Prophecy Update #812 – Normies

January 12, 2025

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

Occasionally it is important to explain why we do this. I want to do that today.

You may have heard someone use the word, Hermeneutics. It is derived from a Greek word that means to interpret.

Hermeneutics is the study of how to interpret the Bible. What principles & methods do we follow? Why do we follow them?

Our ‘hermeneutic’ emphasizes a literal, grammatical-historical approach to interpreting the Bible. Here is what we mean.

First – We read the Bible in its plain, literal sense, considering the normal meaning of words and phrases. We acknowledge the use of literary devices like metaphors and symbols but we seek to understand them within their literal context.

Second – Reading the Bible this way we conclude that there is a clear distinction between ethnic Israel and the Church they are separate entities with distinct roles in God’s overall plan.

We can reduce all that to one word: Normal. We read the Bible the way we normally would other literature, taking into account its genre and setting and the author’s intent.

One of the political commentators coined a term for voters with common sense. She calls us Normies.

Bible characters read the Bible as Normies, and that includes prophecy. For example, Daniel was a captive exile in Babylon. One day while he was reading the Daily Bread, he said, “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans – in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”

When Daniel read that the Jews would be able to return home after seventy years, he understood the phrase “seventy years” to mean “seventy years.” Daniel was a Normie!

Jumping way ahead, we read in the Revelation that a Kingdom on Earth will be established by Jesus and will last for one thousand years. You’ll find that prophecy in chapter twenty. The number is repeated six times.

In an article Making Sense of the Millennium, Kevin DeYoung states, “And it goes without saying by this point that I don’t believe that the Millennium is a literal 1000 years… The numbers are symbols.”

How about a group identified as 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel? A Reformed writer says, “The 144,000 is a symbolic number of redeemed drawn from all peoples, not simply the Jews.”

There it is in a nutshell. One thousand is symbolic, not literal. 144,000 is symbolic, not literal The fact they come from the 12 tribes of Israel – not Jews.

We disagree. Daniel would disagree. Jesus disagrees!

When you read the Bible normally, and understand the distinct plans for ethnic Jews & the Church, you discover that Jesus will return in His Second Coming to establish the Thousand Year Kingdom after the Great Tribulation, and before the Kingdom. You also are inevitably led to understand the resurrection & rapture of the Church is before the Great Tribulation – it is PreTribulational.

And you get pretty excited about the more than 500 prophecies still awaiting fulfillment. You start seeing the stage being set for the events of the End Times culminating with the return of Jesus.

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!

Right Or Flight (Psalm 11)

January 8, 2025

Have you ever had a fight or flight moment? Something goes bump in the night and your brain tries furiously to decide what you just heard but simultaneously what in the world you’re going to do next. Depending on the situation your life might depend on the choice you make.

Researchers say there are three stages to the fight or flight: Alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.^[1] In that alarm phase, the body goes through all kinds of physiological changes to prepare you for what you need to do. Hormones flood your system, your breathing speeds up to top you off with oxygen, pupils dilate, muscles tense and tremble as blood is routed away from your skin into your brain and limbs. Your blood clotting ability also increases – just in case you get a puncture or two.

It may be helpful in the moment, but repeated exposure to these intense changes can lead to break downs in the body. We need rest and peace – that’s what we’re made for.

We can experience something similar in the spiritual life. Facing troubles and trials, we can spiral into fear, unrest, and a compulsion to solve our problem, save ourselves, or do what it seems like God is unwilling to do for us.

That’s what Psalm 11 is about. In a time of trial or trouble, when the alarm sounds will we try fight or flight? Or will we take the third option, not fight or flight but right – the way of God’s righteousness?

Psalm 11:Superscript – For the choir director. Of David.

David was often in serious trouble – even from a young age. Lions try to kill him. Bears try to kill him. Giants try to kill him. Kings try to kill him. His own son tries to kill him. We don’t know which specific situation he was in, but it was a serious one.

He writes this song, which is ultimately a song of great hope and security, but he doesn’t keep it for himself. He gives it to the chief musician. He delivers it to the whole choir. All of us will face troubles of one kind or another, sometimes life-threatening troubles, but the truth of God’s love, power, and grace is just as relevant for us as it was for the son of Jesse.

Psalm 11:1-2 – ¹I have taken refuge in the Lord. How can you say to me, “Escape to the mountains like a bird! ²For look, the wicked string bows; they put their arrows on bowstrings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.

