My Bare Lady (Isaiah 47:1-15)

December 31, 2023

“Is there hope for America?”

Here are three responses from experts:

#1 “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favors.”

#2 “The God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?”

#3 “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

The experts, in order, were George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams.

So… How are we doing as a nation?

It’s like the Days of Noah out there! Weird marriages… a near total disrespect for biblical morality… seemingly unrestrained violence everywhere.

One thing that we have discovered as we’ve studied Isaiah is that God deals with nations, not just individuals. It has given us opportunity to talk about our own nation in the plans and purposes of God. And yes, we are in trouble.

Isaiah predicts the demise of the Kingdom of Babylon. He does so with a poignant illustration. He starts off calling her “O virgin daughter of Babylon.” But He quickly adds, “Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen.”

Human history is littered with conquered empires. In every case, though we may not know the details, it is in accordance with God’s plan that redemption for everyone would come through the nation of Israel.

Before we ever answer the question, “Is there hope for America?” there are two preliminary questions. I’ll organize my comments around them. #1 Are We A Daughter That Comes To Dust? and #2 Are We Daughters Who Consort With Devils?

#1 – Are We A Daughter That Comes To Dust? (v1-8)

“Don’t think of it as dust. Think of it as the soil of some great past civilization. Maybe the soil of ancient Babylon. It staggers the imagination.” Pigpen says that in the timeless classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Our text explains the “dust” of Babylon.

Isa 47:1 “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called Tender and delicate.

The “Chaldeans” were an aggressive people-group in Babylon. Over time their name came to be synonymous with Babylon.

When the Bible refers to a “daughter,” singular, she represents the entire nation. “Daughters,” plural, refers to individual citizens (both male & female).

God was about to bring them to dust; from virginal to violated.

Isa 47:2 Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, Take off the skirt, Uncover the thigh, Pass through the rivers.

Isa 47:3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered, Yes, your shame will be seen; I will take vengeance, And I will not arbitrate with a man.”

Babylon would be conquered and instead of the tender virgin they would become common slaves.

God “will not arbitrate” means that this judgment was final. Once it began, He wouldn’t relent.

Yes, God is the God of second chances. We sometimes say, “It is never too late to come to Jesus and be saved.” We see this in God’s dealings with the Assyrian Empire. God relented when Nineveh repented!

At times it becomes too late. You cannot be saved after you die, for example.

One commentator writes, “Our Creator blesses each nation with a span of time so it might prosper and do well, but this blessing ends when a nation becomes degenerate, rebellious, and unfit for self-rule. When God determines that extended mercy for a nation has no redeeming effect, He marginalizes or destroys that nation.”

Isa 47:4 As for our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel.

The Jews would be taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. They would be slaves in his realm. Slaves need to be redeemed. They need someone to purchase them and set them free.

Their slave-status in Babylon lasted 70 years. With help from the new reigning world empire, Medo-Persia, the Jews would return to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls and its Temple.

Isa 47:5 “Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; For you shall no longer be called The Lady of Kingdoms.

Albert Barnes commented, “The appellation, ‘Lady of kingdoms’ is equivalent to… ‘the mistress of the world;’ and the idea is, that Babylon [was the] mistress, and that all other cities were regarded as servants, or as subordinate.”

Isa 47:6 I was angry with My people; I have profaned My inheritance, And given them into your hand. You showed them no mercy; On the elderly you laid your yoke very heavily.

The LORD gets angry. I don’t think we can comprehend His anger until we, too, are in glorified bodies that cannot sin.

God decided to ruin (profane) Jerusalem and the Temple – a truly big deal to Him. He must secure the repentance of His chosen people.

There is a pretty common TV & movie trope in which the antagonist tells one of his stooges to teach someone a lesson. The stooge then kills the person, much to the disliking of his boss. He didn’t mean for him to kill the guy.

Babylon was the stooge who went too far disciplining the Jews for the LORD. The Chaldeans showed them no mercy. For an example the LORD accused them of elder abuse.

Before the defense of Helm’s Deep Aragorn stirred the forces of Rohan by shouting, “Show them no mercy, for you shall receive none.”

Isa 47:7 And you said, ‘I shall be a lady forever,’ So that you did not take these things to heart, Nor remember the latter end of them.

Joseph Benson reminds us of the sheer fortitude of the city:

If we consider that the city of Babylon had no less than one hundred gates made of solid brass; that its walls were two hundred feet high, and fifty broad, according to the lowest account given of them by historians, and, according to some, three hundred and fifty feet in height, and eighty-seven in thickness, so that six chariots could go abreast upon them; that it was defended by the river Euphrates, and supplied with provisions for many years; it might well be deemed impregnable: and such a city as this might, with less vanity than any other, boast that she should continue forever, if any thing human could continue forever.

To give you a little perspective, the Statue of Liberty is 305’ tall.The Persians devised a plan whereby they diverted the course of the Euphrates River so that they could go in under the wall. While the residents of the city were distracted, i.e., drunk, the Persian army marched under the walls of Babylon unnoticed. It was claimed the city was taken without a fight.

I think the LORD gave them this strategery.

You know who else has strategies? The Devil. He wants to work them on you. The fall of Babylon can be a lesson for us. The lesson isn’t “Don’t drink,” although that’s not such a bad idea. The lesson is, “Don’t do anything that makes you vulnerable.”

Get your guard up and keep it up!! There will never be a time in your life that you can escape spiritual warfare. There are no furloughs, not even bereavement leave. The devil is a psychopathic liar and murderer. He will pile-on in the worst of times.

Isa 47:8 “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely, Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children’

Verse eight captures the general opinion of Babylon’s population. They believed themselves invulnerable and possessing wisdom superior to that of any other culture.

King Nebuchadnezzar set the tone. One fine day he said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoke: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Daniel 4:31-32).

His humbling resulted in his conversion as per chapter four of Daniel.

The illustration God uses, the “virgin daughter,” is how the Babylonians thought of themselves. It’s nothing new for people to think highly, but wrongly, of themselves. In the Book of the Revelation we see this in the church of the Laodiceans. The gap between how they saw themselves and how Jesus saw them was a Grand Canyon. If you think they are not a good comparison because they were not saved, substitute the church at Ephesus. With everything they had going on there’s no way they thought of themselves as having left their first love.

There is no “how to” here, no Humility for Dummies. Jesus spoke to the Laodiceans and the Ephesians directly by his Word. We assume that some received it, and that some did not. From studying the men and women in the Bible, and godly men and women throughout the church age, it seems to come down to this. Like the apostle Paul you should be able to declare that you are the chief of sinners (First Timothy 1:15). Simultaneously you praise God’s amazing grace in your life. The result ought to be joy unspeakable and full of glory.

#2 – Are We Daughters Who Consort With Devils? (v9-15)

The remaining verses emphasize the occult. Mentioned are “sorceries” (2x), “enchantments” (also 2x), “astrologers,” “stargazers,” and “prognosticators.”

Babylon depended heavily on the “wisdom,” “knowledge,” and “counsels” of the occult. Aren’t you glad we don’t do that in America?

I wish that were true. By all metrics, the occult and occult practices are on the rise:

According to a survey conducted in 2021, about two in ten Americans believe in spells or witchcraft.
In an October 2022 article, nbcnews commented, “Witchcraft, which includes Wicca, paganism, folk magic and other New Age traditions, is one of the fastest-growing spiritual paths in America.”
In 2018 NBC posted an article titled, Number Of Witches Rises Dramatically Across US As Millennials Reject Christianity.

Isa 47:9 But these two things shall come to you In a moment, in one day: The loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness Because of the multitude of your sorceries, For the great abundance of your enchantments.

I should mention that their astronomy was considered by some more like science. After all, the Persian Magi correctly identified the star that (somehow) led them to find and worship “He who would be born as King of the Jews.”

Church father Origen, stated that the Magi had a copy of the prophecy of Balaam (found in Numbers 24) about the star coming out of Jacob. It was revealed to them by Daniel. Tertullian, circa AD 190-210, stated that astrology is idolatry, but he believed that the science of the Magi was totally different from the pagan form of astrology.

Isa 47:10 “For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’

God calls their occult “wisdom and knowledge”- “wickedness.” A side-effect of their practices was it “warped” them into thinking they were like God. They “said in [their] heart, I am.” They had the “I” trouble that led to Satan’s rebellion and fall.

Add to that they said, “No one sees me.” This likely refers to them thinking that, since they were like God there was no deity who could judge them.

Isa 47:11 Therefore evil shall come upon you; You shall not know from where it arises. And trouble shall fall upon you; You will not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, Which you shall not know.

Daniel describes the feast which took place on the night Babylon fell. We explained how King Cyrus took Babylon effortlessly.

The chapter ends with obvious sarcasm. The LORD shows how pitiful was their wisdom and knowledge compared to His omniscience; how puny was their might compared to His omnipotence; how precious was and is His omnipresence compared to their magicians being as vulnerable as stubble is to flame.

There is one more ‘omni’ that isn’t listed. God is omnibenevolent, meaning perfectly & powerfully good. It may not have seemed that way to the Chaldeans, but they had opportunity to obey Him and know His goodness. The choice was theirs.

Isa 47:12 “Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries, In which you have labored from your youth – Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail.

Isa 47:13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, And the monthly prognosticators Stand up and save you From what shall come upon you.

Isa 47:14 Behold, they shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame; It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before!

Isa 47:15 Thus shall they be to you With whom you have labored, Your merchants from your youth; They shall wander each one to his quarter. No one shall save you.

Interesting, this reference to “merchants.” We are made aware in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ that there will be a Babylon in the Last Days. It will be the capital of the Earth ruled by the antichrist.

We read, “The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore” (18:9-11).

I doubt you get together with friends and break-out a Ouija (WEE-je) Board. Somebody is; or I should say 25m somebodies (based on sales).

Just because we’re not conducting pagan rituals it doesn’t mean there might not be some things that we would be better off avoiding. After all, the world around us is a spiritual Babylon.

