WHAT'S GOING ON? PART TWO

 

What in the World is going On?

The rise of the Holy Roman Empire!

Part Two From the book by David Jeremiah, a Protestant prophet: THREE COMMENT: Sign three given by David Jeremiah is the MODERN EUROPE ... Ancient Rome. He goes to Daniel 2 and the vision of Nubuchadnezzar. Here in chapter three of his book, Jeremiah is mainly correct. It is interesting that the Protestant prophets have come to agree with what the Church of God was proclaiming to the world decades ago, when none of the Protestant prophets were paying any attention. Here is how David Jeremiah writes it: ...... Modern Europe ... Ancient Rome The Four World Empires .... Through Daniel, God gave King Nebuchadnezzar a composite history of the remaining days of the world. We know this because he spoke specifically of "days to come" and "things to come" (Daniel 2:28, 29 NIV). He began to reveal the meaning of the dream of the statue in five sections: the head of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of copper and brass, the legs of iron, and the feet ... part iron, part clay. The first world empire, represented by the statue's head of gold, was Nebuchadnezzar's own kingdom of Babylon. Daniel's words to the king are clear. "You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all-you are this head of gold" (Daniel 2:37-38 NKJV). Nebuchadnezzar would not have doubted that the head of gold referred to his kingdom since the chief deity of Babylon was Marduk, known as "the god of gold." The historian Herodotus described the image of Marduk as a dazzling sight - a golden statue seated upon a golden throne before a golden table and a golden altar. Pliny tells us that the robes of Marduk's priests were interlaced with gold! The second world empire revealed in the king's dream is represented by the image's chest of silver, from which two silver arms emerge (Daniel 2:32). This is the Medo-Persian Empire that conquered Babylon in 539 BC and remained in power for approximately two hundred years. We need feel no uncertainty about that interpretation because later, when Daniel reported the events surrounding the end of the Babylonian empire, he stated clearly that it would be the dual monarchy of the Medes and the Persians that would take control of Nebuchadnezzar's empire (Daniel 5:28). The two nations are again confirmed as Babylon's successor in Daniel 8:20. The third world empire revealed within the image is represented by its belly and thighs of bronze. Daniel told the king it will be a "kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth" (Daniel 2:39). This is the empire of Greece, the kingdom of Phillip of Macedon and his famous son, Alexander the Great. Not only does history confirm Greece as the empire that succeeded the Medo-Persians, but Daniel himself affirmed it by naming Greece specifically in Daniel 8:21. Under Alexander, the Greek empire was unified and encompassed more territory than either of the previous empires. Alexander had such a lust for conquest that after subduing virtually all of the known world, he sat down and wept, fearing there were no more territories left to conquer. It is appropriate that this third kingdom is characterized by the bronze midsection of the massive image. Alexander's soldiers armored themselves in bronze and brass helmets and breastplates, and carried bronze and brass shields and swords. The fourth empire displayed in the image is symbolized by its legs of iron. Daniel describes this empire as "strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others" (2:40). History shows us clearly that Rome is the fourth kingdom. Not only was Rome the successor to the Greek empire, but the iron legs of the image provide a powerful symbol that characterizes the nature of the Romans. The word iron is used fourteen times in the text describing Rome in Daniel 2. Historians often use iron as an adjective when characterizing the Roman Empire: Rome's iron hand. Rome's iron grip. Rome's iron rule. Rome's iron fist. Rome's iron heel. Rome's iron legions. History confirms the progression of Daniel's explanation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The Babylonians were overthrown by the Medo-Persians; the Medo-Persians were conquered by the Greeks; and when the Grecian empire was conquered by Rome, all of the lands and peoples of the previous kingdoms were assimilated into one kingdom known as the Roman Empire. This empire came into existence fifty years before Jesus was born, and it continued in power throughout the Lord's earthly ministry and beyond. It was Roman rule that put Jesus on the cross. It was the imperialistic Romans who ruled ruthlessly throughout the world during the early days of the church. The fact that Rome is represented in the statue by its two iron legs is also significant ... By A.D. 395 the Roman Empire had split into two political areas of rule: the [Latin-speaking] West with its capital in Rome, and the [Greek-speaking] East with its capital in Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey), which included the land of Israel. This division of the empire is depicted in the statue's two legs. But this splitting of the mighty Roman Empire into two political units was not to be the last division that kingdom would suffer as Daniel explained to Nebuchadnezzar when he turned his attention to the statue's feet and toes. He noted that in the king's dream, the feet and toes were composed of a mixture of iron and clay. Though positioned at the bottom of the image, these extremities are apparently highly important, for Daniel said as much about the feet and toes as he had said about all the other parts of the image combined.... According to Daniel, there is to be yet another division in the Roman Empire. Not a division of two, as indicated by the image's two legs, but of ten, as symbolized by its ten toes. Daniel foretells a time when the Roman Empire will consist of ten kingdoms or leaders. Since the downward movement from one section of the statue to the next represents the passage of time, the "feet and toes" stage must follow the "legs" stage. But when we look back at the history that followed Daniel's prediction, we find nothing in history that even remotely corresponds to a tenfold Roman coalition. That shows us that this fifth and final feet-and-toes-stage kingdom is yet to come and is yet to perform its prescribed role in human history. Daniel gives us one other piece of information that enables us to understand the timing of the events conveyed in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. He tells us that this final form of the Roman Empire will be on the earth when God sets up His earthly kingdom. "And in the days of these kings [the rulers of the ten segments of the Roman kingdom], the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44). "Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay." (Daniel 2:41-43) .... Let's look at how Daniel describes it: "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns" (Daniel 7:7). Daniel is careful to explain that the ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom (v. 24). We know that this ten-kingdom prophecy of Daniel's remains in the future because not only has the ten-leader form of the Roman Empire never existed in history, but neither has such a kingdom been suddenly crushed as prophecy indicates it will be. According to Daniel 2, the Roman Empire in its final form will experience sudden destruction. The Roman Empire of Jesus' day did not end suddenly. It gradually deteriorated and declined over many centuries until the western part, the Holy Roman Empire, fell in AD 476, and the eastern part, the Byzantine Empire, fell in AD 1453. You can hardly imagine a more gradual slide from glory to oblivion! We must conclude, then, that some form of the Roman Empire must emerge in the end times, and according to Daniel, it will be in place prior to the coming of Christ to rule and reign over the earth... The future manifestation of the Roman Empire that Daniel prophesied twenty-five hundred years ago will take the form of a coalition or confederation of ten world leaders and will encompass the same territory as the historic Roman Empire. And today we can see that coalition taking shape right before our eyes! It began as early as 1930, when the French statesman Aristide Briand attempted to enlist twentysix nations in what he first called "the United States of Europe" and modified to "the European Union." In his proposal he said, "The nations of Europe today must unite in order to live and prosper." The European press gave Briand's novel idea little attention, and nothing came of it. That is, nothing came of it at that time. But Briand's call for European unity was merely one world war ahead of the curve. Fewer than twenty years later, one of the world's most respected leaders issued the same call ... In 1946, following the devastation of Europe during the Second World War, Winston Churchill forcefully asserted that "the tragedy of Europe" could only be solved if the issues of ancient nationalism and sovereignty could give way to a sense of European "national grouping." He said that the path to European peace and prosperity on the world stage was clear: "We must build a United States of Europe." Churchill's call initiated a series of steps toward unification; some were faltering, but others gained traction. The Benelux Conference of 1948, held in Brussels, Belgium, would lay the foundation for a new organization "to unite European countries economically and politically to secure a lasting peace." Only three tiny nations attended the meeting - the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. These nations came together because they saw unity as their only hope of survival in the postwar world. Another step was taken in April 1951, when these three nations signed the Treaty of Paris with three additional nations, Germany, France, and Italy, forming a common market for coal and steel in an environment of peace and equality. March 25, 1957, saw a major step toward European unification when the Treaty of Rome was signed on Capitoline Hill, one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. On this occasion, Italy, France, and Germany joined the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, creating the European Economic Community - the Common Market. In 1973, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark joined the EEC, and Greece was added in 1981, making it a ten-nation confederation. On January 1, 1986, Spain and Portugal came into the union, and the agenda expanded beyond economics when the EEC officially adopted the goal of a politically unified Europe. In 1987 the Single European Act was implemented. