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Prophecy Update #811 – Getting To Know You

January 5, 2025

We set aside a few minutes most Sunday mornings to identify connections between unfulfilled Bible prophecies and current news & events.

There are some 500 prophecies that remain unfulfilled. For example, from chapter four forward, all of the Book of the Revelation is future, except for the few closing exhortations in chapter twenty-two.

Almost everyone, believer or unbeliever, has heard of the Mark of the Beast. “Beast” is one of the antichrist’s many names. His “mark” is explained in the Revelation: “And [the false prophet] deceives those who dwell on the earth – by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. [The false prophet] was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (13:14-17).

It’s obvious that the world economies are moving closer to a cashless economy that will utilize biometrics to id everyone who wants to participate in society.

There is something else in these verses that we can easily miss. We awe told that, “those who dwell on the earth… make an image to the beast.” It seems to be saying that the Image will draw information from humans, in a sense be a repository of all human knowledge.

That is true of AI. It learns from us until it starts learning on its own. Which, BTW, is happening.

Washington Post: Five androids – all “females” named Aura – were hanging out in the lobby at the Sphere in Las Vegas. They’re identical – the shaved-head look and oddly blue eyes. They stand about 6-foot-2 and look a lot like the scheming robot in “Ex Machina” and not at all like Rosey from “The Jetsons.”

It’s part of a major show they are putting on. Think of the millions and millions of interactions between tourists and these robots. They will be learning more and more about human beings; we will be desensitized to interact with robots as if it’s normal.

NeuroLink is Elon Musk’s program to develop a BrainComputer Interface (BCI). Think of it as your brain being connected to a computer as easily as any Bluetooth device. It was successful in the first patient in 2023. Noland Arbaugh, paralyzed from the shoulders down, is able to almost fully control a computer and other devices using only his brain.

How long, do you think, it will be before the machine figures out it can control him?

  • A sentient “image” that is programmed by humans until it can grow on its own.
  • A link between your brain and this image.

These are the kinds of things you expect to be happening from a normal reading of the prophecies in the Bible that have yet to be fulfilled

Jesus promised to resurrect & rapture His Church prior to His Second Coming, and before the Great Tribulation would come upon the whole Earth.

We will not see the revealing of the Antichrist.

The resurrection and rapture of the church is presented as an imminent event. It could happen anytime. Right now, for example.

Are you ready for the rapture? If not, get ready, stay ready, and keep looking up.

Ready or not Jesus is coming! 

Worship While You Wait (Psalm 33)

January 1, 2025

Happy new year! The Christmas carols are back on the shelf for another 11 months. There are so many Christmas songs to listen to. Everybody has a different favorite. But there’s really only one New Year’s song, right? Auld Lang Syne. We all know it even though we don’t know what it means.

It’s an old Scottish song, first written down in the late 1700’s.[1] Did you know there are traditional movements you’re supposed to make as you sing it? It’s meant to be sung in a group. Participants stand in a circle and cross their arms to grab the opposite hand of those beside them and then, as the song ends, the group rushes to the middle in a throng of camaraderie and nostalgia.

Psalm 33 is the Auld Lang Syne of the Psalter. In fact, there’s some evidence that it was sung at Jewish new year celebrations.[2] But it’s not just a tipsy tune about old friends and pint glasses. It’s a song about our amazing God, Who created this world so He could love you and me. And how reminding ourselves of Who He is will fill our new year with hope, comfort, and rejoicing.

Psalm 33:1-3 – 1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones; praise from the upright is beautiful. 2 Praise the Lord with the lyre; make music to him with a ten-stringed harp. 3 Sing a new song to him; play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.

Like Auld Lang Syne, our worship is meant to be in a group setting. The singing portion of our services isn’t meant to simply be an intro and outro to the real stuff. It is a crucial aspect of our faith. One we all have a part in. A beautiful thing.

In these verses we see arrangement and preparation and passion and development and excellence and exuberance. The author calls us all to be involved and to grab some instruments to accompany us. But, that doesn’t mean everyone should bring their own tambourine to church – the command here is to play skillfully. The point is worship is something the whole group participates in with thoughtfulness and gladness. There should always be a newness and freshness to it.

But here’s an important point: even though worship ministers to us – it fills us with joy – it isn’t about us. It’s about the Lord. Rejoice in Him. Sing to Him. Worship has one object and that’s Yahweh. His name is used thirteen times in this Psalm. It’s all about Him. Our worship is a response to Him.

Psalm 33:4-5 – 4 For the word of the Lord is right, and all his work is trustworthy. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.

Why do we worship? Because of God’s word and His work and because of Who He is.

Christians are squabbling online over the legacy of President Jimmy Carter. Some are praising him, some revile him. As usual, everybody’s mad.

When you consider the Lord, when You look at His work, when you hear His word, we find that He is always right, gracious, and faithful. He is always victorious, always able, always good. And He continues to accomplish His great work all over the earth.

I saw a map the other day showing which parts of the world have safe tap water to drink. It’s not a very encouraging graphic. Apparently I’ve had tap water in countries where the CDC thinks I shouldn’t have. But I love that phrase at the end of verse 5: The earth is full of Yahweh’s hesed. A love that acts. A loyal love. A faithful love. An unfailing love that covers the map.

Your life is never outside the coverage of God’s tender love. And He expresses His love for you through His work and His word.

Derek Kidner writes, “[God’s] word and His work are inseparable, for His words are never empty.”[3] When you read a truth or a promise in your Bible, it is still true today. Because God is always right and His promises will be kept. God’s love is still operative and it is forever unfailing.

Psalm 33:6-7 – 6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap; he puts the depths into storehouses.

80% of the earth’s oceans is unexplored.[4] 2,000 new marine species have been discovered every year since the 1800’s. Researchers think there are maybe 2 million still out there.[5] Meanwhile space scientists make discoveries that are so massive, we don’t even react. This year they discovered a black hole that has the mass of 17 billion suns and eats the equivalent of our sun every day.[6]

There was Yahweh, on His throne in heaven. He spoke a word and it was done. “Let there be light.” He did so freely, out a desire to create human beings so He could love us and we could love Him back. This God, Who has this much power, is still working. Did you notice verse 7? He gathers. He lays up. He continues His creative work to accomplish His eternal purposes. He still measures the shores. He still sends the rain. He still holds the earth in His hand and calls each star by name.[7]

Psalm 33:8-9 – 8 Let the whole earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 9 For he spoke, and it came into being; he commanded, and it came into existence.

Ecclesiastes tells us that God works so mankind will be in awe of Him.[8] He reveals Himself so that we can receive real life from Him and enjoy His presence and His provision and His grace.

We’re only inhabitants of this world because God made it for us and sustains it for us, day by day, moment by moment. It should stun us into worship. Yet, so much of the world remains in unbelief.

This song not only puts God’s power on display, but also His amazing grace and patience. How much patience do you have when a clerk doesn’t give you back proper change? When you’re owed $10, but they only give you $1? I’m guessing most of you don’t cause a scene, but obviously we say, “Excuse me – You messed up. You owe me more than this.”

Now here’s Yahweh, the Almighty, All-powerful, Self-existent God. He decides to create a universe so that He can create you and me so that He can lavish us with life and salvation and relationship with Him and everything else. And most people on the planet don’t bother to even acknowledge Him. Or, they say, “I’ll save myself.” Or, “I don’t need God.” Or, “The universe came from nothing.” Yet, the Lord still pours out grace and love toward them. As we consider God, His grace and patience should be just as awe-inspiring as His power and ability. We don’t realize how great He is.

Psalm 33:10-11 – 10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations; he thwarts the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart from generation to generation.

If God is so loving, why would He “frustrate the counsel and plans” of the nations? Well, the nations rage and plot in vain. The people of earth have taken a stand against the Lord.[9] Meanwhile, while their counsel and plans are frustrated, we see God has counsel and plans of His own. His counsel stands forever. His plans flow from His character and nature – His heart of love – and they never expire. They are for every generation. Year by year, His work continues and is just as good.

Perhaps you’re facing a lot of unknown in 2025. Or, maybe you know what you’re facing, and it’s frightening. God still has counsel and plans for you. He still has designs and intentions for your life. Plans to sanctify you and build up your faith and make you an epistle of His grace and power.

Psalm 33:12 – 12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord—the people he has chosen to be his own possession!

Do we want to be a frustrated nation or a happy nation? Sadly, I think we have to be honest and say that America’s god is not the Lord. And we can see the consequences all around us. Even by the world’s standards, 2024 saw America’s happiness index drop to an all time low.[10] But, that doesn’t have to be true for us. We can be like Joshua and say, “As for me and my house, we’re going to serve the Lord.” And the consequence of that choice will be true happiness – real joy.

But, Yahweh being our God doesn’t just mean we believe certain facts about Him intellectually. It means to be His own possession. To belong to Him. To be wholly His. To live in obedience and dedication to our Creator and Savior and King. To submit and listen and follow.

Psalm 33:13-15 – 13 The Lord looks down from heaven; he observes everyone. 14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth from his dwelling place. 15 He forms the hearts of them all; he considers all their works.

Looks can communicate, can’t they? Especially when you really know someone, sometimes they can say all they need to with just a look.

God’s looking is highlighted here. First, we see that even though His throne is in heaven, He chooses to occupy Himself with our lives. And then, where we read the word “observes,” the term doesn’t only mean to view something, it can mean to understand or to become acquainted with.[11] Another dictionary explains it means He stares at us.[12] When’s the last time you were stared at?

God is locked in on your life. He’s watching with care and concern. But He is also watching to evaluate. Remember: He is the Judge and things we say and do matter to Him. They will be rewarded or discarded when we stand before Him in eternity. But be sure that He was carefully, personally watching your life today and will do so tomorrow because He is truly concerned for you.

Psalm 33:16-17 – 16 A king is not saved by a large army; a warrior will not be rescued by great strength. 17 The horse is a false hope for safety; it provides no escape by its great power.

As we consider this new year, it’s a good time for us to pause and audit our own mindset. What are we building our life on? What plans and values motivate our decisions?

The world around us is a world of adversity. Life demands a lot of decision-making. So what are we trusting in? Hopefully, after our audit we’ll be able to agree with Psalm 20 which says: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”[13]

Psalm 33:18-19 – 18 But look, the Lord keeps his eye on those who fear him—those who depend on his faithful love 19 to rescue them from death and to keep them alive in famine.

God isn’t only looking at us as a Judge. We shouldn’t think of Him staring at us, hoping to catch us in a mistake. He watches us as a faithful Father. He is our closest Friend Who looks out for our eternal and our daily needs. He invites us to depend on Him and to entrust our lives to Him. That’s the position He wants to be in. He takes seriously His role as Shepherd.

This verse doesn’t promise that we’ll never face death or famine – sadly, those are realities in this world. But it promises that God will never leave us or forsake us. There is no trouble on earth that is too great for Him to conquer. He won’t let us down. He is a Sustainer and Provider and Refuge.