Will some future Pigpen say, “Don’t think of it as dust. Think of it as the soil of some great past civilization. Maybe the soil of ancient America.”

We can ask one additional ‘expert,’ Abraham Lincoln:

We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving Grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

I want to take a bi-partisan approach here. You pick the slogan that best aligns with your vote:

We need to Build Back Spiritually.
We need to Make America Repent Again.

In the end we will agree that the nation of Israel is, for lack of a better word, the greatest nation ever. Of the myriads of reasons we could cite, I like what the apostle Paul said. Speaking of ethnic Jews in chapter nine of the Book of Romans he describes Israel as “to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.”

Simply put, the Savior of the world was born through the nation of Israel. Can anything be greater?

Every other nation is thereby called to a support role in furthering God’s plan and in anticipating His rule.

Prophecy Update #769 – Masters Of (Mystical) Arts

December 31, 2023

Someone has said, “Because the Bible is the only book which gives us an accurate forecast of the future, we must turn to its pages in order that we may be delivered from inexcusable ignorance and be prepared as God unfolds His prophetic program.”

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

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

Biometrics, Artificial Intelligence, cashless commerce, the manipulation of human DNA, global government, the exponential growth of human knowledge, one-world religion, instantaneous global communication, and the rebirth of national Israel are End Times developments the Bible predicts.

All of these are increasingly trending in the news.

We haven’t talked much about the predicted rise of the occult. In The Revelation we are told, “The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts” (The Revelation 9:20-21).

That passage discusses events in the seven year Time of Jacob’s Trouble that we call the Great Tribulation. It makes sense that interest in the occult would be rising prior to the Tribulation… and it is.

Witchcraft is on the rise. According to a January 2023 article I read:

Wiccans or Pagans number 1 to 1.5 million people in the U.S [2014 Pew Research Center].
Both religious and nonreligious Americans hold New Age beliefs [pewresearch.org].
Google searches for “spell casting” have increased fourfold since 2016 [Global News].
Witchcraft influencers have thousands of followers on Instagram.
Almost 19 billion views are recorded in a community of TikTok called “WitchTok.”

The millennial generation and Gen Z have fallen victim to witchcraft more than any other age group. Just in time for the antichrist. He will be the greatest influencer the world has ever known.

A Master of Arts (MA) degree in witchcraft, magic, and occult science is scheduled to be offered starting September 2024 at the University of Exeter in England. The professor says she’s seen a ‘surge in interest’ from students.

I went to the college website. It’s for reals, as we like to say for emphasis. While poking around, I came across this incentive: “Graduate with the skills to, and knowledge needed to, influence and drive business strategies that make a positive contribution to the environment and society.”

What department do you think is offering this degree? The program is part of the Department of Arab & Islamic Studies.

I’ll briefly mention UFO’s. Or maybe I should simply ask, “What is up with all the positive talk about UFO’s & aliens?” All of a sudden it is mainstream.

For example, thehill.com posted an article in mid-2023 titled, How the search for UFOs went mainstream. The UFO phenomena is completely compatible with supernatural activity. Many prophecy teachers have suggested that UFO’s will offer an explanation for the rapture.

The occult is on the rise – just as we expect it would be.

We live in the Church Age, between the first coming of Jesus and His return to establish and rule the Kingdom of God on earth. His return will be preceded by a seven year time of incredible trouble upon the earth. Most commonly it is called the Great Tribulation, but the prophet Jeremiah calls it the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. It is a reminder that God will use that time to reveal Himself to unbelieving Israel. By the end of the seven years all Israel will be saved.

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

He keeps us entirely out of the 7yr Great Tribulation by raising deceased Church Age saints, then rapturing “we who are alive and remain.”

When? The return of the Lord for us is imminent. It could happen any time. Nothing needs to occur before Jesus can come for us.

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

Ready or not, Jesus is coming!

Father’s Christmas

December 27, 2023

A non-canonical book is one that was not recognized as belonging to the 66 inspired books that comprise the completed Bible.

Undoubtedly the most famous of these books is The Book of Enoch. In Jude we read, “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” nThese are grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage” (v14, 15 & 16).

Take a guess: How many non-canonical books do you think are referred to in the 66 inspired books that comprise the completed Bible?

At least 20 in the Hebrew Bible & 13 in the New Testament.

Some you might say, “O, yeah, now I remember:

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians before First Corinthians (1 Corinthians 5:9).
The Book of Jasher is mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and Second Samuel 1:18 and also referenced in Second Timothy 3:8.
The Book of Gad the Seer (also called Gad the Seer or The Acts of Gad the Seer) referenced in First Chronicles 29:29.

Mennonite scholar David Ewart has mentioned that Nestle’s Greek New Testament lists some 132 New Testament passages that appear to be verbal allusions to non-canonical books. Also in the NT at least 4 pagan authors are alluded to.

Last week I told you that I have been looking at some first century writings by the so-called early Church fathers. I’m doing it because there is a movement growing in popularity to return to what is being called historic pre-millennialism. It is a view of the future that insists the Church fathers taught a post-tribulation rapture. They insist that no Church father is on record ever mentioning a pre-tribulation rapture of the Church.

We talked about a reference from Irenaeus that was clearly pre-tribulational. He was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle John.

They are not correct, but even if they were, it would make no difference. What does the Word say? It says, in Daniel 12:4, that much prophecy was to be “shut up” until the end of the ages. Irenaeus says as much. We thus expect new developments in our eschatology.

One more observation regarding the end times. It is also growing in popularity to identify the antichrist as a Muslim. It is therefore interesting to learn that Irenaeus (and others) insisted he would be from the tribe of Dan. Again, it is not authoritative. But if you had a choice between a guy who occasionally talked to the apostle John and a modern commentator…

Let me say this before we go too far. These extra biblical, non-canonical books are not inspired. We are not to read them the way we read the Word of God. Having said that, however, since the Bible pretty often refers to them, we certainly can glean from them, too.

While scanning YouTube, my research assistant, who happens to be my wife, came across some early Church father’s references to the birth of Jesus. It’s super cool.

In the spirit of this Christmas season and the universal call to encounter Christ anew, let us look back in time at what some of the ancients had to say about Christmas and the Nativity.

I’ll start with the best of the best, Julius Africanus. He was a Christian historian who lived and wrote from AD 160-240.

He recorded the Magi’s own account of the star of Bethlehem and Christ’s birth.

(This account is found in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 6, under Africanus – Existent Writings; free to download on e-Sword).

And we came to that place then to which we were sent, and saw the mother and the child, the star indicating to us the royal babe. And we said to the mother: What art thou named, O renowned mother? And she says: Mary, masters. And we said to her: Whence art thou sprung? And she replies: From this district of the Bethlehemites. Then said we: Hast thou not had a husband? And she answers: I was only betrothed with a view to the marriage covenant, my thoughts being far removed from this. For I had no mind to come to this. And while I was giving very little concern to it, when a certain Sabbath dawned, and straightway at the rising of the sun, an angel appeared to me bringing me suddenly the glad tidings of a son. And in trouble I cried out, Be it not so to me, Lord, for I have not a husband. And he persuaded me to believe, that by the will of God I should have this son.

Then said we to her: Mother, mother, all the gods of the Persians have called thee blessed. Thy glory is great; for thou art exalted above all women of renown, and thou art shown to be more queenly than all queens.

The child, moreover, was seated on the ground, being, as she said, in His second year, and having in part the likeness of His mother. And she had long hands, and a body somewhat delicate; and her colour was like that of ripe wheat; and she was of a round face, and had her hair bound up. And as we had along with us a servant skilled in painting from the life, we brought with us to our country a likeness of them both; and it was placed by our hand in the sacred temple, with this inscription on it: To Jove the Sun, the mighty God, the King of Jesus, the power of Persia dedicated this.

And taking the child up, each of us in turn, and bearing Him in our arms, we saluted Him and worshipped Him, and presented to Him gold, and myrrh, and frankincense, addressing Him thus: We gift Thee with Thine own, O Jesus, Ruler of heaven. Wert things unordered be ordered, wert Thou not at hand. In no other way could things heavenly be brought into conjunction with things earthly, but by Thy descent. Such service cannot be discharged, if only the servant is sent us, as when the Master Himself is present; neither can so much be achieved when the king sends only his satraps to war, as when the king is there himself. It became the wisdom of Thy system, that Thou shouldest deal in this manner with men.

And the child leaped and laughed at our caresses and words. And when we had bidden the mother farewell, and when she had shown us honour, and we had testified to her the reverence which became us, we came again to the place in which we lodged. And at eventide there appeared to us one of a terrible and fearful countenance, saying: Get ye out quickly, lest ye be taken in a snare. And we in terror said: And who is he, O divine leader, that plotteth against so august an embassage? And he replied: Herod; but get you up straightway and depart in safety and peace.

And we made speed to depart thence in all earnestness; and we reported in Jerusalem all that we had seen. Behold, then, the great things that we have told you regarding Christ; and we saw Christ our Saviour, who was made known as both God and man. To Him be the glory and the power unto the ages of the ages. Amen.

Irenaeus (AD 120-200), the disciple of Polycarp:

In Book 3, Chapter 18, Section 1, Irenaeus talks about the importance of Christ’s birth from a virgin, highlighting the connection between the Virgin Mary and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah’s birth: “The Virgin Mary, being obedient to His word, received from an angel the glad tidings that she would bear God.”
Another reference can be found in Book 3, Chapter 19, Section 1, where Irenaeus discusses Jesus as the Word Incarnate: “For the Word of God, who is God, from the beginning, is in fact the divine substance of the Father, and therefore the Word became flesh, and the Son of God became the Son of Man.”

Church father Origen of Alexandria (AD 185-253) in Against Celsus 1:60, stated that the Magi had a copy of the prophecy of Balaam, found in Numbers 24, about the star coming out of Jacob. It was given to them by Daniel after the time of Cyrus’ taking the kingdom. Origen also stated, in Against Celsus 1.58, that historical records indicated that the Magi were not Chaldeans, but Persians.

