Tag: god

“DEM BONES” SONG AND EZEKIEL 37

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

(I Forgot to put a title on what I sent today).Your song to start your day (why do I assume that you are reading this in the morning with a cup of coffee?) is “Dry Bones” by Delta Rhythm Boys, a group active from 1934-1987. For any old tiimers reading, they performed on the Amos and Andy show! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVoPG9HtYF8 They sang their version of the song in 1950 and on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1951.

Actually, the song was first sung by the Myers Jubilee Singers and was called “Dem Bones” that you can listen to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d40FrFWxfEQ Very different wording.

“Ezekiel cried dem dry bones…Now hear the word of the Lord…Ezekiel connected dem dry bones…Well the toe bone connected to your foot bone” ….all the way up the body parts to the head and back down disconnecting them to the toe bone!

Of course this song is taken from Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. I can’t imagine actually seeing this amazing vision in person. Ezekiel is sitting down right in the middle of the bones! This sounds like a scene out of a “Criminal Miinds” TV show. You’ve walked around in a cemetery of dry bones but never something like this!

A great slide from Sara McCoy:

God gave Ezekiel the interpretation of this vision.

We can assume that, at the time of the vision, Babylon has already destroyed the temple and Jerusalem (586 BC) and that the majority of the Jews in Judah have been taken to Babylon as captives. There were actually 3 deportations of captives (606 BC, 596 BC, and 586 BC). Ezekiel himself was carried in the 596 BC deportation. He spent the first 5 years of his minstry prophesying in Judah before being taken captive. He then prophesied for 15 years in Babylon.

BTW the northern kingdom of Israel had been taken captive to Assyria in 722 BC, and this vision includes them also, “these bones are the whole house of Israel” (not just Judah). That can also be seen from 37:15-22 where Ezekiel is told to unite two sticks, one with the name “Israel” (the northern kingdom of 10 tribes) and the other with “Judah” (the southern kingdom of 2 tribes. The two sticks are then united into one stick. At some time in the future the two kingdoms would be reunited into one kingdom with one king.

BTW the northern kingdom of Israel had been taken captive to Assyria in 722 BC, and this vision includes them also, “these bones are the whole house of Israel” (not just Judah). That can also be seen from 37:15-22 where Ezekiel is told to unite two sticks, one with the name “Israel” (the northern kingdom of 10 tribes) and the other with “Judah” (the southern kingdom of 2 tribes. The two sticks are then united into one stick. At some time in the future the two kingdoms would be reunited into one kingdom with one king.

But when would all this be fulfilled? There are two keys to interpreting the fulfillment of this prediction.

  1. 37:14 “I will put my Spirit within you”. This can only be predicting the pouring out of the Spirit in the last days of the Jewish nation (from 30 AD to 70 AD) as predicted by Joel 2:28-32 and fulfilled beginning in Acts 2 when Peter said that Joel’s prophecy was beginning to be fulfilled. God told Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. God told Isaiah in Isaiah 44:3, “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” So it is safe to assume that when the prophets predict a pouring out of the Spirit that they are predicting the miraculous outpouring the Spirit on the Jews who believe in Jesus as the Messiah and who became the first church. Only a remnant of the Jews believed in Jesus. The rest were doomed to judgment when God sent the Romans to destroy the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD, killing one million evil, rebellious Jews. The Jewish Christians heeded Jesus’ warning (Matthew 24) and escaped to Pella.

    That means that there is a lot of figurative language in this prediction. The nation of Israel is pictured as dry bones. They are dead spiritually, in their spiritual graves (37:13). The Holy Spirit raises them from their spiritual graves and gives them life, or “breath”. The Jewish remnant who believed in Jesus were raised from the dead spiritually and given eternal spiritual life in the book of Acts and the Spirit was poured out on them. God even puts them back in their land (37:14) which must be figurative also b/c God did not put the believing Jewish remnant church back in control of the holy land in the book of Acts and yet Paul said the remnant had received all of the promises God made to them by the prophets (Romans 9). Unfortunately, many teach that this return to the land was fulfilled when Israel received statehood and control of the holy land in 1948 AD, but there was no pouring out of the Spirit and raising Jews from spiritual death in 1948! That false interpretation of Ezekiel 37 (and several similar passages) had caused so much confusion and misguided political and religious expectations! God never intended to give the believing remnant the holy land itself. That is figurative of the place where the remnant dwell securely, which is in the hands of God.
  2. The second key is 37:24 “David My servant shall be king over them.”

This also has figurative language. The prophets often said that “David” would be king, shepherd, and prince in the Messianic Age and kingdom. Hosea 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. Jeremiah 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.” Ezekiel 34:23-24 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.” Surely it should be obvious that this is figurative language and that Jesus, not David himself, will be king, shepherd, and prince in the Messianic kingdom which is the church. Of course there are the “literalists” who say that all these predictions must be fulfilled literally, so I was not surprised to read one article that predicted that in our future that Jesus will set up his physical kingdom and raise David from the dead to be the prince in the kingdom. At least the author of the article was being consistent. Many literalists will admit that the “David” being king in the Messianic age is figurative and refers to Jesus and yet they insist that the land promise must be literal (and therefore 1948). 37:25 also has the same figurative return to the land as 37:14. Also 37:26-28 predicts that in the futue God would place his sanctuary or tabernacle among them and dwell in them. That has to be the church Jesus established, and we Christians are the temple of God. The book of Revelation is things to take place soon or shortly (1:1-3; 22:5-9). It is written in about 63 AD and predicts the destruction of the old Jerusalem that is about to happen in 70 AD. After describing that event in much figurative language, 21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” The new Jerusalem, i.e. the church, would replace the old Jerusalem which would be destroyed in 70 AD. The new temple or sanctuary would be the church where God dwells. All this should make it obvious that all of Ezekiel 37 would be fulfilled when Jesus established his spiritual kingdom, the church, in the book of Acts and has been reigning over that kingdom for 2,000 years now. The believing Jewish remnant received all the promises of the prophets and were raised from their spiritual graves. Jesus was no doubt referring to this spiritual resurrection in John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Even as Jesus was teaching on earth some of the spiritually dead who heard the voice of Jesus and believed would be raised spiritually, not physically. That is the “hour is coming and is now here” part in 5:25. The 2nd part that “is coming” would be when all the dead of the Old Testament would be raised just as Daniel 12:1-2 predicted. All of Daniel 12 was fulfilled in 70 AD so that resurrection was to be fulfilled in 70 AD also. That is the resurrection that Paul spoke of in Acts 24:15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that is about to be(mello, which always means “about to be” in the New Testament) a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. That is the same resurrection that Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 15 and he added in 15:We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” Thus he is predicting that the resurrection would occur while some of those he is writing to would still be alive. He explained that the resurrected bodies would be spiritual, not physical. Believers, dead or alive, would be given immortality, eternal spiritual bodies. Where did anyone ever get the idea that the resurrection would be physical bodies coming out of the graves?

On a final note, notice that these promises in Ezekiel 37 are not for the whole nation. They are only for those Jews who would “walk in his ordinances and keep them” (37:24), for those Jews who would follow David (Jesus) (37:25), for those Jews who entered into the new covenant that only Jewish Christians would enter (37:26), for those Jews whom God would dwell in (37:27) and we know that God only dwells in believers. The Jews who supposedly fulfilled Ezekiel 37 in 1948 are not followers of Jesus. There are some Messianic Jews today who do believe in Jesus, but most interpreters say that Ezekiel 37 was or would be fulfilled by the nation of Israel even the nation does not believe in Jesus. There is just so much wrong interpretation of Ezekiel 37 and other Messianic predictions in the Old Testament.

If I lost you on this 2nd key, then relax and just remember the gist of the prediction in Ezekiel 37. Just like the Jewish remnant who believed in Jesus, we Gentile believers have been raised from spiritual death and given eternal life in Jesus (Ephesians 2:1-5). We have eternal life that the Spirit of God breathes in us. We will live forever after we die physically (John 11:24-25). Even if you don’t get into all the discussion about Israel and 1948, that really doesn’t matter.

Go back and sing along with the Delta Rythym boys the “dem bones” song and you will feel good.

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Your song to start your day (why do I assume that you are reading this in the morning with a cup of coffee?) is “Dry Bones” by Delta Rhythm Boys, a group active from 1934-1987. For any old tiimers reading, they performed on the Amos and Andy show! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVoPG9HtYF8 They sang their version of the song in 1950 and on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1951.

Actually, the song was first sung by the Myers Jubilee Singers and was called “Dem Bones” that you can listen to. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d40FrFWxfEQ Very different wording.

“Ezekiel cried dem dry bones…Now hear the word of the Lord…Ezekiel connected dem dry bones…Well the toe bone connected to your foot bone” ….all the way up the body parts to the head and back down disconnecting them to the toe bone!