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Germany was reunified, and East Germany was integrated into the membership. In December 1992, the economic borders between the nations of the European community were removed, and a common passport was issued to travelers. Study in universities within the nations was also permitted without any restrictions. Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the Union in 1995. In 2002, eighty billion coins were produced for use in the twelve participating nations of the Eurozone, thus introducing the new monetary unit, the euro. Despite expected fluctuations, the rise in euro value has been steady and observable. The dollar is declining against the euro, and many experts believe that within five years the euro may actually replace the US dollar as the standard world currency. As we learned in the previous chapter, the Iranians have recently refused to accept the American dollar as payment for oil, requiring payment to be made in euro. The march toward European unification continued on May 1, 2004, when Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia were added, bringing the total to twenty-five nations. These nations brought 75 million people into the European Union, expanding its population to 450 million people and surpassing North America as the world's biggest economic zone. In January 2007, Romania and Bulgaria were admitted to the EU, bringing the total number of nations to twenty-seven. While Israel was part of the original Roman Empire, it is not currently a part of the European Union. The EU considers Israel ineligible for membership due to human rights violations, based on its occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and East Jerusalem. It has been proposed, however, that if Israel would sign a peace treaty with its hostile neighbors, it would be offered membership in the EU. Gradually yet steadily, the nations of Europe have come together, creating a modern replica of the ancient Roman Empire. Europe is more integrated today than at any time since the days of ancient Rome. The United States of Europe is considered by many to be the second most powerful political force in our world. Consolidation of the European Government Currently the EU government is organized into three bodies: a Parliament, the Council of European Union, and the European Commission. The Parliament is considered "the Voice of the People" because citizens of the EU directly elect its 785 members. The Parliament passes European laws in conjunction with the Council. Its president is elected to serve a five-year term. The Council, "the Voice of the Member States," consists of twentyseven members who are also the heads of their national governments. This body participates with Parliament in the passing of laws and also establishes common foreign policy and security policies. As I write this book, a Reform Treaty is currently in the ratification process. This treaty contains proposals for two major changes to the structure of the Council. First, it will reduce the membership of the Council from twenty-seven to seventeen and elect a full-time president for a two and a half-year extendable term, replacing the current rotating presidency, which changes every six months. These steps toward power consolidation may have very serious implications for the future. The third body of EU government, the European Commission, consists of twenty-seven commissioners whose tasks are to draft new laws and implement policies and funding. Its president is nominated by the Council of European Union for a five-year term. Other EU governmental entities include: the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Central Bank, and the European Investment Bank. Former British prime minister Tony Blair is rumored to be the likely candidate for Europe's first president of the Council. These rumors circulated as far back as 2002 and gained momentum in 2007 after Blair stepped down from his position as prime minister of Great Britain. French president Nicolas Sarkozy was the first leader to propose Blair for Europe's first president. In a speech given in January 2008, Sarkozy said this about Tony Blair: He is intelligent, he is brave and he is a friend. We need him in Europe. How can we govern a continent of 450 million people if the President changes every six months and has to run his own country at the same time? I want a President chosen from the top - not a compromise candidate - who will serve for two-and-a-half years. As we track these developments toward ever-increasing unity and more centralized power among the European nations, we can see a new empire in the making - an empire that occupies the same territory as the ancient Roman Empire. Turning back to Daniel for further insight into the nature of this rising coalition, we are intrigued by his description of it as a mixture of two noncohering materials. We already know that iron represented the strength of the old Roman Empire. In the newly constituted empire, however, the prophecy tells us that iron will be mixed with ceramic clay. Clay is nothing like the other materials that composed the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Clay speaks of weakness and instability. The best interpretation of this unstable mix is that the combination of clay and iron represents the diverse racial, religious, and political elements that will comprise this final form of the Roman Empire. That is, in fact, what we see today in the early manifestation of the European coalition. While the EU has great economic and political clout, the cultures and languages of its various countries are so incredibly diverse that it cannot hold together any more than iron and clay unless unity is imposed and enforced by an extremely powerful leader. As the EU prepares to elect a strong president for a longer term, we can see how an uneasy unity could come about. The Need for Renewed Vigilance From this brief study of modern Europe and ancient Rome, we can begin to understand the meaning of what is going on in the world today. Three things in particular emerge from our study that should increase our vigilance. The Consolidation of World Power Since the time of the Roman Empire, there has been no nation or empire with the power to govern or dominate the known world. But it is coming. In the future there will be a short period of time when the world will be unified under one dominant leader. COMMENT: The Protestant prophet has been very good in understanding the basic truth of Daniel. Some parts of the Church of God were proclaiming all this and more as far back as the 1950s. David Jeremiah now starts to go "off track" - the world is never to be under ONE world ruler before Christ comes to earth. There will be a "west" power (the resurrected Holy Roman Empire) and the "east" power (Russia, China, India etc) - Keith Hunt. ...... We saw in Daniel's second vision that the fourth beast had ten horns growing from its head. We need not wonder at the meaning of the beast and the ten horns, for the meaning of Daniel's dream was given directly to him: "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall ... devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom" (Daniel 7:23-24). The fourth beast represents the fourth successive kingdom after Babylon, which history identifies as the Roman Empire. But since Rome was never ruled simultaneously by ten kings, we know that those kings are yet to arrive on the stage of world history to rule a newly formed empire that overlays the territory of the ancient Roman Empire. Today the concentration of power in the European Union signals the beginning of this new world order. Statements such as this should chill us to the bone. It shows that the world as a whole in its ignorance will actually embrace the power that will seek to enslave it. The European Union is the kindling awaiting the spark of the Antichrist to inflame the world with unprecedented evil. It is certainly a time to be vigilant. The Condition for the Treaty with Israel In the ninth chapter of Daniel's prophecy, he tells us of a treaty that will be signed between his people and the world leader who will head the realigned Roman Empire: "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering" (Daniel 9:27). Daniel tells us here that Israel will sign a treaty with the Antichrist, and that this treaty will be forged to last for a "week," literally in prophetic language, a "week of years," or seven years. This treaty will be an attempt to settle the Arab-Israeli controversy that today focuses the world's attention on the Middle East. After three and one-half years, that treaty will be broken, and the countdown to Armageddon will begin.... COMMENT: Now we are into the popular Protestant prophets teaching of Daniel 9. Daniel 9 has NOTHING to do with END TIME EVENTS!! Daniel 9 is VERY MISUNDERSTOOD and falsely taught by the modern fundamental Protestant prophets. The last paragraph above from David Jeremiah is TOTALLY INCORRECT!! There will never be a treaty with Europe and the Jews of the Holy Land. There will be no Temple built in Jerusalem before Jesus returns. There will be NO animal sacrifices performed by the Jews in Jerusalem. There is NO 7 year period at the end of this age, the book of Revelation only speaks of 42 months, 1260 days, a time, times, and half a time - THREE AND ONE HALF YEARS! The fundamental Protestant prophets have all the last years of this age in prophecy, mixed up and way off the wall, including their false teaching of the "secret rapture." I HAVE EXPOUNDED TO YOU IN GREAT DETAIL, ON THIS WEBSITE, THE PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE, AND THE LAST THREE AND ONE HALF YEARS OF THIS AGE, TO THE COMING OF CHRIST, AND THE SETTING UP OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD ON EARTH. I REFER THE READER TO ALL THOSE STUDIES. Keith Hunt ................................................. To be continued

