Take Cover (Psalm 57)

Certain songs take on new life when another artist covers them. Aretha Franklin’s Respect. Johnny Cash’s Hurt. Jimi Hendrix’s All Along The Watchtower. Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You. Ray Charles’ Georgia On My Mind. All covers.

Psalm 57 is a cover in more ways than one. In the superscript above verse 1, we read:

Psalm 57:Superscript – For the choir director: “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David. When he fled before Saul into the cave.

Do Not Destroy was probably a known tune at the time.[1] Four Psalms are set to this melody: 57, 58, 59, and 75. I guess it was the Ba Ba Black Sheep/Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/ABCs of it’s generation.

We’re also told that this is one of David’s Miktam songs. Just like a band may have a power ballad, an anthem, a love song, and a deep cut all on the same album, there are different styles of Psalms.

There are six Psalms labeled as Miktams – all written by David – and linguists believe it can mean “a song of covering.”[2] Scholars also suggest that it was a type of song that was particularly precious.[3]

In Psalm 57, David finds himself in very serious trouble. His life is threatened by Saul, and he has fled to a cave. From the cave he authors this prayer to the Lord, trusting not in the limestone that’s concealing him for the time being, but in the Solid Rock on which David has anchored his life.

Psalm 57:1 – Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me, for I take refuge in you. I will seek refuge in the shadow of your wings until danger passes.

David hid from Saul in a cave twice. Strategically speaking, they were great hiding places. Strong. Secluded. Secure. That is, unless your enemy also comes in the cave! That’s exactly what happened in David’s case in 1 Samuel 24. Things worked out – thanks to God’s providence – but it illustrates a very important truth for us when we find ourselves in a time of trouble: The cave isn’t going to solve the problem. The cave might be able to conceal you for a time, but it can’t ultimately deliver you.

David knew the cave wasn’t his destination – it was a layover. Deliverance must come from the Lord. The Lord was his true refuge. It wasn’t just a naive hope – his faith was anchored in God’s word and track-record. As David considered this and wrote Psalm 57, it seems he had Moses’ song in mind.

Deuteronomy 32:4, 11 – The Rock—his work is perfect; all his ways are just. A faithful God, without bias, he is righteous and true…11 He watches over his nest like an eagle and hovers over his young; he spreads his wings, catches him, and carries him on his feathers.

David doesn’t just hope that God will help him. He believes God is Who He says He is. David roots his life choices and his mental perspective on what has been revealed about God in Scripture.

Yahweh as Refuge is the familiar melody of David’s life. Our English versions hide how David’s past experience with God assured his future hope. What he said was: “In You has my soul found refuge; and in the shadow of Your wings will I find refuge.”[4]

Psalm 57:2 – I call to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

How many people have plans for your life? You have plans. Your parents have plans for you. Some of you have friends that have plans to set you up with someone. The Devil has plans for you.

More important than any of the plans anyone has for your life are the purposes God Most High has for you. A life full of good, full of grace, full of growth. A life He describes as “more abundantly.”[5] Do you know what God’s purposes for you are?

If you surrender your life to this Most High God, your Creator, your Savior, the One Person in the universe Who loves you more than anyone else, then He will fulfill His plans for you.

“Fulfill” means to complete or finish. That sends us to Philippians 1 where Paul said, “I’m sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”[6]

But, it’s interesting: This Hebrew word for “fulfill” (or your version might say “performs”), when used negatively refers to the abrupt, seemingly permanent termination of that which previously existed.[7] So, as we walk with God, He not only absolutely will complete the work that He began in us, but at the same time, the old person that we used to be, with all our weakness and all our failure and all our wretchedness will also be wiped away. Replaced with a transformed heart, a transformed mind, a sanctified future, secured and ensured by the power and the promise and the purposes of God.

Psalm 57:3 – He reaches down from heaven and saves me, challenging the one who tramples me…God sends his faithful love and truth.

When a fugitive is being chased, we say they’re “run to ground.” David was quite literally run to ground. In fact, he was below ground, deep in a cave. And yet, he will keep speaking of the hope of heaven. The power of heaven. Heaven is a focal point for him in this crisis and throughout the song.

The Bible explains that the eternal God has decided to reach down from His throne in heaven so that He can rescue people on earth. And, unlike Zeus or Odin or other man-made gods, He doesn’t just “reach down” with lightning bolts. No, He came down Himself, put on flesh, died in our place, and rose again so we could be made right with Him and dwell with Him in heaven forever.

David knew that his God was a Deliverer – One Who cares about the suffering and struggles and hard times His people endure. One Who gives real help to us in our time of need. And, as David points out, the specific help the Lord sent in this situation was: Faithful love and truth.

I don’t know God…Saul and his army are right outside this cave…how about a lighting bolt after all? Send a Samson or something!” But, no – the Lord would save with hesed love and truth.

It’s hard for us to really believe that the love of God will make the difference in some troubles, isn’t it? We’re convinced we need some other strength, some other supply, something more substantial. But there is nothing more powerful or more effective than the love of God and the truth of God.

With His truth, He sets us free and with His love He covers us, quiets us, and strengthens us.

Psalm 57:4 – I am surrounded by lions; I lie down among devouring lions—people whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

His enemies used their words to destroy – teeth like spears and arrows, tongues like swords. David was a fierce warrior, but he was also the Sweet Psalmist of Israel. He used his words for prayer, for worship, for the spreading of the good news about God. I often forget that David was, in fact, one of the Old Testament prophets. In that first sermon of the book of Acts, Peter said this about David:

Acts 2:30-31a – 30 Since he was a prophet, he knew that God had sworn an oath to him to seat one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah…

David talked to people about the resurrection! His tongue was an instrument of worship, not a weapon of war. And because he inclined his heart and his mind to the Lord, filling his thoughts with the truth of God’s character and purposes, he found rest, even in these terrible circumstances.

“I lie down among devouring lions.” That’s not something we would normally do. But it’s a common behavior of Believers who trust the Lord. Instead of fight-or-flight it’s nighty-night. Daniel in the lion’s den. Peter, on the night before he is to be beheaded, chained between two soldiers, slept soundly – his soul at rest because he knew that deliverance was coming. Maybe not physical deliverance, but absolutely, without a doubt, ultimate, eternal deliverance is ours. It’s on the way.

David spent his night in this cave writing a song. Not sharpening a sword. Not drilling with his soldiers. He spent it in worship, in prayer, in contemplation of God’s power and goodness.

Psalm 57:5 – God, be exalted above the heavens; let your glory be over the whole earth.

The term “be exalted” has been translated as, “Loom over the heavens and over the whole earth.”[8] Saul the maniac king loomed large in David’s mind. His threats caused David so much anxiety that, at some points, David reacted with terrible decisions. But at this moment, in this cave, David reminded himself of what was true. It was the Lord Who loomed largest: A God Who cannot be defeated. A God Who cannot be outsmarted. A God Who cannot be thwarted or outdone. If that is Who my God is, if an unstoppable God has made me His friend and taken responsibility for my life, then I can stop worrying about my tomorrow and instead concern myself with His glory.

Psalm 57:6 – They prepared a net for my steps; I was despondent. They dug a pit ahead of me, but they fell into it! Selah

Just like that everything changed. In the cave at En-Gedi, David and his men were hiding, hoping to survive. Saul came in to relieve himself and suddenly he was at David’s mercy.

Saul fell into his own pit. The hunter became the hunted. Not by David’s cunning, but by God’s compassion. A compassion that providentially works on behalf of His people.

Here in verse 6, David said, “I was despondent.” He was terribly low, like an enemy pressed his neck into the ground.[9] But in that darkness, David received hope. Not just in feelings, but in reality. His worry gave way to worship. As he exercised his faith in Who God is, David was brought out of his despondency and into thanksgiving and excitement and confidence.

Psalm 57:7 – My heart is confident, God, my heart is confident. I will sing; I will sing praises.

This is not what you would expect from a man running for his life. Instead of whimpers, there was worship. How? While the enemies was setting a trap, David was setting his heart on truth.[10]

We can take our thoughts captive. It can be incredibly difficult but we can do it and we must do it if we want to obey Christ and walk with Him and enjoy the transforming work He wants to accomplish in our lives. David was made a singing strategy, not just a scrambling strategy.

Psalm 57:8 – Wake up, my soul! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake up the dawn.

John Goldingay writes, “We can stir up our inner beings…to the end that they come alive, like a parent waking a child.”[11] Being a Christian doesn’t mean you always feel like things are great. It doesn’t mean you always feel like you’re at rest or everything is working out the way you wanted. The world is full of trouble. We have enemies. Not flesh and blood, but evil, cosmic powers of darkness.[12] We might feel discouragement, anxiety, fear, despondency, and many other painful emotions. But what does the Bible reveal to be true about our lives? About our futures? About God’s faithfulness? Psalm 55 says plainly: “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you.”

Sometimes, we need to wake up our souls. Wake them up to pray. Wake them up to worship. Wake them up to truly believe what we say we believe – to believe in action and practice.

And David wanted others to join him in this wakefulness. He talks about harp and lyre. This song is sent to the whole choir. Multiple people on multiple instruments. He wants all the people to come together to rest in the Lord, to exalt the Lord, to be invigorated through worship as they exercise their faith. It was not time to whimper, but to worship.

Psalm 57:9 – I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

David hoped not only all Israel would sing it, but eventually even Gentile nations, too. That people who were currently his enemies would eventually become part of God’s family of faith.

Psalm 57:10 – 10 For your faithful love is as high as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

The God of the Bible is faithful at every level. Faithful to His plans, faithful to His creation, faithful to you. But He works not only to free you – to unshackle you from your sin – but also to lead you. In Psalm 43, the prayer to God is, “Send Your light and Your truth and let them lead me, let them bring me to Your holy mountain, Your dwelling place, Your altar.” God is faithful to love you, faithful to help you, and faithful to lead you day by day.

Psalm 57:11 – 11 God, be exalted above the heavens; let your glory be over the whole earth.

David repeats verse 5. No matter what was going on, his focus was that God’s glory be poured out all over the world – on earth as it is in heaven. He closes the song by reminding us again that God has eternal, cosmic plans that He will accomplish. That heaven be more in view than the cave.

Since 1905, Sherwin-Williams has had an iconic logo. It’s a globe, and above it is a gallon of blood-red paint pouring out all over it with the words “Cover The Earth.” That’s their mission. Cover everything with their paint.