Of course this song is taken from Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37. I can’t imagine actually seeing this amazing vision in person. Ezekiel is sitting down right in the middle of the bones! This sounds like a scene out of a “Criminal Miinds” TV show. You’ve walked around in a cemetery of dry bones but never something like this!

A great slide from Sara McCoy:

God gave Ezekiel the interpretation of this vision.

We can assume that, at the time of the vision, Babylon has already destroyed the temple and Jerusalem (586 BC) and that the majority of the Jews in Judah have been taken to Babylon as captives. There were actually 3 deportations of captives (606 BC, 596 BC, and 586 BC). Ezekiel himself was carried in the 596 BC deportation. He spent the first 5 years of his minstry prophesying in Judah before being taken captive. He then prophesied for 15 years in Babylon.

BTW the northern kingdom of Israel had been taken captive to Assyria in 722 BC, and this vision includes them also, “these bones are the whole house of Israel” (not just Judah). That can also be seen from 37:15-22 where Ezekiel is told to unite two sticks, one with the name “Israel” (the northern kingdom of 10 tribes) and the other with “Judah” (the southern kingdom of 2 tribes. The two sticks are then united into one stick. At some time in the future the two kingdoms would be reunited into one kingdom with one king.

But when would all this be fulfilled? There are two keys to interpreting the fulfillment of this prediction.

  1. 37:14 “I will put my Spirit within you”. This can only be predicting the pouring out of the Spirit in the last days of the Jewish nation (from 30 AD to 70 AD) as predicted by Joel 2:28-32 and fulfilled beginning in Acts 2 when Peter said that Joel’s prophecy was beginning to be fulfilled. God told Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. God told Isaiah in Isaiah 44:3, “I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” So it is safe to assume that when the prophets predict a pouring out of the Spirit that they are predicting the miraculous outpouring the Spirit on the Jews who believe in Jesus as the Messiah and who became the first church. Only a remnant of the Jews believed in Jesus. The rest were doomed to judgment when God sent the Romans to destroy the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD, killing one million evil, rebellious Jews. The Jewish Christians heeded Jesus’ warning (Matthew 24) and escaped to Pella.

    That means that there is a lot of figurative language in this prediction. The nation of Israel is pictured as dry bones. They are dead spiritually, in their spiritual graves (37:13). The Holy Spirit raises them from their spiritual graves and gives them life, or “breath”. The Jewish remnant who believed in Jesus were raised from the dead spiritually and given eternal spiritual life in the book of Acts and the Spirit was poured out on them. God even puts them back in their land (37:14) which must be figurative also b/c God did not put the believing Jewish remnant church back in control of the holy land in the book of Acts and yet Paul said the remnant had received all of the promises God made to them by the prophets (Romans 9). Unfortunately, many teach that this return to the land was fulfilled when Israel received statehood and control of the holy land in 1948 AD, but there was no pouring out of the Spirit and raising Jews from spiritual death in 1948! That false interpretation of Ezekiel 37 (and several similar passages) had caused so much confusion and misguided political and religious expectations! God never intended to give the believing remnant the holy land itself. That is figurative of the place where the remnant dwell securely, which is in the hands of God.
  2. The second key is 37:24 “David My servant shall be king over them.”

This also has figurative language. The prophets often said that “David” would be king, shepherd, and prince in the Messianic Age and kingdom. Hosea 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. Jeremiah 30:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.” Ezekiel 34:23-24 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.” Surely it should be obvious that this is figurative language and that Jesus, not David himself, will be king, shepherd, and prince in the Messianic kingdom which is the church. Of course there are the “literalists” who say that all these predictions must be fulfilled literally, so I was not surprised to read one article that predicted that in our future that Jesus will set up his physical kingdom and raise David from the dead to be the prince in the kingdom. At least the author of the article was being consistent. Many literalists will admit that the “David” being king in the Messianic age is figurative and refers to Jesus and yet they insist that the land promise must be literal (and therefore 1948). 37:25 also has the same figurative return to the land as 37:14. Also 37:26-28 predicts that in the futue God would place his sanctuary or tabernacle among them and dwell in them. That has to be the church Jesus established, and we Christians are the temple of God. The book of Revelation is things to take place soon or shortly (1:1-3; 22:5-9). It is written in about 63 AD and predicts the destruction of the old Jerusalem that is about to happen in 70 AD. After describing that event in much figurative language, 21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” The new Jerusalem, i.e. the church, would replace the old Jerusalem which would be destroyed in 70 AD. The new temple or sanctuary would be the church where God dwells. All this should make it obvious that all of Ezekiel 37 would be fulfilled when Jesus established his spiritual kingdom, the church, in the book of Acts and has been reigning over that kingdom for 2,000 years now. The believing Jewish remnant received all the promises of the prophets and were raised from their spiritual graves. Jesus was no doubt referring to this spiritual resurrection in John 5:25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Even as Jesus was teaching on earth some of the spiritually dead who heard the voice of Jesus and believed would be raised spiritually, not physically. That is the “hour is coming and is now here” part in 5:25. The 2nd part that “is coming” would be when all the dead of the Old Testament would be raised just as Daniel 12:1-2 predicted. All of Daniel 12 was fulfilled in 70 AD so that resurrection was to be fulfilled in 70 AD also. That is the resurrection that Paul spoke of in Acts 24:15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that is about to be(mello, which always means “about to be” in the New Testament) a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. That is the same resurrection that Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 15 and he added in 15:We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.” Thus he is predicting that the resurrection would occur while some of those he is writing to would still be alive. He explained that the resurrected bodies would be spiritual, not physical. Believers, dead or alive, would be given immortality, eternal spiritual bodies. Where did anyone ever get the idea that the resurrection would be physical bodies coming out of the graves?

On a final note, notice that these promises in Ezekiel 37 are not for the whole nation. They are only for those Jews who would “walk in his ordinances and keep them” (37:24), for those Jews who would follow David (Jesus) (37:25), for those Jews who entered into the new covenant that only Jewish Christians would enter (37:26), for those Jews whom God would dwell in (37:27) and we know that God only dwells in believers. The Jews who supposedly fulfilled Ezekiel 37 in 1948 are not followers of Jesus. There are some Messianic Jews today who do believe in Jesus, but most interpreters say that Ezekiel 37 was or would be fulfilled by the nation of Israel even the nation does not believe in Jesus. There is just so much wrong interpretation of Ezekiel 37 and other Messianic predictions in the Old Testament.

If I lost you on this 2nd key, then relax and just remember the gist of the prediction in Ezekiel 37. Just like the Jewish remnant who believed in Jesus, we Gentile believers have been raised from spiritual death and given eternal life in Jesus (Ephesians 2:1-5). We have eternal life that the Spirit of God breathes in us. We will live forever after we die physically (John 11:24-25). Even if you don’t get into all the discussion about Israel and 1948, that really doesn’t matter.

Go back and sing along with the Delta Rythym boys the “dem bones” song and you will feel good.

MY JOY AND CROWN

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Usually I get my creative (what little creativity I get) early in the morning, I mean real early, like 3 AM. This morning I got nothing. So I fell back asleep and than at 7 AM I got a phone call I missed. It was from a man from Trinidad. He had tried to reach me a week ago and I didn’t recognize his name so I didn’t follow up to contact him. This morning something told me to call him, so I did. It was one of the teenagers that we baptized 50 years ago. Of course he is now 64, not the 14 when we baptized him in a crusade (what we called a “gospel meeting” but in a rented hall and not a church b/c there was no church in the town he lived in and where we held the crusade. We baptized several teens in that crusade and started the church in that town. I don’t think that I have seen him in 50 years. He has one grown son living in Queens, New York.I had a long talk with my long, lost brother in Christ. We talked about several of the brothers and sisters in Trinidad, some of whom I have talked to via WhatsApp recently. Many of those we worked with are now older than me and I am 75. Those guys were in their 30’s when we spent 3 years in Trinidad when I was in my mid 20’s. They are men whom we did intense Bible studies with to train them in the book so they could carry on the work in Trinidad after we left in 1976 and they have been carrying on the work in several congregations without any U.S. paid preachers and I am very proud of that. My long lost brother is still very active in the church there. I sadly learned that one of my most trusted friends and leaders in Trinidad now has advanced dementia; he doesn’t know anyone, he just sits and smiles. That church we started with that crusade is having their 50th year anniversary on April 15 of this year.

Ok, breaking news.My wife just came in and I mentioned our brother with dementia, that we should call them. The only phone we had for him and his wife was a landline, so we called it. She answered and we were able to talk to both of them. My dementia brother even perked up and I think remembered us! We chatted for a while and it was a joy. She said we made her day and it certainly made our day. From what she said, I’m not sure my bother has much longer to live.