Tertullian (AD 190-210) stated, in Idolatry 1.9, that astrology is simply a form of idolatry, but he believed that the science of the magi was totally different from the pagan form of astrology.

From here we jump to circa AD 400. The following excerpts are taken from the Christmas sermons of a few of the guys.

St. Leo the Great, Sermon on the Feast of the Nativity, AD 400’s.

The birth of Christ is the source of life for Christian folk, and the birthday of the Head is the birthday of the body. Although every individual that is called has his own order, and all the sons of the Church are separated from one another by intervals of time, yet as the entire body of the faithful being born in the font of baptism is crucified with Christ in His passion, raised again in His resurrection, and placed at the Father’s right hand in His ascension, so with Him are they born in this nativity.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 300’s). “But let us believe in Jesus Christ, as having come in the flesh and been made Man, because we could not receive Him otherwise. For since we could not look upon or enjoy Him as He was, He became what we are, that so we might be permitted to enjoy Him.”

John Chrysostom (AD 349 – 407) was famed for his preaching epithet, “Chrysostom” which means golden-mouthed. His Nativity Sermon:

Come, then, let us observe the Feast. Truly wondrous is the whole chronicle of the Nativity. For this day the ancient slavery is ended, the devil confounded, the demons take to flight, the power of death is broken, paradise is unlocked, the curse is taken away, sin is removed from us, error driven out, truth has been brought back, the speech of kindliness diffused, and spreads on every side, a heavenly way of life has been implanted on the earth, angels communicate with men without fear, and men now hold speech with angels.

Jerome (AD 347-420), best known for his translation of the Bible into Latin, popularly known as the Vulgate. In On the Nativity of the Lord, wrote, “He found no room in the Holy of Holies that shone with gold, precious stones, pure silk, and silver. He is not born in the midst of gold and riches but in the midst of dung, in a stable, where our sins were filthier than the dung. He is born on a dunghill in order to lift up those who come from it: “From the dunghill He lifts up the poor.”

I’d rename his sermon, Dung da-dung-dung

I’ll Betrothe For Christmas (Matthew 1:18-25)

December 24, 2023

Matthew 1:18a – ¹⁸The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way…

In most of our favorite Christmas movies, things do not work out the way the main characters expect. Along the way, they experience a lot of frustration and let down. Charlie Brown can’t quite figure out what Christmas is all about. In Home Alone, the McCallisters’ meticulous plans are all derailed. Nothing goes right for the Griswold family in Christmas Vacation – not the turkey, not the lights, not even the drive to get the tree.

And then there’s George Bailey in It’s A Wonderful Life. Staring out over that bridge it seemed his whole life had worked out wrong. But then an angel appears and gives him the true perspective on things. In all of those Christmas classics and others still, by the end, the main characters, often the dad, realize that what they thought they were looking for wasn’t really what mattered most. What they really needed was something else.

Matthew’s telling of the arrival of the Savior focuses on the man who would become Jesus’ adoptive father: Joseph. Joseph was a good man – faithful and willing to do hard things. We’ll see that in our text. But, Joseph’s life was not quite working out the way one might have hoped.

You see, he was a descendant of David. And, even if he never actually thought that he should be king, at very least it would be hard to know that you are a member of the royal family, but instead of ruling in luxury, you were a poor carpenter, subjugated by a pagan empire, which was forcing you to take a long and costly trip back to a random town attached to your ancestors.

Joseph would never be king. That was to be expected, unfair as it was. What wasn’t expected was how things suddenly went sideways in his personal life when Jesus arrived in His Incarnation.

Matthew 1:18b – After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.

Matthew knew she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. Mary knew it. But apparently she hadn’t explained her visit from Gabriel to her betrothed husband, Joseph.

In the Jewish customs of the time, there was a period of engagement – a year – before the man and wife started living together. But, that betrothal period was legally binding. That’s why Joseph is going to be called Mary’s husband in the very next verse. If you wanted out of betrothal, you would have to officially divorce.

Mary being pregnant was a big problem, culturally speaking. It would scandalize their families and communities. Joseph undoubtedly loved Mary. He wanted to marry her. But now, if he wanted to be faithful to God’s Law, he had a duty to either divorce her quietly, or bring her to strand trial before the Jewish leaders. Under the Law, those were his only 2 options.

Matthew 1:19 – ¹⁹So her husband, Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.

Joseph was a remarkable man – a man of care and character. We see, on the one hand, he wasn’t going to ignore the Law of God, even if it meant having to part ways with the woman he loved. He “demonstrate[s] that his love for God [was] stronger than his love for Mary.” But it’s clear that he did love Mary. Even though she seems to have totally violated their relationship and marriage contract and social convention, it was important to Joseph that she not be disgraced publicly. He chose this quiet option that saves face, not for him – it saves face for Mary.

Joseph examples for us the fact that real righteousness always includes mercy. In that way, Joesph’s righteousness exceeded the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. It was a foreshadow of the way Jesus would treat the woman caught in adultery in John 8.

But, the Law was the Law, and so Joesph started making arrangements to break off his relationship with his fiancé.

I imagine his heart was absolutely crushed. He’s a good man. He’s a righteous man. If I were him, I can imagine I’d pray something like, “Lord, what am I supposed to do? I can’t live out my royal blood right. I’m a poor laborer. I’m getting pushed around by the Roman Empire. I’m trying to carve out a little life for myself and start a family with what little prospects I’ve got. I’m serious about following the Law and honoring You as God of my life. And now my marriage can’’t happen?”

Matthew 1:20 – ²⁰But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

We’re not told whether Mary tried to convince him. But we see he was thinking a lot about it. He didn’t act emotionally or in haste. He considered the situation, and made what he thought was the best decision moving forward. The problem is, he didn’t have all the information he needed to make this life decision. He didn’t know the levers of providence that were in motion.

So, before Joseph can make his ‘best’ decision, the Lord changes the situation. In all those Christmas movies, there’s always a pivot-point. George Bailey meets Clarence. Charlie Brown hears God’s Word from Linus. Kevin McCallister talks to the scary, bearded neighbor.

How interesting that the angel called Joseph, “Joseph, son of David.” A lot of good the family name had done him so far in life. But we see that God knows what is true about you, God installs eternal value in you, God sees the culmination of His work in you, even if the rest of the world passes you by. It didn’t matter to Rome that he was a son of David. It didn’t matter to the Innkeepers of Bethlehem. But it mattered to the Lord and the Lord had not forgotten. In fact, the Lord had decided to give Joseph a personal, hand-tailored part to play in the drama of redemption.

This is what God wants to do with every single child of God! Your life may not be working out according to your five-year plan or the dream you had when you were a little boy or girl. But God has a providential plan that is shaking up the cosmos, displaying His grace and glory and power to all the powers in all the heavens. And He has written a part for you to play.

The angel clears up where Jesus came from, but things were still sticky. Joseph was being asked to live a sacrificial life for the rest of his life – a life of social embarrassment. People would whisper everywhere they went. His whole life would now be oriented not around his own dreams or his own greatness, but instead, his whole life would revolve around this job that God had given Joseph and Mary to do: Raise and nurture the Messiah. But how could they possibly do it ‘right?’

The angel continued in verse 21.

Matthew 1:21 – ²¹She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

You are to name Him. Mary had an incredible, unique calling placed on her life. She would bear the Christ into the world. Jewish mothers for millennia had hoped to be chosen by God to be a part of this work. So, on the one hand, Mary has this monumental job that she is remembered for. But, she would need help. A lot of help. And the Lord expected Joseph to serve with her in this endeavor. He couldn’t do what she was asked to do, but what he could do was help and support and provide and protect and lead and partner with her in raising the Messiah in their home!

His name would be Jesus. Scholars explain that depending on whether you study how the name sounds or what its etymology is, the name means “He will save,” or, “Yahweh is salvation,” or “O save, Yahweh!” or, “Yahweh saves, He and not another.”

This is Who Jesus is. The little Baby in the nativity set is God Himself, come in human flesh. Fully God and fully man. He came for one reason: Someone had to die for the sin of the world. Someone had to pay the fine that we all owe for all the wrongs we’ve done and the wrongs done to us.

There is just One Savior. And we are a people who need saving. Who will rescue humanity from our downward spiral? Who will save us from our failures and mistakes and sin? The average Christmas movie is usually vague in the end. It’s togetherness or family or just not being so tightly wound. But we all know the Griswolds are going to have a terrible Christmas next year. The McCallisters weren’t any better in Home Alone 2. Those vague “just be nicer” messages don’t really hold water.

We need saving. God knew it before we did and He made a plan. His plan was to come Himself, born of a virgin, to live a sinful life, die a death He did not deserve, rise again the third day. This was the only way that He could bridge the gap between God and man and reconcile us to Himself.

Matthew peels back the curtain to show us how this has been God’s glorious plan of salvation all along.

Matthew 1:22 – ²²Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ²³See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”

What God promises, He will do. No matter what. That’s why Joseph and Mary didn’t need to be afraid. It didn’t mean things wouldn’t be hard – in fact, they’d be running for their lives in a few verses – but God is a God of promise and presence. Not presents, though He loves to give gifts, presence, meaning His desire is to be with us. Coming into the earth in His Incarnation, He said, “Ok, I’m the eternal God, I hold everything together in the palm of My hand. But I’ve got a new name I’d like you to use for Me: Immanuel. God with us.”

Matthew 1:24-25 – ²⁴When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her ²⁵but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

Joseph was a man of faith in action. Once God spoke, it was time to do. He named Him Jesus. This was the first of three midnight dream-meetings with angels that Joseph would experience. After each one he did exactly what the Lord asked.

But there were many other days without angel visits were Joseph also did what the Lord asked. It must have been hard to know that you have the King of kings in your care, but you can’t give Him a palace. There wouldn’t be many nights of feasting. There were no royal robes or grand parades. Just the three of them, and then siblings that came later. Living small, living far from home for awhile. It may have felt like things didn’t work out the way you’d want. Their life may have felt small and insignificant or meager. But what God cared about and wanted for them was working out just fine because He was the One accomplishing it by His own power and grace.