In the midst of terrible circumstances, David chose to fill his mind with the truth of God’s power, His purpose, His compassion, and His faithfulness. He prophetically looked to that time when God’s glory will cover the whole earth. And then David decided to react and behave as if it was not only going to be true one day, but as though it was being carried out through his life – which it was!

David was in a great spiritual headspace as he wrote Psalm 57. But how quickly our minds can change. Awhile after the famous scene in the cave at En-Gedi, David would change his tune. He said, “One of these days, I’ll be swept away by Saul.”[13] And he runs off to hide among the Philistines. It’s one of the worst chapters of David’s life and almost ends in total disaster.

He needed to cover this song again. To sing it in his own heart and to those around Him. That God is faithful. That God’s compassionate love is on the move. That God fulfills His purposes. That In Him our souls have found refuge; and in the shadow of His wings we will find refuge.

It’s a song we should cover in our own lives. These precious truths aren’t meant to just make us feel better, but to live with hope, with peace in our hearts, with perspective on our circumstances, with minds at rest as we walk with God, Who is fulfilling all His purpose for us.

Scholars also think that a miktam might refer to a song engraved on a stone slab with gold letters. And so, let’s certify this song as gold in our lives. A familiar and beloved melody of confidence and praise in the Most High God, Who is our Rock, Who is with us, working to fulfill all His purpose in us. Our part is to believe, to receive from Him, and to respond in faith and worship.

References
1 Derek Kidner   Psalms 1-72
2 Theological Wordbook Of The Old Testament
3 James Smith   The Wisdom Literature And Psalms
4 J.J. Stewart Perowne   Commentary On The Psalms
5 John 10:10
6 Philippians 1:6
7 TWOT
8 Robert Alter   The Hebrew Bible: A Translation With Commentary
9 Alter
10 John Goldingay   Psalms, Volume 2: Psalms 42-89
11 ibid.
12 Ephesians 6:12
13 1 Samuel 27:1

Killing Her Shortly With His Word (Ezekiel 24:1-27)

  • “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
  • “Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
  • “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.”
  • “Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, take up the Cross, and follow Me.”

When the Lord asks, He asks big.

Ezekiel fulfilled a bunch of big asks. In our text he is given two more. The first doesn’t seem too extreme. He gets a stew going. It is terrifically overcooked, however, destroying the contents and the pot. It’s a culinary parable of what was about to occur in Jerusalem.     

It was nothing compared to what came next. “Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down” (v16).

The Lord was going to end Mrs. Ezekiel.

Does God’s asking seem more like Him telling? Take teen-Mary for example. The angel Gabriel told her what was going to happen to her. She questioned Gabriel, but you don’t get the impression she could say “No.”

Likewise Moses. He put up more of a fight, complaining that, among other shortcomings, he stuttered. God overcame his every objection.

Jonah is the prime example. He said “No” to God and fled opposite the direction of Nineveh. God made it clear: “I’m not asking you; I’m telling you.”

There is a slang word that conveys this. It is ‘voluntold.’ It’s a combination of volunteer and told, highlighting the irony of being assigned a task that is voluntary. 

The Lord is our great Voluntold-er.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1When You Are Voluntold You Are Equipped, and #2 When You Are Voluntold You Are Exampled.

#1 When You Are Voluntold
You Are Equipped (v1-14)

Ezekiel was in the Chebar River region of Babylon. He had been brought there against his will as a captive. God had been predicting through him that the city of Jerusalem would fall, and that the Temple would be destroyed.

Ezk 24:1  Again, in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 24:2  “Son of man, write down the name of the day, this very day – the king of Babylon started his siege against Jerusalem this very day.

The day & date of King Nebuchadnezzar’s third and final siege of Jerusalem became an iconic date in Israel. It was like November 22, 1963, or 9-11. Or sadly, October 7th.

The “men” were 25 leaders of the Jews. The phrase ‘The time is not near to build houses” is a question – “Isn’t it time to build houses?”

We won’t ‘get’ Ezekiel’s parable without recalling a similar one in chapter eleven. There it was uttered by the leaders. They said, “This city is the caldron, and we are the meat” (v. 2-4).

Jerusalem’s leaders wrongly assumed God would never let His city or Temple fall, comparing themselves as choice (chosen) cuts of meat in a watched pot.

They cancelled-out the Word of God delivered by Jeremiah in Jerusalem & by Ezekiel in Babylon.

We hear the phrase cancel culture a lot these days. Truth is, unbelievers have been trying to cancel Jesus since the Garden of Eden.

There are only 280 days until Christmas. Sometime before that there will be an assault on Christmas in terms of decorations on public land.

The canceling I am most concerned about happens when our young adults get to the end of their high school years and go to college. It seems that every college, no matter your major, tries to give you an unwanted minor in anti-Christianity.

Ezk 24:3  And utter a parable to the rebellious house, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Put on a pot, set it on, And also pour water into it.

Ezk 24:4  Gather pieces of meat in it, Every good piece, The thigh and the shoulder. Fill it with choice cuts;

Ezk 24:5  Take the choice of the flock. Also pile fuel bones under it, Make it boil well, And let the cuts simmer in it.”

I’m starting to think that Ezekiel had a cooking show or a catering business. He gave us a recipe for Ezekiel bread. Now we have Ezekiel stew.

Ezk 24:6  ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the bloody city, To the pot whose scum is in it, And whose scum is not gone from it! Bring it out piece by piece, On which no lot has fallen.

‘No lot has fallen” means that there would be no one left to redeem them. If that seems harsh, remember that they did not seek, nor did they want redemption.

Ezk 24:7  For her blood is in her midst; She set it on top of a rock; She did not pour it on the ground, To cover it with dust.

Ezk 24:8  That it may raise up fury and take vengeance, I have set her blood on top of a rock, That it may not be covered.”

According to the Law of Moses, spilt blood was always to be covered by dirt. The Jews, in their pagan sacrifices, did not treat blood that way. It was used to mark & anoint. Some pagan rituals called for drinking blood.

Ezk 24:9  ‘Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Woe to the bloody city! I too will make the pyre great.

Ezk 24:10  Heap on the wood, Kindle the fire; Cook the meat well, Mix in the spices, And let the cuts be burned up.

Ezk 24:11  “Then set the pot empty on the coals, That it may become hot and its bronze may burn, That its filthiness may be melted in it, That its scum may be consumed.

Ezk 24:12  She has grown weary with lies, And her great scum has not gone from her. Let her scum be in the fire!

Beef stew is a recipe in which a lot of scum needs to be spooned off as it rises to the top. The Jews in Jerusalem were all scum. The pot they trusted in would burn also.

We need to be very careful about what are called the “trappings” of religion. They are the outward symbols, rituals, and traditions that look impressive but don’t necessarily reflect true faith. Evangelical churches are blending liturgical worship, robes, rituals, incense, and historic Christian practices with contemporary evangelical theology.

As Charles Spurgeon often said, “Trappings? We don’t need no stinking trappings.”

Ezk 24:13  In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you, and you were not cleansed, You will not be cleansed of your filthiness anymore, Till I have caused My fury to rest upon you.

Ezk 24:14  I, the LORD, have spoken it; It shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not hold back, Nor will I spare, Nor will I relent; According to your ways And according to your deeds They will judge you,” Says the Lord GOD.’ ”

The Jews brought idolatry with them from Egypt. Nine hundred years later they not only remained idolators, they were maybe the worst ever in their history. All during that time God was trying to cleanse them.

God’s last resort, as it were, was to bring them into captivity in Babylon. Over the next 70 years, God would raise up a remnant who would return to the land, construct the 2nd Temple, and rebuild the walls.

It may sound incidental, but when Ezekiel was voluntold what to do, he needed meat and seasoning and cooking supplies. The LORD listed them. Since Ezekiel was in Babylon, it’s doubtful the local Costco had Israeli pots. I say he used his own pot, then then watched it melt.

Regardless whether that was true or not, when God volun-tells you, it will cost you.

The Richie-rich young ruler comes to mind. Jesus laid down His life for you, remarking that you were the joy that was set before Him. How can you and I not lay down our lives for Him, who is our joy?

God equips you spiritually for whatever He calls you to do. His primary means of equipping is through your involvement in a local church. A key purpose of the Church is to teach God’s Word, equipping the saints for the work of the ministry.

A friend of mine was a rescue swimmer in the Navy. He told me that actual rescues are pretty rare. But you’d better be ready!

As Scar once said, “Be prepared.”

#2 When You Are Voluntold
You Are Exampled (v15-27)

I have heard too many misguided words of comfort given to those who are processing the death of a loved one. Still, if you told me that a well-meaning person said, “Don’t mourn or weep – just sigh,” I would hardly believe it. Yet that is what God commands in this instance.

Ezk 24:15  Also the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 24:16  “Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with one stroke; yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, nor shall your tears run down.

Ezk 24:17  Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead; bind your turban on your head, and put your sandals on your feet; do not cover your lips, and do not eat man’s bread of sorrow.”

We often struggle with God ending Mrs. Ezekiel’s life. But from her view – would you choose a few more painful years, witnessing your city’s fall and your husband’s murder, or embrace death and be an example?

Christians should grieve, but never as those who are without hope. We need to start expressing more hope and less grieving.[1]

Ezk 24:18  So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died; and the next morning I did as I was commanded.

King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem three times. Ezekiel was exiled in the second deportation, with about 10,000 taken. They were a small, close-knit group, processing this shocking event together.

Ezk 24:19  And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things signify to us, that you behave so?”

Ezk 24:20  Then I answered them, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 24:21  ‘Speak to the house of Israel, “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I will profane My sanctuary, your arrogant boast, the desire of your eyes, the delight of your soul; and your sons and daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword.

Mr. & Mrs. Ezekiel were a happily married ministry couple.

  • Just as Ezekiel’s wife has been the desire of his eyes to him, so Jerusalem was to them.
  • Just as Ezekiel’s wife was taken from him by God, so the Jerusalem would be taken from them by God.

Ezk 24:22  And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips nor eat man’s bread of sorrow.

Ezk 24:23  Your turbans shall be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you shall neither mourn nor weep, but you shall pine away in your iniquities and mourn with one another.

Mrs. Ezekiel’s service would be unique in the history  of the children of Israel. It would happen before news of Jerusalem’s fall. Their participation in her services would prepare them for the greater tragedy.