All this is kinda personal, I know, and thank you for reading if you are reading it. I know everyone has their stories from the past but these are mine today! My mind is filled with a lot of thoughts right now. But I am so thankful that God providentially guided us to do 3 years of mission work in Trinidad back in the 70’s. It was a special, special time. But I think that I can relate more to what the apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:1 “Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.” 1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.” That’s exactly how I feel right now.

Paul also said in 2 Timothy 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” So there is a crown of life waiting for us. In the Roman Empire, crowns were often given to victorious military leaders, so the imagery of a crown carried connotations of triumph and overcoming challenges. It  signifies the reward for enduring hardship and remaining faithful to the end. In other words, eternal life somewhere with the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, angels and other believers. But Paul’s other crown he was looking for was to be rerunited in eternity with all those he had converted to Chist and mentored and taught in his 30 years of preaching the gospel of Christ to the Gentiles. My Trinidadian brothers and sisters will be our crown some day, our joy. Even our boasting. We won’t boast about our good works. We will simply tell Jesus, “Look who I helped to become your brother”. We are all brothers to Jesus and sons of the same Father. Hebrews 2:11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” That means that Jesus, having finished the word of dying for our sins and setting us apart (sanctification) from sin, would tell of the name (and character behind that name) of the Father to His brothers (those who believed in Jesus). When Jesus was raised, he told the women: Matthew 28:10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” He said the same thing in John 17:17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” I don’t think he ever called his apostles “brothers” until after the resurrection. I had never thought of that until writing this article, so the word always has something new for us.

I hope you have someone to be your crown and joy, to greet you when you get to heaven (or whom you can greet if get there before they do!). This has been an amazing day! I could hear my dementia brother’s wife after we had said good bye, and I could still hear her saing “Praise the Lord!”. Yes, praise the Lord.”



JEREMIAH WAS A BULLFROG

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Yeah, that title was just to get your attention. It was the opening line of the song, “Joy to the World”, by Three Dog Night in 1970. It is a nonsensical song with no apparent meaning, just drink the wine and have a good time, joy to the world. “Jeremiah was a bullfrog, he was a good friend of mine, I never understood a single word he said, but I helped him drink his wine.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2wutEzjy_E If you want to watch a cute animated video of the song. or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb02JNAOBZY watching Three Dog NIght with their 70’s long hair.

Now that I maybe have your attention, or maybe lost your attention, I want to talk about the prophet Jeremiah. He prophesied during the reigns of the last 5 kings of the southern kingdom of Judah before the Babylonians destroyed the tempe and Jerusalem in 586 BC. Manasseh, the 14th king of Judah, was the most evil of the 20 kings of Judah, worshipping Asherah and Baal, worshipping the stars, practicing sorcery and witchcraft, even offering his sons to the god Molech, even putting pagan idols in the very temple of God. He reigned for 55 years and was carried captive to Babylon for 12 years, during which he humbled himself before God and repented and was returned to Jerusalem to be finish out his reign. One of the 12 (or so) books of the Apocrypha is the Prayer or Manasseh, the prayer of penitence that he supposedly prayed in Babylon. He truly repented b/c he destroyed the idols when he returned as king. His son Amon, the 15th king of Judah, was evil and only reigned 2 years before being assassinated. Manasseh’ grandson, Josiah became the 16th king of Judah and did many reforms. He became king at 8 years old. He began to seek the Lord at 16. That is a critical age for teens to decide whether to follow Christ or not. They are faced with so many temptations with the internet, the phones, the peer pressure, the drinking, the emphasis on sex. It is amazing that any of them survive all that to become sincere mature Christians, but I know several who have. At 20 he began tearing down the idols to Baal and Asherah that were still worshipped in the land. At 28 he began the massive job of repairing the temple. You can imagine the shape it was in after 55 years of idolatry. While repairing the temple, the pries Hilkiah found the “book of the Law” (i.e. the Pentateuch, the first 5 books of the Old Testament). It is hard to believe that there were not plentiful copies of the Law around, but apparently there were none. Josiah was shaken as he read the curses in Deuteronomy that would come on God’s people if they disobeyed God. He had the Law read throughout the land and made the people pledge to obey it. Unfortunately Josiah died in a battle with Pharoah Neco even though Neco told him that he wasn’t coming through Judah to fight Josiah but instead was going to fight the Assyrians.

Jeremiah, the prophet not the bullfrog, was chosen by God while in his mother’s womb and called to gbe a prophet at an early age (he calls himself a “child”). He did not want to be a prophet. Unlike the bullfrog, his words were not hard to understand. He began prophesying in the 13th year of Josiah’s reign which means that he helped Josiah to do his reforms. He would prophesy during the last 18 years of Josiah’s reign and then after Josiah died about 22 more years of the reigns of the last 4 evil kings of Judah. His message was simple: Judah has committed so much idolatry and evil that, if they don’t repent, God will send the Babylonians to destroy Jerusalem and the temple and take thousands into exile in Babylon for 70 years. He stood in the temple gate and preached his message of doom. He was mocked, put in stocks by he priest Passhur, put in prison, even put in a cistern (a dried up well where Jeremiah “sank in the mud”) to die. He would have died there if He ahd not been rescued. He wept and complained to God about his ministry and wished that he had never ben born. He is forever called the “weeping prophet”. He especially tried to get the last 4 kings after Josiah to repent, but they did not. His words were read to King Jehoiakiim who promptly cut the scroll in pieces and burned them. Can you imagine a president of the U.S. cutting up a Bible and burning the pages? He was surrounded by false prophets like Hananiah who kept telling the people that God would not allow the Babylonians to destroy the temple, the God would save the city from the Babyonian siege just as He had saved the city in the days of King Hezekiah when the Assyrians sieged the city and God killed 185,00 in one night. Jeremiah wore an oxen yoke, telling the last king, Zedekiah, that if he would submit to the Babylonians and repent of evil that God would spare the city. Hananiah broke the yoke and prophesied that the Babylonians would be defeated within 2 years. Jeremiah predicted that Hananiah would die that very year and he did. Zedekiah knew Jeremiah was a true prophet of God but he was influenced by the princes and generals and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, relying on an alliance with Egypt for protection. Egypt was defeated by the Babylonians in 605 BC.

THE 3 DEPORTATIONS OF THE JEWS BY NEBUCHADNEZZAR
1. 605 BC. 2 Kings 24:11-16. He carried off the princes, including Daniel, & mighty men in the 4th year of Jehoiakim. That means Daniel spent the entire 70 years of exile in Babylon.
2. 597 BC. 2 Kings 25:1-7. He carried off King Jehoiachin, Ezekiel, and 10,000 captivesin the brief 3 month reign of Jehoiachin. Ezekiel would prophesy for 22 years, most of which were in Babylon.
3. 586 BC. 2 Kings 25:8-21. He destroyed Jerusalem and the temple after a 2 1/2 year siege, and carried the rest of the people except the poorest in the 11th year of Zedekiah. He. carried Zedekiah to Babylon, killed his sons as Zedekiah watched, and then put his eyes out.

Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations after the city was destroyed, lamenting (expressing sorrow and grief) about the fall of Jerusalem. He did end Lamentations with hope: 3:21-24 “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” He said that b/c God had told him that the Jews would be allowed to return to their land after 70 years, which was fulfilled when the Medes and Persians defeated Babylon in 539 BC and King Cyrus of Persia allowed them to return to rebuild the temple. One good thing that came about due to the 70 year exile is that it cured Judah of their idolatry with no mention of any idolatry after that.

Jeremiah also had a few messages of hope for the distant future when the Messiah would come. 1) 23:5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ This was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus and the saving of the remnant of Jews who would believe in Jesus as the Messiah in the book of Acts.

2) 33:14 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’ 17 “For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, 18 and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man in my presence to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices forever.” This also was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus and the remnant saved in the new Jerusalem, the church. Jesus did ascend to sit on the “spiritual”, not physical, throne of David in heaven where he has reigned for the past 2,000 years and will reign forever. There is obviously figurative language in this prediction since God ended the animal sacrifices of the old covenant. Those animal sacrifices would be a figurative “type” of the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus in the new covenant. I am amazed at those who say that Jesus would establish a literal physical kingdom on earth based on prophecies like these in Jeremiah (and other prophets like Ezekiel). They say that the prophecies must be fulfilled literally, not figuratively, but surely they would not say that we will return to offering animal sacrifices in some future kingdom on earth. The kingdom Jesus came to establish was a spiritual kingdom, not physical. John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world.”

