***[begin first transmission] ...and now..(sound of chariots rattling past and horses snorting and the thunder of hoofbeats).....reporting from the front...divinely appointed prophet Nahum...directly in the line of battle...(men screaming obscenities and women screaming)... [end first transmission]***
[...begin second transmission...]
Nahum literally sees this vision as if he is a war correspondent reporting from the battlefield which is in an urban environ. In this vision he is directly immersed in the scene. There is an unnamed attacker coming, advancing against Nineveh and he approaches with unearthly supernatural speed. They are told need to prepare to defend themselves. This prophecy is so certain it is spoken in the present tense as if it is actually happening. If God says it is going to happen, you can be assured it will. We know from history that this unnamed attacker was the Babylonian King Nabopolassar along with King Cyaxeres the Mede. Even though they are commanded to “guard the fortress” and “watch the road”, it will make no difference.
The prophecy of the attack is then interrupted by a mention of the restoration of splendor to Jacob and Israel (nation as a whole?).
The storyline then jumps immediately back to the implements of war of the “attacker” and their red/scarlet color either from blood, copper, or leather. This punctuated image of peace adds an almost surreal aside into a chaotic scene of war approaching like a storm descending on an otherwise picturesque city.
The speed of the “attacker” is also mentioned in the description of their chariots for the metal on them, “flashes on the day they are made ready” and “The chariots storm through the streets, rushing back and forth through the squares. They look like flaming torches; they dart about like lightning. What we read of here is Babylonian/Mede Blitzkrieg! (lightning war). The method of attack here is the same as the technique used by Nazi Germany in the 20th Century. Instead of Stormtroopers (shock troops), planes and tanks we see chariots and crimson warriors. Nineveh calls up their defenses to shield their city but they are doomed. Who can stand against lightning? The palace collapses. The decree from God is that Nineveh will exiled and female slaves will “moan like doves and beat their breasts” [in lament]. They will cry, “Stop!” but their riches will be plundered, plundered and stripped. The fear they experience will be overwhelming. The psychological fear and terror caused by a Blitzkrieg!
[over]
(white noise interspersed with crackling....sssssssssssss^>ssssssss^>sssssssssssssss)
[end of transmission]
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