Ezk 24:24  Thus Ezekiel is a sign to you; according to all that he has done you shall do; and when this comes, you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.’ ”

I compared the third siege of Jerusalem to events like JFK’s assassination & 9-11. It was far worse if you were a Jew:

  • The presence of the LORD (the Shekinah cloud of His glory) had earlier departed from the Temple.
  • Their government collapsed.
  • They had no military.
  • The only place on Earth where they could offer sacrifices was ruined.
  • The 10 tribes to the North had been scattered for almost 200 years. The tribes of Judah & Benjamin would be dispersed. No nation thus treated had ever remained pure.

Lately, many commentators use words like “exist,” “existential,” or “existential threat.” In 586BC, Israel faced a true existential crisis – it seemed like the end. But it wasn’t, because God remains faithful even when His people are faithless.

Ezk 24:25  ‘And you, son of man – will it not be in the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that on which they set their minds, their sons and their daughters:

Ezk 24:26  on that day one who escapes will come to you to let you hear it with your ears;

Ezk 24:27  on that day your mouth will be opened to him who has escaped; you shall speak and no longer be mute. Thus you will be a sign to them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.’ ”

We almost forgot that Ezekiel had been a voluntold mute. He only spoke when God gave him a word for them. This would be another way he was a sign, an example.

An escapee would bring news of Jerusalem’s fall. It would confirm everything Ezekiel had staged & said for the past 4 years.

Why would someone escape only to run to the place that everyone was being deported to? Maybe the LORD voluntold him! The LORD works from both ends.

Ezekiel was an example of how to walk with God in the dispensation in which he lived.  There are a few special instructions like that in the NT, for believers in certain circumstances. I’ll give you one.

In First Corinthians the apostle Paul suggested that since times were tough on believers, don’t get married, but live single and celibate. Perhaps Paul anticipated the imminent Roman persecutions which began within ten years after he wrote. Persecution is difficult enough for a single person to endure, but problems and pain are multiplied for those who are married, especially if they have children.

The day-to-day Christian life is a voluntold to mature in Jesus. The biblical examples we mentioned seemed to have no real choice. There are other examples in scripture of believers who are volunteer told nevertheless failing to follow God. The story of lot, Abraham’s nephew, is probably the classic.

Let’s think of God‘s volun-telling us as Him commanding us, knowing He has & will equip us.

References
1 There is a lot of heated discussion on cremation. I rarely hear anything about the fact that we are supposed to have hope & express it with joy. It’s classic legalism to focus on the wrong thing – the outward body & not the inner man.

Prophecy Update #819 – Shut-Up, Daniel

We reserve a few minutes to discuss current trends that you’d expect from reading Bible prophecy.

Biometrics, Artificial Intelligence, cashless commerce, the manipulation of human DNA, global government, instantaneous global communication, and the movement to rebuild a Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

These are predicted in the Bible and are trending as never before.

There is a fascinating phrase in the last chapter of the OT Book of Daniel. It is Daniel 12:4, “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

It is possible to interpret “knowledge” as a growing understanding of biblical prophecy, particularly Israel’s role and God’s unfolding plan, which we as dispensationalists emphasize in our teaching about prophecy. As the end approaches, God will allow greater & greater insight into prophetic truths.

Another way to interpret the phrase “knowledge shall increase” is that there will be a surge in knowledge, technology, and information. It is a prophecy pointing to the modern era, where rapid advances in science, communication, and global travel are viewed as signs that the world is moving closer to the fulfillment of End Times events.

By far the most significant “increase in knowledge” is the surge of Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is the one tech advancement that can bring all the others together.

As to “knowledge,” some believe that AI can surpass human intelligence, predicting it could happen within the next few decades. In fact, it has many worried.

Elon Musk, when he isn’t putting out Tesla fires, considers AI “the most serious threat to the survival of the human race.”

A landmark report by AI experts concluded, “The potential for artificial intelligence systems to be used for malicious acts is increasing.”

We are not saying that AI will be the fulfillment of these and other prophecies. We are pointing out that AI, and the many other amazing tech advances, are what you would expect to see setting the stage for the End.

I mentioned that the Church & Israel have separate destinies. All Israel that survives the coming 7yr Great Tribulation will be saved.

Jesus promised His Church, “I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the Earth” (Revelation 3:10).

The resurrection and rapture of the church is always imminent. It could happen any moment; nothing needs to happen before it.

Are you ready for the rapture? If not, Get ready; Stay ready; Keep looking up.

Ready or not, Jesus is coming!

Your Will Is My Command (Mark 1:39-45)

In 1904, Russia was at war with Japan. That October, Russia’s Baltic Fleet set sail for the far east. The warships didn’t even make it out of European waters before making a terrible mistake. In the distance, they sighted what they thought were Japanese torpedo boats. They were, in fact, simply British fishermen who had no way to escape an attack or defend themselves.

The Russians ignored proper naval identification procedures and opened fire. Then, in the confusion and chaos, they also started firing on themselves. The only thing that kept this from becoming a major bloodbath was that the Russian sailers were so inept, they could barely hit a target. One of the battleships fired more than 500 shells without hitting anything.

In the end, three British sailors were killed, six others wounded, and on the Russian side, one sailor and a chaplain were killed, with damage to multiple ships.[1]

This terrible error led to the weakening of the Baltic Fleet and the delay of their mission. It also very nearly sparked a separate war with England. All because, in their haste, they would not follow the procedure they had been given. In the moment, they were convinced they knew what to do.

Many of us aren’t that worried about “instructions,” are we? I can assemble that bookcase. I can get this piece of tech up and running. I can find my way from here to there. How hard can it be?

When we bring that self-reliant, I-can-do-it-my-own-way attitude into our walk with the Lord, we are most definitely going to cause problems for ourselves and for others and for the work of God.

That’s exactly what we see in tonight’s text. Here we’re witness to an amazing miracle – the healing of a leper. Our hearts are stirred by his boldness and his faith. We are captivated by the powerful, personal compassion of Jesus. But then, as the story ends, we are shocked at the disobedience, not only because of how brazen it is, but at how detrimental it is to Jesus’ work and purposes.

Mark 1:39 – 39 He went into all of Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

In the very last verse, Jesus specifically said that this is why He had come – to preach the Good News of salvation not just in one place, but all over the region. His primary goal was not to heal people physically. He did a lot of that, but that wasn’t why He came. His aim was to set people free with the truth of His word and to prepare them for the future Kingdom, which was at hand.

Mark 1:40 – 40 Then a man with leprosy came to him and, on his knees, begged him, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

When we read about leprosy in the Bible, we think immediately of what we call Hansen’s disease today, but it refers to a variety of skin diseases. At the time, leprosy was one of the most dreaded afflictions.[2] It was essentially incurable. And not only was this a terrible physical plague, most of you also know that it was just as lethal to the social and religious aspects of a Jewish life.

A leper could not worship in the temple. They could not live among the “clean” members of society. They would be outcast, isolated, desperate, living out a prolonged and agonizing death.

As word of Jesus spread, this leper heard whispers and tales of what this Nazarene might be able to do. To him it was more than gossip, it was hope. Certainly this Man Who commanded demons and drove out fevers and healed all manner of sicknesses and sufferings could also help a leper.

We should be inspired by his faith here in verse 40. It is brave. It is humble. It is sincere. It is bold. He broke with convention and came to find Jesus. Lepers like this weren’t supposed to mix with healthy people. Rather, they were to go about wearing torn clothes and letting their hair hang loose as they shouted out, “Unclean! Unclean!” to people passing by.[3]

But he found Jesus and dropped to his knees. He believed Jesus could heal him. The question was whether Jesus would or not. That’s not a question of ability, it’s one of empathy. One commentary put it this way: “It is sometimes easier to believe in God’s power than in His mercy.”[4]

We still struggle with this question. We know God is merciful, but sometimes doubt creeps in. Does God actually care enough about me to help? Is He concerned with my life?[5] Do I matter to Him?

You do matter. You are one of His beloved. You are a special, chosen object of His unending, unyielding, hands-on love. His eyes are on you. His affection is toward you. You are not abandoned.

The leper asked the Lord to make him clean. It didn’t just mean fix his skin problem. In this case, it meant to make him physically clean, ceremonially clean, and socially clean. A comprehensive purification that would impact every aspect of his life. Not just a treatment, but total transformation.

That is what God wants to do for us, by the way. Not just fix one problem or two in our lives – not just solve the heaven/hell problem – but to transform our entire existence for this life and the next.

Mark 1:41 – 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be made clean.”

The question was, “Are You willing?” And Jesus’ answer was, “Yes, I am willing.” To us, what we’re “willing” to do is usually something we’d rather not do, but we compromise and go ahead. But that is not what Jesus was saying. The word He used is defined in Bible dictionaries as something someone desires, something they take pleasure in, their will for a situation.[6]

Christ wanted to heal him. It was His Divine will that it happen. That willingness flowed from Christ’s compassion – a powerful outworking of His lovingkindness. Now, if you’re reading the NIV, your text probably says that Christ was “indignant” in this moment. There are a few manuscripts that use that term and linguists spend a lot of ink arguing over it, but the vast majority of copies speak of Christ’s compassion.[7] And even if Christ felt righteous anger at the effects of sin in this situation, clearly His compassion is still on display as He reaches out to touch this diseased, repulsive specimen.

Notice the personal nature of Christ’s willingness in this situation. He was “moved with compassion” not to delegate, not to grandstand, not to paper over the problem, but to reach out Himself – to do the unthinkable: Touch a leper! This was an absolutely unheard of act of sympathy and grace.[8]

Did touching a leper make Jesus unclean? Nothing can defile the Messiah. He takes our sin and bears it away. We do not defile Him, He delivers us.

Mark 1:42 – 42 Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

All the way. His body was healed. His future restored. Now he had hope. He could go back to family and friends. He could return to the family of faith, bringing offerings to the Lord in His house.

Bible teachers are quick to point out that leprosy is a good illustration of sin in the Bible. Sin defiles us, slowly destroys us, isolates us, separates us from fellowship with God and others. It numbs us and shames us, but we’re powerless to overcome it. God must intervene and He has. Just as Christ cleansed this man from his leprosy, He cleanses Christians from their sin.

Titus 2:14 – 14 He gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people for his own possession, eager to do good works.

We are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb – redeemed from an empty and hopeless way of life to enjoy grace and power and the presence of God day by day so that we can serve Him.

If you’re a Christian here tonight, your cleansing was accomplished by Jesus, but now you participate in the ongoing cleansing of sanctification. The Lord continues to do His work in us – He continues to wash us and purify us and make us whole. We participate by submitting to the washing of the word. 1 John tell us we participate in the cleansing process as we confess our sin. Paul explains in 2 Corinthians that we cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and the spirit in the fear of God.[9] The cleansing continues as God’s work in us continues.