3) 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” This was fulfilled with the coming of the new covenant which originally was established with the remnant of Jewish believers, the early church, in Acts. The book of Hebrews tells us that the new covenant would have Jesus, not Levites, as the high priest and the blood of Jesus, not animals, as the sacrifice for sins. The author of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34 as being fulfilled and predicting that the old covenant was “ready to vanish away or disappear”, which it did when the Romans detroyed the temple in 70 AD, basically ending the Levitical priesthood and the offering of animal sacrifices. The temple has never been rebuilt since then.

Why study the prophet Jeremiah and the history of Judah? The author of 2 Chronicles tells why God allow the evil Babylonians to destroy his holy city Jerusalem and his holy temple. 36:15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy.”

We need to pray for our country. I don’t believe we have had any prophets like Jeremiah to predict our future even though many have tried and have been proven to be false prophets. Many have unsuccessfully predicted the 2nd coming on various dates. Many have that events like 9/11 were sent by God as a warning to us, but we don’t know that was the case. But we have had men preaching from our pulpits all over the country, trying to get us to obey God, to stick to our Christian roots, to repent of our sins, to believe that the Bible is the word of God. Apparently, just as with Jeremiah and Judah, we perhaps as a nation in general have not listened and obeyed the word of God. We are consumed with greed and sexual sins. According to surveys, the majority no longer believe the Bible is the literal word of God and authority for us today. That is apparent by the majority accepting the LGBQT movement, even in many of the mainstream churches. Do you see a pattern repeated here? This country was great b/c it was built on faith in God and the word of God.

Here is a famous quote by Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville in 1831: “I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers—and it was not there. . . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests—and it was not there. . . . .in her rich mines and her vast world commerce—and it was not there. . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution—and it was not there.  Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.  America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” There are questions about the authenticity of this quote and the phrase “America is great b/c America is good”, did he really say that? Another quote by him seems to be authentic: “I went at your bidding, and passed along their thoroughfares of trade. I ascended their mountains and went down their valleys. I visited their manufactories, their commercial markets, and emporiums of trade. I entered their judicial courts and legislative halls. But I sought everywhere in vain for the secret of their success, until I entered the church. It was there, as I listened to the soul-equalizing and soul-elevating principles of the Gospel of Christ, as they fell from Sabbath to Sabbath upon the masses of the people, that I learned why America was great and free, and why France was a slave.”

So we keep hearing “Make America Great Again” recently, with emphasis on restoring our financial security by cutting federal waste and spending (which I highly approve of) and our military strength in dealing with all the crisis in the world. But I don’t hear an emphasis on getting back to faith in the Bible as the word of God. It will take a grass roots revival like the First and Second Great Awakenings or the prayer revival of Jeremiah Lanphier in 1857 to make America great again. But I feel, like Jeremiah, that such a revival is not happening. We do see signs of revival on college campuses, which is encouraging, and we see mega churches drawing great numbers. But the statistics still say that the majority do not believe that the Bible is the word of God. So, even among those who say they do believe it to be the word of God, we have the LGBQT movement in many churches. Pray for our country.

One of the most misused passages in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” It has been often used to say that God has nothing but good for believers in their future welfare. But read the entire context: 29:10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. Notice that this promise of. future welfare is to be fulfilled after the 70 years in exile when the Jews will be allowed to return to their land and rebuild the temple. Notice it would only be fulfilled if the people began to seek God with all their heart. But even then, only after 70 years of slavery in Babylon. 29:18 I will pursue them with sword, famine, and pestilence, and will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, that I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’  So don’t use this passage in 29:11 to promise people a wonderful future that God has planned for them. Eventually, they will have a guaranteed eternal life future, and God may even bless them with a wonderful life on earth, but that is not always the case. That has not been the case for the past 2,000 years of Christianity as believers have been persecuted repeatedly for their faith.

So the 70 years of exile cured the Jews of their idolatry. They did return in 536 BC to rebuild the temple and did so in spite of great opposition from the Samaritans to their north. There was a great revival led by Ezra the scribe in the 2nd return from Babylon with emphasis on keeping the Law. Nehemiah 8:1And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. 2 So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose.” That might be the first preacher pulpit even built! They re-discovered the Feast of Booths from the Law that was read to them, and they had a wonderful, joyful celebration of the feast for 7 days. 8:17And there was very great rejoicing. 18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.” We will only have a grass roots revival if we can get our people to believe that the Bible is the literal word of God, that sin is what God defines as sin in his word. We will only have a grass roots revival if we turn to God to seek God with all our hearts, to put away the greed and sexual sins so prevalent in our society.

It took 70 years and a lof of punishment to get Judah to repent of their idolatry and turn to God. What might it take to get our country to return to God? We trust in our financial security so much. Maybe a major depression would cure us? We trust in our military strength so much. Maybe some horrible world crisis will show us that we, like Rome, are not invincible. Maybe God will not cause something bad to happen to get us to repent. Maybe he will just let us reap what we sow. Maybe God doesn’t even intervene in world affairs anymore. Maybe he does.

I don’t know the answers to all those questions. All I know is that we need to pray for our country more than ever before. But this is not about America. It is about the people in our country turning to God to be saved. People were being saved continually during the evil Roman Empire in the first 3 centuries AD. Millions of Chinese Christians are being saved in an atheistic country China. This is about souls being saved. But when America did follow God more fully, it enabled America to use their plentiful material blessings to spread the gospel and help the poor and oppressed all over the world. Many Christian oranizations have done so much good. Our wealth has enabled generous giving to such causes. Many impoverished Christians in Africa, striving just for survival in Muslim or dictator based countries, do not have the wealth we have to share with the world. From that vantage, we do want America to continus as a strong nation even if we can’t get the majority to return to our Christian roots.

Paul’s prayer in 1 Timothy 2 sums it up. 2:1First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. I leave you with that prayer. Pray for our country. Pray for believers in every country. Pray that many will be saved in every country. Pray.

CHANGE MY HEART OH GOD

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Mark 7:14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Pharisees had just criticized Jesus’ disciples for not washing their hands before eating. In parenthesis, Mark explains that this was their tradition of washing hands when they came from the market place, which means washing away touching anything that a Gentile had touched, thus making them unclean. This was not a command under the Law for all Jewsalthough the priests were commanded to wash their hands before serving in the tabernacle or temple, so this was just a tradition of the Pharisees. Jesus then went on to show how hypocritical the Pharisees were. They held to their hand washing tradition legalistically, condemning those who disobeyed, and yet they would avoid supporting their parents in need, using a hypocritical oath saying they had given their money to God and didn’t have any for their parents. Mark 7:6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; 7 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

That led to a teaching by Jesus of what defiles a man. He was not saying that he Jews should no longer follow the laws of not eating unclean meats. That would contradict what Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” The Law would not be abolished until 70 AD according to Hebrews 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” That verse was written around 60 AD predicting the vanishing of the Law in 70 AD. Even the Jewish Christians continued to keep the Law during the transition period from 30 AD to 70 AD.

What Jesus is saying is that it’s not really what you eat that defiles you. What you eat is digested and the wastes come out. It’s what is in your heart that defiles you and what’s in your heart will always end up coming out of your mouth, your mind, your actions. Here’s a great image.

As the capital one commercial says, “What’s in your wallet?” What’s in your heart?

These verses comfort me and scare me. The other day in inservice at school, teachers in groups were asked to give a positive comment to all the teachers in their group. All the compliments given me were “Nicky has a lot of knowledge that he shares.” That’s good but other treachers got comments like “John really cares about the kids and loves them.” Why am I known more for my knowledge than my love.

Bottom line, it’s comforting to know that God looks at the heart. David was a man “after God’s own heart”. He committed adultery and murder, but God forgave him b/c David had a pure heart even though he really messed up. He later begged God, “Create in me a clean heart” again. I have so many bad things in my heart but it is comforting that the grace of God will forgive me just as He forgave David.

But then it’s scary to know that God looks past all my knowledge, good deeds, Bible teaching and preaching, and mission work to see what’s really in my heart. He knows when I am being hypocritical, unloving, judgmental, bitter, proud. He saves me by His grace but He expects me to change my heart, to try to get rid of all the bad things in my heart.

He gives me the Spirit to help me do that b/c my flesh is so evil that I can’t do it by myself. Ezekiel 36: 26 And I will give you ia new heart, and ia new spirit I will put within you. iAnd I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God.” (Romans 8:6-8) When you have those evil thoughts in your heart, if you ask the Spirit to help you get rid of them and replace them with pure thoughts, then He will help you. It’s called the “renewing of your mind” b/c the heart is just an organ and it’s really all about the mind. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

So we will never have a perfectly pure heart. That’s the scary part. We can fall from grace and lose our salvation. I need to try harder to allow the Spirit to change my heart. In Acts 8, Simon had been baptized but then he wanted to buy the apostles’ gift of laying hands on believers to give them miraculous gifts. Acts 8:20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” That means that a baptized believer could be in serious trouble with God if his/her heart is not right before God.