You and I are not called to foster the Messiah. But He has other callings for you and me. We discover them by loving Him and being in His presence, by hearing His Word and doing what we’ve been told. We join in His magnificent, Kingdom work as we relinquish control of our life’s decisions and instead allow Him to direct and propel and move us through this walk we’re on with Him. If you feel things are not working out, look to God’s gift, His Son, our Savior, Who is still with you, still Immanuel even now and writing you the most important part you could ever play.

Church Fathers And The Bride

December 20, 2023

Tonight we need a glossary of terms before we can start:

Resurrection is rising from the dead into the permanent physical glorified body all believers in Jesus will receive in order to live without sin for eternity.
The rapture is the event when Jesus transforms living believers at His return. Because they never die they must be instantaneously changed in order to be caught-up to Heaven by the Lord.
The Great Tribulation is the most common name of the future 7yr period of God’s wrath being poured out upon the earth.
The Second Coming is the return of Jesus to earth.
The Millennial Kingdom, or the Millennium, is the Kingdom of God on earth that Jesus will establish and rule upon His return.
Pre-millennial means that Jesus will return to earth at the end of the Great Tribulation to establish His one-thousand year reign. His return precedes the kingdom.
A dispensation is a way of ordering things – an administration, a system, or a management. In theology, a dispensation is the divine administration of a period of time; each dispensation is a divinely appointed age.

For going on a year I’ve been encountering the growing popularity of post-tribulationism. This is the belief that the church will be resurrected and raptured after the Great Tribulation. The church will have to endure those seven years.

As I got a little bit deeper into it I discovered there is a resurgence of interest in what is called “historic pre-millennialism.”

What we believe the Bible teaches is called “dispensational pre-millennialism.” Let me give you a quick comparison:

Historic pre-millennialism teaches that the church will be resurrected & raptured at the Return of Jesus, not before. Dispensational pre-millennialism sees in Scripture a pre-tribulation resurrection & rapture of the church. The church is kept from the Great Tribulation.
Historic pre-millennialists do not make a sharp distinction between the nation of Israel & the church. One of the main contributions of dispensational pre-millennialism is acknowledging that God distinguishes between ethnic Jews, Gentiles unbelievers, and the church.

It’s called “historic” because they argue that all early church guys were premillennial, and no early church guy ever believed in the pretribulation rapture. Thus they are returning to what they believe was the historic doctrine of the early church. Some will go so far as to label our view as a false teaching.

It is relatively easy to show that for about the first 300 years of church history, everyone was pre-millennial.

Around AD 300 came two other approaches:

Post-millennialism holds that Jesus Christ establishes His kingdom on earth through His preaching and redemptive work in the first century and that He equips His church with the Gospel, empowers the church by the Spirit, and charges the church with the Great Commission to disciple all nations. Eventually the vast majority of people living will be saved. Increasing Gospel success will gradually produce a time in history prior to Christ’s return in which faith, righteousness, peace, and prosperity will prevail in the affairs of men and of nations.

A-milennialists reject the view that Jesus Christ will physically reign on the earth for exactly one thousand years. Rather, they interpret the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 as a symbolic number, not as a literal duration of time. A-millennialists hold that the millennium has already begun and is simultaneous with the current church age. They do believe that Jesus will return in final judgment and establish a permanent reign in the “new heaven and new earth.

Augustine is an important guy in church history. in his early days affirmed pre-millennialism, but later changed to a-millennialism, causing the view to become popularized together with Pope Gregory the Great. Some protestant scholars call it the Roman apostasy.

Because the Roman church strongly condemned anything but amillennialism, it became dominant for about 1200 years. This started to change after the Reformation. Protestants returned to pre-millennialism. Some discovered the dispensational pre-millennialism taught in the Bible, including the pre-tribulation resurrection & rapture of the church.

The historic pre-millennial people I have encountered insist that there is no mention of a pre-tribulation resurrection & rapture until it was proposed in the 1800’s.

Even if that were true, it would not nullify the doctrine if it is taught in the Bible. But… Is it true?

Let’s consult two important early church guys: Justin Martyr and Irenaeus. They both were disciples of Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle John.

Wow! That’s big. Irenaeus wrote that he occasionally spoke with John. These guys were getting the good stuff right from the source.

Justin was born in Nablus, Israel, in AD 100. As a student of Polycarp, he wrote several works on various topics, including Bible prophecy. Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho is a discussion with a Jew regarding the superiority of Christ and Christianity. Trypho presents objections, and Justin answers them. (Some identify Trypho as a historical rabbi, and others believe that Trypho is a fictional character and that Justin simply used the dialogue as a literary device). He was eventually martyred in Rome in AD 165 for being a Christian.

Here are three quotes from him:

“The Man of Sin, spoken of by Daniel, will rule [three] times and a half, before the Second Advent.” Dialogue 32.
“There will be a literal one-thousand-year reign of Christ.” Dialogue 81.
“The man of apostasy, who speaks strange things against the Most High, shall venture to do unlawful deeds on the earth against believers.” Dialogue 110.

Moving on to Irenaeus. According to Dr. Ken Johnson,

Irenaeus was born in in Smyrna in AD 130. He became a student of Polycarp and testified that he occasionally spoke to the very old apostle John. In approximately AD 170, Irenaeus wrote a five-volume work entitled Against Heresies. It deals mostly with the cults and heretics of his day but also touches on prophecy, especially when there was a cult that was misinterpreting a biblical prediction for its own purposes. He died in AD 202.

You can read Against Heresies on-line; it’s not hard to find. In fact, a simple Google search of any of these guys will reveal their writings translated into English.

Let’s highlight Irenaeus. All of the quotes can be found in Against Heresies.

“There is a resurrection of the Just that takes place after the destruction of the Antichrist and all nations under his rule. Many believers will make it through the Tribulation and replenish the earth. In the Resurrection we will have fellowship and communion with the holy angels, and union with spiritual beings. The new heavens and earth are first created and then the new Jerusalem descends. These are all literal things, and Christians who allegorize them are immature Christians” (Against Heresies 5.35). This is very premillennial.

He makes a strong statement for the pre-trib Rapture. “When in the end that church will suddenly be caught up from this, then it is said, ‘There will be tribulation such as not been since the beginning, nor will be.’ ” (Against Heresies 5.29).

Irenaeus wrote this about he Number 666. “The name of the Antichrist equals 666 if spelled out in Greek. Do not even try to find out the number of the name until the ten kings arise. Titan is one Greek word that totals 666. (Against Heresies 5.30).

The Ten Nations: “Ten kings will arise from what used to be the Roman Empire. The Antichrist slays three of the kings and he is then the eighth king among them. The kings will destroy Babylon, then give the Babylonian kingdom to the Beast and put the believers to flight. After that, they will be destroyed by the coming of the Lord. Daniel’s horns are the same as the ten toes. The toes being part iron and part clay mean some kings will be active and strong while others, weak and inactive. And the kings will not agree with each other” (Against Heresies 5.26).

The Abomination of Desolation: “In Second Thessalonians, the ‘falling away’ is an apostasy and there will be a literal rebuilt temple. In Matthew [chapter 24], the ‘abomination spoken by Daniel’ is the Antichrist sitting in the temple as if he were Christ. The abomination will start in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week and last for a literal three years and six months. The little horn [11th] is the Antichrist” (Against Heresies 5.25).

Antichrist from the Tribe of Dan: “The Antichrist shall come from the tribe of Dan. That is why the tribe of Dan is not mentioned in the Apocalypse” (Against Heresies 5.30).

These writings are not inspired by God the Holy Spirit. They do give us insight into the teaching of the original apostles.

I should mention that the post-tribbers refute Irenaeus’ pre-trib resurrection & rapture statement. I think it’s strong. But let’s say they are right. Would we be wrong?

Irenaeus said this about the time of the end: “Daniel the prophet says ‘Shut up the words, and seal the book even to the time of consummation, until many learn, and knowledge be completed.’ For at that time, when the dispersion shall be accomplished, they shall know all these things. But Jeremiah also says, “In the last days they shall understand these things.” Jeremiah 23:20 For every prophecy, before its fulfillment, is to men [full of] enigmas and ambiguities. But when the time has arrived, and the prediction has come to pass, then the prophecies have a clear and certain exposition” (Against Heresies 4.26).

If Irenaeus was post-trib, or mid-trib, or pre-wrath, it isn’t clear either. What he just said here is perhaps more important. Some things in prophecy were “shut.. and sealed” until the “dispersion is accomplished.”

For centuries, the Jewish people were dispersed across different nations after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile in 586 BC and the subsequent Roman expulsion in 70 AD. However, in 1948, Israel was officially recognized as an independent state, marking the fulfillment of this prophecy as the Jewish people returned to their ancient homeland after almost 2000 years of dispersion.

If suddenly the doctrine of the pre-tribulation resurrection and rapture was understood having never been considered – well that is the kind of thing Daniel & Jeremiah meant could and would happen in the End Times.

Also consider that drawing a hard distinction between ethnic Jews, unbelieving Gentiles, and the church was something revealed much later. The church is something very special. It was not revealed at all in the Hebrew Bible. It was a mystery until NT times.

So, while all this is super interesting, we know what Jesus said & meant: “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

Something incredibly interesting I discovered about these guys. The idea that Jesus will return to set up His Millennial kingdom in the Jewish year 6000 is taught by many influential ancient church fathers.

Again quoting Ken Johnson,

The first coming of Jesus Christ was about 4000 years after Creation. These ancient church fathers taught the Second Coming would be about AD 2000. The most descriptive is in the Epistle of Barnabas which devotes an entire chapter on this issue. Remember, this does not mean they were correct; but if they believed and taught this, it proves the ancient Christians were premillennial. With the calendars being confused and inaccurate, we can’t say for certain when the year 6000 will occur. An approximate range would be between the years AD 2030 and 2067, although it could occur even earlier.