At first, the tone seems worrisome, even desperate. But that’s only if we pass over the opening phrase. “I have taken refuge in the Lord.” The situation is very bad, but David’s heart isn’t pounding in fear – he’s at peace because he has taken refuge in the Lord. He writes this song from a place of shelter and security and supply. He assesses his situation from under the shade of the Lord’s wings.

In his trouble, David knew the only real refuge was in the presence of the Lord – trusting the Lord. But the conventional wisdom he got was, “Don’t go to the Lord, get to the mountains.”

Who was giving him this guidance? It could’ve been his friends, trying to help but ultimately not giving good advice. It could’ve been David’s enemies, trying to trap him. We see a situation like that play out with both Nehemiah^[2] and Jesus.^[3] Or, it could’ve been David’s own heart saying “escape to the mountains like a bird!” We’ve all seen that in a movie – some tense situation where the good guys just need to stay hidden where they are, but that one character just can’t keep it together, and out of terror they jump up and try to run away, only to be immediately killed.

That’s what would’ve happened to David if he took this bad advice. “Fly like a bird to the mountains.” But what was waiting in the shadows? Hunters with bows and arrows – the exact tools you need to kill a bird in flight. You don’t hunt birds with swords, do you?

David knows this is bad advice. “How can you say that to me?” But if you know David’s story, you know that sometimes he gave into fear. Sometimes he went the way of man’s wisdom, rather than taking refuge in the Lord. And the results were always disastrous.

David’s example reminds us that many times, especially in times of trouble, we know what we should do. It’s not a question of what to do, it’s whether we’re willing to do it. Are we willing to wait on the Lord? Are we willing to allow the Lord to be our Provider and our Shield and our Strength and our Refuge, or do we jump up and say, “I’ve got to save myself from this problem?”

The mountains seem like a place of great strength. It seems like the best place to go. But you and I can’t see all the enemies in the shadows. Oh, maybe we see the one that’s closest, but beyond him is another and another, waiting for us to expose ourselves in our own strength, which is insufficient for the day of trouble. We may think we have a great plan to escape our problem, but we really don’t. In fact, the Hebrew here gives the sense of wandering.^[4] “Go wander to the mountains.”

Psalm 11:3 – ³When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

Foundations here refers to the pillars of society.^[5] The basic principles of civilization and community. When those things are destroyed, what can the righteous do? That’s a significant question.

We live in a time when a lot is going wrong in the world around us. Not just in America but in many places we see serious distrust of institutions. We see leaders resigning. We see everyone accusing everyone else of destroying the justice system to use it as a weapon against others. I saw an article this week about how New York city doesn’t have enough applicants for the number of police they need.^[6] Current cops are telling people not to bother applying. Ironically, considering our text, one Brooklyn cop said he tells young people to “run for the hills” rather than join the NYPD.

Families are pulling their kids out of California schools at a record rate – more than 300,000 kids since 2020.^[7] People feel like the system is crumbling and failing.

It’s not only a secular issue. I’m guessing many of you have heard someone you know use a new buzzword recently: Deconstruction. People say they’re “deconstructing” their faith – that they’re getting rid of all the spiritual baggage they think has ruined their lives and now they can be truly enlightened. In my experience, deconstruction is usually just apostasy. But even in the Church we sense a shaking and a breaking up of basic pillars. Denominations leaving behind orthodoxy. Confidence eroding away.

When the foundations are crumbling, what can the righteous do? It’s a rhetorical question that David has already answered for himself. The answer is not “freak out.” It’s not “get angry.” It’s not “do whatever the popular thing is.” David said, “In the Lord I sheltered.”^[8]

The answer is to hold fast to the Rock that cannot crumble. The foundation that can’t be destroyed. We can remember that God Most High is our Rock and Redeemer. He is the Deliverer. And though my heart and flesh may fail, though there may be shaking and crumbling around me, I need not fear because God is the strength of my life. And I can build my life on His promises, on His truth, with His grace and power, whether the schools are good or bad, whether the justice department is good or bad, whether my town is more safe or less safe. Our God remains the same.

In a crumbly world, in a time of alarm, we have an answer. One commentator puts it this way: We seek “not escape but asylum with God.”^[9] The answer is to trust Him and respond like He does.