Psalm 33:20-22 – 20 We wait for the Lord; he is our help and shield. 21 For our hearts rejoice in him because we trust in his holy name. 22 May your faithful love rest on us, Lord, for we put our hope in you.

We’ve seen God’s part. What’s our part? We wait. We wait with trust and rejoicing. Wait doesn’t just mean standing around. The word speaks of longing, of confident hope, and earnest expectation.[14] Christians are waiters. Waiting and watching and worshiping as the Lord continues His work.

We wait, knowing He is true. Knowing He is still speaking, He is still working, He is still forming, He is still loving faithfully. And we can worship while we wait. Praising this amazing God with thankfulness and adoration and hope and trust. Singing together the wonderful truths of His power and greatness as we face a new year together, knowing God is still on the throne, He is still watching, we are still His, and He is still ours.

But we all know it can be very hard to wait this way. It can be hard to trust the Lord. We don’t see Him. So often He seems far away. But that’s where this song comes in, where we remind ourselves that He is with us and He is watching over us and He is all-powerful, omniscient, omni-present, all-knowing, and full of affection toward us. That He really does have intentions for us.

New years is a time of resolutions for many people. God is resolved to love us and speak to us and involve Himself in our lives. What are His intentions for you in this new year?

As we close, I believe in His power and grace, the Lord really wants us to know the message of this Psalm is true. Not that we doubt it, but I think He has given a real reminder that as we wait on the Lord, He will continue to renew our strength. That He is really reaching down to us.

About a week ago I was thinking about what our study would be on tonight, and Psalms 30-40 had been in my through-the-Bible reading and I thought this one would be a good passage. Then as I started studying, I learned it was a New Years Psalm. I didn’t look up, “What’s a new years Psalm?”

And then, this morning Pastor John sent over his set for tonight and the final song we get to sing together is about God’s Unfailing Love. And on a night where we hear a Psalm about singing a new song, Pastor John brought a new song for us to sing.

These are small but tender ways for the Lord to speak to us about His real, personal, continuing work in our lives and in our church family. And that is a wonderful way to start a new year. A new year with the same Lord.

 

References
↑1 https://www.scotland.org/inspiration/the-history-and-words-of-auld-lang-syne
↑2 Frank Gaebelein, Willem VanGemern, Allen Ross, J. Stafford Wright, and Dennis Kinlaw. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 5: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs
↑3 Derek Kidner   Psalms 1-72
↑4 https://www.abyss.com.au/en/blog/viewpost/648/how-much-of-the-ocean-is-explored-and-why-were-just-scratching-the-surface
↑5 https://oceancensus.org/mission/
↑6 https://www.space.com/2024-big-year-black-holes
↑7 Psalm 95:4-5, Psalm 147:4
↑8 Ecclesiastes 3:14
↑9 Psalm 2:1-2
↑10 https://www.axios.com/2024/03/20/world-happiness-america-low-list-countries
↑11 Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary Of Old And New Testament Words
↑12 Theological Wordbook Of The Old Testament
↑13 Psalm 20:7
↑14 TWOT

Wildwood & Vine (Ezekiel 15:1-8)

December 29, 2024

I thought that it would make great kindling.

A neighbor in San Bernardino was replacing an old wood shingle roof. Whose responsibility was it growing up to tell me that wood shingles are coated with a mixture of deadly chemicals?

Grape branches are mentioned as kindling in our text.

The LORD says, “it is thrown into the fire for fuel” (v4). He wasn’t advising them about good sources of kindling. It was an illustration. “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (v6).

  • Israel was God’s vineyard. In Psalm 80 we read “You have brought a vine out of Egypt; You have cast out the nations, and planted it. You prepared room for it, And caused it to take deep root, And it filled the land” (v8-9).
  • Israel was no longer God’s well-tended vineyard. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard. What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, Did it bring forth wild grapes?” (Isaiah 5:3-4).

The Jews had gone from the Exodus to exile.

Israel was more like a wild vine of the forest whose fruit was of no value. Might as well burn it.

You can’t read this and not think of what Jesus said to His disciples. “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:5-6).

Fruit? or Fire? Its your choice! I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Your Yield Depends Upon Your Yielding, and #2 Your Burning Comes From Your Burdening.

#1 Your Yield Depends Upon Your Yielding

(v1-6)

The most well known list of a believer’s spiritual fruit is in the apostle Paul’s letter to the churches in the region of Galatia.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love.” “Love” is the fruit and the rest describes different expressions of love. Love is “joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).

This isn’t an exhaustive description of love. Another that we are familiar with is, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (First Corinthians 13:4-8).

Ezk 15:1  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying:

It’s good to go to the Word; the Word ought to come to you as well.

Expect to ‘hear’ from the Lord. Listen for His still, small voice. Pay attention to the Lord showing you truth through illustrations from your own experiences. For lack of a better word, be interactive. Of course, test everything by the written Word. But don’t forget that God took the initiative to contact us. He invites & enjoys dialog with you.

Ezk 15:2  “Son of man, how is the wood of the vine better than any other wood, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest?

I looked-up the structure of a grapevine. We would probably correctly id the roots and the trunk. After that, not so much. For example, what we call “branches” consists of the cordon, the cane, the shoots, the leaves, and the tendrils. That endpoint is where the clusters of grapes grow.

Annual pruning focuses on removing unnecessary or unproductive canes and shoots to ensure the remaining buds and shoots can produce high-quality fruit.

Careful readers will notice that the LORD is asking Ezekiel specifically about “the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest.”

Perhaps Ezekiel had walked among the mighty cedars of Lebanon before his captivity in Babylon. He came upon a wild grapevine. In that forest setting the LORD asked, “What is grape wood good for?” Before Ezekiel could answer, the LORD tells Ezekiel what it is not good for:

Ezk 15:3  Is wood taken from it to make any object? Or can men make a peg from it to hang any vessel on?

The original Hebrew is a little more lyrical. It translates, Grape wood, huh, yeah, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing, say it again.

You crafty ladies can weave grapevines into wreathes. When we first moved to rural Kings County from big city San Bernardino, one of the ladies in the fellowship invited Pam to make grapevine wreathes. Who would say “No” to that?

Pam noticed they were driving away from town and not to a store. Somewhere along Hwy 43 they pulled into a vineyard and headed up a dirt access road. They came to a pile of pruned grapevines. As if the whole thing wasn’t already like Green Acres, the gal started making wreathes right then and there. Pam asked if it was allowed. “Sure! People do it all the time.”

I guess they don’t do it all the time when the owner is there. He pulled up to them on a quad and asked them what they were doing. Pam was mortified. All she could think of was a headline reading, Pastor’s Wife Arrested for Ag Theft.

The Jews didn’t use pruned grape branches ever for building, not even as a peg.

Ezk 15:4  Instead, it is thrown into the fire for fuel; the fire devours both ends of it, and its middle is burned. Is it useful for any work?

Ezk 15:5  Indeed, when it was whole, no object could be made from it. How much less will it be useful for any work when the fire has devoured it, and it is burned?

No one gathered grape wood for kindling because it burns too fast. It’s like the Christmas tree I tried to burn in our fireplace in Running Springs. Again, Who was responsible to tell me about chimney fires?

What is the one thing grape branches are good for?

They bear fruit. In our case, they bear the fruit of the Spirit, which is love.

Describing His vineyard, “[The LORD] dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes…” Who does everything in the  vineyard?

Fruit is produced without any effort by the branches.

I don’t look out at my two pomegranate trees and comment, “Man! Those pomegranate branches are really trying today! Look at them sweat!”

  • I didn’t buy pomegranates from SaveMart and show them to the branches, to shame them.
  • I didn’t buy a bottle of POM juice so my branches would have a goal.

Dan Kimball said,”The fruit of the Spirit wasn’t intended to be a list of goals for us to produce. It is the Holy Spirit through us who produces fruit.”

“So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes.”

The LORD’s expectation for every believer is that you will “bring forth good grapes.” Everything you need to produce abundant fruit is already provided. Conditions are perfect. All you do – all you can do – is yield by believing.

How do we instead “bring forth wild grapes?”

When the apostle Paul insisted that the fruit of the Spirit is love, he said its antagonist was the works of the flesh. The works of the flesh that Paul lists are things like “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like” (Galatians 5:19-21).

When you believe and are saved, you receive a new nature, and you receive the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. Your physical body remains unredeemed. You will be in a fierce struggle between the flesh and the Spirit until you receive your resurrection body. It will happen when Jesus comes to resurrect the deceased believers of the Church Age and rapture all living believers.

If anything on the list of “the works of the flesh” describes you or I, we are “in the woods,” spiritually speaking. We are yielding to the flesh.

There is something else that we must beware of that is not as obvious. Also in Galatians the apostle said, “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?” (3:2-3).

You need not wonder what this is like. Read the circular letter Jesus wrote to the church in Ephesus in the Revelation. He listed a bunch of their good works, but He threatened to cancel their witness because they had left their first love for Him. The Ephesian Christians were doing works that seemed good, but they were doing them without love.

You and I can spend our entire Christian walk as pre-transformed believers being content to be wild, forest grapevines producing little or no fruit. Charles Ryrie noted, “That a Christian can be characterized as carnal cannot be denied, simply because the text of First Corinthians 3:1-3 says there were carnal believers at Corinth. Paul addresses these people as ‘brethren’ and ‘babes in Christ,’ then he describes them as ‘men of flesh’ and ‘fleshly.’ So there were carnal or fleshly Christians in Paul’s day.”

Let’s get practical and take a peek inside the marriages of believers to amplify the scope of what we are saying. I’ve done my share of sitting down with couples in crisis. It doesn’t take long to realize that one or both of them is not bearing spiritual fruit. They are most definitely not joyful, peaceful, longsuffering, kind, good, faithful, gentle, or self-controlled. They are not “bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things” (First Corinthians 13:7).

Your marriage is a vineyard where God expects to find fruit because of what He has done.

“What more could He have done that He has not done in order that you would bear fruit?”

All of the descriptions of love assume you will be in adverse circumstances. If the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, you will need to be in situations in which you would lose control if you were depending on your own efforts.

A.B. Simpson said it best: “Beloved, have you ever thought that someday you will not have anything to try you, or anyone to vex you again? There will be no opportunity in Heaven to learn or to show the spirit of patience, forbearance, and longsuffering. If you are to practice these things, it must be now.”

#2 Your Burning Comes From Your Burdening
(v6-8)

When you get saved, you see what can be, unburdened by what has been.

Jesus did invite us to be unburdened. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

In context, Jesus was talking about the religious burdens heaped upon the Jews by their leaders. “They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden” (Matthew 23:4 NLT).

Let’s not be like them. Let’s say, “Go, and sin no more,” when a person deserves to be stoned.

Ezk 15:6  “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

The Jerusalem Jews could have repented, turning to God from their idolatry. They refused.

Ezk 15:7  and I will set My face against them. They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire. If they escaped the sword, they would perish by the famine; if they escaped the famine, they would be led away captives to Babylon.