Barnabas: “Of the Sabbath He speaketh in the beginning of the creation; And God made the works of His hands in six days, and He ended on the
seventh day, and rested on it, and He hallowed it.
Give heed, children, what this meaneth; He ended in six days. He meaneth this, that in six thousand years the Lord shall bring all things to an end; for the day with Him signifyeth a thousand years; and this He himself beareth me witness, saying; Behold, the day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years. Therefore, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything shall come to an end. And He rested on the seventh day. This He meaneth; when His Son
shall come, and shall abolish the time of the Lawless One, and shall judge the ungodly, and shall change the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall he truly rest on the seventh day” (Epistle of Barnabas 15:3-5).

Irenaeus: “The day of the Lord is as a thousand years; and in six days created things were completed. It is evident, therefore, they will come to an end in the six thousandth year” (Against Heresies 5.28).

Hippolytus: “The Sabbath is a type of the future kingdom… For “a day with the Lord is as a thousand years.” Since, then, in six days the Lord created all things, it follows that in six thousand years all will be fulfilled” (Fragment 2; Commentary on Daniel 2.4).

Commodianus: “We will be immortal when the six thousand years are completed” (Against the Gods of the Heathens 35). “Resurrection of the body will be when six thousand years are completed, and after the one thousand years, the world will come to an end” (Against the Gods of the Heathens 80).

Victorinus: “Satan will be bound until the thousand years are finished; that is, after the sixth day”(Commentary on Revelation 20.1-3).

Methodius: “In the seventh millennium we will be immortal and truly celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles” (Ten Virgins 9).

Lactantius: “The sixth thousandth year is not yet complete. When this number is complete, the consummation must take place” (Divine Institutes 7.14).

Christians are always terrified that we will be accused of date setting. In the first century, it made sense that God would provide information, specific information, about dates.

We believe, do we not, that it was possible to calculate the very day the Lord would make His triumphal entry into Jerusalem? Daniel lets us know it would be 483 years after the decree of the Persian king Artaxerxes to Nehemiah on March 5 of BC 444.

When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947 there were also many documents that were found in caves not far from the Dead Sea. Discovery was also made of buildings next to the Dead Sea. It has been argued that the buildings were where the Essenes lived and the scrolls found in the caves, the Dead Sea Scrolls, were placed there by the them.

The Essenes were an apocalyptic sect of Judaism. Although it can’t be proven, scholars suggest John the Baptist was an Essene.

They had their own calendar. It is claimed that they predicted His death in AD 32.

This quote is from a site that delves into the Essene calendar:

The Jewish calendar states that 2021 is the year 5781AM (Anno Mundi – year of creation) while

the Essene Calendar tells us it is the year 5946AM. There is a 165 year difference between them. The Essenes also said that the very last Jubilee, a 50 year period, will begin in 2025AD or, in their Calendar, 5950AM. With a “Day like a Thousand Years” we see the 6 days of Creation prophetically being finished according to the Essenes Calendar around 6000AM or 2075AD for us.

You’ll Never Be God’s Beast Of Burden (Isaiah 46:1-13)

December 17, 2023

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each, I noticed Footprints in the Sand. At times there were two sets of footprints; other times there was only one. Curious to know why, I asked the Lord.

The Lord replied, “The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, My child, is when I carried you. The times when you have seen two sets of footprints, My child, you insisted I put you down so that you could go your own way, in your own strength.”

That’s not the way it goes…But maybe it should be?

In the original composition there is no concern about the two sets of footprints. They are only there to make the point that there are times the Lord must carry you. Turns out, those times are all the time!

God says so in verses three & four. “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb: Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.”

“Upheld,” “carry,” “carried,” and “bear,” “from the womb even to your old age.” The Lord carries us through our entire life.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 The World Is Out To Crush You, and #2 The Lord Is Here To Carry You.

#1 – The World Is Out To Crush You (v1-2 & 5-13)

When we use the term “the world” we mean the fallen condition of God’s Special Creation that now exists on account of Adam & Eve disobeying the LORD in the beginning. Satan has installed an antagonistic, chaotic system. He is a liar and a murderer.

Satan’s psychologies, philosophies, politics, and religions are lies. They blind you from seeing your need for a Savior who can take your burden of sin upon Himself so that you are forgiven.

I have a bachelors degree in psychology from the prestigious UC campus in Riverside. I’ve asked forgiveness often! The psych department focused on Comparative Psychology. We studied animals to try to understand human behavior. Why would we do that? It’s the evolutionary approach.

They have (had?) a colony of macaque monkeys. One assignment was to sit all day to observe their behavior. I’m being serious. Most of their time was spent grooming one another.

While I’m confessing… I also have a bachelor’s in philosophy. Existentialism was all the rage at UCR. Here is all that you need to know about existentialism. At the graduate level, they urge you not to commit suicide. I’m serious. Existentialism poses an existential threat to your life.

Meanwhile the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a godless person with a worldly education has more wisdom than even a new believer in Jesus. Which one, for example, is going to be in Heaven?

Isa 46:1 Bel bows down, Nebo stoops; Their idols were on the beasts and on the cattle. Your carriages were heavily loaded, A burden to the weary beast.

“Bel” and “Nebo” were the father-and-son god team of Babylon. Their idols rode on carts that beasts of burden hauled – with some difficulty because of their weight. Rather than lifting burdens, these idols created them for their worshippers.

There is no single agreed upon biblical definition of idolatry. We define it as “idols, images, or any God-substitutes.” It is helpful in discussing and determining idolatry to remember the biblical statement that “covetousness is idolatry.” Anything or anyone you covet substitutes for God because it is evidence you are not content with Him.

Your God-substitute can only make things worse because its source is satanic and it has no power to help.

Regarding religion Jesus said, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matthew 23:4).

The apostle Paul chastised the believers in Corinth saying, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?” (First Corinthians 6:2-3).

Isa 46:2 They stoop, they bow down together; They could not deliver the burden, But have themselves gone into captivity.

Isaiah is describing the near-future of Israel. The Jews would be conquered by Babylon and taken there, held captive there. Babylon’s so-called gods would figuratively “bow down together” when King Cyrus of Medo-Persia conquered them.

Skip to verse five.

Isa 46:5 “To whom will you liken Me, and make Me equal And compare Me, that we should be alike?

Isa 46:6 They lavish gold out of the bag, And weigh silver on the scales; They hire a goldsmith, and he makes it a god; They prostrate themselves, yes, they worship.

Isa 46:7 They bear it on the shoulder, they carry it And set it in its place, and it stands; From its place it shall not move. Though one cries out to it, yet it cannot answer Nor save him out of his trouble.

We immediately agree that idols and images are powerless. Covetousness, however, is pervasive. It can be hidden in our hearts where it becomes septic.

Isa 46:8 “Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you transgressors.

Has God done things for you? Of course He has. Remember them; recall them. Then “Act like a Christian!”

Singer Johnny Fontaine went to his Godfather for help. He started to sob, saying he didn’t know what to do. The Godfather grabbed him by the hands and told him, “You can act like a man!” Then he slapped him and said, “What’s the matter with you!”

We all have some of Johnny Fontaine in us and we often require a spiritual “slap in the face.”

Isa 46:9 Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,’

Several times in the last few chapters the LORD reminded His chosen nation that He alone can, with 100% accuracy, predict the future. Not only that, but His “counsel,” i.e., His plan, will succeed.

Isa 46:11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it.

King Cyrus was “the bird of prey from the East.”

Cyrus would help the Jews return to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls and the Temple. He would serve the Lord. As far as we can tell, Cyrus was never saved. All the more our surprise at God using him.

Isa 46:12 “Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, Who are far from righteousness:

Isa 46:13 I bring My righteousness near, it shall not be far off; My salvation shall not linger. And I will place salvation in Zion, For Israel My glory.”

Commentators argue whether God was addressing Babylonians or Jews who were “far from righteousness.” Probably His chosen nation – but why not both?

In verse thirteen God promised that all of their drama with Assyria, Babylon, and Persia would not hinder the plan of redemption. He would “bring [His] righteousness near.” I think God was talking about the first coming of Jesus to die & rise from the dead. Righteousness was near because Jesus was here. The apostle John said that their “hands” “handled” the Lord (First John 1:1). They touched the God-man.

Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself makes it possible for God to declare people righteous. He has taken upon Himself the sins of the world. Those who believe have their sins exchanged for His righteousness.

Someone has insightfully said, “There are two kinds of gods in this world: The kind you carry and the One who can carry you.”

If you are burdened in any way, it isn’t from the Lord.

#2 – The Lord Is Here To Carry You (v3-4)

The LORD considers Israel His child. Children are carried in the womb, miraculously protected and provided for. They are carried for some time after. The LORD portrays Himself carrying His children all their days.

Isa 46:3 “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, And all the remnant of the house of Israel, Who have been upheld by Me from birth, Who have been carried from the womb:

The imagery of Jesus constantly carrying me suggests an effortlessness on my part. I add nothing except that I must by faith believe He will never leave me or forsake me.

Expand on that as a personal devotion. It’s amazing.

Let’s modernize this idea of being carried and say I’m in a wheelchair that the Lord is pushing. He is setting the speed and choosing the direction. I am resting.

Why would I bail? Two reasons. First – Because the Lord pushes my wheelchair like it’s Mr.Toad’s wild ride.

The Lord has what I call ‘opposite thinking:’

He tells us to rejoice in trials.
Weakness is strength.
If you humble yourself He exalts you.
You are expected to take “pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake” (Second Corinthians 12:10).
God “has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are” (First Corinthians 1:27-28).

Every step in the the life of Jesus on earth was a mind-boggling opposite of what was expected. Born of a virgin? In Bethlehem? From Nazareth? Learning obedience for the first thirty years of His life on earth? The Cross before the Crown? It is all weirdly wonderful.

Secondly, I want to leave footprints in the sand. No one wants to be carried or confined to a wheelchair. It is a surrender to weakness and handicap. God’s strength being revealed in my weakness is poetic on the pages of Scripture. In my own life – not so much.