Mark’s wording suggests that the people watching this healing could actually see his symptoms vanish.[10] Hopefully we can look at our lives and see the symptoms of sin dropping away from us, as well. Maybe not as dramatically or immediately as this man experienced, but growing in holiness, growing in Godliness, becoming more and more Christlike is the work Jesus wills to do in us.

But what else did Christ will?

Mark 1:43-44 – 43 Then he sternly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

This was a very clear directive. Jesus gave him a four-part assignment: Say nothing to anyone, go, show, offer the prescribed sacrifices for this very situation.

Why? Because this had maybe never happened in all the centuries of Israel’s history! Perhaps this happened in Miriam’s case, but it’s not very clear. What an opportunity! What a unique chance.

Jesus asked this man to do this so that he could be a living testimony for the priests. He wanted him to be a martyrion to them – proof that God was doing a new thing, that the Messiah was here.

Jesus also wanted to demonstrate that He was not against the Law. When interpretations and regulations concerning the Law conflicted with the Law of Love, Christ always sided with love. But He was not anti-Law. Here He said, “You’re healed, but you need to go do the ceremonial stuff in order to be fully restored to Jewish life and worship.”

And the Lord was really serious about it. That word, “sternly” is a term that refers to the snorting of a horse.[11] Part of why He was so serious was because He did not want to bring the pandemonium of endless crowds if they heard Jesus was there to do miracles. Miracles were not what He wanted people to focus on. But, let’s be real: Would you rather hear a sermon or be able to have your diseased family member healed? Our desires and the Lord’s desires often don’t run parallel.

Mark 1:45 – 45 Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But he was out in deserted places, and they came to him from everywhere.

The man did the opposite of everything Jesus commanded him. He didn’t go to the priest, he didn’t bring his offering, he didn’t keep his mouth shut. No, he decided that instead of being a martyr, he was going to be a preacher. He went out proclaiming, which is the same word used of what Jesus had been doing at the start of this passage. But he had his own message and his own method and his own priorities that mattered to him.

We sense that he thought he was really helping out Jesus – that he was this great missionary, spreading what people needed to hear. One source says he was going out, “blazing abroad” with his message.[12] But what was the result? What did his choice to go his own way lead to?

At the beginning of the passage, we see Jesus going in to the towns of Galilee to proclaim eternal life them. Now, after this man does his thing, Jesus is seen being driven out of the towns, pushed out into deserted places. The opposite of what Jesus wanted.

It’s so astonishing that a few verses ago the man was so concerned with what Jesus’ will was. “If it’s Your will.” And now, he had no concern at all about the will of Jesus. The Lord specifically and directly revealed His will to this man, and off he went to do what he thought was best.

This isn’t a problem unique to this man. We read of Moses and how he struck the rock. Hezekiah thought it would be a great idea to show the Babylonian envoys all his treasures. But what was the Lord’s will in those situations?

We suffer from this same affliction. We recognize that we’re helpless without God’s intervention in our lives. But so often we’re then tempted to go our own way. After all, who could know better about how I should do things than me? Well, ask the seven churches Jesus wrote to in the Revelation. How many of them had wandered off onto some path of their own design, just like this healed leper. And when we do that, it does not honor the Lord, it does not benefit us or others. In fact, it clearly delays the progress of God’s will in our lives and our communities! Jesus would say it plainly to Peter: “You are a hindrance to me because you’re not thinking about God’s concerns but human concerns.”[13] And when we do that we are not helping God, we’re helping the Devil!

But even in this moment of failure, look at the shining grace of Jesus. He, of course, knew that the leper would disobey. It was no surprise to the Lord. He knew that this act of supernatural compassion would result in His having to go out to the deserted places – to be delayed in the mission He was so focused on. And yet Jesus healed the man anyway.

The aftermath was an stunning irony: A leper was doomed to slowly die out in deserted places, apart from friends and family, apart from fellowship with the Lord. But the Lord took that on Himself so this man could be made whole.[14] Jesus took this exile on Himself willingly. Just as He was willing to bear your sins and my sins as He carried the cross to Calvary. To be tortured and killed so that we could live. He was willing. Because of His compassion. Because of His grace. Because of the love that He has for us. He was willing. And despite our failure, He still has a love and gracious will for us.

So what is God’s will for your life? We don’t want to be off on some trail that hinders God’s work in and through us. His will is what matters. Not what I want or what I think is best but His will. Do you know what God’s will is for your life generally? What about specifically? In each example of Scripture, we don’t see God saying to Christians, “Just do whatever and I’ll catch up with you later.” We see that He has specific plans, specific callings, a life of faith tailored for you. Our job as Christians is not to do what we think is best, not to be self-reliant, but to be Spirit-reliant. Transformed by the cleansing power of God so that we can discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

References
1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogger_Bank_incident
2 R.T. France   The Gospel Of Mark
3 Leviticus 13:45
4 Frank Gaebelein, D. A. Carson, Walter Wessel, and Walter Liefeld   The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke
5 Clifton Allen   Broadman Bible Commentary: Matthew-Mark
6 Dictionary Of Biblical Languages With Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament)
7 James Brooks   The New American Commentary: Mark
8 William Lane   The Gospel Of Mark
9 2 Corinthians 7:1
10 France
11 Archibald Robertson   Word Pictures In The New Testament
12 Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old And New Testament Words
13 Matthew 16:23
14 France

Oho, Oho, A Harlot’s Life For Me (Ezekiel 23:1-49)

John Bunyan left nothing to guess work in his classic book, whose full title is, The Pilgrim’s Progress From This World to That Which Is to Come.

  • Character’s names include Christian & Christiana, Obstinate, Evangelist, Hypocrisy & Charity.
  • The pilgrimage follows the main character, Christian, traveling from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, which is home to the Tree of Life and has streets paved with gold.

The Lord makes it just as obvious that our text is an allegory. He introduces two sisters, Oholah and Oholibah, and immediately reveals, “Samaria is Oholah, and Jerusalem is Oholibah” (v4).

He describes them as unfaithful wives:

  • The LORD says of Oholah, “She has never given up her harlotry brought from Egypt…” (v8).
  • The LORD says of Oholibah, “Thus I will make you cease your lewdness and your harlotry Brought from the land of Egypt, So that you will not lift your eyes to them, Nor remember Egypt anymore.”

Several NT passages assume that idolatry will be a peril in our relationship with Jesus.

  • First John 5:21 “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
  • First Corinthians 10:14 “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
  • Colossians 3:5 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”

Idolatry isn’t just breaking God’s law. It breaks His heart in ways we cannot fathom.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1God’s Love For You Is Intimate, and #2 God’s Love For You Is Incessant.

#1 God’s Love For You Is Intimate (v1-10)

You’ve seen those parental warnings on-screen? For this chapter, it would be NC-17 for Vulgar Language. Profanity is common – even in church – but it’s unnecessary. Rather than dismissing all of those under 18yrs, I’ve paraphrased the NKJV eliminating explicit wording.

There’s almost nothing here that is hard to understand. It won’t require a great deal of commentary. The story is for impact.

The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. They acted unfaithfully in their youth; there, their hearts were led astray, and they gave their devotion to others. Their names were Oholah the elder and Oholibah her sister; they were Mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names: Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.

The root word from which their names derive is ohel, meaning “tent” or “tabernacle.”

  • Oholah means her own Tabernacle.
  • Oholibah means My Tabernacle is in her.

After King Solomon’s death, Israel split into two kingdoms. The 10 northern tribes were called Israel, and the 2 southern tribes were called Judah. God had designated Jerusalem’s Temple as the only proper place of worship. His Tabernacle was in Jerusalem. The northern tribes established a man-made false system of worship in Samaria – her own Tabernacle.

Oholah played the harlot even though she was Mine; and she gave her heart to her lovers, the Assyrians, Clothed in blue, captains and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. Thus she pursued the Assyrians, all of them attractive men, and she defiled herself with all their idols. She did not give up her past unfaithfulness, for when she was in Egypt, they had influenced her, and she had followed after them. Therefore, I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hand of the Assyrians for whom she had longed. They uncovered her sins, took her children and daughters away, and killed her with the sword. She became an example to other women, for they executed judgment on her.”

I’ve been captivated by how Ezekiel, and the Bible, portray God’s emotions. Many scholars argue that God cannot have feelings in a meaningful sense because that would imply a dependence on us and compromise His sovereignty.

In verse twenty-five the LORD will say, “I will set My jealousy against you.” Jealousy is an extremely strong emotion. Nevertheless the Bible often attributes it to the Lord. Of course it is to be distinguished from human jealousy, which is rooted in insecurity or selfishness. God’s jealousy is holy – and I would argue that it is, therefore, far more intense than ours.

In the OT God describes Himself being affected by intense sorrow. Hosea 11:8, “How can I give you up, O Ephraim? … My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender.”

Jesus famously wept. In Hebrews 4:15 Jesus, as fully God and fully man, sympathizes with human weakness.

Bottom line: God has genuine emotions… But without it affecting His sovereignty.

The whole point of treating Samaria and Jerusalem as unfaithful wives is to elicit strong emotion from the Jews in Jerusalem.

Marital unfaithfulness hurts so bad. Proverbs says, “Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; whoever touches her shall not be innocent” (6:27-29).

Spiritual infidelity is hurtful & painful for the LORD. Regardless of how we understand God’s emotions, He chose this illustration to show us the deep pain He experiences when we turn away from Him for something or someone else.

When I am tempted to physical or spiritual infidelity, I ought to think about how much it hurts My Father in Heaven, my Savior seated at His right hand, and God the Holy Spirit who indwells me.

#2 God’s Love For You Is Incessant[1] (v11-49)

God turns our attention to Jerusalem (Oholibah).

“Now although her sister Oholibah saw this, she became even more corrupt in her unfaithfulness, behaving worse than her sister. She pursued the Assyrians – leaders, rulers, and well-dressed warriors – all of them desirable young men riding on horses. I saw that she too was defiled, and both sisters followed the same path. But she increased her unfaithfulness even more. She saw men portrayed on the wall, images of Babylonians drawn in bright colors, Wearing belts around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads, all looking like officers, images of the Babylonians from Chaldea. As soon as she saw them, she longed for them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. Then the Babylonians came to her and led her into unfaithfulness, and she became defiled by them. Yet after this, she became disgusted with them. When she openly displayed her unfaithfulness and exposed her heart, I turned away from her, just as I had turned away from her sister. Yet she increased her wrongdoing, longing for the days of her youth when she followed after those in Egypt. She was drawn to them, just as she had been before, and pursued them again. So you repeated the ways of your youth, when you acted unfaithfully with the Egyptians.”