WHAT'S GOING ON? PART ONE - A PROTESTANT PROPHET

 

What's Going On?

Protestant prophet and Middle-east oil!

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON? A book on 10 prominent prophecies by the Protestant prophet Dr.David Jeremiah, published in 2008. I will answer this Protestant prophet - Keith Hunt ONE The Israel Connection MAY 14, 1948, WAS A PIVOTAL DAY IN HUMAN HISTORY. ON THAT afternoon, a car carrying prominent Jewish leader David Ben-Gurion rushed down Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv and stopped in front of the Tel Aviv Art Museum. Four o'clock was only minutes away, and inside, more than four hundred people-Jewish religious and political leaders and press representatives from all over the world-were assembled in an auditorium, anxiously awaiting his arrival. BenGurion quickly bounded up the steps. Precisely at four o'clock, local time, he stepped to the podium, called the meeting to order, and read these historic words': This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State. Accordingly, we ... are here assembled ... and by virtue of our natural and historic right, and on the strength of the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations, hereby declare the establishment of the Jewish State in Eretz-Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.' ....... Ezekiel makes it clear that this regathering means He will return every single living Jew back to the land. For he wrote that the Lord said He would gather them again to their own land "and ... none of them [will be] captive any longer" (Ezekiel 39:28)..... Today we see this prophecy being fulfilled right before our eyes. In 2006, for the first time in nineteen hundred years, Israel became home to the largest Jewish community in the world, surpassing the Jewish population in the United States. From the 650,000 who returned when the Jewish state was founded in 1948, the population of Israel has swelled to approximately 5.4 million, and it is expected to exceed 6 million by 2020. The significance of Israel's reemergence in her ancient homeland is that this had to occur in order to set the stage for the final fulfilment of biblical prophecies. Israel had to be a nation in her own land before the predictions previously noted could come about. The return of the Jews to their homeland is also significant in another way: it pinpoints where we are on history's timeline. As author Milton B. Lindberg pointed out: "Without the existence of the nation of Israel, we would not be able to say with certainty that we are in the last days. That single event, more than any other, is the most prominent sign that we are living in the final moments before the coming of Jesus! The Hebrew People have been called God's timepiece of the ages." COMMENT: The regathering of Israel at the very end time, is first, not just concerning "Jews" - the Jews are only made up of three tribes, as any first grade in Old Testament reading will clearly see. There are MANY MORE Israelites than the present Jews. The regathering of all of them is yet for the future the very last days of this age, and the prophecies concerning it, HAVE NOT YET COME TO PASS!! IT WILL COME TO PASS WHEN THE LORD JESUS RETURNS! I HAVE TAKEN MUCH TIME AND EFFORT TO BRING YOU THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS FOR TODAY, all explained on this Website. The year 1948 has no reference at all in Bible prophecy. what is significant is the fact that the Jews had their 7 times (360 days x 7 = 2520 years in fulfilment, see Lev.26:18,28). The Jews started their 7 times punishment in 604 B.C. It ended in 1917 (add a year going from B.C. to A.D. as there is no year "0"). 1917 was the year the British liberated Jerusalem under Alenby. After 1917 came the big push for Jews to return to the Holy Land. The Protestant prophets are very mistaken when they use the prophecies regarding the gathering of Israel and Judah when the Messiah comes in glory and power to rule the earth. Those prophecies of the return of Israelites from all parts of the earth to the Promised Land, are YET FOR THE FUTURE!! - Keith Hunt ...... TWO The Crude Awakening WHO DOESN'T KNOW THE WORDS TO THE THEME SONG Of The Beverly Hillbillies by heart? if you're not old enough to have heard this ditty in the original episodes of the popular sixties sitcom, you've no doubt seen reruns. The series features a dirt-poor hillbilly family that strikes it rich in oil and moves to the upscale Hollywood neighborhood of Beverly Hills. The sitcom plays on the fact that discovering oil on one's property means becoming instantly wealthy, a phenomenon that occurs because oil has become vital to running our highly industrialized society. America's quest for oil began forty years before Spindletop ever spouted its first Texas oil, when "the most important oil well ever drilled was [bored] in the middle of quiet farm country in northwestern Pennsylvania in 1859." Oil had actually been found and used on our continent much earlier: centuries before, Native Americans had noticed oil seeping out of the rocks and had used it for medicine and in trade with neighboring tribes. Almost thirty years before the signing of the American Declaration of Independence, a map had already been printed showing known oil springs in Pennsylvania. But on August 27, 1859, Edwin Drake launched the modern petroleum industry by drilling a 69.5-foot well near Titusville, Pennsylvania. It was the first well purposely drilled to find oil, and thus began a search for petroleum that quickly became international and changed the way we live ... forever! Now, fast-forward to the twenty-first century and observe what has happened in the decades since the drilling of Edwin Drake's little well: 1. Mankind's thirst for oil has passed 86 million barrels per day and is expected to rise to 98.5 million barrels a day in 2015. The psychological barrier of one hundred dollars a barrel was finally breached in early 2008. Oil prices have quintupled in the past six years. As I write this, surplus oil production has doubled over recent years, and demand is somewhat reduced, but new, unsettling record highs have been registered so far this year in all gasoline products: home heating fuels, automobile fuel, and, especially, diesel fuel. COMMENT: Since the author wrote this, oil fell through the bottom of the barrel. Yes, it is now beginning to rise up again, but the importance of oil since the recession of 2008 [still in place as I write] is no where near as it once was - Keith Hunt. ...... Oil is the new gold in the world economy, and more than any factor other than the nation of Israel, oil holds the key to the prophetic events of the future. Oil explains why the Bible focuses its end-time attention on the Middle East. The demand for oil in America has outstripped its capacity to produce the black gold, and the same holds true for much of the rest of the world. COMMENT: The Bible's focus on the Middle-East for end time prophecies HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH OIL! It is a false prophecy the Protestant prophets use. Oil has nothing to do with end time prophecy - Keith Hunt. ...... Therefore, since the discovery of huge supplies of oil in the Middle Eastern countries, world attention has focused on that area. In an article entitled "The Power of Oil," Dilip Hiro wrote: The overarching fact is that political leaders all over the world are committed to raising living standards through economic growth, heavily dependent on energy in the form of gas and oil. That includes the United States. Ever since 1932, when American oil companies acquired a stake in the oil resources of Saudi Arabia, Washington's policies have been geared to securing Middle East oil at the expense of all else. Few would question the fact that oil has become the new basis for our world economy. It is now the stuff of life, the resource most highly valued by the industrialized and emerging nations of the world, the blood that flows through their economic veins and gives life to prosperity in today's global economy. The greatest source of that lifeblood is now in the Middle East, so that is where the eyes of the world are focused. COMMENT: The Protestant prophet is WAY BEHIND TIMES. The fact is the "oil sands" in Alberta, Canada, contain enough oil to power the WORLD for the next 100 years - no Middle-east oil is needed by North America - Keith Hunt. ...... What does this tell us about coming events? In Luke's gospel, Jesus contrasts our ability to discern weather signs with our inability to understand the more important signs of the time: "You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?" (Luke 12:56). Surely the world's fascination with oil - a hot commodity with a source in lands hostile or borderline hostile to Israel and to us - qualifies as a "sign." COMMENT: No! It is NOT a sign! The world is moving fast to other energy uses, like solar and wind power. The "oil sands" in Alberta have enough oil in them to power the world with oil for the next 100 years! - Keith Hunt ...... Last year when we visited London, our hosts told us how Brits had handled the oil situation in their country. Responding to the energy crisis in 1973, they reduced consumption and imposed taxes on gasoline to raise significant revenue to import high-priced oil. By 2007, conservation had become a way of life in England, even as the price per gallon of gas more than doubled its cost in the United States. I later discovered that the same thing had happened all over Europe. COMMENT: And Europe will continue to find other ways for its power and needs as one of the great economic powers of the world. When we live in an age of space exploits, the industrial nations can, IF THEY WANT TO, put their mind and inventive abilities to produce energy APART from massive drinking of oil - Keith Hunt. ...... It probably comes as no surprise to anyone that the world's number one consumer of oil is America, guzzling almost 21 million barrels of crude oil per day, or 25 percent of all the oil produced in the world. If present trends continue, US consumption will rise to 27 million barrels a day by 2020, and demand will expand to 34 percent by 2030. Added to this is the fact that the United States consumes 43 percent of the world's motor gasoline, and no new gasoline refinery has been built in the United States since 1976. Stop for a moment and ponder the meaning of all this: the United States is number ten in oil reserves and number one in oil consumption, with the demand growing by leaps and bounds. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that a crisis is looming in our future. COMMENT: Again, our Protestant prophet is BEHIND TIMES. Things have drastically changed since the world recession hit in 2008. New and fast moves are under way to power the Western world, without the none stop drinking of oil. Besides that, if the USA does want to continue its high use of oil, the Alberta "tar-sands" "oil sands" has enough oil to fuel the world for 100 years, let alone the USA - Keith Hunt. ...... Many forward-looking statesmen worldwide, aware of the coming crisis, have mandated the development and use of alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power and alternative fuels for motor vehicles. However, recent studies have shown that despite such mandates for biofuels use, the "law of unintended consequences" is at work. Rather than saving the planet from oil dependence and global warming, biofuels are raising food prices, endangering the hungry, and only slightly reducing the need for oil. Even if all the corn and soybean crops produced in the United States were converted for fuel, it would only be enough to meet 20 percent of consumption demands. At this point in time, no alternative energy source shows promise of solving the problem. And until that solution surfaces, the United States will continue to be heavily dependent on foreign sources to maintain its vital influx of oil. COMMENT: No! Even if alternative energy does not take off like a rocket- ship, the USA can get all the oil it needs from Canada. The Alberta "oil-sands" contain enough oil to fuel the WORLD for the next 100 years - Keith Hunt ...... The Conflicts over the World's Oil Supply In 1973 a group of Arab nations launched an attack on Israel, initiating the Yom Kippur War. One result of this war was the uniting of Arab nations in a common cause as never before. This new show of unity was manifest partly in the military conflict and partly in a less obvious way. On October 17, 1973, the Arab nations conspired to reduce their oil production below the previous norm and attempted to embargo nations that favored Israel, principally the United States and the Netherlands. This hostile act made it increasingly evident that the Arab world would use their control of major oil reserves to leverage their bid for world power. Some US citizens will remember the effect of that Arab embargo. The price of oil quadrupled to twelve dollars a barrel. Cars formed long, winding lines at gas stations. Conservation measures were put into effect, including a national highway speed limit of 55 mph. We were being attacked in a new kind of war - an economic war with ominous implications. The price of oil did not go down after the Arab oil blackmail of 1973-74, and that crisis precipitated the fastest transfer of money in history, sucking dollars out of the United States and stashing them in swelling Arab treasuries. The ultimate price of the war, however, would not be exacted in money alone, but in the political and economic reshaping of the world. For the first time in centuries, the Middle East became a major consideration in every international event. The first acknowledgment of this new political reality came from President Jimmy Carter in his State of the Union address on January 23, 1980. In that address Carter announced an important policy change concerning the Middle East. This became known as the Carter Doctrine: the determination to protect the Persian Gulf even at the expense of our own troops. This paradigm shift in foreign policy would soon be tested. In August 1990, Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein sent troops into Kuwait to take over that nation's oil fields. President George H. W. Bush and his defense secretary, Dick Cheney, put the Carter Doctrine into action, sending US troops to Kuwait to repel the Iraqi invasion. President Bush defended his action to the nation, saying, "Our country now imports nearly half the oil it consumes and could face a major threat to its economic independence ... The sovereign independence of Saudi Arabia is of vital interest to the United States." While other justifications for the war were given, experts agree that the Gulf War in 1990-91 was the first in world history fought almost entirely over oil. And make no mistake: while the war in Iraq is about terrorism, it is also about oil - oil that is sold to finance the Muslim terrorist regime and oil that is necessary for the West to function economically. COMMENT: What the situation was 30 and more years ago, IS NOT the situation today! The Protestant prophets are living in the past, they are out of date, not that they were ever in date. NOW today, the fact and reality is that the Alberta "oil-sands" have enough oil in them to fuel the world for the next 100 years. The USA, if push comes to pull, can get all its oil needs from Alberta, Canada - Keith Hunt. ...... The Concerns About the World's Oil Supply Are We Running Out of Oil? It was Saturday morning, and I was on my way to my office to put the final touches on the message for the weekend. I was scheduled to preach on the importance of oil in the prophetic program of the end times. When I stopped to get a cup of coffee, I spotted the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal. The headline read, "Where Has All The Oil Gone?" The article, written by Ann Davis, was about the huge oil tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma, where many of our reserves are stored. According to the article, a run on oil futures has depleted the tanks to their lowest level ever. So where has all the oil gone? Do these near-empty tanks mean we are running out of it? This is a difficult question to answer. According to the CEO and president of the Saudi Aramco, we have tapped "only 18 percent of [global] conventional and non-conventional producible potential." In his words, "we are looking at more than 4.5 trillion barrels of potentially recoverable oil" - enough to power the globe at current levels of consumption for "more than 140 years." On the other hand, we do not have access to all of that oil, nor do we have the present-day capacity to harvest it all if we knew where it was. The rate of oil discovery has been falling ever since the 1960s when 47 billion barrels a year were discovered, mostly in the Middle East. In the '70s the rate dropped to about 35 billion barrels while the industry concentrated on the North Sea. In the '80s it was Russia's turn, and the discovery rate dropped to 24 billion. It dropped even further in the '90s as the industry concentrated on west Africa but only found some 14 billion barrels. COMMENT: The Protestant prophet is WAY BEHIND TIMES, it has now, in the last few years, been discovered that the Alberta "oil-sands" in Canada, contain enough oil to fuel the WORLD for the next 100 years, IF the world still wants to use oil for its energy, and we now know many nations are going into "other" means to produce energy; finally the electric car, battery powered car is here. China has already produced the BEST battery car so far invented by man; it will probably be on the North American market by 2011/12 - Keith Hunt ...... Did you catch the sobering point in this quote? Let me repeat it: in 2005 the world used more oil than was even produced in the following year. And there is one energy rule that even I can understand: energy use cannot exceed available supply. COMMENT: The availability - no problem, the Alberta "oil-sands" has enough oil for the world for the next 100 years - Keith Hunt. ...... Can We Protect Our Sources of Oil? Our dependence on foreign oil has become a major concern especially since the oil lies under the control of nations with which we have tenuous or hostile relationships. Paul Roberts addressed this concern in his book, "The End of Oil: On the Edge of a Perilous New World." Perhaps the greatest casualty of the Iraq war may be the very idea of energy security. To say that we are running out of oil might be untrue but to say that we are consuming at the level of our current ability to produce oil is true. The oil shortage is real and will continue to have an enormous effect upon our culture. According to the official energy statistics posted by the U.S. government, last updated in July of 2007, the total world oil supply in 2006 was exceeded by the total world petroleum consumption in 2005. But with the continuing fiasco in Iraq, it is now clear that even the most powerful military entity in world history cannot stabilize a country at will or "make it" produce oil simply by sending in soldiers and tanks. In