Isa 46:4 Even to your old age, I am He, And even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; Even I will carry, and will deliver you.

The very fact we age to “gray hairs” and die reminds us something is fundamentally wrong. God’s plan to send Jesus rights all wrongs. But not yet.

So I’m in my wheelchair, trusting Jesus, when all of a sudden a burden gets dumped in my lap. Maybe, as with me, a diagnosis you’d rather not have.

Jesus is still handling the load. Allow me to illustrate. People in wheelchairs at Disneyland will have kids & grandkids sitting on them. They’ve got packages hanging off them and off the chair. Everyone in their party uses the wheelchair as storage.

None of that weighs them down; it is added weight for the one pushing. We, however, believe we are being burdened, sometimes beyond what we can bear.

James begins his NT letter, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials” (1:2). Do you? Do I? If we did we would sing,

Joy in the World, My Trial has Come,

Let Gene Receive it’s Sting

The apostle Peter understood that the believers he was writing to were “grieved” by their trials. But he immediately told them the purpose of trials was to refine them as a refiner refines gold in the furnace. He told them to “rejoice with joy, inexpressible and full of glory” (1:8).

Believers in Christ enjoy fellowship with their Lord. One particular kind of fellowship is “the fellowship of His suffering” (Philippians 3:10).

The early apostles believed that participating in the fellowship of Christ’s suffering was part of our preparation for sharing in His future glory.

Like Job before me, I want to be able to declare, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5).

The apostle Paul suffered from a long-term illness or disability which he called “the thorn in his flesh.” He let Jesus carry him, saying, “[Jesus] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (Second Corinthians 12:9).

I’ve used the illustration many times, but it’s just too good not to. You remember that scene in Jaws when Quint, Hooper, and Brody were below deck on the Orca. They started comparing wounds that they had received over the years. They were boasting, wanting to have the worst wound.

The apostle Peter was told by Jesus, “When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me” (John 21:18-19).

The church fathers say that Peter was crucified at Rome, about 34 years after this, with his head downward. Clemens says that he was led to the crucifixion with his wife, and sustained her in her sufferings by exhorting her to remember the example of her Lord. He also adds that he died, not as the philosophers did, but with a firm hope of heaven, and patiently endured the pangs of the cross.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary reads, “As Jesus followed the Father’s will, so His disciples should follow their Lord whether the path leads to a cross or to some other difficult experience.”

Sometimes I feel sorry for believers who have no trials. They are missing the fellowship of His suffering.

You can’t be upset with me about ruining Footprints in the Sand for you. My version extols the single set belonging to Jesus.

Maybe we rewrite it again to show tire tracks.

If you came today burdened and seeking relief, one way to get it is to help another believer with their burden(s). “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 NIV).
If you are not a believer, please perk-up:

In Isaiah 53:11 we read, “By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.”

Hebrews 9:28 says, “Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many.”

First Peter 2:24, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.”

Prophecy Update #768 – If I Only Had A Brain

December 17, 2023

We read the Bible with a consistently literal interpretation.

We interpret the Bible according to the “plain meaning” conveyed by its grammatical construction and historical context.

One result of this approach is that we discover a lot of unfulfilled prophecies in God’s Word. The Book of the Revelation, for example, is all future to us beginning in chapter four and extending until the concluding exhortations in chapter 22.

We identify several prophetic topics that are predicted and we consider that the world will be trending in the direction of those prophetic topics.

The modern state of Israel has fulfilled, and is now fulfilling, centuries old prophecies.

Other trends we look for involve globalism, e.g., global government and a global economy; and instantaneous global communication.
We see technological advances in invasive surveillance and personal identification as setting the stage for the arrival of the world leader most commonly called the Antichrist.

With regard to him we are told an “image” of him will be created that has “breath,” i.e., “life.” We are told “the image of the [Antichrist] should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed” (Rev 13:15).

This previously absurd prophecy could today easily be fulfilled by Artificial Intelligence.

AI and robotics is growing at a rate that frightens its creators. I read an article this week titled, Scientists create biocomputer combining circuits with real human brain tissue. They’re calling it “a living machine.”

Excerpts:

In what seems like a scene from a science-fiction movie, scientists from Indiana University have constructed a hybrid biocomputer that combines laboratory-grown human brain tissue with traditional circuits. This innovative technology, known as Brainoware, has the potential to integrate into artificial intelligence (AI) systems and advance neuroscience research models of the human brain.

https://studyfinds.org/biocomputer-human-brain-tissue/

Fox News reported, AI gives birth to AI: Scientists say machine intelligence now capable of replicating without humans.

https://www.foxnews.com/science/ai-gives-birth-ai-scientists-say-machine-intelligence-capable-replicating-without-humans

Meanwhile “a factory planning to pump out 10,000 two-legged robots a year is taking shape in Salem, Oregon, the better to help amazon and other giant companies with dangerous hauling, lifting and moving.

The robot, called Digit, is 5’9″ and 140 pounds, and can walk over and plug itself in when it needs to recharge.

https://www.axios.com/2023/12/05/humanoid-robot-factory-agility-bipedal-amazon

I am not saying that AI is going to be what gives the image of the Antichrist “breath.” But you can see how it could.

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

He keeps us entirely out of the 7yr Great Tribulation by raising deceased Church Age saints, then rapturing “we who are alive and remain.”

When? The return of the Lord for us is imminent. It could happen any time. Nothing needs to occur before Jesus can come for us.

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

Ready or not, Jesus is coming!

Foster The Children (Ephesians 6:1-4)

December 13, 2023

Ephesians 6:1-4 – Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right. ²Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, ³so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land.^,, ⁴Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

In 1990, when thousands of American parents were asked to select five valuable characteristics that “children can be encouraged to learn at home,” only 39% put “obedience” on the list. If you think that’s bad, by 2017 that number fell to 21%.

Among 24 countries, from us to China, Australia, Iran, Brazil, and all sorts of places in-between, the United States ranks dead last in valuing “good manners” in children. Just 28% of Americans say “not being selfish” is an important quality in kids and only 32% said religious faith matters.

That’s the latest finding from The World Values Society, an organization that has surveyed perspectives across 120 countries for the last 40 years. These data points were from a report titled, Parenting Priorities: International Attitudes Towards Raising Children.

7 out of 10 parents don’t think it matters if their kid is unselfish. 6 out 10 don’t think obedience matters. 7 out of 10 don’t think religious faith matters.

But what is on God’s priority list for children and parents? He definitely has an opinion. Much more, He has a path for us. That’s what Paul will teach us about tonight as we begin the final chapter of Ephesians.

Remember: Paul has been explaining how we put salvation into practice – how we walk worthy of the calling we have received as Christians. How the Church can function in power and vitality. He’s already talked about how we should think about things, how we should interact with unbelievers, how we should look at life, and how we should live with our spouses. Now he looks to that second most important life relationship: Parents and children. And, once again, Paul’s instructions would be counter-cultural, but rooted in the eternal truth and world-changing grace.

Ephesians 6:1 – Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right.

Paul does a few interesting linguistic things in these verses. The first is how he directly addresses the children. He doesn’t talk to mom and dad about them first, he goes right to the kids. This would’ve been an unusual thing to do in that time. But, once again, we see that God values every individual equally. We saw last time that women and men are totally equal in worth to God. Here, Paul assumes that children would be listening and that they were capable of taking steps of their own in their walk with the Lord.

Of course, children don’t usually have the strength or the wisdom that an adult believer should have, but God wants to speak to kids. He wants to interact with them. He wants to receive worship from them and reveal Himself to them. He wants to have a relationship with them from the earliest age possible.

We shouldn’t allow ourselves to slip into a mindset that kids can’t handle spiritual things, or that spirituality is for later in life – a mentality that says, “Church doesn’t matter to kids, so just give them a coloring book in church and hope that one day, when they’re older, they’ll be excited about the Lord.” Instead, consider Samuel. Consider David. Consider Naaman’s servant girl. Consider Mary. Consider Miriam. Consider Josiah. Consider the boy with his simple lunch of five barley loaves and two fish. God loves to interact with young people, to reveal Himself to them, to use them in all sorts of meaningful ways. They have a place in His unfolding work.

Paul speaks directly to the children in the Ephesian church and says, “Obey your parents in the Lord.” That doesn’t mean they were to only obey their parents if they were Christian. Like husbands and wives are to obey the Lord whether or not their spouse is a believer, kids are to obey their parents regardless of whether or not they are Christians.

Obey is an active word that includes conscious listening. In another verse it refers to answering a knock on the door. This is a call to willful action. Like their parents, kids are free moral agents. The Lord desires that they come under His proper design for the family. It’s not just about doing what they’re told, it starts with the tilt of the heart: Does the child believe God can be trusted? Do kids believe that the Lord has a plan that we can participate in?

Paul says kids obeying their parents is “right.” The term means “righteous,” or, “Being in accordance with God’s compelling standards.” So, children can do righteousness as they obey their parents.

Of course, this doesn’t mean kids have to obey a command to sin or do something wrong. But, generally speaking, they are to listen to their parents, do what they are told to do, and acknowledge that God has placed parents in a position of authority in their lives, for their own good and the good of society at large.

You see, disobedience is a contributor to the breakdown of society. In Romans 1, Paul lists “disobedient to parents” alongside the other sinful activities that lead to the destruction of nations. Meanwhile, righteousness exalts a nation, and young people can contribute meaningfully to the benefit of human society by walking with the Lord.

Sometimes people today will say, “I don’t want to bring kids into this world, because it’s so bad.” The fact of the matter is, Godly families make the world better. Godly kids advance civilization.

Ephesians 6:2-3 – ²Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, ³so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land.^”

Frank Thielman points out that Ephesians was written in a time when 40% to 50% of kids did not live to see their 10th birthday. Even today, many Christian children have their lives cut short by sickness or accident or violence. So, how can Paul make this promise of long life?