Egypt is mentioned four times in this chapter: “They committed harlotry in Egypt… She has never given up her harlotry brought from Egypt… Thus I will make you cease your lewdness and your harlotry Brought from the land of Egypt, So that you will not lift your eyes to them, Nor remember Egypt anymore.”

The Exodus was in 1446BC. Ezekiel is 586BC. Nine hundred years after being delivered, the Jews continued to worship the gods of Egypt.

“You can take the Hebrew out of Egypt, but it proved so hard to take Egypt out of the Hebrew;” Now replace “Hebrew” with “Christian.”

Christians bring their idols with them, too. A ‘for instance’ in the Bible would be the episode in the city of Ephesus where we read, “Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver” (Acts 19:19).

Letting go of the “idols” we carried into our relationship with the Lord can be a lifelong process.

“Therefore, Oholibah, thus says the Lord God: ‘I will stir up your lovers against you – those whom you have turned away from – and I will bring them against you from every side: The Babylonians, all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, and Koa; all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, leaders and rulers, officers and warriors, all riding on horses.

They shall come against you with weapons, chariots, and an army of people. They will surround you with shields, helmets, and armor, and I will put judgment before them, and they shall judge you according to their ways.

“Why, God?” questions need to be put into the context of people rejecting God & being given what they want.

I will set My jealousy against you, and they shall deal with you in fury. They shall remove what you value, and take away what is precious to you. They shall strip you of your garments and take away your fine jewelry. Thus I will remove from you the sins of your youth, and you will no longer look to Egypt for help. For thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will deliver you into the hands of those you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned away. They will deal harshly with you, taking away what you labored for and leaving you exposed and empty. The shame of your unfaithfulness and wrongdoing will be revealed.

During the reigns of David & Solomon, the Israelites were a military world power. David had his “Mighty Men.” But Israel only existed and continues to exist because the LORD fought for them. Take God out of the equation and they were easily conquered & dispersed. Take no credit; point to Jesus, genuinely.

You have brought this upon yourself because you pursued the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. You have followed in your sister’s ways, therefore I will put her punishment upon you.

The next time you are struggling with an OT text that seems to point to unfairness or capriciousness in God, remember the phrase, “You have brought this upon yourself.” How much worse would suffering be if there were no God?

‘Thus says the Lord God: “You shall drink your sister’s cup, Deep and wide, You shall be filled with sorrow and scorn. You will be filled with ruin and devastation, The cup of your sister Samaria.nYou shall drink from it and drain it, Break its pieces, And tear at yourself in sorrow, For I have spoken,’ says the Lord God.

Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, you shall bear the consequences of your unfaithfulness and wrongdoing.’ ”

The Lord also said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations. For they have been unfaithful, committing offenses against Me. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, to false gods. Moreover, they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths. On the very day they sacrificed their children to idols, they came into My sanctuary and defiled it. This is what they have done inside My house!

Furthermore, you sent messengers to distant lands, and when they arrived, you welcomed them. You bathed, adorned yourself with fine jewelry, and put on makeup. You sat on a splendid couch, with a prepared table before you, on which you placed My incense and oil. The noise of a carefree crowd was with her, including men from distant lands who adorned her hands and placed crowns on her head. Then I said concerning her, who had grown accustomed to such ways: ‘Will they still follow after her?’ But they went in to her, just as men go to a woman who has been unfaithful; so they pursued Oholah and Oholibah in their wickedness.

But righteous men will judge them for their unfaithfulness and for shedding blood, because they are guilty. For thus says the Lord God: ‘Bring an army against them! Let them be terrorized and plundered. The assembly shall stone them and strike them down with swords; they shall slay their children and burn their houses. Thus I will remove wickedness from the land, so that all women may take warning and not commit such acts. You shall bear the consequences of your unfaithfulness, and you shall know that I am the Lord God.’ ”

The Babylonian captivity would last a total of 70yrs. Afterwards the Jews were free to return home. However, they were not autonomous for another 2500yrs when on May 14th 1948 they became a nation again, in one day.

It followed on the heels of the Holocaust. On October 2nd 2023, they suffered the worst death toll since the Holocaust.

A bleak future looms: the Antichrist, or “man of sin,” will appear as a savior, negotiating a seven-year treaty. It marks Day One of the 7yr Great Tribulation. Midway through this period, he will desecrate the rebuilt Temple by entering the Holy of Holies, proclaiming himself as God and demanding worship.

Jesus warned those in Judea to flee from the antichrist’s persecution, possibly seeking refuge in the fortified city of Petra. In their distress, they will call upon the Lord for salvation. At His second coming, they will look upon Him whom they pierced and mourn, leading the surviving remnant to repentance and salvation.

Take an aerial view of history, mix in some Dead Sea Scrolls, then the writings of a few early church fathers, and you’ll have the Millennial Day Theory, aka, the Six-Ages-of-the-World. It links the six days of creation followed by a day of rest to six millennia of human history culminating in a millennium of rest. This interpretation suggests that each real, 24hr day of Creation symbolizes a thousand-year period of human history. The seventh day represents the Millennial Kingdom on Earth. I’m not all-in on that, but it is interesting because we are right now close to the end of the first 6000 years.

Even though nothing is impossible for God, and that there is nothing too hard for Him, the salvation of Israel and Gentile nations is no small task. It takes thousands of years to accomplish.

Be encouraged! Just as Israel is the apple of God’s eye, the Church is the Lord’s bride, His body, and His Temple on Earth. He began the work of saving us; He carries it forward; He must complete it.

References
1 unremitting, unrelenting, eternal, constant, unceasing

Prophecy Update #818 – His Number Is 6GG

We reserve a few minutes to discuss current trends that you’d expect from reading Bible prophecy.

We are futurists. We interpret all unfulfilled prophetic passages as future events that will occur in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context.

Biometrics, Artificial Intelligence, cashless commerce, the manipulation of human DNA, global government, instantaneous global communication, the exponential growth of human knowledge, and the movement to rebuild a Temple on the Temple

Mount in Jerusalem.

These are predicted in the Bible and are trending as never before.

Technological advances interest us because the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ predicts a global government whose cashless economy and services will be accessed by a personal biometric identifier. This identifier, on the forehead or hand, will be necessary for a citizen to make purchases and to participate in society. It will create a tyrannical surveillance society. Once considered fanciful – that system could be implemented right now.

6G is coming.

One source reported, “6G is the next-generation wireless technology that will succeed 5G, promising significantly faster speeds, lower latency, and more efficient connectivity. It is expected to enable new advancements in artificial intelligence, immersive augmented and virtual reality, and internet-of-things (IoT) applications. Unlike 5G, which primarily improves mobile broadband, 6G aims to integrate AI-driven networks, terahertz (THz) frequencies, and advanced computing to support smart cities, autonomous systems, and even brain-computer interfaces.”

Did you catch all that? 6G isn’t simply a better phone network. Artificial Intelligence… Immersive augmented and virtual reality… Internet-of-things (IoT) applications… Advanced computing to support Smart Cities, autonomous systems, and even brain-computer interfaces.

6G will bring together many of the the End Times technologies we talk about. It perfectly describes the rule of antichrist.

They’re predicting a launch by 2030.

Author David Bowen writes, “This has been a slow, deliberate march toward total surveillance, control, and the erosion of individual autonomy. Let’s understand this has been forty years in the making. 6G isn’t just about faster internet, it’s about complete integration with AI, automation, and global connectivity.”

Samsung is saying 6G will revolutionize the way people interact with technology. They say 6G will address economic, environmental, and societal needs. It will be used in entertainment, medicine, education, and manufacturing.

Quoting David Bowen again, “6G will mean the total automation of society – every action, conversation, and movement tracked, monitored, and potentially controlled.”[1]

That is a good description of the reach & authority the government of the future Great Tribulation will exercise.

Jesus promised, “I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the Earth” (Revelation 3:10).

The resurrection and rapture of the church is always imminent. It could happen any moment; nothing needs to happen before it.

Are you ready for the rapture? If not, Get ready; Stay ready; Keep looking up.

Ready or not, Jesus is coming!

References
1 https://www.prophecynewswatch.com/article.cfm?recent_news_id=7993

For One Night Only (Mark 1:29-38)

What’s the longest shift you ever worked? Whatever it was, I’ll be Ludwig Van Isterdael has you beat. In 2023, the Flemish bartender served customers for 120 hours straight through, with little breaks here and there, and set a world record for longest shift tending bar.[1]

Mark is showing us a day-in-the-life of Jesus and His disciples. It’s a sabbath Saturday. Tonight we’ll see Jesus on a marathon tending and serving shift, as He spends the evening in Capernaum healing many sick and suffering people, before take a quick prayer break, then heading out the next morning to preach the Good News in other towns.

The people who saw these events did not truly understand who Jesus was and what the point of His wonders were. They focused entirely on the miracles, while failing to consider His message.

Mark 1:29 – 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went into Simon and Andrew’s house with James and John.

The Jewish sabbath started sundown Friday and ended at sundown Saturday. This is still Saturday before sundown, and so the legal and traditional rules about not working and the exact way you must conduct yourself would still be in effect.

Jesus became a local celebrity overnight. His fame was spreading everywhere. When your friend meets a celebrity, usually one of the first questions you ask them is, “What are they like in real life?” Mark wants us to see that Jesus is the same in the synagogue and in the fisherman’s home. Full of grace and truth and power. He was never putting on an act, never inflating Himself or posturing.

The Gospels show Jesus in many different situations. And they always reveal that our Lord is always the same no matter where He goes. We see Him in synagogues and in the temple, in gardens and in deserts, on hilltops and in ships at sea, in humble homes and Roman Praetoriums. He is always the same, always consistent. Always good, always true, always righteous.

But the Gospels also reveal that Jesus has authority and jurisdiction in every one of those places. Not just the sea and the mountains, but also the temples, the palaces, and your home and heart.

Mark 1:30 – 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once.

Fevers are not usually a big deal to us – though if you’ve ever had a really high fever, things get scary real quick. But Peter’s mother-in-law was in trouble.