So this article is to enoucrage me to try harder to let the Spirit help me change my heart.

Here’s a great song to close with. Please listen to it for your devotional thought for the day and then pray, “change my heart oh God, make it ever new…”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlSmG-_eJTU



DOES ESCHATOLOGY EVEN MATTER?

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

First, what is eschatology? Eschatology is the study of the end times and the “last things” (the 2nd coming, the resurrection, the judgement). There are 5 basic views of eschatology. The word “millennial” is based on the 1,000 years (a millennium) of Revelatioin 20 that Christ and the saints will reign for a thousand years, the end of which will be the battle of Armageddon.

1)A millennial –Realized Millennial. (Greek: a – “no” + millennialism) is the view in Christian eschatology which states that Christ is presently reigning through the Church and that the “1000 years” of Revelation 20:1-6 is a metaphorical reference to the present church age which will culminate in Christ’s return (the 2nd coming). .

2_ Post-Millennial – The 2nd coming will be at the end of the millennium. This was a popular view in the 19th and 20th centuries among abolitionists and social gospel reformers who hoped to create a 1,000 years of social reform that would enable the 2nd coming to happen.

3) Pre-Millennial – Historical. After the tribulation, the 2nd coming will be the beginning of the millennium. From gotquestions.org “Historic premillennialism was held by a large majority of Christians during the first three centuries of the Christian era. Many of the church fathers such as Ireneaus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Hippolytus, and others taught that there would be a visible kingdom of God upon the earth after the return of Christ. Historic premillennialism taught that the Antichrist would appear on earth and the seven-year tribulation would begin. Next would be the rapture, and then Jesus and His church would return to earth to rule for a thousand years When Christianity became the official religion of Rome in the fourth century, many things began to change, including acceptance of historic premillennialism. Amillennialism soon became the prevailing doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church.”

4) Pre-Millennial – Dispensational. A 2nd coming to rapture the church, followed by a 2nd coming with the church after the tribulation that will begin the millennium. 7 periods or dispensations are emphasized:

Here is a chart that compares the first 4 views of eschatology. There are several variations of some of these views, but this chart summarizes the basics.

5) Preterism. Preterism is a Christian belief that most or all Bible prophecies have already happened. The term comes from the Latin word preter, which means “past”. Full preterism believes that all have already happened by 70 AD when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. The resurrection, the 2nd coming, and the judgment all happened at 70 AD. The millennium is the 40 year period from the beginning of the church on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) in 30 AD to 70 AD (thus the 1,000 years of Revelation 20 is a figurative number, not a literal 1,000 years). The new heavens and new earth is the new Messianic system and age that replaced the old heavens and earth (i.e. the Jewish system and age). The new Jerusalem is the church that replaced the old Jerusalem that was destroyed in 70 AD. The new temple (Ezekiel 40-48) is the church in which God dwells.

Does eschatology even matter? Is it even important or worth the time to study eschatology? Isn’t faith in Jesus and living the Christian life all that really matters?

One’s view of eschatology is not necessarily a “heaven/hell” issue that a believer must understand correctly in order to be saved. No one will get to the pearly gates and be refused entrance b/c he/she misunderstood the correct view of eschatology above. One’s view of eschatology could, however, cause a believer to lose faith in the Bible prophecies and lose faith in the Bible being the inerrant word of God if that particular view of eschatology was proven to be false. That could in turn cause him/her to lose faith in the central message of the Bible, which is salvation by grace through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as the sacrifice for our sins. If you think the Bible prophecies did not come true as predicted, then the Bible is full of false prophesy. Why would you believe that the Bible is right about the salvation part if you think it is wrong about the eschatology part?

I would encourage you to stop now and read this article https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Disappointment about the “great disappointment of 1843 AD. William Miller had predicted the 2nd coming would be in 1843 based on Daniel 8. People sold their possessions and waited on house tops on October 22, 1844 but nothing happened. “Henry Emmons, a Millerite, later wrote, ‘I waited all Tuesday [October 22] and dear Jesus did not come;—I waited all the forenoon of Wednesday, and was well in body as I ever was, but after 12 o’clock I began to feel faint, and before dark I needed someone to help me up to my chamber, as my natural strength was leaving me very fast, and I lay prostrate for 2 days without any pain—sick with disappointment’.” The followers of Miller were mocked after the prediction failed. Most of the Millerites did not lose their faith in the Bible. They came up with possible explanations for the failure and started new groups. One of those groups started when Hiram Edson theorized that Christ did return on Oct 22, 1844 but his return was an invisible event in heaven where he entered the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary and began investiagative judgment that would end in his visible 2nd coming. Ellen G. White became the prophetess of this group which became the Seventh Day Adventists. She taught that a major fault of Milerism was the church worship on Sunday instead of the sabbath day. The 7DA’s meet on Saturday.

Another interesting group that eventually resulted from the great disappointment was the Baha’i faith. “Members of the Baháʼí Faith believe that Miller’s interpretation of signs and dates of the coming of Jesus were, for the most part, correct. They believe that the fulfillment of biblical prophecies of the coming of Christ came through a forerunner of their own religion, the Báb, who declared that he was the “Promised One” on May 23, 1844, and began openly teaching in Persia in October 1844.”

Most of the Millerites still kept their faith in the Bible, which is good. I think that was b/c people just generally believed that the Bible was the inerrant word of God back in the 19th century. They might admit that Miller was wrong on his date for the 2nd coming, but they would never say that he was right on the date but that the Bible had made a false prophecy about that date. So they just came up with possible explanations for the failure, hoping that someone else would figure out the correct interpretation of the Bible on the 2nd coming prediction. There have been many since then who predicted date for the 2nd coming. The Jehovah’s Witnesses predicted 1975. Herbert Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God predicted 1936, and then 1942, and then 1972. Jeane Dixon predicted 1962 and later changed it to 2020. Charles Manson predicted that Helter skelter, an apocalyptic race war, would occur in 1969. Chuck Smith, the founder of Calvary Chapel predicted that the generation of 1948 would be the last generation and the world would end by 1981. In late 1976, Pat Robertson predicted on his The 700 Club TV programme that the end of the world would come in that year, but later changed it to 2007. Edgar Whisenant predicted in his book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988 that the Rapture of the Christian Church would occur between 11 and 13 September 1988. Harold Camping predicted the Rapture would occur on 6 September 1994. When it failed to occur he revised the date to 29 September and then 2 October of 1994, but eventually changed it to 2011. Isaac Newton predicted that Christ’s Millennium would begin in 2000 in his book Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John. Yisrayl Hawkins, pastor and overseer of The House of Yahweh, predicted in his February 2006 newsletter that a nuclear war would begin on 12 September 2006 (that one interests me b/c one of the young men I trained in Trinidad to be a preacher later converted to the House of Yahweh). Hal Lindsey ublished a book, The Late Great Planet Earth, suggesting Christ would return in the 1980s, probably no later than 1988. During and before 1999, there were widespread predictions of a Y2K computer bug that would crash many computers at midnight of 31 December 1999, causing malfunctions that would lead to major catastrophes worldwide, and that society would cease to function.

Things have changed since the 19th century when most in the U.S. believe the Bible to be the inerrant word of God. Now, only about half believe that the bible is the “inerrant” word of God, i.e. without errors, fully inspired by God. About 1/4 of the world population are Muslims and 7% are atheist or agnostic. Then there are the non Christian Jews (only 0.2% of the world population). There are about 16% that are “religiously unaffiliated” (not connected to any particular rellgion) made up of atheists, agnostics, and even believers in God who aren’t connected to a church (the “nones” in religious surveys). These groups do not believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God. So, when they read of a failed prediction of the 2nd coming, they tend to say that means that the Bible is full of failed prophecies, that it is written by fallible men who make false predictions. They say that the Bible is not reliable and cannot be trusted.

That leads us to the core of the full preterism eschatology. Jesus predicted his own return or 2nd coming only 4 times in the synoptics (Matthew 10:23; 16:27,28; 24:30-34; 26:64 and in the parallel passages in Mark and Luke). In all 4 predictions, Jesus predicted that he would return within the lifetime of the people he was speaking to. In Matthew 24 He predicted 29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. The Greek word for “generation” is genea and always in the New Testament refers to a 40 year period or the people living in a 40 year period.