other words, since the Iraqi invasion, the oil market now understands that the United States cannot guarantee the security of oil supplies - for itself or for anyone else. That new and chilling knowledge, as much as anything else, explains the high price of oil. COMMENT: Do you see how OUT-OF-DATE this Protestant prophet is? The oil- sands in Alberta, discovered in the last few years, shows the above to be out-dated and completely off-base and out in Planet Pluto space - Keith Hunt ...... According to Roberts, our ability to protect our foreign oil is limited at best. Even if we commit to using brute military force, as the Carter Doctrine says we are ready to do, we cannot ensure an endless supply of oil from hostile countries. COMMENT: And there is no need to have to look to Middle-east oil. We have all we need in the oil-sands of Alberta. Plus the world is moving away from oil into other ways to produce energy. Oil is NOT the important factor of Bible prophecy - Keith Hunt ...... Is There Any Oil in Israel? It would help, of course, if we could depend on oil from our one staunch Middle Eastern ally, Israel. But as former prime minister Golda Meir ruefully quipped, "Let me tell you something we Israelis have against Moses. He took us forty years into the desert in order to bring us to the one place in the Middle East that has no oil. While little oil has ever been discovered in Israel, today there is a growing belief that there may be significant oil deposits under its surface. Two major oil companies have been formed to explore oblique references to oil found in the Bible. Ezekiel speaks of a time when God would do better for Israel than at her beginnings (36:11). How could Israel ever be more prosperous than she was in the days of King Solomon? During his reign the wealth of Israel was the wonder and envy of the known world. Yet here is God telling Israel that at some time in the future she will be wealthier still. In his book "The Coming Peace in the Middle East," Dr. Tim LaHaye suggests one way that this coming wealth could be explained: Suppose that a pool of oil, greater than anything in Arabia ... were discovered by the Jews ... This would change the course of history. Before long, Israel would be able independently to solve its economic woes, finance the resettlement of the Palestinians, and supply housing for Jews and Arabs in the West Bank, East Bank, or anywhere else they might choose to live. COMMENT: Tim LaHaye is another false prophet of the Protestant prophets. They all do not know or understand the prophecies of your Bible. They refuse to keep the commandments of the Lord; many of them teach the law of God is "abolished" - certainly for them the FOURTH commandment does not have to be literally observed. The Eternal says a good understanding have they who keep the commandments of God. If you do not keep them and teach them, your understanding of Bible prophecy will be "the pits" to put it bluntly - Keith Hunt ...... In an article written for WorldNet Daily, Aaron Klein asked this question: "Is Israel sitting on an enormous oil reserve mapped out in the Old Testament that when found will immediately change the geopolitical structure of the Middle East and confirm the validity of the Bible to people around the world?" John Brown, an evangelical Christian and founder and chairman of Zion Oil and Gas, believes that there is indeed oil in Israel. He is certain that several biblical passages indicate where rich deposits might be found. As examples, he cites two passages: "Let Asher be blessed ... and let him dip his foot in oil" (Deuteronomy 33:24 KJV). "Joseph is ... a fruitful bough by a well ... Blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath ... shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head." (Genesis 49:22-26 NKJV). Brown's explanation of why these passages indicate the presence of oil is fascinating. He says that maps of the territory allotted to the twelve tribes when they entered Palestine show that the shape of Asher's area resembles a giant foot. That foot is "dipped" into the top, or "crown" area belonging to the land given to the tribe of Joseph's son Manasseh. "The oil is there," Brown asserts, "where Joseph's head is met by Asher's foot." And Brown is willing to put his money where his mouth is. In 2007, his company was granted two extended licenses for approximately 162,100 acres that include the Joseph and Asher/Menasseh areas, which Brown believes contain oil. The discovery of oil on Israeli soil would greatly reduce the threat against Israel from her hostile allies, taking the oil weapon out of their hands. "Finding oil will give Israel a huge strategic advantage" over its Arab enemies, Brown said. "It will change the political and economic structure of the region overnight." But in spite of the tantalizing possibilities of oil in Israel, it has not yet been found. This means we must continue to deal with the reality. And the wealth of these few oil-producing nations is growing at such an exponential rate that they are struggling to find ways to invest their exploding resources. The magnitude of their investment "problem" was reported in a New York Times article. Between 2000 and 2007, oil revenues for the OPEC nations went from $243 billion to $688 billion, not including the price spikes that occurred in November and December of 2007. It's estimated that these countries have $4 trillion invested around the world from the money earned in oil exports. Our enemies consider this kind of wealth to be a gigantic weapon with the blessing of Allah. As author Don Richardson puts it: "Muslim strategists ask their followers, Why do we find in these modern times that Allah has entrusted most of the world's oil wealth primarily to Muslim nations? Their answer: Allah foresaw Islam's need for funds to finance a final politico-religious victory over what Islam perceives as its ultimate enemy: Christianized Euro-American civilization." Another New York Times article headlined in the spring of 2002, "Iranian Urges Muslims to Use Oil as a Weapon." In this article, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is quoted as having said: The issue of oil becomes more and more critical with each passing year, for Western democracies in general, and for Israel in particular. What we are seeing is a confluence of several negative factors and processes in this region ... A huge percentage of the world's oil reserves ... is found in the possession of powers not friendly to the West or to Israel. The oil belongs to the people and can be used as a weapon against the West and those who support the savage regime of Israel ... If Islamic and Arab countries ... for only one month suspend the export of oil to Israel and its supporter, the world would be shaken. It should be clear to us that America's ride on the crest of wealth' and power faces unprecedented threats from newly rich, newly united Middle Eastern countries that have no love for us. Indeed, many of them would love to see us reduced to the ashes of history. And it should be just as clear that they are feeling the newfound power that control of most of the world's oil has given them. These factors do not bode well for the United States, Israel, and their Western allies. COMMENT: I quote this Protestant prophet to some length, so you can see HOW FAR OFF BASE he is. Oil is NOT the weapon that can be used against us, the West. We have enough oil in the Alberta oil-sands to fuel the whole world for the next 100 years, if oil will still be the choice of energy, which it will not be, for the world, the Western world at lease IS MOVING away from oil to OTHER pace age energy uses. As some ads on USA TV are showing, we in the West have all the oil we need, if we need to continue to use it. The Middle-East oil is NOT our crutch, it cannot be used against us and the wise Eastern oil guys KNOW IT! The Protestant prophet do not know it and they blindly go on teaching their false prophecies - Keith Hunt. ...... So far this chapter has given you very little good news and little reason to be optimistic - that is, if your outlook is entirely earthly. As we look back on where we have been as a nation and where we find ourselves today, we could easily become discouraged. The secret, however, is to look beyond both the past and the present and focus on the future. We are, in fact, unusually blessed. We are being given the opportunity to be firsthand observers to the staging of events that will precede the ultimate coming of Christ to this earth. Events written about centuries ago are now unfolding right before our eyes and are telling us that our patient anticipation will soon be rewarded. In the meantime, we must ... Keep on Waiting. Jesus told His disciples that just as you can tell that summer is near when the fig tree puts forth leaves, you can also tell that the Son of Man is returning by recognizing the signs given by the prophets .... COMMENT: Yes indeed, we are to look to the signs of the times. Israel becoming a nation in 1948 was NOT one of them! The oil fellows in the Middle-east is NOT one of them! The prophecies of your Bible is not dependant on anything to do with OIL, the use of it, or the no use of it. Oil is not going to be the energy of the future! Even if it was to be, or is to be for some time yet, there is enough oil in the Alberta oil-sands to fuel the WORLD for the next 100 years. So much for the Protestant prophets on their ideas of the Jews in the Holy Land and the Middle-east oil Arabs - Keith Hunt ............................................ To be continued