The Gospel writers use phrases like, “[she was] laying prostrate, burning with fever.”[2] That she had been sick for some time.[3] In his book, Dr. Luke used a technical, medical phrase of the time, saying “she was holden with a great fever.”[4]

Not only was she in medical trouble, there could’ve been some societal trouble as well. At the time, fevers were often associated with God’s judgment for disobedience,[5] or with demonic activity. In fact, some rabbis taught that you could catch a fever from pagan dancing in the moonlight.[6]

The disciples do something great here: They told Jesus about Peter’s mother-in-law right away. Their swiftness is contrasted with how the rest of the townspeople delay until the sabbath is over to bring their suffering friends and family to the Lord. But Peter and the others did not hesitate, did not delay, did not think Jesus shouldn’t be bothered. They told Him about her at once. They believed Jesus cared and that He had power and that He wasn’t only concerned with battling supernatural entities, but also in bringing hope and help to regular people in regular life.

A biographical note here: Peter was married. Here we see his mother-in-law. Paul also references Peter’s wife and indicates that she traveled with him from place to place in his work as an apostle.[7] Church history records that Peter’s wife was martyred while he was forced to watch and that as she faced death he called out with comfort and encouragement for her to “Remember the Lord.”[8]

Mark 1:31 – 31 So he went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them.

There are several sabbath traditions being broken here. I say traditions because it’s important that we understand that Jesus never broke God’s Law. He was often accused of breaking the Law by the Pharisees, but Jesus absolutely fulfilled the Law.[9] What He didn’t do is abide by the man-made traditions that the leaders of Israel had added on to the Law. He refuted the human interpretation of God’s Law. And He tried to show the people just how badly they were interpreting it.

This still happens today in our own legal system. We see a judge or a circuit court make a ruling about what must be done and how the law should be followed, and then the higher court or judge takes up the case and says, “No, no, you’ve misinterpreted that law and your ruling is reversed.”

Jesus didn’t break God’s law concerning the sabbath. But the people around Him at the time often couldn’t tell the difference between God’s commands and man’s traditions. In this scene there are several traditions being violated.

First of all, they would say Jesus should not be touching a sick person. Second, the fact that He touched a female who was not a relative would be offensive to Pharisee types.[10] But then, after being healed, Peter’s mother-in-law gets up and prepares the sabbath meal! It seems that she had been unable to prep the food Friday afternoon. Isn’t that a big no-no? Well, remember – as Jesus points out in Matthew 12 – the priests work in the temple on the sabbath and are deemed innocent, because they are serving God. And Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath. Like David and his men who were hungry and received the showbread, Jesus and His disciples receive a meal from a grateful and sanctified servant in the form of Peter’s mother-in-law.

We are saved to serve. It’s not the only reason, but it is a reason. Of course, there is an endless list of ways that we could serve the Lord whether it’s now or later, near or far. So which things does He want us to do? Well, that’s what walking with God is about. As you walk with Him you discover where He wants you to go, what He wants you to do, how He wants you to be His hands and feet.

But using this example, an important way we serve the Lord is by identifying the needs in front of us. God brings us into relationship with certain people, into a specific time and place, so we can help one another and love one another and bear one another’s burdens. So each Christian should be sensitive to needs right in front of them. God has positioned you where you are for a reason.

Mark 1:32 – 32 When evening came, after the sun had set, they brought to him all those who were sick and demon-possessed.

Maybe they thought Jesus wouldn’t help them before the sabbath ended.[11] Maybe they were afraid for their own standing in the eyes of the religious rulers.[12] Either way, this huge pool of suffering people had to suffer a little longer even though Jesus was ready to give tender mercy.

Mark 1:33-34 – 33 The whole town was assembled at the door, 34 and he healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.

This is a long night seeing a large number of people. The whole town came out. When it says in verse 34 that He healed “many,” it doesn’t mean there were some He couldn’t heal – the term means all those brought to Him were healed.[13]

These people knew where Jesus could be found, they knew what He was able to work miracles, and yet there is no discussion at all about them listening to Him or believing in Him as disciples.

They wanted physical help. It’s great that they brought sick loved ones, but there are no questions about eternal life, about what they must do to be saved, about how they might follow Him.

And it’s not speculation on our part. Jesus would later call out Capernaum by name as one of the most unresponsive towns He had been in when it came to faith and belief.

Matthew 11:23 – 23 ”And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today.

Matthew also explains that Jesus’ miracles in Capernaum directly proved He was the One Isaiah prophesied about. And it wasn’t that the people couldn’t believe, it’s that their hearts were hard. In fact, it was in Capernaum that a centurion has faith that astonished Jesus and caused Him to remark that He hadn’t found that kind of faith in anyone in the whole nation of Israel.[14]

Mark 1:35 – 35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he got up, went out, and made his way to a deserted place; and there he was praying.

This is the third time we find Jesus out in the wilderness. At His baptism, at His confrontation with the Devil, now here in prayer. It speaks to us of His fearlessness and His sufficiency and His authority everywhere. In context, we see He didn’t want or need the praise of men. He wasn’t looking for the biggest crowd. He was nourished by intimacy and communion with His Father.

Jesus had a lot of discipline and focus. It seems silly to say that, but think about it: There are no alarm clocks, no GPS maps or Yelp reviews for best praying rock in the desert. But He purposed to spend time praying here in the last watch of the night – sometime between 3am and 6am.[15]

Our Lord spent a lot of time praying. Mark references Jesus taking time to pray at the beginning, the middle, and the end of His ministry. Mark always shows Him praying at critical moments.

We need to pray. Don’t worry about the “best” method of prayer, just start praying. Use the guidance provided in the Word of God and get to it. Begin praying and learn as you go.

Mark 1:36-37 – 36 Simon and his companions searched for him, 37 and when they found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

Notice how these verses are from Peter’s perspective – “Simon and his companions searched for Him.” Scholars and church history agree that Mark’s Gospel was compiled from Peter’s testimony.

The disciples tell Jesus, “Everyone is looking for You.” And they did more than just look for Him. Luke says they actually tried to stop Him from leaving.[16] The question is: For what reason? Why did they want Jesus around? It wasn’t so they could hear heaven’s truth, it was to receive physical benefits. In fact, linguists explain that this term “looking for” is usually used with hostile intent.[17] They were hunting for Him – hunting, not following. They had demands for Him, not devotion.

The people of Capernaum had their own ideas, their own priorities, their own designs of what the Lord should do for them. He could just hang out in the area and they would come when they needed something. He would fix the skin disease, the deafness, the physical problem they wanted resolved. Meanwhile, they had no concern for the healing of their hearts. They didn’t do what Peter’s mother-in-law did after her healing, which was begin to serve the Lord in response.

Mark 1:38 – 38 And he said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.”

This is a very important moment. Why did Jesus come? Did He come to fix ruined bodies? He did a lot of that, but He came to preach the Gospel and to give His life as a ransom so that our souls could be saved. He came to restore all creation under His perfect Kingdom.

The miracles He performed were not the point of His coming. They were meant to prove He was telling the truth – that He was, in fact, the Messiah. But the message of salvation was His primary focus. In fact, as one Bible scholar points out, we do not see Jesus going out of His way to find someone to heal, but He regularly goes out of His way to preach the Good News.[18]

And the number of miracles He performed weren’t that important to Him. Rather, He was looking for faith, for belief, for obedience to His word. He was not working so that everyone could be physically healed. He worked so that people everywhere could hear the message of salvation, which He would accomplish not by healings and exorcisms, but by His death on the cross.

The people of Capernaum thought, “Jesus is a miracle worker.” But they were wrong. He is the Messiah. And that misunderstanding led to the greatest failure of their spiritual lives. But they were content to say to Jesus, “Do for me,” and go no further. They did not consider Who Jesus is.

For our part, we are reminded that we want Jesus to work in our lives – to help us and deliver us and bless us – but we must also realize Who He is and what He has said. And we must cultivate a desire to hear what He has to say to us. The Lord wants to work in our lives, absolutely, but God has things He wants to say to you and me today and tomorrow and the next day. Eternal truths He wants us to apprehend so that we can spread the message of salvation to a lost and dying world.

Jesus invited Peter and Andrew and James and John to go with Him to spread the word. “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages.” You and I are invited, too. To be a part of the ongoing preaching of the Good News. Preaching with power, yes, but the Word of God going out to us and through us. Because the Gospel is the power of God for salvation. That’s why He came and that’s why He sends us.

References
1 https://www.brusselstimes.com/515627/flemish-bartender-breaks-world-record-for-longest-shift
2 Charles Erdman   The Gospel Of Mark
3 Robert Utley, Robert James   The Gospel According To Peter: Mark and I & II Peter
4 Archibald Robertson   Word Pictures In The New Testament
5 Leviticus 26:16, Deuteronomy 28:22
6 David Garland   Mark
7 1 Corinthians 9:5
8 Clement Of Alexandria   Stromata Book VII, Chapter 11
9 Matthew 5:17
10 Ben Witherington   The Gospel Of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
11 Clifton Allen   Broadman Bible Commentary: Matthew-Mark
12 Frank Gaebelein, D. A. Carson, Walter Wessel, and Walter Liefeld   The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke
13 William Lane   The Gospel Of Mark
14 Matthew 8:10
15 Utley
16 Luke 4:42
17 James Brooks   The New American Commentary: Mark
18 Utley

There’s A Gap For That (Ezekiel 22:1-31)

If you know me at all, you know how much I enjoy doing maintenance around the house. 

If you don’t believe me, stop by some time and I’ll show you. In just about every room, as well as in the yard, you’ll see all manner of deferred maintenance.

I am so good at it that I’m considering retiring as a Deferred Maintenance Man. My slogan will be, “Do you really need a garbage disposal?”

For over five millennia of human history, walls were essential for defense. Cities like Jericho, Babylon, Troy, and Gondor were noted for their seemingly impenetrable walls. Jerusalem was a walled city.

Defensive walls must be maintained by inspecting for gaps and repairing them swiftly.

The final Babylonian siege was upon the Jews. If ever there were a time to fill gaps it was now.

Not unexpectedly, in verse thirty Ezekiel records, “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land…”

This imagery was common. But notice something as we read on. Babylon wasn’t the invader. It was the LORD!  “So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”

Ezekiel was not talking about their stone & mortared wall. He was using the wall to represent a spiritual condition.

The Jews had ‘built’ a faulty religious wall by turning their backs to God. Their disobedience created significant gaps through which spiritual enemies had entered.

The gaps created by the Jews’ negligence are a problem for us as well. I’ll organize my comments around the three times Ezekiel said, “The Word of the LORD came to me,” in verses 1,17 & 23.

#1 Immorality Creates Gaps In Your Wall (v1-16)

Have you ever heard someone say, “You can’t legislate morality?” Frank Turek comments, “Legislating morality is not only biblical, it is a necessary responsibility of government.”