He even predicted: Matthew 16:27 `For, the Son of Man is about to (the Greek word is mello which always in the New Testament means something about to happen although most translators incorrectly translate it “certain to happen”) come in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work. 28 Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign.’ Jesus is not predicting, as some claim, his transfiguration which occurred after he made this prediction b/c the context is a coming in judgment and the transfiguration was not such a coming. It is a clear prediction of the 2nd coming within the lifetime of those he was speaking to and that some of the ones he was speaking to would still be alive to see his 2nd coming. There is no plausible way to avoid this interpretation of what Jesus was predicting. The Muslims, atheists, and non Christian Jews see this and conclude that Jesus was a false prophet. I mean, what do we conclude about all those failed predictions by men that I mentioned earlier? We conclude they were false prophets and we should not want to follow those false prophets in their varioius groups they started. Why would anyone follow Jesus and be a Christian if he was a false prophet? I wouldn’t.

BTW, there are no other predictions in the synoptics by Jesus of a return or coming back other than those 4 mentioned. I challenge someone to find a verse where he predicts a coming back that it not within the generation of those he was speaking to. Surely it would be there if this is a core teaching of Christianity for the past 2,000 years. BTW the apostles taught the same thing about the 2nd coming. James said the “coming of the Lord is at hand” (James 5:8). Peter said “the end of all things is at hand” (1 Peter 4:7). Paul taught that the 2nd coming was “already at work” as he was writing 2 Thessalonians 2. Paul said that “we (including the Christians he was writing to) shall not all sleep (be dead) but we shall all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51) when the resurrection would happen and believers, dead or alive, would be given immortality. John said they were living in “the last hour” (1 John 2:18). God told John that the predictions in Revelation would “soon take place, the time is near” (Rev 1:1-3) and tied that to Rev 1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.” He repeated that in Rev 22:6 that the predictions “must soon take place” and added “behold, I am coming soon” (22:7). He added “the time is near” (22:10) and “surely I am coming soon” (22:20). Quotations from the ESV.

The predictions by Jesus and the apostles of an imminent 2nd coming within the lifetime of those they were speaking or writing to is obvious. If these predictions didn’t come true, then Jesus and the apostles were false prophets. One could say they were just “mistaken”, but if that was so then they are not inerrant and how could we trust any of the rest of the things they wrote?

But just as with the great disappointment, many Christians see this problem with those predictions but it doesn’t cause them to lose their faith in the Bible where those predictions are found. Even C.S.Lewis said that Jesus was wrong in his prediction of an imminent 2nd coming but he still chose to follow Jesus an Christianity. They come up with other possible interpretations of those predictions. Some say “yes, Jesus and the apostles predicted an imminent 2nd coming that would occur in their lifetime, but due to the Jewish rejection of Jesus He postponed or delayed that imminent 2nd coming”. The Hebrew letter refutes that idea. Hebrews 10:37 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay.” They try to make the word “soon” in Revelation 1 and 22 to mean “soon in God’s time frame, which could be thousands of years”. But John says “Rev 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” It should be obvious that the reason the readers should keep the things written was that the time was soon or near in their lifeime. What if I told my students at school, “you better study hard on this new material b/c we are have a test on it soon”. I obiously mean “soon” in their time frame.

Such possible explanations of how Jesus and the apostles’ predictions did not come true might suffice most Christians and not cause them to lose their faith in Jesus or the apostles, but it would hinder my faith greatly. It also gives the atheists, skeptics, Muslims, and non Christian Jews plenty of arguments against Jesus and Christianity (which is the case in many of their writings). Instead, we are called to “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). I, for one, am going to try to make a defense (apologia: Defense, Answer, Apology) on behalf of Jesus and God’s word. We get our word “apology” from that Greek word, but did not mean an apology for us being Christians. “ In the New Testament, “apologia” refers to a formal defense or justification of one’s beliefs, actions, or position. It is often used in the context of defending the Christian faith against accusations or misunderstandings. The term implies a reasoned argument or explanation, rather than a mere excuse.” Sometime it seems that Christians apologize for being Christians who claim that Jesus is the only way of salvation. For many, they seem to be apologizing for Jesus’ predictions of an imminent 2nd coming that didn’t come true, like “I know he said that but it didn’t really mean that or he didn’t really mean it like it sounds, but He is still the Savior”. I might say something radical that offends someone, and a friend of mine might try to apologize for what I said, “oh, he didn’t really mean that”.

Back to the 5 views of eschatology. The only view that fits the facts is the “full preterism” view. Again, this whole discussion might seem like a waste of time to some. “Interesting, but who cares. Eschatology doesn’t really matter”. But to some, a correct interpretation of Jesus and the apostles’ predictions of the 2nd coming might increase their faith in the Bible as the inerrant word of God. That in turn might increase their faith that the core message of salvation in Jesus is true. I had a friend recently tell me that this was indeed the case for her husband.

A correct understanding of all this should help us appreciate the church, which is the spiritual kingdom that Jesus said was “at hand” (Mark 1:15). He said ““My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” (John 18:36). He never came to establish an earthly kingdom, nor will he come back to establish one in our future. Believing that Jesus will return to set up an earthly, physical kingdom (like the OT kingdom of David) keeps many from: Eph 3:21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.” It puts an emphasis on possible future physical blessings instead of the spiritual blessings that we have right now in Jesus and in the church.

I hope this article is helpful to someone, or at least food for thought! Thanks for reading (i.e. if you made it reading it to the end!).

LORD I NEED SOME ANSWERS

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Have you been there? You have some things really troubling you? You might even be a little depressed? You have some key decisions that you need to make? You are thinking about quitting in some way? You feel like others don’ appreciate you? You are starting to imagine some conspiracy plots against you?

But you also know that maybe you deserve some of the things that are troubling you? You know your secret sins even if others don’t. You know that you have had some ulterior motives that you don’t want others to know about.

You know that pride could be part of your problem. It might be that the Lord has already been trying to answer your questions and lead you in a good path but your pride has kept you going on your own path. God said, “My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts”. Maybe you have been relying on your own thoughts and ways instead of God’s. Maybe God is testing you. Maybe God is trying to humble you. Asa, Uzziah, and Hezekiah were great men of God until they were lifted up with pride. You don’t want to let your pride cause you to make some really, stupid, rash decisions. You want to just selfishly pull away from people, from the things you have been involved in. The future looks bleak. You have so much to be thankful for, but you are in a real funk. You might even have considered trying to drink your problems away, although that is not characteristic of you. You dont know who to talk to and who to turn to for help.

Lord, I need some answers. How do I get them? Well it starts with humbly asking God for wisdom. James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.” Then in faith trust God that He will give you some answers and lead you in the best path for you to take. Then, the hard part, wait for Him to clearly show you the answers. You look for signs or indicators of God’s leading. You try not to just look for the signs that might want to find, but be totally open to any and all signs. You think you have a sign and then you look for confirmation of that sign. Gideon asked God for a sign: a wet fleece on dry ground. He got it, but then he asked for confirmation: a dry fleece on a wet ground. I can’t believe the Lord gave him the 2nd sign without scolding him for his lack of faith.

I know some people who are just so decisive. They survey the situation. They make decisions and take action. They never second guess themselves or look back if they make a bad decision. But some of us don’t have as much confidence in our decision making skill. We have trouble making decisions. We second guess our decisions. We are always asking “What if I hadn’t don that, or what if I had done that”. We worry about making a decision and we worry if we made the right decision. That doesn’t sound like a lot of confidence that the decisions you make are in harmony with what the Lord wants you to do. If you feel like the Lord is helping you make a decision, then you make it and then the results and consequences of your decision over to the Lord.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” I am in need, Lord, please hear my prayer and help me.

“Lord, I am feeling lost and uncertain right now. I come before you with a heavy heart, seeking your guidance and wisdom. Please, reveal your answers to the questions that trouble me, and help me to see clearly the path you want me to follow. I trust in your love and your perfect plan for my life. Amen.” 


So I prayed and now I wait. I am afraid He will give me some answers that I don’t want to hear even though I say that I want answers. I was going to quit, maybe make a big show of quitting with an bad attitude. What if he tells me to get my act together, quit my pity party, and don’t quit. What if he tells me that he had me in just the right spot that he wanted me to be in.

Things will usually look better in the morning. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5 These troubling, uncertain times are when you find out how much you really depend on and trust God to lead you. Use them to grow closer to God.

If this article seems to be just what you need to hear today, then that’s great. Praise God and pray. Pray that prayer several times. William Carey was the father of Protestant mission work. He had a dream of preaching the gospel to the heathen Hindus in India. He met resistance from his Calvinistic preachers who said that, if God wanted that done in India, then God would send the Spirit directly to get it done without anyone even going there. But Carey had a saying: “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” He went. He had many difficult times and lost his family, but he ended up printing, not preaching. He printed to Bible in the native Indian dialects that led to the conversion of thousands. His picture is on a commemorative stamp.

Once you think you know what the lord wants you to do, then be bold. Expect great things from God. Attempt great thing for God. If He closes a door, then he will open another door for you.

God bless you (and me) as we try to seek answers from the Lord. If this article doesn’t fit where you are right now, then be assured it fits someone else. Go encourage them. Let God use you to help someone who is down right now.