Psalm 11:4 – ⁴The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord—his throne is in heaven. His eyes watch; his gaze examines everyone.

When David wrote this song, Solomon’s temple had not been built yet. There was the Tabernacle of course, but David wants us to look to heaven. Look where the Lord is. Look at Him in His temple.

A temple is not a traditional fortress is it? Not in our minds. Where are the towers and the moats and the defenses? The Lord shows that all the strength we need is found in Him.

David was sometimes driven from his throne. Driven from his home. Though he was the greatest warrior the nation of Israel ever saw, sometimes even he had to run for his life. But not so the Lord. The Lord is always on His throne in power. And in His vast power, we see here that He concentrates and concerns Himself with you. “His gaze examines everyone.”

God sees you. He sees your struggle. He sees the foes hiding in the shadows along the way – even the ones you don’t even know about. The powers and principalities that we are no match for – the Lord sees and watches and examines. We learned last week in Psalm 33 that the Lord stares at us.

In the midst of disaster, David says, “Look at the Lord in His heavenly home.” What an important perspective that is. So often, in our human hearts, in our human fight-or-flight mentality, it’s easy for us to feel like God isn’t with us. But, as New Testament Christians, we’ve been told that not only is God with us, but in fact we are with Him. We heard about this a little this past Sunday in our study of Ezekiel 16. But here is what’s spiritually true about you right now if you’re a Christian:

Ephesians 2:5b-6 – You are saved by grace! ⁶He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus.

In our time of trouble, we can look to heaven and remember what is true: That since we are hidden in Christ, He is with us here and we are with Him there.

Psalm 11:5 – ⁵The Lord examines the righteous, but he hates the wicked and those who love violence.

Why does the Lord examine us? For one reason, He watches us to see which way we’re going to go. When we face trouble, we find out if we really believe. Will we follow Him or will we search for some other refuge? When we come to that fork in the road, will we go the way of the hunters or will we go the way of the humble and shelter ourselves in Christ?

God, in His patience, will also allow difficulty in our lives at times so that we can be refined like gold in a fire. That doesn’t mean every suffering is for that purpose or that God causes all of it, but that is a factor in some cases. In the moment we usually think, “Hey I’ll stay at 10k gold – no need to go all the way up to 24k.” But that’s not really what we want, is it?

Romans 8:18 – ¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.

We learn something else very important here: There are things God hates. Do you know what God hates? Some of you parents here have kids with serious allergies – peanut or bee sting. You know what their allergies are, right? You need to know because some very serious life stuff depends not only on knowing it, but avoiding exposure to certain things.

The Bible reveals that there are things God hates. God has expectations. He has standards. Are we meeting those standards? As we think about that, let’s remind ourselves that they are heart standards. We even see it here: “those who love violence.” David’s experienced a lot of violence, but he’s talking about a heart issue. And so, as the Lord examines us and as we cooperate with Him, we must always start with the heart and then move out to the hands.

Psalm 11:6 – ⁶Let him rain burning coals and sulfur on the wicked; let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.

Commentators agree this is a callback to God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.^[10] Sometimes we chafe at these imprecatory prayers where God’s people pray that unbelievers would be brutally judged. But remember the story of Sodom? Remember how God gave them more than a fair chance at mercy? How He would’ve spared them but they were unwilling to repent and believe?

When a person or a town or a nation refuses to go God’s way, He will ultimately allow them to go their own way, and that way always ends in destruction. Their portion is a burning wind. It’s interesting – the word for wind is the same word the Old Testament uses for the Holy Spirit. So, again, we have this choice. We can go man’s way and our portion will be a burning wind. Or we can go God’s way, and He becomes our portion – the blessed Wind, the Holy Spirit, Who indwells us and comforts us and teaches us and helps us.

Psalm 11:7 – ⁷For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds. The upright will see his face.

We started the song with David taking refuge in the Lord. We saw enemies lurking in shadows – a world crumbling – judgment on the way. As usual in the Psalms, there’s a clear contrast between the righteous – who are believers who trust the Lord – and the wicked. And now, in the closing verse David points out the Lord is righteous.

And so the answer to trouble is not only to trust in God and hide ourselves in Him, but to be like Him. He is righteous and He has given us His righteousness, and so, in every circumstance, our aim is to be more like Him. In a fight or flight situation, my goal is not escape, but exchange. Exchanging my worry for His peace, my wickedness for His holiness, my weakness for His strength. My plans for His plans. And it’s not only about the way I think, but also the things I do. It starts in the heart, but moves out to the hands. The Lord loves righteous deeds – actually living out our Godliness the way God lives it out.