GOSPELS STORY CHAPT. 35

 

 

Chapter Thirty-five:

Jesus' last Passover on earth - part one

JUDAS ISCARIOT PLANS TO BETRAY JESUS After Jesus had finished His prophecy on the Mount of Olives it was evening time, and He said to His disciples, "You know that in two days it is the Passover, and the Son of man will be delivered up to be crucified." We know from the last hours of Jesus' physical life on earth, what Jesus said to them (and it was not the first time He had told them He would die in Jerusalem), went right over their heads; once more they just did not get it, did not really believe those words. To them it was just incomprehensible to conceive that their Lord and Master, the one they knew was the Messiah, could be put to death. The chief priests and the elders of the people were at this time busy gathering together in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, taking counsel with each other, as to how to arrest Jesus in a secret manner and kill him. They first thought they better not try to do this during the Feast of the Passover and days of Unleavened Bread (which was eight days in total, but during Christ's time the whole period was known by the name "Passover"). Then something happened to changed their minds about when they would try to arrest and kill Jesus. The disciples were really not understanding what was all going on at this time in Jesus' ministry. They did not understand the prophecies in the Old Testament about how the Messiah would come and have to die for the sins of the world. They were somewhat familiar with the prophecy of the Messiah coming in power and glory, to reign over the nations and rule the world, but with all that Jesus was saying, and the people getting divided over what they wanted to believe the Messiah should be doing with them, and for them, and against the Romans, there was confusion even in their minds. Judas Iscariot was as confused as any of them. Surely he was thinking, the Messiah is going to rise up with His mighty power and show these scribes and Pharisees and priests, a thing or two. He was probably thinking Jesus had only used "words" against them so far, but He must be going to use His power and obliterate them, literally. Judas was probably thinking Christ should do that, obliterate those silly hypocritical religious leaders of Judea. And thought no doubt Jesus would them continue using His power to bring the people of Judah together, form an army, fight against the Roman power, destroy them, and set up the Kingdom of God on earth. How could he, he thought, help get Jesus started on this road of conquest. His mind was not just confused, but anxious, on edge, eagerly desiring to see all this take place. And with his mind in such a state of unrest and looseness, it was all that Satan needed. Luke records for us that it was at this time that Satan entered, literally look over the body and mind of Judas Iscariot. Judas, now possessed by Satan the Devil, hurried off to the chief priests and elders of the people, to offer his service in how he might betray Jesus and hand Him over to them. The accounts in the Gospels do not tell us if Judas did this thinking Jesus would then have to use His power and fight and destroy the priests and elders, and then move on to destroy the Roman armies, or if Satan just simple got a hold of his mind, twisted it so much out of normal, that Judas just wanted Jesus in the hands of the priests and elders so they could do with Him whatever they wanted. Whatever the case as to what was going on in the mind of Judas at this time, we are told Satan entered him, and off he went to betray Jesus to the priests and elders of Judea. The priests and elders of course were delighted that Judas was offering his help so they could arrest Jesus. They had plans to kill Him. Judas may not have known that, probably did not, Satan no doubt kept that from the mind of Judas. Well, the priests and elders were so grateful for Judas' offer that they were ready to offer him money. Judas actually asked them how much they would give him if he delivered Jesus into their hands. They said they would pay him thirty pieces of silver. Thirty pieces of silver was the price for a slave (Exodus 21: 32). They regarded Jesus as worth very little. He agreed, and from that moment on Judas looked for a way and an opportunity to betray Jesus into their hands (Mat.26: 1-5, 14-16; Mark 14: 1, 2, 10, 11; Luke 22: 1-6). PREPARING FOR THE PASSOVER To understand some of the passages in the Gospels and the events of the last day of the life of Christ on this earth in human form, we need to understand some basics about the Passover, as well as some of the traditions that many of the Jews were doing at the time of Christ, as taught by the scribes and Pharisees. The original Passover of Exodus 12, was a household Passover, a few families coming together. A priest was not needed, nor a Tabernacle or Temple. The lamb was chosen and was kept UP TO the 14th day of the first month. Then at "evening" or "between the two evening" which was at dusk or sunset, the beginning of the 14th, that portion of time when the sun first goes down behind the horizon and when it become black of night. As the sun set the family or small gathering of two or so families, killed the Passover lamb, and roasted it, which took a number of hours (some say 3 or 4 hours) and then sat down with bitter herbs, unleavened bread, and ate the lamb. It was well into the night when all of this was finally finished, often everyone stayed up all during that night of the 14th. The Passover day was not a Sabbath day, but at the end of the 14th, the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread began, and that first day of the Unleavened Bread feast, was a Sabbath day. It was God's law that by the time the 15th day arrived, all leaven was to be out of the homes of the Israelites. They had up to and including the 14th day, to remove the leaven and prepare for the feast of Unleavened Bread, which was to be observed for a full 7 days. Now by the time of Christ the scribes and Pharisees had introduced and adopted a number of changes to Exodus 12. They and their followers had gotten into the habit of getting rid of leaven on the 14th day, and so in Jewish terminology, the 14th day was "a day of unleaven" because of the tradition taught by the Pharisees of putting out leaven on the 14th, so there was no question of any of it being left in the home when the 15th day arrived. The Pharisees had taught the people that the lambs for the Passover were to be slain in the Temple, under the Priests and Levites. And they traditionally started to do this on the 14th day, after the morning sacrifice. Some scholars claim they started at 3 p.m. in the afternoon, but others state it could have been much earlier, as the priests would not have been able to kill enough lambs for the people, between only 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. 6 p.m. was when they would start to roast the lamb, which was the beginning of the 15th day of the first month. Whatever it may have been, the fact is the Pharisees had taken the Passover meal and carried it over into the night portion of the 15th day, which was the start of the 7 days of the Unleavened Bread feast. They had MIXED the TWO separate feasts of God and put them together as one, or putting it another way, they had brought the Passover meal over into the first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread. With this in mind, we can begin to understand some of the words used in the Gospel accounts of this last day of Jesus' life as a human being. We read in Mark and Luke that the day of "unleavened" when the Passover lambs WERE BEING SLAIN (as the Greek tense is) had just come. This was the "unleavened" day when the Pharisees and their followers were TRADITIONALLY getting leaven out of their homes (some even started to clear leaven out on the 13th day), it was the BEGINNING of the 14th day, which was not a part of the 7 days feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12), but had become traditionally a day of "unleavened" because of what the Pharisees were teaching and had been practicing for a few centuries by this time. The disciples knew, from being with Jesus for three years or so, that He observed the Passover like many other Jews, at the beginning of the 14th day, the "evening" of the 14th day, as prescribed in the beginning by God in Exodus 12. The small groups of people in and around Jerusalem, were beginning to gather together, they were already beginning to kill the Passover lambs, at sundown. It was sunset at the beginning of the 14th day of the first month, and Jesus had not said ANYTHING about where they would keep and observe the Passover meal. This was very unusual indeed. The disciples were getting very uptight, very anxious, very bewildered. Everything seemed very confusing to them, Jesus had said things about His death that they just could not believe, and they knew the scribes, Pharisees, and elders of the people were on the war path as we might put it, with Jesus. And now, it was just sunset, the beginning of the 14th, the time when groups of people in their homes were killing the Passover lamb and making reading to observe the Passover meal, and Jesus had said not one word to them about where they as a group would observe the Passover meal. They were now beyond themselves, and had to say something, they could not retain their anxious thoughts any more. "Master, master, it is late, you've said nothing to us about where we shall observe the Passover. People are already killing the lambs in their