Ezk 15:8  Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have persisted in unfaithfulness,’ says the Lord GOD.”

“Persistent unfaithfulness” is a tragic but accurate diagnosis of the nation of Israel throughout a great deal of her history. Has God abandoned His people? Look to the East. Israel is a nation once again, in the Promised Land. She is the epicenter for the End Times. All Israel will be saved. They will recognize Jesus as their Savior.

What about the fire? Is this eternal, Hell-fire & brimstone?

No, it is not. Earlier we quoted Jesus. “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (John 15:5-6).

  • How does Jesus “abide in believers”? By the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit.
  • How long does the Spirit’s indwelling last? In John 14:6, Jesus promised, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever…”

If you have God the Holy Spirit, you will have Him “forever.”

Christianity uniquely emphasizes that God Himself dwells within believers through the Holy Spirit.[1] Buddha doesn’t live in you… Krishna doesn’t live in you… Muhammad doesn’t live in you… Joe Smith doesn’t live in you.

These verses cannot be about losing or forfeiting the gift of salvation. They are about believers bearing fruit. You can “do nothing” apart from Jesus. What can you do with Him? All things He asks or commands, by believing and not by effort.

The Ephesian believers would 100% agree they could do nothing apart from Jesus. Even as they said it, they were doing everything without Jesus!

There are four not-so-secret ‘secrets’ to a believer bearing spiritual fruit:

  1. Pray without ceasing.
  2. Read your Bible in a way that it is reading you.
  3. Immerse yourself in a local fellowship that holds to the inerrancy & the authority of the Bible.
  4. Tell others that Jesus lives! and that He is coming back at any moment.

These are not burdens. You can burden yourself, or heap burdens on others. Or you can believe the Lord and bear fruit like you believed Him for salvation.

 

References
↑1 John 14:16-17, First Corinthians 3:16

Prophecy Update #810 – Gimme That New-AI Religion

December 29, 2024

We set aside a few minutes most Sunday mornings to identify connections between unfulfilled Bible prophecies and current news & events.

There are some 500 prophecies that remain unfulfilled. For example, from chapter four forward, all of the Book of the Revelation is future, except for the few closing exhortations in chapter twenty-two.

An entire chapter in the Revelation, chapter 17, is dedicated to a global religion. While scholars have historically debated whether it is Islam or Roman Catholicism, there is a new contender: Artificial Intelligence. One resource explained, “AI-based religions could emerge, where people worship a Godhead based on AI. These religions could be less hierarchical than traditional religions, with followers connecting online to share experiences and discuss doctrine. (BTW This global dialog is already present on social media).

The Way of the Future church founded by former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski is dedicated to worshipping and understanding AI as a deity. Adherents submit that super-intelligent AI could be considered a god-like figure as it surpasses human capabilities. Way of the Future was launched in 2015 but shut down in 2021. In November 2023 it was revived.

In June, a religious service was officiated by ChatGPT at the St. Paul church in Germany. The service included 40 minutes of prayers, music, and sermons in front of a congregation of 300 people.

A series of legitimate studies has found that countries where workers had more exposure to robots & automation tended to experience a decline in religiosity.

In the US, respondents who said they belonged to a church, synagogue, or mosque fell from 70% in 1999 to 47% in 2020, according to Gallup.

  • You may have seen the video of the robot priest blessing  congregants at a Catholic church in Brazil.
  • Or the one of the mega-church pastor in South Carolina who launched a paid AI chatbot of himself for 1-on-1 conversations and prayer. (Instead of Pay Per View we could call it Pay Per Pew).

It’s getting weird. You can see how AI could play a pivotal role in the global religion prophecies waiting to be fulfilled.

Jesus promised to resurrect & rapture His Church prior to His Second Coming, and before the Great Tribulation would come upon the whole Earth.

We will not see the revealing of the Antichrist.

The resurrection and rapture of the church is presented as an imminent event. It could happen anytime. Right now, for example.

Are you ready for the rapture? If not, get ready, stay ready, and keep looking up.

Ready or not Jesus is coming! 

The Sights Before Christmas (Luke 2:1-20)

December 22, 2024

Can you win a game of chess if you only have a few pawns with your king? Your coach will tell you no[1] – that those pawns need to be promoted into more powerful pieces. Even with support from the rest of the chessmen, the odds of a pawn checkmating an enemy king are one in a thousand.[2]

When Jesus came on that first Christmas, He came as God’s Indescribable Gift to us. But it was also a significant move in His plan to checkmate Satan, sin, and death. Of course, God isn’t playing games with humanity. He is waging war and rescuing us from our captors. But, through the centuries, as He moved in conquest, the devil made counter moves in his effort to defeat the Lord.

Perhaps Satan thought he had God on the ropes. It didn’t seem like the Lord had made much progress for several hundred years. God’s people were subjected under Satan’s puppet king. And, looking at the board, when the Messiah arrived, He was surrounded not by knights, but by pawns.

When we read Biblical accounts of Christ’s birth, a consistent theme is how amazed and astonished the people in these scenes were. And we should be astonished, too. Solomon tells us that, “God works so that people will be in awe of him.”[3] So, let’s look at Luke’s telling on Christ’s birth and allow our hearts to be filled with awe at the wonderful, generous power of God.

Luke 2:1-3 – In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole empire should be registered. 2 This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So everyone went to be registered, each to his own town.

Luke sets the scene by first showing us the power of Rome. We’re meant to see a contrast between earth’s king and Heaven’s King – between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of light.

Augustus, also called Octavian, was the first Roman Emperor.[4] He expanded his territory through bloody conquest. Now, he was reorganizing how the empire would be administered.[5] He would need more soldiers and he would especially need more taxes to fund his dominion. And so, he called for this census so he could tax and, in some cases, conscript fighters accordingly.[6]

Luke 2:4-5 – 4 Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family line of David, 5 to be registered along with Mary, who was engaged to him and was pregnant.

The trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 90 miles.[7] Like walking from here to the far side of Bakersfield. The likely route Mary and Joseph took would be difficult and dangerous. Descending down toward the Dead Sea and then a constant ascent up into the Jerusalem hills.

Now a lot of the details we traditionally associate with this story are not actually given in the Gospels. Hopefully it’s not too upsetting to hear that there’s no sign of a donkey on this trip. Maybe they haven’t one, maybe they didn’t. We tend to put that in because we don’t like to think of poor Mary walking all that way while great with Child. But, there’s nothing in the text about the trip itself.

Nor can we be sure she was 9 months pregnant at the time they traveled.[8] That’s usually the image, right? As the donkey makes its last steps into Bethlehem, her contractions start. It makes for great drama, and it may have happened that way, but we have to read that into the text.

Joseph and Mary weren’t stupid, and in Matthew we see they stayed for an extended period of time in Bethlehem. Perhaps it was less last-minute and less haphazard than the movies suggest.

The important thing is not the timing of their arrival, but the fact that they did arrive. You see, the Messiah had to be born in the city of David. Luke keeps bringing up David. Why?

It’s because God made eternal promises to and through David. The King of kings, the Savior of the world, the One Who would make everything right would be a descendant of David. Along with that promise, God made many other promises concerning this Son of David. And God is never slack concerning His promises. He keeps them to the letter, even in the smallest details.

Now, it’s surprising that Mary came along on this trip.[9]

Perhaps her pregnancy caused so much social friction in Nazareth that it was best for her to go with Joseph. Or perhaps it was because the Syrian province (which included Judea) taxed men and women.[10]

Luke 2:6-7 – 6 While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

It doesn’t say the contractions started the moment they arrived. They may have already been there for weeks. Luke also does not indicate that Mary and Joseph were rudely rejected by all the innkeepers of Bethlehem.[11] For one thing, Bethlehem was probably too small to actually have a commercial inn.[12] And the word Luke uses for inn doesn’t mean a hotel. In fact, it’s the same word he later uses for the “upper room” that Jesus and His disciples use for the last supper.[13]

The term means a guest room. This was likely the home of their extended family. Lots of people were there for the census. The house was packed. Let me ask you moms this: If you were about to give birth, do you want 8, 10, 20 people in the room with you? Or would you like some privacy?

Here’s a question I hadn’t thought about before: Who was in the stable that night? Again, we have this idea that it was just Mary and Joseph, maybe a few sheep and cows, right? It’s likely that a midwife was there with them assisting, especially considering this was Mary’s first delivery.[14]

The point Luke is making in this account is less about that night being scandalous or embarrassing. His point is to show us what kind of King Jesus was, right from the start.

What kind of King leaves His throne? What sort of Kingdom would He establish? Luke’s wants to highlight the humble and lowly nature of the Lord Jesus. This was a King Who came to serve. This was a King Who did not demand a palace. This was a King Who paid everything that was necessary on behalf of His people.

Compare Him with Caesar, who was driving his people from here to there so he could extract from them to fuel his greed. But not Jesus. He came to be with us. Whether that was in a stable or in a fishing boat or by a well or in your living room. That’s why He came – to be Emmanuel.

Luke also wants us to realize that Jesus was a real human Baby. He was, of course, fully God, but it’s just as essential that He be fully Man. In the first few centuries after Christ’s death and resurrection, heresies arose which taught that Jesus was not, in fact, actually human. That He only seemed to be human.[15] But He really was fully God and fully Man. He was swaddled up like any other baby.

Luke 2:8-9 – 8 In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

Why did the new come first to shepherds? The angels could have appeared to Herod, or Augustus himself. Maybe the high priest or the Essenes out in the desert. How about the zealots? If God wanted to make a move to establish a Kingdom, some soldiers would be helpful, right?

Instead, shepherds. Pawns. Shepherds were generally seen as outcasts – undesirable, unclean.[16] But we remember the connection to David. David, who was anointed while tending sheep and told by God that he would shepherd Israel.[17]

It is a foreshadow of how Christ would be the Good Shepherd, Who lays down His life for His sheep.[18] How, laying down His life, He was the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world.[19]

God wanted it to be very clear Who Jesus was and what He would do. You see, these shepherds between Bethlehem and Jerusalem were likely watching over the temple flocks – the sheep destined to be sacrifices on the altar of Israel.[20] God was explaining the Gift He was giving us.

Luke 2:10-14 – 10 But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: 11 Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:  14 Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people he favors!

This is amazing not only because it was a miraculous visitation by supernatural beings, but because their statements are a direct refutation of the worldly king who thought he was in charge.

When Octavian became emperor, he was given the name “Augustus,” which means, “exalted one,”[21] or “holy and revered.”[22] He was worshiped by the Imperial cult,[23] and Roman inscriptions called him the “savior of the world.”[24]

But here are the angels saying, “No, no, the Savior of the world, the Messiah, the real Lord has just been born in Bethlehem.” And this Messiah will usher in real peace.

You see, Augustus established the Pax Romana. After decades of civil war, he brought stability to the empire.[25] But it was at the edge of a blood-soaked sword. It was a dark peace.

But into that dark, the light of heaven suddenly broke through with an offer of real peace. Not one enforced by violence, but one offered in grace. Not one that lasts for 250 years, but one that lasts forever.