It’s not an individual promise to every believer. It is a general principal that going God’s way leads to lifely outcomes. There are some very practical advantages to obedience. In many cases, a child’s life is literally saved when they obey the commands of their parents. And, we know that when we go God’s way, ultimately we are rewarded with everlasting life in the Kingdom. So we understand this promise in a generalized sense.

But there are a couple of important principles for us to consider here. The first is that God’s desire for your life is that “it might go well with you.” Interestingly, Bible dictionaries will tell you that the phrase used here means, “to come into being.” What will come into being? Well, God has all sorts of good plans for you – promises He’s made to you. The Lord really does have our best interests in mind. We might not agree with some of what He allows, but His care for us is unwavering. And the work He began He is going to accomplish.

Why did God ask the Israelites to obey His commands? What was His purpose in bringing them out from slavery in Egypt to become a new nation? Then and now, the Lord’s desire is to accomplish good things for us. And if we are willing to trust Him and walk His line, then life more abundantly will be the result.

A second important principle here is how Paul directed our attention back to the Old Testament. An attentive listener in Ephesus might have raised their hand and said, “Wait, a few paragraphs ago Paul said, ‘Jesus made of no effect the law consisting of commands and expressed in regulations,’ so why would the Ten Commandments matter?”

It’s true: Jesus fulfilled the Law, but that doesn’t mean everything in the Law is nullified or that we have nothing to learn from the Old Testament and its dispensation. The Law of Moses was man’s guardian until Christ came and fulfilled it. Now we are under what Paul calls “The Law of Christ.” That term is found in Galatians 6:2. The Law of Christ contains many of the same principles and commands that were found in the Law of Moses, though not all of them. The ceremonial laws are done. The rituals are gone. The divisions and barriers between God and man are gone because Jesus cleared them out on the cross when He paid what the Law demanded.

So now we can turn to the Word of God in the Old Testament and learn things about Him and about ourselves and about our relationships to others and see how He did things in that time and find all sorts of application, even though we are no longer bound captive under the Levitical Law.

Have you heard someone use the term, “Red-letter Christians?” There’s a heretical group that officially uses that name, but I’ve also heard it used more widely as people who just want to focus on what Jesus said in the Gospels – “the red letters” – and ultimately deemphasize the black letters.

But that’s not how it works. For one thing, Jesus said not even the smallest letter of God’s Word in the Old Testament will pass away until all things are accomplished. And Christ was constantly quoting the Old Testament as authoritative. Here also, we see Paul the Apostle directing our attention back to the Old Testament, and he was encouraging young people – children – to study and apprehend all the Word of God and to apply it to their lives.

Now, in verse 4, Paul turns to dads.

Ephesians 6:4 – ⁴Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

There’s another interesting language thing happening here. Paul spoke of both parents up in verses 1 through 3. Now, he specifically talks to fathers. Again, in a Christian family, the husband and father has the greatest responsibility of all the members. It is his duty to lead his family as the greatest servant and to focus his attention on their spiritual provision and development.

Paul says, “Bring them up.” It’s not just that dad needs to shout orders at people, like a field commander. “Bring them” indicates togetherness. Together, dad and mom and kids are walking toward Jesus, growing in strength, bearing fruit, making progress as a unified group.

As I pointed out last time, we recognize that Paul is speaking about the ideal arrangement. Even in Ephesus, not everyone had a Christian dad. Not everyone had a Christian mom. Not everyone had kids. But the Lord is placing goals before us and bearings to navigate by as far as is possible for us.

The phrase “bring them up” also reveals the how for dads. The term means to nourish someone. He’s telling dads they need to be kind to their kids. And that would have been a revolutionary idea to the Roman mind. You see, in the Roman Empire, the father was the center of the family universe. Everyone existed for him and beneath him. He had absolute authority over his children. One source writes, “If they angered him, he had the legal right to disown his children, sell them into slavery or even kill them.” But now, a Christian father is being told that his life should be spent in servant-leadership of his family, defined by kindness and grace, and dedicated to their development and benefit, not his own.

So Paul says, “Nourish your kids.” And he gives a don’t command alongside it. He says, “Don’t stir up anger in your children. Don’t provoke them.” There’s a lot we could say about that, but I like the list Bible commentator R. Kent Hughes provides. He says, “[Provocation] can be done in a number of ways:” Unreasonableness. Fault-finding. Neglect. Inconsistency. These and other abuses of the parental position like “excessively severe discipline, arbitrariness, unfairness, constant nagging and condemnation, subjecting a child to humiliation,” are totally outside of what’s acceptable for a Christian parent, particularly fathers.

Instead, we’re called to gentleness toward our children. Not weakness – not just allowing kids to do whatever they want, but gentleness like Jesus is gentle. Patiences like Jesus is patient. Gracious like Jesus is gracious.

But not only was the how a challenge to the Roman culture, the what was, too.

For one thing, Roman girls weren’t formally educated. But, notice, Paul doesn’t say “bring up your sons in the Lord,” he says, “Bring up your children.” And so, again, God reveals that He values every person, equally. The Lord challenged these parents to value what He valued and to orient their family-life according to heaven’s standard, not Rome’s. Christian culture does not align with the secular culture around us.

Paul changes the goal of parenting. A Roman boy was taught reading and writing, Roman ethics, philosophy, rhetoric. He was groomed to become a great Roman. But Christians must have a different perspective. The goal of Christian parenting is not that their kids get the finest education or the highest paying job or the best stats on the sports field. Those might be a part of your kid’s life, but your goal is to bring your child to spiritual maturity. Your goal is to introduce your children to the Lord Jesus, teaching them His ways and His Word, and then show them how to walk worthy on their own – teaching them to know God and love God and how to hear from God and how to follow Him.

Paul says we accomplish this goal with “training and instruction.” Training is a term that includes discipline or punishment. It also carries images of form and execution and practice and development of skill. Kids aren’t going to perfectly execute all the time. Adults don’t either, but sometimes we parents expect our kids to be able to accomplish something they haven’t been trained to do. It’s our job to help get them there. Show them the form. Help them practice the mechanics of faith. Guide them as they develop the skills of spirituality.

The second part is “instruction.” The term means, “to place before the mind” or “confront.” Fathers (and mothers by extension) are to engage with our kids, intellectually – to present the truths of God before their minds and to confront the false teachings of the enemy and help our children navigate through, learning how to apprehend God’s truth in a world full of lies. And of course, if we want to teach our kids God’s truths, we’re going to have to know them ourselves and prioritize them. One commentary says, “Fathers are not to teach personal preferences, but spiritual truths. The goal is not parental authority, but passing on God’s authority to children.”

Christian parenting demands a lot of attention and effort. It demands that we align our perspective with the Lord in contradiction with the secular world. But, when a family walks this road together, God’s grace flows out in power. And a Christian family is one of the best tools we have for saving society. It is a special vehicle of God’s grace and power and, as we’ve seen, each of us as husbands or wives or fathers or mothers or children, each of us has a part to play. It starts in the heart, believing God and being humble enough to go His way, trusting that it’s the only way to get where we want to go, and then walking in the steps that have been laid out before us.

Isaiah 45:1-25 – Israel Won’t Be A Thing If It Ain’t Got This King

December 10, 2023

Donald Trump, aka Cyrus?

Let me explain. President Trump moved the US Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and was hailed as a modern-day King Cyrus.

Trump wasn’t the first to become associated with the ancient Persian ruler on account of aiding Israel:

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 expressed the British government’s support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people. It led to comparisons between Lord Balfour and Cyrus.
President Harry Truman’s decision to recognize the state of Israel 15 minutes after its declaration of independence in 1948 is often likened to Cyrus’ support for the Jewish people.

@KingCyrusTheRealOne united the empires of Media and Persia. He conquered Babylon just as Israel’s 70yr captivity was ending. Under his rule the Jews were encouraged to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple.

The shock with Cyrus is that he was named by Isaiah over 150 years before he was king.

The “anointing” of Cyrus 2700 years ago by God was a crucial moment in redemptive history. It reestablished Israel in their land so that the Messiah would be born in Israel with their Temple intact according to prophecy.

Isaiah has opened our eyes to God’s dealings with nations. It has given us opportunity to consider our own nation. We will continue that today.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1Your Nation Needs Ears To Hear, and #2 Your Nation Needs Knees That Bow.

#1 – Your Nation Needs Ears To Hear (v1-13)

We are introduced to Cyrus…Or are we?

Isa 45:1 “Thus says the LORD to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held – To subdue nations before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors, So that the gates will not be shut:

The LORD talks “to” Cyrus. He is not so much introducing him to Israel as He is introducing Himself to Cyrus.

It may seem a small point, but I think it is always good to remind ourselves that the subject of the Bible is Jesus Christ. Make it a habit to look for Him while not bending the Scriptures to say something that they don’t.

Cyrus may have been “anointed” with oil as was the manner with kings. God’s anointing means Cyrus was chosen to serve the LORD.

If you are a Christian then you are chosen to serve Jesus:

We all “Go,” making disciples of all men.
In the fellowship of believers there is a listing of “one anothers we all can perform. There are at least 30 of them, and that is not an exhaustive list. A few of the encouragements are, “love one another,” “honor one another,” “build up one another,” “bear one another’s burdens,” and “forgive one another.”
Beyond that the NT reveals certain supernatural “Gifts of the Holy Spirit.” These are empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit so that you can serve Jesus in a way that ministers to others with a heavenly accompaniment.

The LORD “held” Cyrus’ “right hand.” In ceremonies the ruler of Babylon took the hand of their god Bel. Here the LORD seized Cyrus by the hand. Whose hand would you rather be holding, especially in turbulent times.

Isaiah had a fascination with the comfort of the LORD holding our hand:

Isaiah 41:10 reads, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 43:13 reads, “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”
Isaiah 49:16 reads, “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands…”

The remainder of verse one is a prediction of Cyrus’ victory over Babylon, continued in verse two.

Isa 45:2 ‘I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron.

Nothing would stop his advance and his victories would be surprisingly easy. The Greek historian Herodotus reported there were one hundred brass gates in the walls surrounding Babylon. No matter. Cyrus would gain access by diverting the Euphrates and going under the wall.