START YOUR DAY WITH THESE 7 THINGS

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Philippians 4:4 Always be filled with joy in the Lord. I will say it again. Be filled with joy.

5 Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. 7 And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.” ESV

The secret to having good days is to start the day right. A great place to do that is Philippians 4.

1 Rejoice, be filled with joy. If you have eternal life, why does anything on earth really matter. The worst case scenario might be the health or death of loved ones, but when we all get to heaven, sickness and death here on earth will seem like a minor illness that you had 30 years ago.

2 Be kind and gentle. Try a little kindness. Instead of focusing on my problems, my work to be done, my stuff, let your mind think of ways you can show little acts of kindness to others today. It will bring joy to you and it will get your mind off your stressors.

That Glen Campbell song Try A Little Kindness is great:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvswocNN-g8

 If you see your brother standing by the road
With a heavy load from the seeds he sowed
And if you see your sister falling by the way
Just stop and say, “You’re going the wrong way”

… You’ve got to try a little kindness
Yes, show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

… Don’t walk around the down and out
Lend a helping hand instead of doubt
And the kindness that you show every day
Will help someone along their way

 3. Don’t worry. 1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you.” ERV It’s nice to be able to write down on a piece of paper the things that you are concerned or worried about (there is a fine lline between the two) and then just hand that paper over to someone whom you trust, who has the capabiltiy and resources to take care of everything you put on that paper, and to just tell that person “Take care of these things for me, please”, and then relax and trust the person to take care of it all. It frees you to do other good stuff.
Luke 10: “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. 42 Only one thing is important. Mary has made the right choice, and it will never be taken away from her.” ERV

4. Pray. Have A Little Talk With Jesus. That song goes back to 1937, first sung by The Stamps Quartet.

I may have doubts and fears
My eyes be filled with tears
But Jesus is a friend who watches day and night
I go to him in prayer
He knows my every care
And just a little talk with Jesus makes it right

Now let us have a little talk with Jesus
Let us tell Him all about our troubles
He will hear our faintest cry
And He will answer by and by

And when you feel a little prayer wheel turnin’
And you will know a little fire is burnin’
You will find a little talk with Jesus makes it right

5. Be thankful. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Always be full of joy. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Whatever happens, always be thankful. This is how God wants you to live in Christ Jesus.” ERV I pray with the ACTS model: Adoration (praise), Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplecation (for others or requests). Sometimes I start with the T instead of the A. Often if we just start with thanking our Father for all the good things he has given us, it minimizes the bad things that we might be concerned about.

The song Count Your Many Blessings is always a great one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v18f_y2wA8

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
    And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold.
Count your many blessings, money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your Lord on high.

So amid the conflict, whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

6. Tell God your requests, what you need, what you want. That’s the S (supplecation) in the ACTS model. Philippians 4:6, which says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” NASV The word “supplication” comes from the Latin “supplicare” which means “to plead humbly.” The Greek word for supplicaation is deésis: Derived from δέομαι (deomai), meaning “to beg” or “to ask. “From biblebasedliving.com “Supplication is an essential aspect of prayer as it involves making specific requests to God. It goes beyond general prayers of praise or thanksgiving and allows believers to bring their specific needs before the Lord. When we engage in supplication, we humbly acknowledge our dependence on God and His ability to meet our needs. It is an act of surrendering our desires to His will and seeking His guidance in all matters.” Ephesians 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”
Make your requests known to him (He already knows what you are thinking or wanting or needing, but He wants to hear you ask, showing your dependence and trust in Him. Then, leave the answered prayers up to God. “Thy will be done”. Whatever you think is best, Father, I’m ok with that.

7. Find the peace of God. Let the peace of God “guard” against all negative emotions and feelings. The Greek for guard is phroureó: To guard, protect, keep watch over. “The term “phroureó” would have been familiar to early Christians as it was used in both military and civilian contexts to describe the act of keeping watch or protecting something valuable.” 2 Corinthians 11:32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.” A military or civilian guard keeps anyone or anything out that would endanger the thing or person that he/she is guarding. The peace of God will keep out fear, doubt, worry, bitterness, anger, wrath, hate, envy, jealousy, lust, pride, frustration, guilt, disgust, helplessness, loneliness, confusion, sadness, shame, self-criticism, judging others, contempt, stress, inadequacy, resentment. The peace of God will not allow those emotions to keep you from rejoicing in the Lord. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” The Greek for rule is brabeuó: To rule, to arbitrate, to decide, to govern. From the root word βραβεύς (brabeus), meaning “an umpire” or “a judge.” From AI: “In ancient Greek culture, athletic games were a significant part of society, and the role of the umpire was crucial in ensuring fair competition. The umpire, or “brabeus,” was responsible for enforcing the rules and awarding the prize to the victor. This cultural backdrop provides a vivid metaphor for the spiritual life, where believers are encouraged to let the peace of Christ rule in their hearts, much like an umpire ensuring harmony and order.”

The song Peace, Perfect Peace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibqgZxWa6bM

I need to read this article every morning and listen to these songs!


KING HEZEKIAH OF JUDAH:

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

Again, https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Hezekiah.html has a great article on Hezekiah. Quoting:

“Hezekiah, a son of the wicked King Ahaz, reigned over the southern kingdom of Judah for twenty-nine years, from c. 715 to 686 BC. He began his reign at age 25 (2 Kings 18:2). He was more zealous for the Lord than any of his predecessors (2 Kings 18:5). During his reign, the prophets Isaiah and Micah ministered in Judah.

After Ahaz’s wicked reign, there was much work to do, and Hezekiah boldly cleaned house. Pagan altars, idols, and temples were destroyed. The bronze serpent that Moses had made in the desert (Numbers 21:9) was also destroyed, because the people had made it an idol (2 Kings 18:4). The temple in Jerusalem, whose doors had been nailed shut by Hezekiah’s own father, was cleaned out and reopened. The Levitical priesthood was reinstated (2 Chronicles 29:5), and the Passover was reinstituted as a national holiday (2 Chronicles 30:1). Under Hezekiah’s reforms, revival came to Judah.

Because King Hezekiah put God first in everything he did, God prospered him. Hezekiah “held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook” (2 Kings 18:6–7).”

But Hezekiah faced a major crisis in 701 BC. I encourage you to stop right now and read 2 Kings 18-19 for that story. Here is my summary of the story. The Assyrians, who had already taken the northern kingdom captive in 722 BC, had captured several cities in Judah. Hezekiah payed much gold and silver to King Sennacherib to try to get him to. leave Jerusalem alone. The king. took the tribute but sent an. army to siege and take Jerusalem anyway. The Assyrian army commander Rabshakeh gave a loud speech to to Hezekiah’s men on the walls, mocking the god of Judah. He said that the god of Judah could no more save Jerusalem than the gods of all the nations that the Assyrians had conquered. He even claimed that the god of Judah had commanded him to destroy Jerusalem. Isaiah told Hezekiah that a rumor would cause the Assyrians to temporarily leave the siege and that eventually the Assyrian king would be assassinated. Maybe God was giving Sennacherib a chance to leave Jerusalem alone. But after dealing witht the rumor (that te Ethiopians were attacking, but they weren’t), Sennacherib later continued the siege with an army of 185,000. Hezekiah had tried to prepare for such a siege by contructing the S shaped 1750 foot long underground tunnel from the Gishon spring to provide water for the city during a siege. Hezekiah was powerless to save Jerusalem, but he told his men that God would be with them and that encouraged them.. Sennacherib sent a letter to Hezekiah, again mocking the god of Judah. Hezekiah spread the letter out in the temple and prayed for God’s help. Isaiah told him that the city would be saved without a fight. Yes, God had used the evil Assryians to punish the northern kingdom and take them captive in 722 BC, but the Assryians had gone too far in mocking God. That night, the angel of the Lord killed all 185,000 of the Assyrian army and all the rest of the Assyrians attacking cities of Judah returned to Ninevah. Years later in 681 BC, Sennahcerib was worshipping in the temple of his god Nisroch and 2 of his sons assassinated him, and Esarhaddon became king. The Assyrians would later be judged by God and conquered in 612 BC by Babylon and the Medes. The prophet Isaiah had said that God had used Assyria to punish the northern kingdom, “the rod of God’s anger”, but that Assryia would fall to Babylon. Jonah had preached to Ninevah and the city was spared for. a while, but later the prophet Nahum would pedict the fall fo Ninevah.