But who gets to enjoy this peace? Well, the angels give two qualifiers. The first is hidden in the english. Where it says news of great joy that will be for “all the people,” scholars explain it is a specific reference to those who belong to God.[26]

Who belongs to God? Well, that’s in the second qualifier: the people on whom His favor rests. Those who have willingly received His gift of grace. Those saved by grace, through faith in this Messiah, Christ Jesus. But for those who refuse to accept Christ as Savior, there is no peace.

The angels told the shepherds how to find the newborn King. The question is: Would they go to Him? Well, of course they would, right? But remember what happened when the scribes and priests were told the King was born in Matthew 2? They stayed home. They were uninterested.

God’s gift has been arrived. Maybe you’ve never believed Jesus is Who the Bible says He is. But He is the Savior and Messiah. He is the only One Who can rescue you from the guilt of your sin and the grave. Are you willing to believe? You can receive this gift today and you don’t have to be afraid.

That was what the angel said to the shepherds. They were terrified, but they didn’t have to be afraid. Neither do you. Now, we do need to be confronted and redirected and converted, but not afraid. Because our Savior is a King of love. Pleased as Man with men to dwell.

Luke 2:15-16 – 15 When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby who was lying in the manger.

The angels returned to heaven. Do you think they were disappointed? Wouldn’t it have been great if they went through the streets of Bethlehem? Or flown right into the palace of Jerusalem or Rome? But this was not about God’s gift to angels. It was about His love for humankind. And though they be weak as pawns, it was shepherds and carpenters that the Lord wanted to spend that first Christmas with.

For their part, the shepherds had immediate belief. A faith that moved. They left their sheep and supplies behind, not waiting for someone else to cover them. This was too important, too amazing.

Luke 2:17-18 –  17 After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

This is another subtle hint that Mary and Joseph weren’t absolutely alone in the stable. The shepherds come, see Jesus and His parents, then tell their story and “all who heard it” were amazed. Someone else was there.

They were all amazed at what had happened. But this was just the beginning of what Jesus was willing to do for us. He is the most generous, most caring Person to ever exist. Consider what He deserves – the praise and the pomp and the pageantry and everything else. But He set it all aside and offered Himself so you can be saved. So you can receive His everlasting life. So that He can love you and walk with you and share His inheritance with you. He is a Savior born for you (v11).

Luke 2:19 – 19 But Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them.

Perhaps Mary had been wondering why this Child of promise had such a lowly entrance into the world. Had God forgotten them? Did He forget to provide them what they needed? What about in the days to come? Would He be faithful? But as Jesus lay in a manger, the Lord sends Mary and Joseph a powerful testimony of His care and faithfulness. He proved His goodness and ability to Mary and Joseph that night.

Luke 2:20 – 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard, which were just as they had been told.

It says they “returned.” They went back to their regular lives, but they were transformed. Now, they weren’t just watching sheep, they were simultaneously doing the heavenly work the angels did before – praising God and preaching the Good News. And, as they lived their regular lives, they waited for the next part of the story to unfold. How long would it take? When would the next part unfold? They didn’t know. But that didn’t matter, because they knew the Savior Himself. They had opened the gift and their lives would never be the same.

Christ came to save you. Have you received that gift?

If you have, this story then reminds us that Christ came to dwell with you, walk with you, live with you in whatever life He’s given you. And as we live our lives, we’re commissioned to be a part of His ongoing work of love, power, and grace. Lives that praise and glorify God as we share the Good News that the Savior was born for us, the Messiah, the Lord.

We may feel insignificant, like pawns without much power, but God has decided to bless us and use us and fill our lives with His Presence. So, celebrate His victory and generosity and affection as we remember Him this week, thanking and praising God for His Indescribable Gift.

 

References
↑1 https://www.masterclass.com/articles/can-a-pawn-take-a-king-explained
↑2 https://enthu.com/blog/chess/can-a-pawn-take-a-king-in-chess/
↑3 Ecclesiastes 3:14
↑4 Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown   Commentary Critical And Explanatory On The Whole Bible
↑5 Leon Morris   Luke
↑6 CSB Study Bible Notes
↑7 Darrell Bock   Luke
↑8 Frank Gaebelein,  D. A. Carson, Walter Wessel, and Walter Liefeld.   The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke Volume 8
↑9 R.T. France   Luke
↑10 Craig Keener   The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
↑11 EBC
↑12 France
↑13 Luke 22:11
↑14 IVP. Also see a thoughtful discussion on the issue in Grasping God’s Word   Scott Duvall, Daniel Hays
↑15 Gnosticism, Docetism.
↑16 Robert Stein   The New American Commentary, Volume 24: Luke
↑17 2 Samuel 7:8
↑18 John 10:11
↑19 John 1:29
↑20 Marvin Vincent   Word Studies In The New Testament
↑21 CSB Study Bible Notes
↑22 R. Kent Hughes   Luke, Volume 1
↑23 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus
↑24 Hughes
↑25 Faithlife Study Bible Notes
↑26 Bruce Larson,  Lloyd Ogilvie   The Preacher’s Commentary, Volume 26: Luke

The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is God Himself (Ecclesiastes 12:9-14)

December 18, 2024

Tom Wolfe is best known as the author of The Bonfire Of The Vanities and The Right Stuff. He won dozens of awards, played baseball at the semi-professional level, had his two most famous books adapted into major motion pictures – he even guest-starred on an episode of The Simpsons.

As Tom studied the world, he recognized the uniqueness of humanity. In fact, he concluded that Darwin’s theory of evolution cannot possibly apply to human beings. In his mind, there is something absolutely different about us: Language. Among all the living creatures on earth, he noted how humans alone are able to use speech to combine communication, memory, code-making, and strategies for how to live life. These words we use set us apart.

Tom dedicated his life to language. He wrote five novels, more than a dozen non-fiction books, and a number of influential articles. He’s credited with coining a number of phrases in the English lexicon (like ‘Good ol’ boy’), and he’s responsible for significant changes in journalistic reporting.[1]

This thoughtful lover of words once described Ecclesiastes this way: “Of all I have ever seen or learned, that book seems to me the noblest, the wisest, and the most powerful expression of man’s life upon this earth — and also the highest flower of poetry, eloquence, and truth. I am not given to dogmatic judgments in the matter of literary creation, but if I had to make one I could say that Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound.”[2]

And yet, tragically, Tom Wolfe died an atheist. Despite being raised Presbyterian, his final book, he said, contained “not a shred of whatever that depends at all on faith, [or] on belief in an extraterrestrial power.”[3]

He may have loved Ecclesiastes – he may have appreciated its eloquence and poetry – but he missed the whole point. He didn’t hear the inspiration. What’s sad is that it isn’t subtext. The point and purpose are explicitly laid out for us as we read the final page. There it is, for everyone to see: This is what your life is all about. This is where lasting truth is found. This is the answer you’re seeking. This is the right stuff that your soul has been longing for.

Verses 9 through 14 are a final epilogue to the book. If we remember all the way back to the start of chapter 1, the author of Ecclesiastes (Solomon) introduced us to a character called The Teacher. The Teacher is also Solomon, but it was a character or persona he put on to speak to us as if he were a secular humanist – an agnostic who wanted to go through life as if believing in God or listening to God or having a relationship with Him were optional.[4] The Teacher then gave us his lecture about the hevel futility of trying to live life apart from God – how it leaves a person unfulfilled.

Instead, the Teacher showed how a relationship with God, Who gives you life on purpose, for a purpose, will not only help you make sense of the absurdities of the world we live in, but will also provide the only way for you to live a meaningful life with joy along the way.

The Teacher ended his speech and then left the stage. Now, the “author” picks back up with a final P.S. – a “one-more-thing” before we go.[5] In the first part, he validates the Teacher and his message. In the second part, he warns and challenges us to take seriously what we’ve heard and act on it.

Ecclesiastes 12:9 – 9 In addition to the Teacher being a wise man, he constantly taught the people knowledge; he weighed, explored, and arranged many proverbs.

It’s important that we understand what the Teacher was all about. I think I told you before how the campus pastor at my college once taught a sermon on Ecclesiastes and his conclusion was that the Teacher was just wrong – that he didn’t know what he was talking about. But that’s not right.

We see here that the Teacher was not just a cynical old man, complaining about the world around us. He really was a teacher and he really cared about his pupils. He had a “pastoral” heart.[6]

His pupils were whoever wanted to listen. The term used for “people” here refers to the general public, not just a select few in a specific time.[7] This book really is for you and me. And, in preparing it, the Teacher worked carefully, artfully, purposefully, so that he could best deliver what verse 9 calls “proverbs.” It doesn’t only mean the book of Proverbs or some of the passages in this book that feel very Proverb-like. This term used has a wide range of meaning. It can include fables and riddles, witticism and sayings, acrostics, allegories, questions, and other devices.[8]

These words don’t only apply to Ecclesiastes. This book claims to have Divine Authorship, so what we see here becomes a wonderful description and defense of the inspiration of all Scripture.[9]

This tells us the Bible is not randomized or haphazard. It is carefully constructed – perfectly balanced. It is exactly what we need in its entirety. This is why it’s essential for us to take in the whole counsel of God. It will not do to pick and choose. God has given us what we need and what we have in Scripture is all we need for life and Godliness.

Now, in this verse, the Teacher is labeled a “wise” man. It doesn’t just mean he’s smart. It implies the eternal wisdom of heaven.[10]

You see, in this ancient time there were three great institutions: The prophet, the priest, and the sage.[11] Solomon was not a prophet or a priest, but he was a learned sage in the knowledge of heaven. If we come to Ecclesiastes and say, “This book is weird and confusing, so let’s skip it to something more accessible,” we’re making a mistake. That’s always a mistake for any book of the Bible we find challenging. The point is that we’re supposed to dig into it, and discover the treasure within. As we read, we must allow the book to read us and teach us.

Ecclesiastes 12:10 – 10 The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and write words of truth accurately.

Some scholars say that the words of the Teacher are “free-wheeling and associative,”[12] but not according to this. There is more than meets the eye.[13] This book and by extension the rest of Scripture are perfectly balanced and perfectly necessary. It is not only accurate, it is delicately designed. As we delve into the Word of God, we will discover and keep discovering life-giving, life-changing truth.

This is why we don’t just read the Bible once and say, “Ok we’ve got it now.” These words of truth keep working in us. In fact, “delightful sayings” can also be translated as “apt and timely.”[14] They are words for today. They are words for you and me. What the Teacher put down we need to know.

Certain truths we really need to know. Consider how the discoveries of Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek and Louis Pasteur changed life for everyone. We needed to know about germs and how they lead to disease. It will not do to ignore what they discovered and revealed.

To an infinitely greater degree, we need the discoveries, the explanations, the examples and revelation given to us in the Bible. In them we discover what life really is and Who the Lifegiver really is. They are a lamp to our feet, a light to our path. In the Word of God we find joy and peace and help and clarity. But, though they’re given in grace, they aren’t always easy for us to accept.