And so, as the song closes, we no longer find ourselves in alarm but in the glorious, affectionate presence of God Who delivers us and shields us and makes us like Himself. And the result is rest.

In the day of trouble, instead of alarm we can approach our Lord. Instead of resistance we find refuge. Instead of exhaustion, He gives us exchange. Providing us with righteousness, hope, security, and rescue. And from the shelter of His shade, we are sanctified and sent out to live His righteousness in whatever situation we find ourselves in, knowing that this is the way that leads to life and rest and peace and supply and joy in this life and the next.

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References
↑1	https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-fight-or-flight-response-2795194
↑2	Nehemiah 6:10-13
↑3	Luke 13:31-33
↑4	Robert Alter The Hebrew Bible: A Translation With Commentary
↑5	Arno Gaebelein The Psalms: An Exposition
↑6	https://nypost.com/2025/01/04/us-news/number-of-nypd-applicants-plummeted-as-nyc-force-tries-to-hire-1600-officers/
↑7	https://www.ppic.org/publication/factors-and-future-projections-for-k-12-declining-enrollment/
↑8	Alter
↑9	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
↑10	See Kidner, Smith, Perowne, Alter

You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby, But Harlot, Look At You Now (Ezekiel 16:1-63)

January 5, 2025

“From rags to riches.”

It’s a genre beloved by every generation and culture that values great storytelling.

Cinderella immediately comes to mind. But which version? There are at least 345 variants of the story in Europe. The Brothers Grimm version is dark. To fit into the slipper, one stepsister cuts off her toes, and the other cuts off her heel. Both are exposed when the birds alert the prince to the blood in the shoe.

Israel is a rags to riches story told by the LORD.

The LORD found an abandoned baby, saved her life, and gave her a future. As she grew into a beautiful young woman, they became betrothed and later married.

Finish this sentence: “So they lived ___________ .”

Here is how it is finished in Ezekiel. “So they were married and Israel proved herself to be an insatiable idolater, an adulterous wife, a brazen harlot, and a murderer of her own children.”

Would the Babylonian invasion be the stoning she deserved for being caught in her adultery?

Israel was faithless but God remains faithful to keep His promises. In verse sixty we read, “Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.”

We’ll start with the baby, in verses 1-6.
Next Israel is betrothed, in verses 7&8.
Next, Israel is the LORD’s bride, in verses 9-11.
Next, she is His wife, in verses 12-14.
After that the once beautiful bride is a “brazen harlot,” and a “sister” to the city of “Sodom.”

Ezk 16:1 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezk 16:2 “Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,

Captain America calls SpiderMan “Queens” because that is where he is from. Throughout this chapter Ezekiel addresses Israel, all 12 tribes, as “Jerusalem.”

This story is about Israel, and that ain’t us. But does the Lord love us any less? Are not you & I chosen by Him? Do we not start-out being born again, as babes in Jesus Christ? Are we not betrothed?

And, regrettably, are we not capable of spiritual adultery & harlotry?

Ezk 16:3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to Jerusalem: “Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

Jerusalem was a Canaanite city in the Promised Land. The Israelites could not capture it until David came along.

Jesus, the greater son of David, will establish Jerusalem as the world’s capital during the Millennial Kingdom and into eternity. The “New Jerusalem” is the heavenly city we should anticipate along our pilgrim journey home.

Ezk 16:4 As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths.

Ezk 16:5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born.

Some birth customs are listed. This isn’t a class on 6^th century Bible Manners & Customs. It is a poignant plea for God’s beloved to repent and return.

Has anyone here, maybe a fire-fighter, found an abandoned baby? What would it be like? In a word, it would be emotional.

It’s important to avoid attributing unbiblical traits to God, but we shouldn’t be so cautious that we overlook God’s emotional depth. The narrative begins with a vulnerable infant that affected the LORD. It is intended to tug at our heartstrings.

Ezk 16:6 “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’

In the story, this two-fold exclamation to “Live!” is a shout expressing a two-fold commitment to provide life, and to provide a life for this baby.

Humans are born physically alive but spiritually dead due to sin. God offers spiritual life through Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose again to bring many to glory.

The baby to whom the LORD gave life grew and was betrothed to Him.