groups and places of gathering. Where Lord, will you have us go and prepare for you and us to eat the Passover?" Jesus chose two of them, Peter and John, and sent them, saying to them, "Go into the city of Jerusalem, and when you enter you will see a man carrying a jar of water, follow him into the house where he goes, and say to the house owner, 'The Teacher says, my time is at hand, and I will eat the Passover at your house with my disciples.' Ask him to show you the room where we are to hold the Passover meal. He will show you an upper room that is furnished; there make ready for us all." And the two disciples went and they found it all as Jesus had told them. And they there prepared the Passover meal (Mat.26: 17-19; Mark 14: 12-16; Luke 22: 7-13). Finding a man in Jerusalem as Jesus had described to them, was not hard, for it was women who usually carried the water pots, seeing a man doing this would have been very noticeable. To kill and roast a lamb for Jesus and the twelve disciples, probably would have taken about 3 to 4 hours. The two disciples were not sent to find the room until sunset, dusk time, of the beginning of the 14th day. By the time they arrived in Jerusalem and found the room and killed and prepared the Passover, for Jesus and the others to sit down and eat, it would have been about 10 p.m. possibly even as late as 11 p.m. This was fine, for as I've said above, the eating of the Passover and reflections on the whole meaning of it, often went on all through the night, then they would go to their tents in the morning and sleep (Deut.16: 7). Of course in Jesus' day it was not "tents" they went to, but homes or places where they could sleep during the daylight hours of the 14th day. But this Passover night and coming day would be like no other ever before or ever again will be. The Passover meal was now all prepared. They just had to wait for Jesus to arrive with the other ten disciples. JESUS EATS THE PASSOVER MEAL WITH HIS DISCIPLES It was late that Tuesday evening (it was a Tuesday evening when this Passover was observed in the year 30 A.D.) and Jesus arrived at this upper room with the other ten apostles. The hour had arrived and they all sat down. Jesus said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you all before I suffer; for I tell you I shall never eat it again, until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." They then started into the ancient and traditional Passover meal of the basic three thing that was always a part of that observance, namely, the lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. You may want to here re-read the Old Testament Bible Story of Exodus chapter twelve. It was during this Passover meal that Jesus now introduced the New Testament ordinance of the "bread and fruit of the vine." Jesus took some of the unleavened bread and broke it into pieces, gave thanks, and said, "Take a piece, this bread represents my body, which is given for you: this do in like manner in the memorial of me." Jesus then took the cup of the fruit of the vine, and gave thanks. He then said to them, "Each one of you, drink from this cup. The fruit of the vine represents my blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for you, for the forgiveness of sins. I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine again, unto the day I drink it new with you when the Kingdom of God comes." They all did what Jesus requested and each took a piece of unleavened bread, and each drank from the cup of the fruit of the vine. The apostle Paul also outlines this New Testament ordinance in 1 Corinthians 11: 23-26. It is THE memorial service, remembering the Lord's death. It was introduced by the Lord Jesus on the evening of the 14th of the first month in the Hebrew or Jewish calendar. It was only observed in the apostolic Church of God, once a year, in the first part of the hours of the 14th, what we call evening time. After Jesus had introduced and performed this New Testament ordinance, He looked around at all twelve disciples and in a very sombre tone of voice, said, "But behold the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of man goes as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" Amazement and shock came across the faces of the twelve, on hearing those words. And soon they began to question each other, as to which of them it was going to be that would betray Jesus (Mat.26: 26-29; Mark 14: 22-25; Luke 22: 14-23). JESUS' WASHES THE FEET OF HIS 12 DISCIPLES John is the only Gospel writer to record this next event at that last Passover Jesus held with His disciples. The supper Passover meal had ended. The KJV translation is correct when it says, "and supper ended" for the Greek tense here used by John is "aorist" tense, which signifies a completed action in the past, an event already finished in the past. The Devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back again to God, rose from the supper table, laid aside His outer garments, and girded Himself with a towel. He then poured water in a bowl, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel He had around Himself. He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to Him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "What I am doing now you do not understand, but you will afterwards, later you will understand." Peter still shocked at this thought of Jesus washing his feet, quickly replied, "Oh no Lord, you shall never wash my feet!" We have to remember that it was the lowest of the servants of the household that washed the feet of visitors, washing away the dust and dirt from their travel. Also remember that the people wore sandals, and on their bare feet. It was the custom of the day that if you had visitors you had your lowest ranking servant wash their feet when they came into your home. Peter could not think that Jesus was acting out what the lowest household servant would do. He just was not about to let Jesus wash his feet, thinking if anything it should be the other way around, and he should be washing Jesus' feet. But Jesus answered him with, "If I do not wash your feet, you have no part in me." Simon Peter then said, "Well Lord, not my feet only then, but my hands and head!" Jesus said to him, "He that has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean but not all of you." Jesus knew who it was that would betray Him, and that was the reason He said, "You are not all clean." The disciples would have bathed themselves before attending the very important Passover meal. So they really were clean in a physical way, but in a spiritual way there was need for a lesson to be learned in Jesus washing all of their feet, even the feet of Judas Iscariot. They all needed to learn the lesson, which Jesus explained (and we'll get to that right away), but one of them (Judas) was unclean in many ways other than the physical. We have seen he was by now possessed by Satan the Devil himself. When He had washed their feet, and taken up His garments again, and resumed His sitting place, He said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? I will tell you. You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, I am indeed both. If I then, your Lord, and your Teacher, have washed your feet, then you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an EXAMPLE, that you also SHOULD DO as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, BLESSED are you IF YOU DO them. " Jesus was demonstrating to them that they should be servants. And if Jesus could get down and wash His disciples feet, being much greater than they, being the one to send them out to do His work, and so if He could humble Himself to wash their feet, like a lowly servant, how much more should they be willing to wash one another's feet. He said He had set them the example, and that they knowing this should do likewise, and they would be blessed for knowing and doing as He had done to them. So today God's people around the world, on Passover evening, not only take the bread and the fruit of the vine (wine or grape juice) but also wash each other's feet. It is an outward symbol of a willingness to be a servant to others, to not think too highly of themselves, to remember they are called to serve each other, to live a life of serving and helping each other, and all mankind, in whatever good ways they can possibly do, with the gifts, talents, abilities, and material goods, they have been given from God in order to share and serve others with. Jesus was saying all these things to all of them, but ONE, for He finished this event by saying, "I am not speaking of you all; I know whom I have chosen; it is that the Scriptures may be fulfilled, 'He who ate by bread has lifted his heel against me.' I tell you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me; and he who receives me receives Him who sent me" (John 13: 1-20). The evening had taken on by now a VERY SOMBRE atmosphere, a grave foreboding was in that upper room. Many of the minds of the disciples were even more troubled and confused by all that Jesus had said and done. The part of that night had come, where it was customary to leave the supper table and recline and lounge around as we say, on various types of seats and cushions. It was the time to relax and ponder and meditate on the Passover and all that it signified in Jewish history. This Passover was way more significant than any of them could have possibly imagined. Jesus was about to say to them words that He had said a little earlier. This would once more trouble them greatly. ......................................................... Written January 2003

