The Book of Habakkuk was written before the Babylonian Captivity, and speaks of the poor conditions in Judah at that time. Uniquely, it does not include a message for the Kingdom of Judah or the Kingdom of Israel. Rather, it is a dialog between the prophet and the Lord. It begins with two “complaints.”
The first “complaint” sounds as if it were written today.
“Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about (surround) the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.” – Habakkuk 1:4The Lord responds that He is going to do something in the time of Habakkuk. He will send the dreaded Babylonians to overpower and end the current administration of the Kingdom of Judah. This we know as the Babylonian Captivity.
Habakkuk’s second “complaint” asks how the Lord, who is Holy and pure, can look on the iniquity and treachery of mankind. This time, the Lord’s answer is for an “appointed time” (moed – Strong’s H4150) at the last days, the time of the end. The same Hebrew word, moed, is used by the Lord as He refers to His designated “feasts,” or “appointed times,” or “the last days.”
The Lord’s answer continues with a description of a wicked person who “gathereth unto him all nations” and people (Habakkuk 2:5). This last days person sounds like what we refer to as the “anti-Christ.” In my mind this is confirmed by the following five “woes” against this person and spoken by the Lord. You will recall that five is the number associated with the Devil. Please see The Fall of Satan
It is interesting that the five woes includes condemnation of the three parts of Mystery Babylon:
Commercial – “Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil!” – Habakkuk 2:9
Political – “For the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee, and the spoil of beasts, which made them afraid, because of men's blood, and for the violence of the land, of the city, and of all that dwell therein.” – Habakkuk 2:17
Spiritual – “Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.” – Habakkuk 2:19
The Book of Habakkuk concludes with a prayer/song apparently of seven stanzas. The stanzas are not evident in the verse structure of the King James Version.
The prayer is based upon shigionoth (Strong’s H7692), an obscure Hebrew word that is only used one other time in the Bible. That occasion is in David’s Psalm Seven. Both Psalm Seven and Habakkuk’s prayer in chapter three are petitions for blessing and protection in times of trouble. Because of the similarity in the language of Habakkuk’s prayer and that of the Revelation, Habakkuk’s “times of trouble” may be the “time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7), or the Tribulation. Both the last verse of Psalm Seven and Habakkuk chapter three end with praise to the Lord (Psalm 7:17, Habakkuk 3:19).
Once again another “Minor Prophet,” the Prophet Habakkuk and his writings, fit the classification of being a “Millennial Prophet.” May the Lord Jesus and the Millennium come soon! May His name always be praised!