Ezk 16:7 I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your hair grew, but you were naked and bare.

Israel was “naked and bare” as the baby. The LORD had taken her in to grow into this beautiful woman.

Ezk 16:8 “When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord GOD.

In the Bible, the act of spreading one’s garment over another symbolizes a legal engagement. Ruth asked Boaz to take her under his wing, requesting him to marry her.

Couples still try for outrageous marriage proposals. You can forget scuba diving and skydiving. Russian Alexey Bykov staged his own death to propose to his girlfriend, Irena. He hired a film director and stuntman to orchestrate a fake car accident, complete with an ambulance. When Irena arrived and believed he had died, Alexey emerged to propose. She said “Yes!”

Here comes the bride!

Ezk 16:9 “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil.

Ezk 16:10 I clothed you in embroidered cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin; I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk.

Ezk 16:11 I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your wrists, and a chain on your neck.

If you are a believer, you are “cleansed with the washing of water by the word, that Jesus might present you to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that you should be holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:26-27). Charles Swindoll writes, “Just as clear, fresh water cleanses our bodies, God’s written Word washes us clean deep down inside our souls. It purifies our thoughts, scrubs our motives, and cleans our conscience as we absorb it and obey its truths.”
You have been “anointed” by receiving the permanent indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. You are a light to the world that can never exhaust its supply of oil.

You have been clothed with a robe of righteousness. You receive it by grace at the Cross. The Lord gives you this robe in exchange for the filthy garments you wear. The Lord then adorns your robe with the good works He performs through you (Revelation 19:8).

Ezk 16:12 And I put a jewel in your nose, earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.

Body piercings are biblical!

Ezk 16:13 Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine flour, honey, and oil. You were exceedingly beautiful, and succeeded to royalty.

Ezk 16:14 Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the Lord GOD.

Wow! Talk about an extreme makeover! What more could the LORD have done?

What more could Jesus do for you than He has already done?

Ephesians 1:1-14 lists numerous spiritual blessings Christians have in Christ:

From God the Father (v3-6) we are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (v4); holy and blameless in His sight (v4); predestined for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ (v5); grace freely given in the Beloved (v6).

Through Jesus Christ (v7-12) we have redemption through His blood (v7); forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (v7); the mystery of His will revealed to believers (v9); all things united in Christ, both in Heaven and on Earth (v10); and an inheritance as God’s people (v11).

By the Holy Spirit (v13-14) we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing salvation (v13); a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until redemption (14).

From here on is about a 15 minute read. We’ll need to summarize. Two scathing descriptions of Jerusalem dominate the verses:

From verses 15 through 41 the LORD calls His wife a “harlot” ten times.
The cities of Samaria & Sodom are called Jerusalem’s mother & sister from verse 46 through verse 55.

Drop down to verses 20&21. We see the depth and depravity of Israel’s whoredoms.

Ezk 16:20 “Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter,

Ezk 16:21 that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?

We’ve discussed infant sacrifice. Molech’s idol had outstretched, red-hot arms where babies were placed to burn. There was no wriggling, no screaming. The parents first killed their baby, probably by slitting his or her throat.

Why would someone kill a baby? Why would they celebrate killing a baby as a right? Why would a society allow it to happen?

Shouldn’t God do something about it?

The LORD delineates Israel’s whoredoms from verse 22 through verse 43.

God condemns sexual sin and judges it. The narrative here is not about a judge but a husband whose spouse is unfaithful. He reveals the profound emotional pain caused by her betrayal.

Adultery is a profoundly injurious sin. So grievous is its impact that Jesus acknowledged it as providing biblical grounds for divorce, despite God’s deep hatred of divorce.

Drop way down to v44… In the next long section, through verse fifty-eight, the LORD calls the cities of Samaria and Sodom Jerusalem’s “mother” and “sisters.”

It’s common to rank cities, e.g., best and worst places to live. I’ve previously mentioned that my hometown, San Bernardino, is currently considered the worst city in California.

Jerusalem held that honor and was worse even than Samaria & Sodom.

What was so bad about Samaria? When Israel split and became two nations, King Ahab established Baal worship in Samaria.

God prescribed the way He was to be worshiped in the Old Testament. We have great freedom in the New Testament, seeing how our physical bodies are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. But the gathered church is also the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We must be mindful to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

A megachurch pastor put on a Die Hard themed Christmas service where he reenacted a famous scene. Dressed as John McClane, he emerged from an air duct and lit a cigarette.