So far, so good. Hezekiah is humble, always trusting God for protection of Jerusalem, and prayerful in the midst of crisis. Unfortunately, his life did not end good. He became deathly sick and Isaiah told him that he was going to die. Hezekiah wept and prayed to be given more years, citing his past good deeds as the basis for God healing him. God gave him 15 extra years of life. He asked for a sign and Isaiah gave him a sign. The shadow on the sun dial would go back 10 steps. The Babylonians sent envoys to Hezekiah when they heard about this, and Hezekiah showed them all of his treasures. He had become prideful, bragging about all his treasures. B/c he did this, Isaiah told him that it would be the Babylonians, not the Assyrians, who would one day take all those treasures from Judah. God already knew and had predicted through Isaiah that the Babylonians would conquer Assyria in the future, and they did in 612 BC. Hezekiah was at least glad that would not happen in his days.

As mentioned in another article: most of the 19 kings of Judah were evil. A few were good, but even those few all had a bad ending. Asa won a victory over the Ethipians by trusting in God but was lifted up with pride when rebuked by the prophet Hanani for not trusting God in a later battle and died of diseased feet. Uzziah was made very strong militarily but was lifted up with pride, offered incense in the temple, and died with leprosy. Josiah died fighting Neco of Egypt even though Neco told him that he was not even tryiing to attack Judah. Joash was righeous as long as the priest Jehoida,who saved him from Athaliah killing all her grandchldren, lived but after he died Joash became evil and killed Jehoida’s son the prophet Zechariah who rebuked him. Joash was assassinated.

Hezekiah was no different. He was such an humble, righteous, prayerful man but became prideful after God gave him the 15 extra years. It might have been better if God had not given him that extra time, but it says that God was testing him to see what was in his heart. The victories and successes that God had given him had made him proud. When sieged by the Assyrians, he consults Isaiah as to what to do. He prays to God for wisdom and strength. He takes Sennacherib’s threatening letter to the temple and prays. But when the Babylonians come to inquire about his healing and the sun dial sign, he does not consult God for wisdom, nor does he pray. He acts out of pride, showing them “his” treasures. He died and his son Manasseh became king. Manasseh would become the most evil king of Judah, the “Ahab” of Judah.

Isaiah tells this same story in chapters 36-39.

God has blessed me with many material blessings, houses and cars, financial security, relatively good health, godly children, a good marriage of 54 years, and several successful ministries in mission work, church work, and Christian education. I just pray that I don’t become prideful in my last years (I am 75 now) like Hezekiah did. I hope that I will become more prayerful, humble, and trusting in God. I pray that I will always seek God’s wisdom in dealing with crisis. I hope that God will give me what is best and not necessarily what I ask for at times. Hezekiah’s extra years turned out to be what he wanted but not what was best for him. I hope that I will remove the idols in my life, the things that I put ahead of God in my life.

What about you?

From Quantum Bible Study”

These images were taken from pinterest.com.

From holylandphotos blog. Hezekiah’s tunnel.

KING UZZIAH OF JUDAH: Great king but leper in the end!

On By nrfaughtLeave a comment

I guess you can tell that I’m into the kings of Judah and Israel. Today is King Uzziah, the 10th king of Judah. Uzziah was 16 when he became king of Judah and reigned for 52 years. The first 24 years of his reign were as a co-regent with his father, Amaziah (the king in my last article). Such a long reign meant that he lived during several prophets and kings of Israel. Ministering during Uzziah’s reign were the prophets Hosea, Isaiah, Amos, and Jonah. The kings in the northern kingdom of Israel during his time were Jeroboam II, Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea. Uzziah is also called Azariah in 2 Kings 14:21. From gotquestions.org “King Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for 52 years in Judah from approximately 790 to 739 BC. He almost lived up to the 722 BC Assyrian captivity of Israel. He “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” as his father Amaziah had done (2 Chronicles 26:4). King Uzziah sought the Lord “during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God.” This Zechariah is most likely a godly prophet to whom Uzziah listened. As long as Uzziah made a point to seek God, God made him prosperous (2 Chronicles 26:5). Unfortunately, after Zechariah died, Uzziah made some mistakes later in his life.”

Uzziah could be compared to General Patton or Eisenhower. “King Uzziah in the Bible is shown as a wonderfully intelligent and innovative king, under whom the state of Judah prospered (2 Chronicles 26:6–15). He was used by God to defeat the Philistines and Arabs (verse 7), he built fortified towers and strengthened the armies of Judah (verses 9 and 14), and he commissioned skilled men to create devices that could shoot arrows and large stones at enemies from the city walls (verse 15). He also built up the land, and the Bible says he “loved the soil” (verse 10). The Ammonites paid tribute to King Uzziah, and his fame spread all over the ancient world, as far as the border of Egypt (verses 8 and 15).” MJG He “made Judah great” (not a political comment).

The evil kings of Judah died in various ways. Unfortunately, even the good kings of Judah usually had a bad ending. Amaziah (mostly a righteous king although after defeating the Edomites he brought back the Edomite god idols and worshipped them) was assassinated. Jehoshaphat (the righteous son of Asa but his son married wicked Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel) ended his reign with a failed business venture with a wicked king of Israel after a failed partnership with Ahab. Asa ended up with diseased feet and consulted with his doctors instead of God. Josiah (who found the book of the Law in the temple) died in battle with Pharoah Neco even though Neco told him that he was coming to fight Assyria, not Judah. Joash (Jehoash) (the only surviving grandchild after Athaliah killed all her grandchildren) was righteous as long as the priest Jehoida (the one who had Athaliah killed and Joash anointed as king) lived but after that restored Baal worship, killed the prophet Zechariah (the son of Jehoiada), and was assassinated. Hezekiah (the king when the 185,000 Assyrians who were sieging Jerusalem were killed and who was given 15 extra years) was lifted up with pride and showed the Babylonians the temple treasures when they came to inquire about the time shadow going back 10 steps (that led to God predicting that Judah would go into Babylonian captivity). Jotham (son of Uzziah) was righteous but did not remove the high places the people were sacrificing on and “the Lord began to send Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah against Judah” (apparently as punishment on Judah).

It will be no different ending for the good king Uzziah. 2 Chronicles 27:16 But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. 17 But Azariah the priest went in after him, with eighty priests of the Lord who were men of valor, 18 and they withstood King Uzziah and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Go out of the sanctuary, for you have done wrong, and it will bring you no honor from the Lord God.” 19 Then Uzziah was angry. Now he had a censer in his hand to burn incense, and when he became angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead in the presence of the priests in the house of the Lord, by the altar of incense. 20 And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and behold, he was leprous in his forehead! And they rushed him out quickly, and he himself hurried to go out, because the Lord had struck him. 21 And King Uzziah was a leper to the day of his death, and being a leper lived in a separate house, for he was excluded from the house of the Lord. And Jotham his son was over the king’s household, governing the people of the land.”

Seems pretty obvious that the lesson for us is on “pride”. How could such a righteous king think that he could go into the temple and offer incense? He knew that only the priests could do that. Pride. God made him great and powerful as a military leader. Judah was prospering. Things were going great for Uzziah and Judah. But then he “got the big head”. He “grew proud”. “As a result of all his blessings, Uzziah, rather than humbling himself in thanksgiving to God, began to think more highly of himself than he should have and developed an exaggerated sense of his own importance and abilities.” (Thomas Tarrants)

Nebuchadnezzar might be the classic example of bad pride. Daniel 4:28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.”

 A lesson on religious pride from the New Testament is found in the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke18:9–14). It is aimed at those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.” It addresses spiritual or religious pride. In the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, the Pharisee proceeds to commend himself to God because of his careful observance of the law and to look down with scornful contempt on the sinful tax collector. “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” Notice in his prayer that his focus is not really on God at all but on how good he is and how bad others are. Here is pride wrapped in the cloak of religion (Tarrants).

In Mere Christianity C. S. Lewis said,
According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere flea bites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil:

Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind…… it is Pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began.1 “
So we need to be very careful not to be lifted up with pride. Most of us have a lot of financial security, good jobs, nice houses, nice cars, money to spend, etc. We might be considered important at work. Be careful that we don’t think more highly of ourselves than we should (Romans 12:3) and feel that we accomplished all those things by our own ability, not giving God the credit.

Most of us are faithful, church going Christians who do a lot of good works for Jesus. We have important roles in our churches. We don’t party and drink like most do today. We give a lot of money for God’s work. We are so much better religiously and spiritually than most of the world today. Be careful that we don’t have the religious pride that Pharisee had. We should have the attitude, “except for the grace of God, there go I”. That phrase has been attributed to St Francis of Assisi, or maybe John Bradford. John Bradford (1510–1555) was an English Reformer. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for alleged crimes against Queen Mary I. He was burned at the stake on 1 July 1555. St. Francis of Assisi was an Italian friar who lived in Italy in the 13th century. He lived a life of ascetic poverty and was dedicated to Christian charity. Either one of those godly saints would be worthy of having said that phrase.


Open publish panel

  • Post