The sad truth in America is that we have been legislating immorality.

The Family Law Act of 1969 in California introduced no-fault divorce. Before that you had to prove wrongdoing.

God is on record that He hates divorce. He permits divorce & remarriage in certain circumstances, e.g., adultery and desertion. No-fault divorce legislated immorality. It opened up a moral gap that grows & grows. A scholarly paper in the University of Arkansas Law Review commented, “No-fault divorce proliferated; same-sex marriage evolved from nonmarital cohabitation and newly established status arrangements similar to marriage; assisted reproductive technology permitted parentage independent of marriage, sexual intercourse, and genetic connection; single persons, unmarried cohabitants, and same-sex couples could adopt children freely.”

How do the godly stand in that gap? By honoring biblical marriage, for one. God hates divorce; you hate divorce along with Him. Remain married unless you have solid biblical grounds. Marry wisely.

Ezk 22:1  Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying…

God’s Word comes to you in the Bible, interpreted and applied by God the Holy Spirit, who indwells you. Your part is to be pre-submitted to God’s word.

Ezk 22:2  “Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations!

Cities adopt slogans. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas… Keep Austin Weird.

Jerusalem in the 6th century was The Bloody City.

“Blood” or “bloody” are used six times in this chapter.Viva for Vice & Violence.

Ezk 22:3  Then say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “The city sheds blood in her own midst, that her time may come; and she makes idols within herself to defile herself.

Ezk 22:4  You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made…

Pagan religions incorporated rituals that involved self-inflicted cutting and bleeding. Shedding your own blood is idiotic. We need the blood of Jesus.

Another connection between blood and idolatry was the worship of Baal. It involved sacrificing infants. I don’t need to tell you that our murder of infants is an especially evil legislated immorality.

Ezek 22:4…You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years, therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries.

Ezk 22:5  Those near and those far from you will mock you as infamous and full of tumult.

Their discipline was accelerated by their sin. In the NT the apostle Peter says that we can hasten the Lord’s coming, not for discipline but deliverance (Second Peter 3:12). He takes us home!

Ezk 22:6  “Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you.

Ezk 22:7  In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger; in you they have mistreated the fatherless and the widow.

Laws protecting the most vulnerable were ignored. Lack of godly compassion and empathy is a gap.

Ezk 22:8  You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.

Note the plural. There were other Sabbaths, e.g., every 7th year they were not to farm. Every 50th year was Jubilee with its many requirements.

Ezk 22:9  In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.

“Slander” can lead to bloodshed. There are those who cite the constant slander of President Trump as encouraging the assassination attempts.

The “mountains” were sites of idol worship, tied to fertility rituals involving sexual deviance.

Ezk 22:10  In you men uncover their fathers’ nakedness…

Dr. Michael Heiser explains that “uncovering your father’s nakedness” is a euphemism for sleeping with one’s mother or stepmother, as seen by comparing Leviticus 18:6-8 and 20:11.

Ezk 22:10… in you they violate women who are set apart during their impurity.

Ezk 22:11  One commits abomination with his neighbor’ wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father’s daughter.

It was like an event co-hosted by Sean Combs & Jefferey Epstein with Bill Cosby as the entertainer.

Ezk 22:12  In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbors by extortion, and have forgotten Me,” says the Lord GOD.

Sounds like the Mafia. Have you ever watched Amish Mafia? It’s so fake, it’s funny.

Ezk 22:13  “Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst.

Ezk 22:14  Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and will do it.

Ezk 22:15  I will scatter you among the nations, disperse you throughout the countries, and remove your filthiness completely from you.

Ezk 22:16  You shall defile yourself in the sight of the nations; then you shall know that I am the LORD.” ’ ”

Too harsh? Much of their behavior deserved capital punishment. Instead dispersion would ultimately “remove their filthiness.” We can trust that there was no other way to bring them to repentance.

#2 Impurity Creates Gaps In Your Wall (v17-22)

Looking down from Heaven, surrounded by its wall, Jerusalem looked like a crucible for heating metals. The LORD brought the heat and found only impurities in His people.

Ezk 22:17  The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 22:18  “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; they are all bronze, tin, iron, and lead, in the midst of a furnace; they have become dross from silver.

Ezk 22:19  Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you have all become dross, therefore behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem.

Ezk 22:20  As men gather silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire on it, to melt it; so I will gather you in My anger and in My fury, and I will leave you there and melt you.

Ezk 22:21  Yes, I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst.

Ezk 22:22  As silver is melted in the midst of a furnace, so shall you be melted in its midst; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have poured out My fury on you.’ ”

Again I’d ask, “Is this too harsh? The LORD was trying to save them. He revealed their hearts. You won’t confess & repent unless you see your sin.

Richard Baxter wrote, “See that your chief study be about your heart, that there God’s image may be planted, and His interest advanced, and the interest of the world and flesh subdued, and the love of every sin cast out, and the love of holiness succeed.”

Believers are familiar with trials being crucibles where Jesus refines us and we emerge as gold. Don’t think it strange if you feel the heat. In fact, you should feel weird if you don’t have any trials. Jesus said you would have tribulation.

#3 Indignation Closes Gaps In Your Wall (v23-31)

We will twice encounter the word “indignation” in the remaining verses. God uses it to describe His attitude towards every segment of Judean society.

Ezk 22:23  And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 22:24  “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’

It is likely they had long been experiencing drought. It was a sign in the Law of Moses that the LORD was withholding blessings.

Ezk 22:25  The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst.

There are predatory ministries & ministers. Grifting you isn’t the worst of it. Their false teachings and heresies can keep a person from knowing Jesus.

Ezk 22:26  Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

The priests compromised, failing to teach or rebuke the people. Over time, this led to a complete loss of distinction between what was holy and what wasn’t.

It’s been said, “You can take the Christian out of the world, but you can’t take the world out of the Christian.”

Ezk 22:27  Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain.

Princes were what we would call politicians. As Stan Lee used to quip, “Nuff said.”

Ezk 22:28  Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD had not spoken.

They were offering white-washed prophecies, in that they promised the LORD would repel the Babylonians for His names’ sake.   

Ezk 22:29  The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger.

This is a general statement that Jerusalem had become lawless. It was an undesirable place to live.

Ezk 22:30  So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.

Ezk 22:31  Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.

God said He couldn’t find anyone to make a wall and stand in the gap. That seems odd given prophets like Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Ezekiel. We know that Habakkuk interceded, and he did so literally from a tower on the actual wall.

One commentator said, “It wasn’t that these men were deficient, but rather that the people were so thoroughly defiant.” They did not want to be delivered. They would not follow a wall-building, gap-man.

A shadowy OT character, Balaam, was hired to curse God’s people. Instead he finds himself blessing them! His advice to bring them down was “If you can’t beat them, join them!”

Israel’s enemy enticed them to sin, triggering the wrath of God upon His people.

We defeat ourselves when we are content with white wash and and defer repairing tiny gaps in our walk.

A.W. Tozer made this observation: “Religion today is not transforming the people – it is being transformed by the people. It is not raising the moral level of society – it is descending to society’s own level and congratulating itself that it has scored a victory because society is smiling accepting its surrender.”

Prophecy Update #817 – We Do Digital Right

We reserve a few minutes to discuss current trends that you’d expect from reading Bible prophecy.

We are futurists. We interpret all unfulfilled prophetic passages as future events that will occur in a literal, physical, apocalyptic, and global context.

Biometrics, Artificial Intelligence, cashless commerce, the manipulation of human DNA, global government, instantaneous global communication, the exponential growth of human knowledge, and the movement to rebuild a Temple on the Temple

Mount in Jerusalem.

These are predicted in the Bible and unfolding as never before.

Technological advances interest us because the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ predicts a global government whose cashless economy and services will be accessed by a personal biometric identifier. This identifier, on the forehead or hand, will be necessary for a citizen to make purchases and to participate in society. Once considered fanciful – that system could be implemented right now.

Anybody like Taco Bell? KFC? How about Pizza Hut? I read an article this week about their parent company. Its title was, Yum Bets Big On AI As It Attempts To Move To 100% Digital Sales.

Excerpts:

Chief Financial Officer Chris Turner talked about the company’s goal of complete digital sales… saying “Digital sales up approximately 15% and digital mix surpassing 50%.”

Turner said Yum Brands is able to do this through Byte by Yum!, a proprietary software and digital ecosystem that includes AI-driven products for easier operations.

The platform will be used by both employees and customers. The technology will power mobile apps, web ordering, point of sale, kitchen and delivery optimization, menu management, inventory and labor management and various team member tools.

Currently, 25,000 Yum restaurants, which include KFC International, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut across the world use at least one Byte by Yum! product.[1]

I’m not saying Byte by Yum! is the antichrist (although you would expect him to eat Taco Bell).

We read the Bible and it predicts a global, cashless economy – we call it ‘digital.’ All people will be forced into using it or else they won’t be able to by KFC… Or anything! Lo & behold, we read articles like this that are exactly what we expect.

This system will dominate during the future 7yr Great Tribulation. The Church won’t be on Earth!!

Jesus promised, “I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the Earth” (Revelation 3:10).

The resurrection and rapture of the church is always imminent. It could happen any moment; nothing needs to happen before it.

Are you ready for the rapture? If not, Get ready; Stay ready; Keep looking up.

Ready or not, Jesus is coming!

References
1 https://www.ibtimes.com/yum-brands-ai-digital-sales-goals-3762623

Any Given Saturday (Mark 1:21-28)

Sometimes celebrities go viral after sharing their daily routines. Mark Wahlberg got a lot of attention a few years ago after sharing his typical daily schedule, which he claims starts at 2:30am with prayer, breakfast and then “Workout A” from 3:40am to 5:30am.

Orlando Bloom also went viral after sharing his typical daily schedule. Sadly, no one was impressed. In fact, many of his fans thought he must have been joking. He said things like he “earns” breakfast in the morning by going on a hike and listening to Stone Temple Pilots.[1] That mixed with the “brain octane oil” he eats must make for quite a day.

In our last study, Jesus defeated the Devil after withstanding 40 days of temptation. For anyone else, that title fight would’ve been followed by a well-deserved off-season. Mark shows Jesus going immediately to the seaside to seek out disciples and then straight into ministry in Galilee.

What follows are some very memorable stories of Jesus teaching and healing and interacting. But scholars believe that what Mark wants to do here is show a day-in-the-life of Jesus’ ministry.[2] This is one particular Sabbath, but these are things things He filled all His days with.