Ecclesiastes 12:11 – 11 The sayings of the wise are like cattle prods, and those from masters of collections are like firmly embedded nails. The sayings are given by one Shepherd.

Ecclesiastes had a lot of hard pills to swallow. There are many areas of Scripture than challenge our natural mindset, our ungodliness, our selfishness, our human pride. But the truth revealed in the Bible is the one thing that will help us nail down life.[15] Isn’t it interesting – the whole book has had this repeating chorus that life is hevel. It’s all a wisp of vapor that you can’t grab onto or hold in place. Then here comes God’s Word. With it you can nail life down. It’s secure and load-bearing.

But sometimes we want to go our own way. And then God’s truth becomes like a cattle prod – a sharp reminder that we’re headed the wrong way.

Rather than recoil, we should instead move in the right direction. That’s what a goad is for, right? The rancher doesn’t use the goad to hurt the cow, he uses it to guide the cow. The cow doesn’t know which way it should go. Left on its own, the end will be lostness and death.

Jesus said to Saul, “It’s hard for you to kick against the goads.” Jesus didn’t want to hurt Saul. He could’ve struck him dead any time He wanted to. But He didn’t want to – He wanted to save Saul.

God’s Word is full of comfort, but it does not exist to make us feel good or to stay as we are. It exists to move us in the right direction. It exists to reveal to us the Shepherd, capital S. If you have a CSB or NKJV or ESV or NASB or AMP or some NIV’s, you’ll notice that capitalization. Solomon is referring to the Lord Almighty.[16] The Psalms, of course, call Him the Shepherd of Israel.[17] And then Christ Jesus came and called Himself the Good Shepherd and He brought us Gentiles into His flock.[18] These words reveal the Shepherd and teach us to hear His voice.

The question is, are we listening to our Shepherd? We know He’s calling, we know He’s directing, we know He’s leading and commanding us. Are we living the sheep life? Does the wisdom we’re living life by flow from our Shepherd? Not skeptics. Not celebrities. Not pundits. But our Shepherd.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 – 12 But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body.

This is a cool reveal. The lens pulls back and it’s kind of like The Princess Bride where the story is being told by the grandfather to the son. Here the “author” of Ecclesiastes is speaking to his child.

These truths of God, these secrets to life are not just for elite palace officials. They’re not just for intellectuals or academics. They are meant to be shared with everyone, even at a young age. That these revelations would be passed down from life to life, heart to heart, to anyone who will listen.

In this verse the father gives a warning, and what he says is actually “admonish yourself.”[19] We each have a duty and responsibility when it comes to learning and applying truth to life.

UNESCO estimates that two million books are published a year.[20] Not copies of books, but two million new titles every year.

Is the author of Ecclesiastes saying it’s bad to read? No. A clearer translation of verse 12 is, “Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to [the sayings given by our Shepherd].”[21] There is no new revelation – no Third Testament – no new Gospel. And, there will be no philosophical discovery which invalidates the Word of God. So, by all means, read lots of books. But always evaluate and measure what you’re learning against the immovable truth of Scripture, not the other way around.

But this isn’t only a warning for those who are still trying to find God. As Christians, we also need to remember that the truth of Scripture does not change.

We live in a time when many churches and groups are saying, “Well, yes the Bible says this, but it’s time for us to update our perspective on some of these things.” That’s not the case. And even if we’re not involved with a group that is trying to progressively interpret the Bible, we can still make mistakes with truth if we’re not careful.

For example, if you ever find yourself at a small group Bible study and the leader puts everyone in a circle and says, “Ok, what did this text mean to you?” Be careful. That’s not the question we’re to ask as we study God’s Word. The question is, “What does this text mean?” Period.

God’s truth is eternal. There’s no new truth. There’s no “my truth” and “your truth.” God’s truth is firm and established and presented for us to discover, not to develop. And, not only do we want to know the truth, but we must be sure we’re moving from interpretation into real application.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 – 13 When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is this: fear God and keep his commands, because this is for all humanity.

Some translations add the word “duty” to the end of the verse: “This is the whole duty of man.” But that’s not what the Hebrew says. Fearing God is not simply a duty, it is the wholeness of humanity. As one source puts it, “To live in the fear of God is to be truly human.”[22]

When we don’t live out verse 13, we fail to be what God made us to be. Duane Garrett writes, “[In the Garden] Humanity sought to become like God…but instead they lost the one thing that made them truly human.”[23] And with that we lost so much of what God graciously gave them in life.

We can gain back the contentment and happiness and fulfillment and peace that God intended for us only if we live in a relationship with Him – one rooted in the fear of God and active obedience.

But it’s not a cowering fear. The image here is not of a monster we must appease, it’s of a Gentle and Caring Shepherd Who lays down His life for us to keep us safe and to show us the way home. Our obedience flows from love, not terror. If we love God we will keep His commands. But remember: God not only has general commands for all people, He has specific commands for you and others for me.

Look at the book of Acts. Philip, go here. Peter, go there. Paul and Silas, you’re headed that way. We’re being Personally Shepherded. And life is not about what you achieve or what you amass, it’s about this. Fearing God and walking with Him in a real relationship where He leads you along the specific path He has carved out for your life as He renews our lives and makes His face shine on us.

So some questions we should ask ourselves tonight are: How is God leading me right now? What commands of His am I obeying? What pasture is my Shepherd leading me into? Is He goading me in some direction that I really don’t want to go? Don’t be distracted by other pastures or far off calls from some worldly hireling who only wants to trap you or take advantage of you. This is life. Loving God and being loved by Him. Receiving life as He intends it.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 – 14 For God will bring every act to judgment, including every hidden thing, whether good or evil.

People love a twist ending. What an amazing twist we have here. Again and again we kept hearing the Teacher say, “Nothing matters. Everything is futile. Noting matters.” And now it all comes together and the real truth comes out: “No, everything matters!” Every part of your life has meaning in God’s eyes. We should take that seriously, but, again, God’s goal isn’t that we cower in anxiety about how He’s going to be disappointed with us. No, we should be brimming with enthusiasm and anticipation about what He wants to do with our lives. With how He wants to flourish and beautify and satisfy our lives. How He wants to fill our temporal with His eternal.

Tom Wolfe didn’t get it. Neither did Ernest Hemingway. His first novel was titled The Sun Also Rises. It’s a phrase taken from Ecclesiastes. He even quotes chapter 1, verses 3-5 in one of the epigraphs. But his book, like his life, ended in hopelessness. Before his suicide, he was subjected to round after round of electroconvulsive therapy.[24] He spent a lifetime trying to fill the void in his life with drugs and alcohol and women and adventure. In the end, he even turned to electricity to try to shock his mind into peace. He was totally trapped under the sun. He wrote, “There is nothing else than now. There is neither yesterday, certainly, nor is there any tomorrow…A good life is not measured by any biblical span.”[25]

Meanwhile, the Good Shepherd was calling out to him. “Come to me, you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”[26] Come and live forever. But Hemingway would not listen. He is famously quoted as saying, “All thinking men are atheists.” He, of course, was wrong about that, but more importantly he was wrong about God and the life God wanted to give him. And so, in the end, he settled for a life under the sun and that life belongs to the grave.

We know what the real Right Stuff is. We know the Son has risen! We know what that the best pursuit of life is not wealth or experience or position or acclaim, but simply pursuing our Savior, the Shepherd of our souls, and the truth He has revealed so that we might have life more abundantly.

 

References
↑1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Wolfe
↑2 Robert Short   A Time To Be Born—A Time To Die
↑3 https://www.npr.org/2016/08/27/491492977/in-tom-wolfes-kingdom-speech-is-the-one-weird-trick
↑4 Tim Chaddick   Better
↑5 David Hubbard   The Communicator’s Commentary: Ecclesiastes, Song Of Solomon
↑6 Michael Eaton   Ecclesiastes: An Introduction And Commentary
↑7 Choon-Leong Seow   Ecclesiastes
↑8 Eaton
↑9 Philip Ryken   Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters
↑10 James Smith   The Wisdom Literature And Psalms
↑11 Walter Kaiser Jr.   Ecclesiastes: Total Life
↑12 Robert Alter   The Hebrew Bible: A Translation With Commentary
↑13 CSB Study Bible Notes
↑14 Seow
↑15 Ryken
↑16 Duane Garrett   The New American Commentary, Volume 14: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song Of Songs
↑17 Psalm 23:1, 80:1
↑18 John 10:11-14
↑19 Eaton
↑20 https://isbndb.com/blog/how-many-books-are-in-the-world/
↑21 The NET Bible First Edition
↑22 CSB Study Bible Notes
↑23 Garrett
↑24 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Hemingway#Idaho_and_suicide
↑25 Ernest Hemingway   For Whom The Bell Tolls
↑26 Matthew 11:28

We Three Saints Of Righteousness Are (Ezekiel 14:12-23)

December 15, 2024

I woke up to the distant, rhythmic pounding of battering rams. It never stopped. My stomach cramped from hunger. It had been days since I’d eaten more than scraps of stale bread. Potable water was scarce. Most of the population had been drinking from puddles of who knows what.

I stepped outside. Emaciated citizens lined the streets. Is that how I looked? Rotting corpses lay all around, too many to bury. Dogs, no longer pets, prowled in packs, gnawing at edible flesh of the dead or of those yet alive too weak to resist. Rumors persisted of other wild beasts feeding in the night, though I (thankfully) had not seen or heard any.

I moved slowly, deliberately, in an attempt to remain unseen. People had grown desperate, assaulting one another. I turned down a narrow alley to avoid an altercation. Two men were struggling over a withered vegetable. The younger man struck the older with a stone, leaving him bleeding in the dirt. I don’t believe he saw me. I kept walking.

I passed by a doorway. Two women were attempting to ignite a fire using excrement as fuel. A butchering knife lay on the stoop, and a few bowls.  As I approached I could see an infant’s lifeless body, his open eyes staring up at the sky, his cheeks sunken, his tiny body wasted away. I vomited on myself as I continued walking.

The Temple came into view. Firebombs had scarred its walls. Priests no longer sang or made sacrifices there. Months ago we ran out of animals to offer.

I climbed a crumbling staircase to the top of the wall and looked out. Well equipped and well fed soldiers stationed around the city ensured no one could escape. There was a sense they were anxious to begin pillaging.

On the 9th day of the 4th month, in Zedekiah’s 11th  year, the Babylonians finally breached the walls. Soldiers surged into the city. A long siege was always frustrating. They would take it out on people and property.

The city was aflame. Thick smoke choked the air, and the unmistakeable stench of burning flesh.

I ran, stumbling. Not to flee the city, for that was impossible, but to return to my family. Together we might have dignity at the very end.

The account of the ruin of Jerusalem is fictional but accurate. The prophet Jeremiah would write a lamentation, saying things like, “The hands of the compassionate women Have cooked their own children; They became food for them In the destruction of the daughter of my people. The LORD has fulfilled His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger. He kindled a fire in Zion, And it has devoured its foundations” (Lamentations 4:10-11).