Drop down to verses 49&50…

Ezk 16:49 Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Wait… I thought that homosexuality was the cause of Sodom’s destruction? Folks who think homosexuality is not condemned in the Bible use this verse. Keep reading!

Ezk 16:50 And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore I took them away as I saw fit.

The Hebrew word translated abomination is the same word that appears in Leviticus 19:22, where it most definitely is homosexuality.

Biblical marriage is a covenant of companionship between one biological man and one biological woman in a monogamous, heterosexual relationship intended to last a lifetime. This union is characterized by mutual submission to God and to each other in their respective biblically defined roles as husband and wife. Sexual activity is to occur exclusively within this marital relationship.

Verse 53…

Ezk 16:53 “When I bring back their captives, the captives of Sodom and her daughters, and the captives of Samaria and her daughters, then I will also bring back the captives of your captivity among them,

Sodom & Samaria will be restored when Israel is restored in the Kingdom of God on Earth.

A material Kingdom, ruled by Jesus after His Second Coming, with Jerusalem as its capital, is going to be established for one thousand years.

Verse 60…

Ezk 16:60 “Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.

Ezk 16:61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and your younger sisters; for I will give them to you for daughters, but not because of My covenant with you.

Ezk 16:62 And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD,

Ezk 16:63 that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord GOD.’ ”

Despite their unfaithfulness, God will keep His unconditional promises. During the final days of the Great Tribulation, two-thirds of the Jews will perish, and the surviving third will hide. On the brink of extermination, they cry out to the Lord. Jesus comes, glorified and glorious, and saves them as they receive Him.

We want our judges to be impartial & unemotional in applying the law. God is more than Judge. The Father is husband to Israel, and Jesus the Bridegroom to the Church.

When we yield to sin, we break God’s Law; Do we not also ‘break’ God’s heart?

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 – ¹Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones; praise from the upright is beautiful. ²Praise the Lord with the lyre; make music to him with a ten-stringed harp. ³Sing 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 – ⁴For the word of the Lord is right, and all his work is trustworthy. ⁵He 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 – ⁶The heavens were made by the word of the Lord, and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth. ⁷He 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 – ⁸Let the whole earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. ⁹For 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 – ¹⁰The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations; he thwarts the plans of the peoples. ¹¹The 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 – ¹²Happy 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 – ¹³The Lord looks down from heaven; he observes everyone. ¹⁴He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth from his dwelling place. ¹⁵He 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 – ¹⁶A king is not saved by a large army; a warrior will not be rescued by great strength. ¹⁷The 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 – ¹⁸But look, the Lord keeps his eye on those who fear him—those who depend on his faithful love ¹⁹to 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 – ²⁰We wait for the Lord; he is our help and shield. ²¹For our hearts rejoice in him because we trust in his holy name. ²²May 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

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:

Pray without ceasing.

Read your Bible in a way that it is reading you.

Immerse yourself in a local fellowship that holds to the inerrancy & the authority of the Bible.

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. ²This first registration took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³So 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 – ⁴Joseph 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, ⁵to 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 – ⁶While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷Then 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 – ⁸In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock. ⁹Then 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 – ¹⁰But 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: ¹¹Today in the city of David a Savior was born for you, who is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹²This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in a manger.” ¹³Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: ¹⁴Glory 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 – ¹⁵When 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.” ¹⁶They 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 – ¹⁷After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, ¹⁸and 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 – ¹⁹But 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 – ²⁰The 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 – ⁹In 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 – ¹⁰The 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 – ¹¹The 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 – ¹²But 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 – ¹³When 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 – ¹⁴For 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 9^th day of the 4^th month, in Zedekiah’s 11^th 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 6^th century BC, the Church remained a mystery to be revealed in the 1^st 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 6^th 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.

Calvary Hanford Transcripts

Follow The Sermon Live

Prophecy Update #812 – Normies

Right Or Flight (Psalm 11)

You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby, But Harlot, Look At You Now (Ezekiel 16:1-63)

Prophecy Update #811 – Getting To Know You

Worship While You Wait (Psalm 33)

Wildwood & Vine (Ezekiel 15:1-8)

Prophecy Update #810 – Gimme That New-AI Religion

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

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

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

↑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

↑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