As we watch, there are a lot of fantastic feats, colorful characters, interesting incidents, but Mark wants us to see Jesus. In this first scene, Mark references Jesus 12 times in 8 verses. There are scribes and disciples and a congregation and a demon, amazement, antagonism, and activity, but our eyes should be fixed on Jesus. Who He is, what He says, how He acts, where He leads.

Mark 1:21 – 21 They went into Capernaum, and right away he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach.

Synagogues were gathering places for Jewish believers, Gentiles who had converted to Judaism, and people called “God-fearers,” which were Gentiles who were interested in the God of Israel but had not officially converted. They didn’t offer sacrifices there – that was only done in the temple in Jerusalem. Instead, according to what we know, their services weren’t that different than ours.

They prayed, read the Scripture, heard a sermon which exposited the text, and gave benedictions.[3] Traveling teachers or rabbis would often be asked to give the sermon. Jesus often took advantage of this custom, as did Paul and Barnabas in the book of Acts.

What did Jesus teach that day? We’ve already seen the general message He preached back in verse 15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” But His address that morning wasn’t just a stump speech like politicians recite when they’re on the campaign trail. Jesus’ message had a profound, stunning effect on His listeners. The word used for teach means He instructed them.[4] He had a living message for them. Something that shook them up and totally arrested their hearts and minds.

One writer notes, “Judaism had become a book religion.”[5] The chosen people of God were walking in darkness. God hadn’t sent them a new message in 400 years. They had lost dominion of their promised land. Their king was not a son of David, but a perverse murderer installed by Rome.

Religious life in Judea had become a snarl of fragmented and polarized groups, each in fierce opposition to the others. And all of them were weighed down by an ever-growing burden of human traditions masquerading as Godliness that no one could ever hope to actually achieve.

So let’s say you’re a faithful Jew – you want to follow God – but God seems to have forgotten Israel. You’re oppressed by a Gentile government, discouraged by your religious leaders, waiting generation after generation for the Messiah to arrive or a prophet to arrive or just someone who actually knew some truth about God and His dealings. And then, one day, God Himself comes to town, with hope and help and kindness and grace – with a message for your life and future.

Mark 1:22 – 22 They were astonished at his teaching because he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not like the scribes.

The scribes weren’t just court reporters. They were professionally trained to be experts in both the Law of Moses and in the traditional laws and regulations that had been built up around the Law.[6]

When they taught at synagogue, usually they would just recite doctrinal precedents – long quotations of what other teachers had said.[7] It was theoretical, abstract, and tedious.

In one dialect, their title is paraphrased as “Those who know the Jews’ ways.”[8] But it will become very clear that they did not know God’s ways. They didn’t know His heart. They didn’t know His love.  They didn’t know how to actually connect man to God and God to man. Jesus came to show us the Father – to reveal that everything the Father has is Christ’s and to declare it to us.

When Jesus spoke to them, they were absolutely amazed. Mark uses a very strong word here.[9] It hit them hard, but not in a bad way. When the scribes “taught” the people, with their lifeless recitations, all they did was put millstones around the necks of their listeners. But when Jesus spoke, He set them free.[10] They were overwhelmed, not by discouragement, but with comfort.[11]

Mark 1:23-24 – 23 Just then a man with an unclean spirit was in their synagogue. He cried out, 24 “What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

Talk about a pivot! If you thought Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars a few years ago was shocking, try to imagine this situation.

The Devil didn’t quit after getting beatdown in the wilderness. He waited for other opportune times to strike at Jesus. There seems to have been a convergence of demonic activity especially during the three and a half years of Jesus’ ministry.

Demon possession can and does still happen today, but it does not seem to be as frequent as it was in the Gospels. And that makes sense, because Satan was focused on stopping Jesus.

This demon immediately recognized Jesus and He even knew where He was from – both His heavenly and earthly homes – but He wasn’t sure what Jesus was about. It’s clear that the demon felt his very existence was threatened, and he clearly had some knowledge of the plan of God, but he honestly didn’t know why the Lord was there that day.[12] The question he asked indicates that the demon was wondering why Jesus was invading “their” turf. Why was Jesus interfering?

More than that, it seems that this demon tried to battle against Jesus, to get the upper hand on Him. You see, the demon specifically spoke both Jesus’ earthly identity and His heavenly identity.  The Jews there that day would’ve seen this as offensive maneuver because “it was widely believed at that time that if you knew a person’s true identity and could utter his name, you could gain a magic power over him.”[13]

Now, this demon stood no chance, but this situation does teach us something: Knowledge alone doesn’t save.[14] This demon knew more about Jesus than anyone else in the building. Yet, obviously, he was the furthest from salvation. The scribes knew a ton about the Old Testament – the ins and outs of every phrase and syllable – but they would be instrumental in having Jesus killed.

We need knowledge, because we must have the truth revealed and preached to us, but salvation is about faith and trust and obedience, not just intellectual familiarity.

Mark 1:25 – 25 Jesus rebuked him saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”

So Jesus came into their service, shared a sermon that blew their minds and made them think, “This Guy speaks as if He has real authority from heaven!” And now we see that Christ really does have authority from heaven. When He speaks, demons must obey. When He speaks, the wind and the waves listen. When He speaks, mountains move.

Jesus certainly didn’t need a demon as a PR person. He didn’t need their accursed advertising. As it is, some of the people would ultimately say Jesus got His power from the ruler of demons.

But notice this exorcism: He needed no incantations, no rituals, no props of any kind.[15] He spoke a word and the fight was over. The demon was muzzled. The man was set free.

Mark 1:26 – 26 And the unclean spirit threw him into convulsions, shouted with a loud voice, and came out of him.

This demon did not go quietly. Luke assures us this demon left without hurting this man at all.[16] But this image gives us a sobering reminder about the character and conduct of our spiritual enemies.

Sin, satan, the rebel self within our hearts are all part of the same fallen kingdom of darkness. I doubt anyone here is demon possessed, but we still have sin lurking in our hearts. It crouches at the door. It wants to capture you and rule you and enslave you. It isn’t your friend. It doesn’t make you stronger. It wants to dominate your life the way the demon dominated this man.

Jesus wants to set you free from that domination. And we see here that the power of His word is enough. The process can be unpleasant, but Jesus kept this fellow safe, even as the demon was shouting and kicking and trying his best to keep control over this life.

There’s nothing Christ can’t free us from. That’s why He came – to rescue us. To unshackle us. But don’t give sin a foothold in life. Because this is how sin treats a person.

Tonight, maybe you didn’t come in with an unclean spirit, but with a fearful spirit, a worried spirit, a discouraged spirit, a confused spirit. Christ will help you. Jesus is willing to minister to you.

Mark 1:27 – 27 They were all amazed, and so they began to ask each other, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

As one scholar points out, don’t confuse their astonishment for faith.[17] Mark gives the impression that they’re in a bit of a panic.[18] This was an intense discussion.[19] “Who is this Guy???” They realized that everything about what they had just heard and seen was new. New in quality as compared to the old, worn out, dead religion they had always known.[20]

This Teacher was not just another rabbi. He wasn’t just another exorcist. What He said and did was so strikingly different that they were astonished and alarmed. “What is this???”

But, they spoke to each other, not to Him. They spoke to their neighbors, not the Man Himself.

Mark 1:28 – 28 At once the news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity of Galilee.

Fascination spread, but not necessarily faith. Even what they were spreading around was more like rumors than reports.[21] Paul would later use this term in 2 Timothy when he warns about people have an itch to hear what they want to hear.

Jesus became a local celebrity, but generally speaking, their astonishment didn’t lead to acceptance. God was shaking them up – disturbing everything they had known with truth and power and real hope for the first time in centuries – but most of the people just rolled over and went back to spiritual sleep.

But we know there were some who took seriously what was being revealed in their midst. We think of those Greeks in John 12 who had heard about Jesus and they put foot to pavement and came and found a disciple and said, “We want to see Jesus.” They wanted to speak with Jesus. He told them, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me.”[22] Eyes and ears and heart and mind and hands and feet all together in faithful discipleship. God reveals, we respond with living, exercised faith.

If Jesus had instruction for a Capernaum synagogue, He has instructions for me. If Jesus had commands for a demon – His adversary –  what does He command me, His servant?

Like the people in this Gospel, I often find myself focusing on the wrong thing. I’ll think, “Oh, I wish Mark would’ve told us what Jesus’ awesome sermon was that day. I wish we knew what He said.” We do! It’s called the Bible.

I think most of us would say, “I want to know what God wants me to do and if He showed up to talk to me today, I’d definitely do what He says.” But He has shown up! He has spoken. Come and see what God has said. Come and see what God has done. Come and see what God has commanded. And He has sent His Holy Spirit to speak to us day by day. Our job is not to wait for a miracle to be performed in front of us. Our part is to learn to understand what the Spirit says to us, how the Word applies to us, where the Master is leading us. To realize that the Messiah is in our midst, teaching.

Mark shows us that a typical day in the life of Christ is filled with Him doing work in your life.  He wants to teach you, to rescue you, to reveal things to you, to lead you.

I don’t want to suggest we put ourselves in the place of the demon in this text, but the question he asked is a good one for us to ask, albeit from a completely different perspective: Lord, what do you have to do with me today? What adjustment? What opportunity? What encouragement? What task? You’ve come to disrupt my life with Your new life and so, Lord, speak, direct, bring me along, because I know Who You are: The Messiah, the King of kings, my Savior and Master and Friend.

References
1 https://www.businessinsider.com/orlando-bloom-daily-routine-involves-brain-octane-oil-fans-react-2021-3
2 William Lane   The Gospel Of Mark
3 Ben Witherington   The Gospel Of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
4 New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries: Updated Edition
5 David Garland   Mark
6 The NET Bible First Edition Notes
7 Morna Hooker   The Gospel According To Saint Mark
8 Clifton Allen   Broadman Bible Commentary: Matthew-Mark
9 Frank Gaebelein, D. A. Carson, Walter Wessel, and Walter Liefeld   The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke
10 Archibald Robertson   Word Pictures In The New Testament
11 Witherington
12 Lane
13 David Garland   Mark   {see also Gaebelein, Witherington, Lane}
14 Douglas Mangum   Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament
15 R.T. France   The Gospel Of Mark
16 Luke 4:35
17 Witherington
18 ibid.
19 France
20 Lloyd Ogilvie   Life Without Limits: The Message Of Mark’s Gospel
21 NASB Dictionaries
22 John 12:20-26