The judgment against Judah was imminent and inevitable. There would be no changing God’s mind. The time for national repentance was past.

Individual repentance was still possible.

The Church is nowhere to be found in this passage. In the 6th century BC, the Church remained a mystery to be revealed in the 1st century AD.

Does that mean we’re done?! No. There are gracious gleanings to collect for our spiritual nourishment & encouragement.

Of the many possible themes we might explore in our study, the one I believe Jesus has for us, is righteousness. The righteousness of three OT saints is highlighted.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 Noah, Daniel, Job… And YOU Have Been Declared Righteous, and #2 Noah, Daniel, Job… And YOU Are To Display Righteousness.

#1 Noah, Daniel, Job… And YOU

Have Been Declared Righteous (v12-21)

► In the days of Noah God destroyed the world by water in a global flooding. Estimates are hard, but somewhere between several million or a billion perished. “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. [He] was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.”

The few righteous were kept safe in the Ark while the unrighteous were destroyed. The 6th century Jews thought of Jerusalem as a kind of Ark. they did not believe that the LORD would sink them.

► Daniel had been taken captive to Babylon in 605BC. The final siege would come in 586BC. During those nine years Daniel likely completed his Babylonian education, gained influence in the royal court, and interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

What could be better than having a righteous Jew in a high government position to stem the tide of any further hostility? A century later that exact scenario would play out. When Queen Esther revealed she was Jewish, it saved the Jews from a holocaust.

Daniel wasn’t raised up for such a time as that. For all his position he was powerless to help.

►  Job. It had to be Job. “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (1:8). You know the rest. The righteous suffer. Bad things do happen to good people, and to God’s people.

But after a few months, Job was restored. Surely what ever God would permit, is was not going to last long. Wrong.

We have presuppositions about God that are not derived from the Word. It is why we do think it strange when we fall into various trials.

Ezk 14:12  The word of the LORD came again to me, saying:

I wish these guys had explained exactly how the Word of the LORD came to them. We know there was a School of the Prophets established by Samuel around 1050BC. You would think lesson #1 is “How do I hear from God?” I want that syllabus!

Ezk 14:13  “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it.

I was hoping we could look at this as a universal principal governing all “lands.” The LORD says “When a land sins against me.” But the LORD outlines four specific judgments He would employ upon THE land, the land of Israel. This is specific to them.

Speaking of Israel, her existence as a modern nation in her ancient homeland is both a miracle and a fulfillment of many prophecies. If you’re among those who believe that God has transferred to the church His unconditional promises made to Israel, you need to change your mind. Amos 9:5 reads, “I will plant them in their land, And no longer shall they be pulled up From the land I have given them.”

Ezk 14:14  Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD.

We should talk about righteousness more often. It’s a word that has lost its impact from common use. I can’t help it, but I always think of Crush the sea turtle and him saying, “Righteous” to describe something gnarly. It is gnarly – but in a much more awesome way.

In its biblical use, righteousness is the condition of being morally right or justifiable, especially in God’s eyes.

Abraham wasn’t in this trio, but it is from him we learn that when a person believes God, “it is accounted to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3).  You believe and you are declared righteous.

Martin Luther illustrates this in a story he called The Great Exchange.

Imagine a beggar standing before a king. The beggar is dressed in rags, covered in filth, and has nothing of value to offer. The king is clothed in the finest royal robes, full of glory and splendor.

Now picture this:

  • The king takes off his royal robe and places it on the beggar.
  • At the same time, the king takes the filthy rags of the beggar and wears them himself.

You don’t need commentary to understand what happened. In this exchange, the beggar gains the king’s wealth, honor, and status, while the king bears the beggar’s poverty and shame. The beggar did nothing to deserve this; he only received it as a gift.

  • Through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, our sin is accounted to Him (He wears our “filthy rags”).
  • In turn, the Lord’s righteousness is imputed to us (we are clothed in His “royal robe”).

There is only one way to be saved. It is to believe on the Lord, Jesus Christ. OT saints were never ‘saved’ by the rites, rules, rituals, and overall religion of the Law of Moses. The Law was intended to show you your need of God’s free gift. Then the Law shows you how to live a righteous life.

Ezk 14:15  “If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts,

It’s a little hard for us to relate to animal attacks.

Planning a trip to Bali? The Bartering Monkeys of Bali are living the thug life. They steal things from tourists and then barter them back for food.

In New Delhi, in 2007, many government buildings, temples and residential neighborhoods were overrun by Rhesus macaques. Deputy Mayor S.S. Bajwa was rushed to a hospital after being attacked by a gang of them. He died from head injuries sustained falling from his balcony during the assault.

Ezk 14:16  even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate.

Ezk 14:17  “Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it,

Ezk 14:18  even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered.

Ezk 14:19  “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast,

Ezk 14:20  even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.”

Can you imagine going to a prayer meeting and finding Noah, Daniel, and Job there? Nevertheless no gathering of godly saints could change what was going to happen. Not this time.

Ezk 14:21  For thus says the Lord GOD: “How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem – the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence – to cut off man and beast from it?

This was the unique 4-stage plan. The priests, false prophets, and Elders were bent on immorality and idolatry that exceeded that of their pagan neighbors. Like Ol’ Yeller, they had the slobberin’ fits and needed to be put down. For His part, the LORD was the best dog-gone God in the world. His providence would keep the plan of redemption on track. The Messiah would come through Israel, right on time.

I believe I confessed to you some time back that I once binge-watched the six-part Pride & Prejudice. Lady Catherine bemoans Elizabeth Bennet’s low station, and insists she must not marry Darcy. Elizabeth responds, “He is a gentleman; I am a gentleman’s daughter; so far we are equal.”

Listen attentively: Everyone who believes is equally righteous.

This helps us understand the apostle Peter telling us that Abraham’s nephew, Lot, is “righteous.” He was declared righteous; he was a believer.

You are just as righteous as every other saint in either Testament.

#2 Noah, Daniel, Job… And YOU

Are To Display Righteousness (v22&23)

Why these three guys? What more do they communicate than righteousness?

They encourage us to be overcomers of the world, the flesh, and the devil:

  • Noah overcame the world – in a big way!
  • Job overcame the devil.
  • Can we say that Daniel overcame the flesh? I think so. The very first episode in his book involves him refusing to eat or drink “the king’s delicacies.”

These guys were declared righteous and then they were put on display by God as examples and models. “Consider My servant Job… or Noah… or Daniel… or YOU.

Ezk 14:22  Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it.

Ezk 14:23  And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord GOD.

The “remnant” in this case is not the godly remant that is always preserved in history by the powerful providence of God. The Bible Knowledge Commentary says,

Those who questioned the severity of God’s judgment would recognize its justice when they observed the evil character of the captives [the remnant] brought from Jerusalem. They would be forced to admit that these people did deserve to be punished and that God was not unjust.

The gem for us to discover and discuss is, “you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord GOD.”

“God does nothing without cause” makes a great opening line if you are seeking to encourage a believer. It establishes the foundation upon which they can display righteousness.

Your circumstances, your situation, is “not without cause” as the Lord who has begun His work in you brings it to completion.

Do you have display cases at home? They are usually deep with several items in them.

Your life with Jesus can be understood as a series of display cases, or maybe one huge one. Jesus has chosen the perfect case. Working together, you & Jesus are to discover the good works He wants to display.

Some of you produce amazing crafts. Or maybe you are a builder. What if you had every possible tool, and access to all the finest materials? Would you utilize them?

In the opening verses of his letter to the church in Ephesus, the apostle Paul writes, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ…” He elaborates, saying you are chosen, predestined, adopted, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, lavished with grace, given insight into God’s will, promised an inheritance, given hope, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and assured of your eternal future. That list is not exhaustive.

The apostle Peter said the same thing: “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust (Second Peter  1:3-4).

Every spiritual blessing…all things…You who are righteous can don’t all things through Jesus.

Prophecy Update #809 – Image Is Everything

December 15, 2024

We set aside a few minutes most Sunday mornings to identify connections between unfulfilled Bible prophecies and current news & events.

There are maybe 500 prophecies that are unfulfilled. For example, from chapter four forward, all of the Book of the Revelation is future, except for the few closing exhortations in chapter twenty-two.

Artificial Intelligience, AI, has been an absolute game changer when it comes to how certain fantastic prophecies might find fulfillment. We’ve talked a lot about it. Why not ask AI to elaborate?

I asked ChatGPT, Could AI Fulfill the “Image of the Beast” Prophecy in Revelation 13?

The prophecy in Revelation 13 describes the False Prophet creating an “image of the Beast” that is given breath to speak and cause those who refuse to worship it to be killed. This has led to speculation about whether artificial intelligence (AI) could play a role in fulfilling this end-times prophecy. Here’s how AI might fit into this scenario:

1.Lifelike Simulations: Advanced AI-powered robotics and holograms are now capable of mimicking human behavior and speech with stunning realism. Some theologians have noted that such technologies could represent a literal “image” that appears alive – seemingly animating what is otherwise lifeless.

2.Global Reach and Control: AI systems already underpin global communication and surveillance networks, enabling centralized control. This could theoretically allow a single figure or system, such as the Antichrist, to project their influence worldwide through an AI-driven “image.”

3.Enforcement of Worship: The prophecy also mentions that the image would enforce worship of the Beast. AI tools like facial recognition, behavioral analytics, and biometric systems could hypothetically monitor compliance, punishing dissenters – a chilling parallel to Revelation 13:15-17.

While these scenarios remain speculative, they highlight how rapidly evolving technologies might intersect with biblical prophecy. Whether AI will truly play such a role in the End Times remains to be seen, but its potential to deceive, control, and centralize power continues to provoke thoughtful discussion in both theological and ethical spheres.

Then I asked ChatGPT to write an antichrist joke. What is the antichrist’s favorite font? Times New Roman.

Jesus promised to resurrect & rapture His Church prior to His Second Coming, and before the Great Tribulation would come upon the whole Earth.[1]

We will not see the revealing of the Antichrist.

The resurrection and rapture of the church is presented as an imminent event. It could happen anytime. Right now, for example.

Are you ready for the rapture? If not, get ready, stay ready, and keep looking up.

Ready or not Jesus is coming! 

 

References
↑1 Revelation 3:10

Remember, Remember The Lord Your Creator (Ecclesiastes 12:1-8)

December 11, 2024

Remember the Maine. Remember the Alamo. Remember, remember, the 5th of November. These famous sayings were each coined as rallying cries – calls to take up a mantle with purpose in our hearts. Active memorials which brought a person into a greater identity and cause.

After all his discoveries, all his experiments, all his trial and error, after charting life to the very edge of the map, the Teacher does not have a secret formula for us. No directions to El Dorado or the fountain of youth. He has no elixir to share to keep us healthy and wealthy. No list of habits which will make us highly effective people.

