those that actually do survive will worship the LORD. We know from Dan 7:11 that the 10-horned beast will not survive because it is thrown into the fire. Each horn of the best represents a kingdom.
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