Isa 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches of secret places, That you may know that I, the LORD, Who call you by your name, Am the God of Israel.

As if calling him by name over a century before he came to power was not sufficient, LORD would condescend to prove Himself to Cyrus by leading him to discover Indiana Jones like treasures.

The LORD says, “I Am the God of Israel”; He was introducing Himself.

I heard a podcast host introduce a pastor prior to interviewing him. It was 45 seconds of accolades which at least once used the term “great” to describe him. Think of ways to, instead, introduce God.

Isa 45:4 For Jacob My servant’s sake, And Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me.

“Jacob” was the father of the twelve tribes of the nation of “Israel.” They were and continue to be God’s “elect” servant.

God was setting things up for the “sake” of His people. His providence is able to see that His will on earth be done so that His kingdom come.

Isa 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,

Isa 45:6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting That there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other;

The word for “God” in verse five is Elohim. We have noted in other studies that this is not a name for God. It is a classification of supernatural beings. There are numerous supernatural beings who inhabit what is called the unseen realm. God is an Elohim, angels are Elohim, etc. No Elohim is our Almighty God.

Isa 45:7 I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the LORD, do all these things.’

This is one of those verses that trouble us deeply. We are immediately drawn to, “I create calamity.”Calvinists the world over feel a sudden thrill as they describe ‘Calamity Jesus.’

The Persian’s were dualists. A dualist is someone who believes that Good and Evil are independent and more or less equal warring forces in the world. “Light” is good; “Darkness” is bad. “Peace” is good; “Calamity” is bad.

In modern times dualism is called GeorgeLucasism. It’s the Force in Star Wars. Maybe good; maybe bad.

Dualism is nonsense. God and the Devil are in no way equals. God’s plan is never in jeopardy. He is over all things, in charge of everything, and interjects Himself to protect the work of redeeming you and His creation along with you.

“That’s all well and good, Pastor Gene, but it still says He creates calamity.” The LORD has been talking about nations, not individuals. He determines whether a nation will enjoy peace or calamity:

Medo-Persia would know peace.
Babylon would suffer calamity.

Moreover we will see in a moment that peace or calamity depended on their free-will choices.

Isa 45:8 “Rain down, you heavens, from above, And let the skies pour down righteousness; Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation, And let righteousness spring up together. I, the LORD, have created it.

“Rain” from the “heavens” and the “earth” opening up in “springs” reminds you of what? Yes, the global flood. Isaiah looks to the far future when God will establish His Kingdom on earth. “Righteousness” and “salvation” will overflow the earth as the waters of the flood did.

Isa 45:9 “Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’ Or shall your handiwork say, ‘He has no hands’?

Isa 45:10 Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What are you begetting?’ Or to the woman, ‘What have you brought forth?’ ”

It is absurd to think a child in the womb could question their parent’s choices in bringing them into the world. Isaiah is conveying the message that it is not for us to question or challenge the ways of God. But he does so tenderly, reminding us we are His children.

The Potter working with the clay is another favorite illustration some folks use to try to prove that God’s sovereignty and man’s free-will are incompatible. The illustration comes from the prophet Jeremiah. When he used it he, too, was talking about nations, not individuals. And he clearly stated that God reacts to a nation’s decision to either obey Him or disobey Him. If anything the illustration proves the opposite of what meticulous determinists think.

Isa 45:11 Thus says the LORD, The Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons; And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.

Isa 45:12 I have made the earth, And created man on it. I – My hands – stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded.

The Jews accused the LORD of being a potter with “no hands.” They did not like what the LORD was shaping – captivity.

Isa 45:13 I have raised him up in righteousness, And I will direct all his ways; He shall build My city And let My exiles go free, Not for price nor reward,” Says the LORD of hosts.

In a bizarre unexpected move, God would use a pagan king to deliver His people and forward His redemption agenda.

No doubt someone took the scroll of Isaiah and read it to Cyrus. He had ears to hear. Would to God our leaders would “hear” the Bible and the Lord calling us to national “repentance!”

#2 – Your Nation Needs Knees That Bow (v14-25)

Revival, according to Ian Murray, is “an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, brought about by the intercession of Christ, resulting in (1)A new degree of life in the churches and (2)A widespread movement of grace among the unconverted.”

I would submit that we put too little emphasis on the outpouring of grace on believers. We are “prone to wander.” We leave our first love and do not even realize it. We ought to quit looking around for revival and look within:

Within our individual bodies as the Temple of God.
Within the church collectively as the Temple of God.

Isa 45:14 Thus says the LORD: “The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush And of the Sabeans, men of stature, Shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; They shall walk behind you, They shall come over in chains; And they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, ‘Surely God is in you, And there is no other; There is no other God.’ ”

I say this with reverence: Isaiah is all over the place! He talks about the past, present, near future, and far future. In verse fourteen he described the far future:

If nations “shall walk behind” Israel, then they are the world’s prominent nation.
The observation that some Gentiles nations will be “in chains” is obviously forward-looking to a time Israel will have such authority over nations

Those things tell you Isaiah was describing the Kingdom on Earth, the Millennium.

Isa 45:15 Truly You are God, who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Savior!

In what sense is God hiding? Albert Barnes writes, “That is, ‘that hides Your counsels and plans.’ The idea is, that the ways of God seems to be dark until the distant event discloses His purpose; that a long series of mysterious events seem to succeed each other, trying to the faith of His people, and where the reason of His doings cannot be seen.”

Isa 45:16 They shall be ashamed And also disgraced, all of them; They shall go in confusion together, Who are makers of idols.

Isa 45:17 But Israel shall be saved by the LORD With an everlasting salvation; You shall not be ashamed or disgraced Forever and ever.

Isa 45:18 For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Isa 45:19 I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in vain’; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.

Woven throughout history is God’s plan to save lost sinners by sending a Savior through the nation of Israel. Typical of God, the plan seems foolhardy and always one episode away from total failure. Nevertheless Israel will “be saved by the LORD With an everlasting salvation.”

Isa 45:20 “Assemble yourselves and come; Draw near together, You who have escaped from the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry the wood of their carved image, And pray to a god that cannot save.

Isa 45:21 Tell and bring forth your case; Yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A just God and a Savior; There is none besides Me.

God challenges those who have chosen idols over Him to produce one shred of evidence that their ‘gods’ have ever accurately revealed the future.

Isa 45:22 “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Isa 45:23 I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath.

Every knee shall bow, Every tongue confess,That Jesus Christ is Lord.

Isa 45:24 He shall say, ‘Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him.

Isa 45:25 In the LORD all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory.’ ”

William MacDonald writes, “This will find its fulfillment in the Millennium. Then men will acknowledge the Lord Jesus as the only source of ‘righteousness and strength.’ ‘All’ His enemies will come to Him in contrition, and ‘Israel shall be justified and shall glory’ in Him, not in idols.”

Where is the United States in Bible prophecy? We can look at two places.

(1)The first place we find the US in prophecy would be Jeremiah 18. We have alluded to it; it is the Potter & Clay passage. God tells us, “The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.” (v8-10).

It would be great if our leaders were Christ-like, but even those that are Cyrus-like can honor God.

(2)The other place in Scripture we see the US is less hopeful. Zechariah announced, “And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against [Israel]” (12:3).

We will be one of “all the nations” against Israel. One commentator said, “There is a gathering storm of worldwide antisemitism and America’s mind is slowly being poisoned by this malignant cancer.”

We are not predicting, only reporting. And remember – we expect Jesus to come imminently to remove His church from earth in the pre-tribulation rapture.

Jesus has the whole world in His hands. More importantly, He is holding on to your hand. Tighten you grip in response.

Prophecy Update #767 – The World Is Watching

December 10, 2023

The war in the Middle East has everyone thinking about Bible prophecy.

We point out that what is happening is that the modern state of Israel has fulfilled and is fulfilling prophecy:

The rebirth of Israel as a nation and the regathering of Jews to Israel are direct fulfillments of prophecies.
Israel causing trouble for all nations is being fulfilled.

The current nations coming against the Jews does not match any list in the Bible. At this point we say we are witnessing what Jesus alluded to in the first part of His prophecy update on the Mount of Olives when He warned there would be “wars and rumors of war.”

There seems to be a trend involving celebrities coming to Christ, or at least claiming conversion:

Daddy Yankee absolutely shocked millions of his fans when he announced that he will be devoting his life to Jesus from this point forward. You may not be familiar with Daddy Yankee, but he is a really big deal in the Spanish-speaking world. The music superstar used that platform to post a clip of his live, heartfelt message to fans.
Oliver Anthony shared how God radically changed his life and read the Scripture passages that have guided him amid his rapid climb to fame in a recent interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Anthony, who found overnight success with his song Rich Men North Of Richmond, told host Joe Rogan in an August 30 episode that a month before he shot to fame, he’d given his life to the Lord, changing the entire trajectory of his life.
Celebrity tattoo artist Katherine von Drachenberg, best known as Kat Von D, shared details about her conversion to Christianity and asked Christians pray for her husband, who is not yet a believer but attends church.

Rogan is the top podcast in the world with 15m subscribers and 3b total views.
Daddy Yankee has 49 million followers on Instagram.
Kat Von D has 10m followers.

In that same talk that Jesus gave He said, “This Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14).

We see the ultimate fulfillment of world evangelism in the Great Tribulation and relating to the return of Jesus.
It is not necessary for everyone on the planet to be evangelized before the resurrection & rapture of the church.

We would expect that the Gospel would go out to the world in big numbers. It is.

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

He keeps us entirely out of the 7yr Great Tribulation by raising deceased Church Age saints, then rapturing “we who are alive and remain.”

When? The return of the Lord for us is imminent. It could happen any time. Nothing needs to occur before Jesus can come for us.

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

Ready or not, Jesus is coming!

Calvary Hanford Transcripts

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Isaiah 45:1-25 – Israel Won’t Be A Thing If It Ain’t Got This King

Prophecy Update #767 – The World Is Watching