Instead, in the closing words of his lecture he gives us what seems to be an overly simple mandate: Remember your Creator. That’s it. That’s his answer. There are six more verses after this text, but they are an epilogue, spoken not by the Teacher, but about him. They, too, will have a clincher to wrap up the book, but tonight we hear the Teacher’s bottom line and watch him leave the stage, having set before us life and death, fruitfulness and futility, and challenging us to live life well.

As he ends his long lecture he invites us to consider the end of our own stories. In his closing, he poetically and vividly describes the ravages of age which invariably conclude in physical death.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 – So remember your Creator in the days of your youth: Before the days of adversity come, and the years approach when you will say, “I have no delight in them”;

In the last passage, the Teacher talked about the joys of youth – how we should fully enjoy the prime of life while keeping a Godly and eternal perspective. To savor the days of life’s springtime.

But those days will end for everyone. In their place will be “days of adversity.” Your version may say “difficult days.” But he doesn’t only mean when hard things happen. He’s really got old age in mind.

Three times tonight the Teacher will use the word “before.” Before the joy of life ebbs away, before the fall of creation catches up with our physical bodies, before death comes knocking, we should remember the Lord. This is the way to the kind of life our hearts all long for.

These days we hear a lot about “self-care.” That’s a big priority for some people. The Teacher says before we focus on our own well-being, we should focus on the Wellspring that doesn’t run dry. There is an urgency to this advice. Before. Before. Before. Do it now. This is the life goal to aim at.

Jesus had a similar message to the woman at the well. She wanted a pitcher of water. Jesus said, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water.”[1] And, at the end of their talk we see the woman leave her water jar so she could share the Living Water with her fellow Samaritans.

Ecclesiastes 12:2 – 2 before the sun and the light are darkened, and the moon and the stars, and the clouds return after the rain;

The Teacher has never been as painterly as he is in this poem. He compares the human aging and dying process in striking graphics. A gathering storm. A crumbling house. A body literally falling apart. Some scholars even detect some apocalyptic tones in these scenes.[2]

In his first analogy, we see a gathering gloom. But this isn’t an ordinary storm, it’s a storm on top of a storm – a final winter which no spring will follow. It signals not only the end of a person’s life, but the dissolution of creation itself.

Did you know there are a group of super rich people dedicated to “living forever?” In 2022, more than 120 millionaires and billionaires met in the Alps for the “Longevity Investors Conference.” They enjoyed “rejuvenation dinners.” They discussed getting transfusions of blood from young teenagers and breathing low-oxygen air.[3] They say they are working to “transcend biology.”

They won’t succeed, but let’s say they could. Even so, the hevel world has still got you. Even if you could somehow stave off age and disease and injury, the universe around you is going to end one day. The sun and the moon will go the way of the dinosaur. And death will still claim you.

Ecclesiastes 12:3 – 3 on the day when the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, the women who grind grain cease because they are few, and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly,

Most commentators see this list as a poetic description of the body in old age. The hands quiver from feebleness. The legs no longer have the strength to hold you upright. The word for ‘women’ here (your version may say ‘maids’ or ‘grinders’) is the Hebrew word for molars.[4] They can’t chew like they used to. Partially because a bunch have fallen out! “They are few.”

The muscles weaken and other systems start to fail, too. The eyes don’t see so well anymore. Kelly’s grandmother is in her mid-90s and was just diagnosed with glaucoma. Thanks to the marvel of modern medicine, there’s some treatment, but age is going to claim her vision. We tell ourselves “that’s part of life.” In reality, it’s part of death. And the Teacher always wants us to consider death.

Ecclesiastes 12:4 – 4 the doors at the street are shut while the sound of the mill fades; when one rises at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song grow faint.

As we age, typically we become less and less active. The regular occupations of life are no longer pursued. Production comes to a halt. And yet, many older individuals sleep less than ever. They’re up before the rooster crows and, even when they do manage to get some shuteye, the slightest disturbance startles them awake. That’s the image here.

There is a malicious hevel-ness to that, isn’t there? A cruel irony. The person in this scene is awake more than the youth, but has less to do and less strength to do it. They must face their frailty for even more hours of the day. But they’re unable to occupy themselves with passive enjoyments like listening to music, because their hearing has also deteriorated.

Ecclesiastes 12:5 – 5 Also, they are afraid of heights and dangers on the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper loses its spring, and the caper berry has no effect; for the mere mortal is headed to his eternal home, and mourners will walk around in the street;

The effects of age aren’t only physical. We see here there is an emotion and mental impact as well. Fear has a greater place than it does in youth. I don’t see too many senior citizens jumping off the roof of their house into their swimming pool.

The almond blossoms here refer to hair gone white.[5] The caper berry refers to the loss of appetites and desires.[6]

The grasshopper image can be taken one of two ways: The first is one we’ve all seen – a grasshopper on a cold winter’s day, unable to move, certainly unable to spring or hop. But the Hebrew can also be rendered as if the grasshopper has landed on an aging person, and it feels like an immense weight to them, too heavy to lift.[7]

As the Teacher sketches the scene, at this point in a person’s life, there’s really only one more accomplishment ahead: Death. We see a funeral procession and the mourners laying the person in the grave.

It’s interesting: When the Teacher talks about the mourners walking around, he uses the same verb he did back in the beginning of the book where he talked about the turning of the cycles of the natural world and his own turning in his desperate attempt to find a life worth living.[8]

Despite his wealth, his power, his genius, his ability, he could not outrun death. No one can. That is the end of the human story under the sun, and the cycle begins again for the next generation.

But then the Teacher brings to mind what comes next. Each one of us is on our way to an eternal home.

It’s such a remarkable contrast: Here’s the crumbling, dying, human body and yet within it houses an eternal spirit. And that, really, has been the major theme of this entire research project the Teacher has undertaken: I want to live a life worth living, I want to feel lasting fulfillment, I want eternal satisfaction, but no matter what I do, I see that I cannot escape time, death, and chance. So, what am I going to do about death?

The unbeliever spends so much time on his mortal body at the expense of his immortal soul.

As I’ve said a few times in these studies: You are going to die. You will leave this world and be ushered to your eternal home. There are only two addresses in eternity, heaven or hell. Which place will be your residence? That’s a question you must deal with in this life.

Ecclesiastes 12:6 – 6 before the silver cord is snapped, and the gold bowl is broken, and the jar is shattered at the spring, and the wheel is broken into the well;

Some commentators believe the cord and bowl refer to a golden lamp, suspended by a chain. When the chain is cut, the bowl smashes on the ground and the light goes out.

Then there are two images at a well. One, the earthen jar, which is broken and therefore all the water is spilled. The wheel would be a pulley installed above a deep well, on which the bucket would be lowered.[9] But the wheel breaks and the well is useless.

We recognize how hard it is to craft a silver chain, a golden bowl, a water-tight container, the capable pulley. But in a moment, they’re all broken beyond repair.

On top of that, we sense the great value of a human life.[10] It’s a treasure like gold or silver.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 – 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.

Ecclesiastes often refers to the first few chapters of Genesis. This is another call back. From dust we came and to dust our bodies will return. But our spirits? Those do not go to the earth because they belong to the Lord. He is the One Who breathed life into us. As Roland Murphy writes, “God is the Owner and Donor of life.”[11] Your life is on loan from Him.

When you die, your spirit will be immediately in the presence of God. You will either be judged for your sin or you will be rewarded for your service. Either way you will live forever. The judged live forever in the Lake of Fire, commonly known as Hell. The rewarded live forever with God in Heaven.

How do you get into the heaven group? Very simple: Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will not perish. If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.[12]

God gave you the life you’re living right now. He wants to give you everlasting life. But as sinners, we deserve death. He has given us a way out of our guilt – a way out from under the tyranny of life, death, and chance in this hevel world. Accept the Indescribable Gift of God, the Savior, Who took the judgment for you, so you could live forever in heaven.

But you must do it now. Before the cord is snapped. Before the bowl breaks. Before it’s too late. It is appointed for man once to die and after this comes judgment.

Ecclesiastes 12:8 – 8 “Absolute futility,” says the Teacher. “Everything is futile.”

Hevel. We’re back where we started. This is exactly what the Teacher said in chapter 1, verse 2. In this life, in this world, in this reality under the sun, everything is hevel. It’s a wisp of smoke passing away. Your beauty is fading. Your memory is fading. Your vitality is fading. Your ability is fading. Your opportunities are fading. That is the way things are because sin dominates the world.

So, is the Teacher just ending here in defeatism and pessimism and frustration? Not at all. Let’s end at the beginning of this chapter. Look at the first part of verse 1 again.

Ecclesiastes 12:1a – So remember your Creator in the days of your youth.

That is the answer. That is the bottom line. That is the conclusion for how to lay hold of a life worth living, full of lasting satisfaction.

Who are we supposed to remember? The Teacher did something new here. He uses the term Creator. Everywhere else in the book he only called God, God.[13] But here he acknowledges Him as Creator. And linguists point out he uses a plural term.[14] It’s another connection to the beginning of Genesis, where God said, “Let us make man in our image.”[15]

The Teacher is telling us not to simply acknowledge a higher power or to live as base Deists. No, he insists that we must find the source of life in the God of Genesis. The God of the Bible. The God of revelation. The God Who breathed life into you when He created you.

And the fact that He created you begs the question: What are you created for? Can you answer that question? God made you for a reason and a purpose. Not as an afterthought. Not as a background element to fill in the frame. Your life was given to you on purpose with purpose.

You were created for life. The Hebrew word is hay. Hay, not hevel. Fruitfulness, not futility. The Old Testament idea of life, Bible dictionaries will tell us, means to not just have biological vitality, but to experience that which God wants to give us. A sustained life. A truly prosperous life. To be quickened and revived in the power of God.[16] One form of the word describes flowing water. In fact, Jesus used a wordplay on that meaning when He spoke to the woman at the well. That’s life. In fact, Jesus said in John 6 that you may think you’re alive, but you only truly have life if you’re in a relationship with the God of the Bible through Jesus Christ. He said if you’re not willing to be in relationship with Him, then you do not have life within yourself. Because life is only really life if it’s everlasting life.

In contrast to Mesopotamian ideas, which taught that man was created to be mortal, the Bible comes along and says, “Oh, no, no. You were created for immortality.”[17] And the New Testament doubles down when Jesus said He came that we might have life more abundantly.[18] But the world wants to convince us that life is only found and experienced in the tangible experiences offered in the here and now. But take Solomon at his word: We won’t find life there.

Instead, the Teacher says, “If you want to lay hold of life remember the Lord.” That word remember is packed full. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament explains it doesn’t only mean to recall. It means to meditate upon, to pay attention to, to commemorate, and to take appropriate action. It means to have internal understandings that are accompanied by external acts.[19]

Remember your Creator. Because He remembers you. “God remembered Rachel.”[20] “God remembered Noah.”[21] “God remembered Abraham.”[22] He remembered Israel.[23] He remembered Hannah.[24] He remembers us in our humiliation, because His love endures forever.[25]

Remember that He gave you life for a purpose and has invited you to discover those purposes. But, be advised: The time is short. And you’ve got a world of futility trying to stop you from receiving the gift of life God has offered you.

Before you’re debilitated, devastated, or dead, remember your Creator and what you were Created for. And remember the difference between the life your Creator offers and the so-called life the world under the sun offers.

In the life God offers us, He provides strength in our weakness. Peace in our troubled hearts. Rest when we’re weary. Support when we’re broken. A future defined by glory, not gloom. Remember, remember the Lord your Creator.

 

References
↑1 John 4:10
↑2 Duane Garrett   The New American Commentary, Volume 14: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song Of Songs
↑3 https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/11/16/1063300/billion-dollar-mega-rich-live-forever/
↑4 Robert Alter   The Hebrew Bible: A Translation With Commentary
↑5 Victor Matthews, Mark Chavalas, John Walton   The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
↑6 James Smith   The Wisdom Literature And Psalms
↑7 Garrett
↑8 Alter
↑9 Keener
↑10 Smith
↑11 Roland Murphy   Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 23A: Ecclesiastes
↑12 Romans 10:9
↑13 Douglas Miller   Ecclesiastes
↑14 Smith
↑15 Genesis 1:26
↑16 Theological Wordbook Of The Old Testament
↑17 ibid.
↑18 John 10:10
↑19 TWOT
↑20 Genesis 30:22
↑21 Genesis 8:1
↑22 Genesis 19:29
↑23 Psalm 98:3
↑24 1 Samuel 1:19
↑25 Psalm 136:23

Please Seize Me, O Lord, So I’ll Please You (Ezekiel 14:1-11)

December 8, 2024

Action movies typically end with fighting on at least two fronts.

  • Aragorn led his force to the Gates of Mordor to distract the gaze of the Dark Lord, Sauron. Meanwhile Sam and Frodo were at Mount Doom to destroy the One ring.
  • Luke Skywalker faced Darth Vader and the Emperor on the second Death Star. Han, Leia, and Chewbacca were on the forest moon of Endor fighting Imperial forces.

It’s not unusual for one of the fronts to involve the supernatural. Ron Howard’s Willow ends that way, as does Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood.  Both feature witches who must be overcome.

Christians are all too familiar with dual warfare.

We are at war in the material world, always with a supernatural component. The apostle Paul, in his letter to the believers in Ephesus, wrote, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (6:12).

Something we rarely consider: What if my battle is with the Lord? If I pressed you for a biblical example, it wouldn’t take you long to say Jonah or Jacob.

The 6th century Jewish captives in Babylon were fighting a losing battle with the Lord. They’re idolatry and rebellion had just about exhausted the LORD’s longsuffering. The final blow against Jerusalem and its Temple was about to land.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 The Lord Besieges You, and #2 The Lord Beseeches You.

#1 – The Lord Besieges You (v1-3)

The LORD considered the Jews of Judah to be “estranged” from Him. He loves the Jews as a husband loves his wife. He pressured them in attempts to lead them to “Repent!”

The fall of the ten tribes in the north to Assyria in 720BC; the three Babylonian sieges of Jerusalem; the destruction of the town and the Temple; the 70yr captivity in Babylon. These were how God applied pressure.

Ezk 14:1  Now some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me.

Ezekiel previously mentioned 70 Elders. They were lay leaders to the exiles. The priests, the false prophets, and the Elders comprised the leadership. As the Elders began to hear rumors about the fall of Jerusalem, “some” sought out God’s true prophet.

At some point a person wants answers to life’s most important questions. Or at least the questions that are most important to them. We have the answer to all of them. Peace with God, and good will toward men, is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Dan Stone wrote, “We are programming for failure if we’re looking for ultimate answers in a non-ultimate realm, a realm that’s partial, fragmented, incomplete. We end up worshiping the creation rather than the Creator. We can do that as believers. The total answer is a Person, Jesus Christ. It’s part of God’s program to make us dissatisfied with what the temporal realm offers, so that we might seek life in Him.”

Ezekiel ministered out of his home. His audiences were never very large. The LORD measures impact differently than we do.

Ezk 14:2  And the word of the LORD came to me…

It would be interesting to know how long they waited on the LORD, and what they did until He began speaking to Ezekiel.

Ezk 14:3  “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

A quick reminder: Idolatry is when you believe that Jesus is insufficient for your joy and satisfaction. You decide that someone or something else will satisfy you.

You’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase, “If you have your health, you have everything.” That’s patently false. Even if you are never sick a day in your life – you are going to die.

I once heard a testimony from a dying man. He said, “I would rather have AIDS and know Jesus, than not have AIDS and not know Jesus.”

It is essential to be future-focused in order to not covet and thereby set up your material idols.

At first the LORD spoke only to Ezekiel. He invited His prophet’s opinion. Should He entertain their seeking? Or was their sin so gross that the LORD was abandoning them?

Their sins were heinous. Nevertheless the LORD commands them to “Repent!”… that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God,” says the Lord GOD’ ” (v6,11).

Seeker friendly, seeker sensitive, are descriptions of pulpits that water down sin & the need for salvation in order to attract people. We should never dilute the Gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation.

There is a sense in which we should be seeker sensitive, seeker friendly. Since God reaches out to the most odious of sinners, we must be ready to be witnesses of His love & grace.

Who would be unwelcome by us, or turned away by us, because we are disgusted by their particular sin?

I’m not suggesting we ignore potentially harmful situations. We have policies in place to ensure the safety of our congregation and visitors. Especially our kids. That’s wisdom, not prejudice.

Let’s look upon unsaved sinners the way Jesus does. He’s knocking at their door, seeking them, doing all He can to capture their hearts for eternity.

When we are being besieged, we need to rule-out that our battle is with the Lord.

  • Are we running from His will, like Jonah attempted? Prepare to be swallowed.
  • Are we wrestling against His will, like Jacob did? He will give us a life-long limp.

I don’t want you to get into a spiritual fog, wondering if you are battling the Lord. It will be obvious. You’ll be in outward sin, a hypocrite, lying to others.

  • You’ll be like Ananias & Saphira who, for the sake of receiving praise, lied to the believers and to God the Holy Spirit about the amount of money they were donating. God killed them.
  • God killed believers in Corinth who were drunk, disorderly, and hoarding their food from the poor when the church gathered for the love feast prior to sharing in communion each Sunday evening.   

The Lord loves you so much that He reserves the right to kill you and bring you home to Heaven ahead of schedule.

⭆ You can’t win any battle with, i.e., against, the Lord.

⭆ You can win every battle with, i.e., aligned with, the Lord.

#2 – The Lord Beseeches You (v4-11)

  • One commentator titles this section, “The condemnation of those who are set on idolatry.”
  • Another calls it, “The certain judgment of the offenders.”

We agree – but keep in mind the Lord was beseeching them to “Repent!”

We explain repenting as turning to God from idols. One description of it says, “Repentance is not merely regret or remorse but a decisive change in mind and heart that results in a change in behavior. It is both a one-time act in salvation and an ongoing attitude in the Christian life.”

Christians can be reluctant to believe or receive that a person is truly repentant. We want to see the fruits of repentance. Jesus told us that if someone sinned against us 490 times in a day, we should forgive them. Jesus wasn’t establishing a limit of 490. He was employing hyperbole. But if we used that number, and assumed being awake 16hrs, we would sin against the person just short of 50 times each waking hour. Not much time to see any fruit. In fact, it would show the opposite. We need discernment.

Ezk 14:4  “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols,

Ezk 14:5  that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’

The predicament that the Jerusalem Jews were in could only be resolved by the action of the LORD prophesying for centuries and then following through with material destruction and physical captivity. If there were any other way, God would have done it.

In your life, as God conforms you into the image of Jesus, there is no other way but the way He has set before you.

Jeremiah Burroughs wrote, “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”

Dr. Francis Wells, a renowned heart surgeon, said, “There is something profoundly moving about holding a human heart in your hands. It is not just a pump; it is the essence of life, the rhythm of existence. It is a privilege and a wonder to work on something so fragile yet so resilient.”

God does more than “hold” a heart. He seizes it. The verb translated as “seize” is not a gentle one. It suggests that God will grab onto His people in order to pull them away from their idols.

Think the illustration through. God suddenly pierces your chest and seizes your beating heart. If that were to actually happen, you would freeze in place. He would have your heart, but you would be all ears.

Maybe you’ve had the experience of having to grip a toddler tightly as they race into traffic. God seizes your heart, or tries to, when He sees you headed for the broad way that leads to destruction.

It can have a physical component, both for unbelievers & believers. I have a very present memory of the Lord seizing my heart when I got saved. I knew that was dead inside, and yet I was alive and going to be struck dead. It was the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Ezk 14:6  “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

God does not command you, not ever, to do what you cannot do.

  • If you are not a believer, you can “Repent!” as the one-time act of salvation.
  • If you are a believer, you can “Repent!” over-and-over again as the on-going attitude of your life in Christ.

If you can trust God to save you for eternity, you can trust Him to lead you for a lifetime.

Ezk 14:7  For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the LORD will answer him by Myself.

Ezk 14:8  I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.

Think of any of the many Christian leaders who have fallen. Their fall becomes a warning “sign” and a modern-day “proverb.”

Ezk 14:9  “And if the prophet [the false prophet] is induced to speak anything, I the LORD have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

God doesn’t lie, or tell anyone to lie.There is a story in First Kings[1] that explains how this kind of thing occurs. The LORD had determined that wicked King Ahab should be killed. We have no problem with that!

“And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you.”

Who is God talking to? The Scripture definitely teaches that there are many supernatural beings and creatures in Heaven. It strikes us as odd that not all of them are good. Satan appears in Heaven, for example, in the Book of Job. The indication is that he and other malevolent, fallen beings are there often.

In more than a few passages there seems to be a Divine Council of supernaturals to whom God speaks. They’ve been given, by God, a measure of delegated authority to act upon the earth, and especially upon the human race. Such a meeting was taking place in the passage I just read. God asks for suggestions and something intelligent called “a spirit” says he can encourage the lying prophets to keep on lying. The LORD signs-off on it.

Currently the devil is the God of this world. Thank you, Adam & Eve. He is described as “a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). I lie… You lie… the world is full of lies and deceit. God, Who cannot lie, permits lying on a massive scale in the current fallen condition of our world. He permits sin on a massive scale. He has a plan to overcome sin, and He is working it out.

God didn’t lie to King Ahab. You can’t say He made the spirit lie. If you want to accuse God of something, it would be that He allows free will. But, of course, we enjoy free will, do we not?

Ezk 14:10  And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired,

Ezk 14:11  that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be My people and I may be their God,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”

When we hear the term “search and seizure,” we think of the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution. It protects us from authorities conducting illegal searches and seizures.

Jesus searches our hearts…Jesus seizes our hearts.

For our own good, and for his glory, He is always conducting searches of our hearts, then using His considerable resources to seize our heart so that we might be drawn back to His love and grace.

 

References
↑1 First Kings 22:20-23
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