JEREMIAH FOR TOMORROW CHAPT. 5 - 9

 

Jeremiah For Tomorrow!

Chapters 5 to 9

CHAPTER 5 We now enter a number of chapters that over and over again DENOUNCE the sins of Israel and Judah. During this time of 2008 as I write, when the election for the President of the United States of America is in full swing, and emotions and expectations are high once more, just as they were for the time when Bush was elected for the White House (he's now going down in history as the least popular President in the popular rate polls since Richard Nixon [when he had to re-sign from being President]); to say that our leaders are FAR from God, far from turning our nations back to the true ways of the Lord, far from taking away some gross sins such as abortion and same sex marriage, would seem to most people as FANATICAL in perspective. That perspective is still mild when you listen to how the Eternal speaks to Israel and Judah through the book of Jeremiah. God asks us to run through the streets of Jerusalem (hence Judah - the Jews in the Holy Land) and see if you can find a man that executeth JUDGMENT, that SEEKS TRUTH; if you can God says He will pardon that city and the Jewish people. God says many may say He lives, but in practicality they talk with falsehood. The Lord's eyes are on the real truth of the matter. He has at times stricken them, consumed them, in many different ways, BUT they still will NOT be CORRECTED, they have made their faces harder than a rock; they REFUSE to RETURN to Him. They are FOOLISH, they know NOT the WAY of the Lord, nor the judgment of God. Some of their old famous men did know the way of God, but the moderns have broken that knowledge, they are corrupt and simply do not know the ways of the true God of Israel. They have transgressed in many ways and their backsliding has increased. God cannot pardon them. The children have also forsaken the path of truth and righteousness, and have moved into sexual sins as never before, like neighing horses they have fallen into adultery and into the harlot's house. God says, "Shall I not visit with punishment for these things; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" The answer is obviously YES He will punish (verses 1-9). The DESTROYER is to come! But not to make a full end. Her battlements are to be taken away, there will be no defence in that day. Is this just said to Judah? No, it is said to BOTH the House of Israel and the House of Judah, for BOTH have dealt treacherously against the Lord (verses 10-11). Oh, you Jews, and you people of North-Western Europe and the British Commonwealth and the United States of America, you may say NO EVIL will be upon us, neither shall you see the sword or famine: but your prophets shall become as wind, the word of truth is not in them, so indeed they shall be taken away as with the wind (verses 12-13). This prophecy is for BOTH Judah and Israel. Listen O house of Israel, a mighty nation, an ancient nation, a nation you do not understand, they are mighty as their past history has shown only too well during the 20th century, with starting two world wars. They shall eat your fruit, they shall impoverish your fenced cities with the sword (verse 17). This is the nation of Assyria (the German people today) and God will again use them to punish Israel and Judah (see Isaiah 10). There will not be a full end. When they ask as to why this punishment, it is for your serving false gods and forsaking the holy ways of the Lord. So in serving strange gods you will serve strangers in the land that is not yours (verses 18-19). All this is to be declared in the House of Israel and published in Judah (verse 20). Ah, yes, as Israel had already gone into captivity decades before Jeremiah walked the streets of Jerusalem, this is a prophecy not so much as for his day, but for the time of the end, when Israel and Judah will FALL TOGETHER under the heel of the modern Babylon the Great. All the tribes of Israel are FOOLISH people, they have no understanding, which means their leaders are just as foolish and just as much without understanding. They are a people with eyes but they see not, with ears but they hear not. Will you not fear the God who sets the bounds of the sea and the sand? You are a people that have a REVOLTING AND REBELLIOUS HEART! You will not fear the One who gives the rain. Your iniquities and sins will hold the good things from you; among you are found WICKED men, like those who set a trap. You have perverts and bi-sexual, you have homosexuals, you have child molesters, and all who seek after the sins of wrong sexuality (verses 21-26). We as a people are full of DECEIT, whereby many become waxen rich in material wealth. We are FAT, we pass-over the deeds of the wicked; we judge not as we should the cause of the fatherless and the needy. Yes we do some things for such people, but obviously it is not enough as God sees it. We will spend trillions of dollars in Space exploits while we do not enough for the needy and the widows and the orphans. Shall God not visit with punishment such a people? Yes, He says He will! Your prophets O Israel and Judah, do give false prophecy. Your priests bear rule out of their own mind, and you love to have it so. They tell you what you want to hear; the truth of God they and you do not want. So what can you do to stop the end result of it all? Nothing! (verses 27-31). It is only a matter of TIME, the WHEN of God's punishment is up to Him, but the certainty of it is only a matter of time. If our nations will not REPENT of our sins we WILL face all that is written. God is no respecter of persons. Many nations in past history have FALLEN because of their sins and wickedness. It shall come upon us as it came upon them! CHAPTER 6 A prophecy directly to Zion and Jerusalem, hence the people of Judah. The daughter of Zion is to prepare for WAR, the dark of the night is come and she is to be destroyed. It is Jerusalem that is to be visited for as a fountain cast out its water so she is casting out her wickedness; there is violence; before the Lord there is continual grief and wounds. God cries out for her to be INSTRUCTED, lest He make her DESOLATE, a land not inhabited. But the Eternal One knows their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot harken to Him. The Word of the Lord is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it. So the Lord is weary of holding back His fury, He will pour it out. All, young and old, man and woman, will feel His anger. It must be so for from the least of them to the greatest of them all are given to covetousness; from the prophet to the priest every one deals falsely. They have tried to heal the bruise of the people by saying, "Peace, peace; when there is no peace" (verses 1-14). The people of Judah and Jerusalem, are NOT ashamed of the ABOMINATIONS of sin that they practice; they do not even blush; so they shall indeed fall with those that fall: at the time God says it is to happen it will come to pass (verse 15). I have said it many times already. The people of the land we call Israel today are SECULAR!! They are not even trying to follow the ways of the Lord. They have rejected Him and His word, they will not accept Jesus the Christ as Messiah, as their Lord and King. Some, like this Website, try to tell them to TURN and to serve the Almighty, to walk in the good and perfect way so true peace and rest they can have, but they WILL NOT DO SO! God then says, "Hear, O earth: behold I will bring EVIL upon this people, even the very thing they think about (war and death) BECAUSE they will NOT harken unto My words, nor to My LAW, but they REJECT it! (verses 16-19). There will come a people from the NORTH country, a GREAT NATION from afar. They will have the weapons of war; they are cruel; THEY WILL HAVE NO MERCY; THEY ROAR LIKE THE SEA, THEY WILL COME AS MEN OF WAR TO DESTROY JERUSALEM, to lay bare the daughter of Zion (verses 22-23). God tells the daughters of His people: "Gird you with sackcloth, and wallow yourself in ashes: make ready to mourn, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the SPOILER SHALL SUDDENLY COME UPON YOU" (verse 26). Why will the spoiler come? Because, "They are all grievous REVOLTERS, walking with SLANDER: they are as BRASS and IRON; they are all CORRUPTERS ... the WICKED are not plucked out of them. People round about shall call them REPROBATE SILVER, because the Lord will REJECT them (28-30). Many may be saying the Lord is too hard on the people of Judah and Jerusalem. Many will look and say are they not just trying to live life as others do in other nations. And maybe that is so, but they are not just anyone in any nation, they are the children of Judah, one of the tribes of Israel called and chosen to be a special people in the world, a people to show all others the true ways of the true God. They are to be a light of righteousness in a dark world. But they have REJECTED the teachings of the Lord; they go about doing their own thing; they have like the rest of Israel, thrown God out of the window, rejected His LAW. They just live according to what seems right to them, but that way ends in death and destruction. It will come, for what a man sows that shall he reap. CHAPTER 7 Jeremiah is now commanded to stand in the gate of the Lord's house and proclaim: "Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, that have some resemblance of religion. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, AMEND YOUR WAYS AND YOUR DOINGS, and you will continue to live in this place. Trust not in lying words, 'We are the temple of God, the temple of God.' It is only by THOROUGHLY AMENDING your ways and doings, executing JUDGMENT one with another and your neighbor. If you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, if you shed not innocent blood, neither walk after other gods to your hurt. Then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers. But you trust in LYING words, that cannot profit you. Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and worship and serve gods that are no gods, then come and say to me, we have the freedom to do these things, we will do anything we like to do" (verses 1- 10). The CONTEXT of this chapter is in the time of Jeremiah, what was taking place and what God was going to do to Judah and Jerusalem, but it is still a lesson for us today. As they say history often repeats itself IF people will not learn the lesson of history. So as we read this prophecy set in the time frame of the days of Jeremiah we still need to take it to heart, for the same overall lesson applies to the Jews today who live in the temple of God, the holy land, we call the State of Israel. From the New-Living Translation: 11 "Do you think this Temple, which honors my name, is a den of thieves? I see all the evil going on there," says the LORD. 12 "Go to the place at Shiloh where I once put the Tabernacle to honor my name. See what I did there because of all the wickedness of my people, the Israelites. 13 While you were doing these wicked things," says the LORD, "I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but you refused to answer. 14 So just as I destroyed Shiloh, I will now destroy this Temple that was built to honor my name, this Temple that you trust for help, this place that I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 And I will send you into exile, just as I did your relatives, the people of Israel." Yes, the House of Israel had already gone into captivity when Jeremiah was sent to warn Judah and Jerusalem. God is no respecter of persons. Sin eventually brings destruction and death. All empires, large or small, have faced the result of their sins and their rebellion. In the original captivity of Israel and Judah we had about 100 years between each of their captive punishments, but in the last days, at the time of the end, all prophecy shows BOTH Israel and Judah will fall TOGETHER! We see here that PHYSICAL anything, does not win favor with God over heart-felt obedience and walking in His true ways and commandments. Judah's Persistent Idolatry 16 "Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don't beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing throughout the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 No wonder I am so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. And they give drink offerings to their other idol gods! 19 Am I the one they are hurting?" asks the LORD. "Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame." 20 So the Sovereign LORD says: "I will pour out my terrible fury on this place. Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger." 21 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Away with your burnt offerings and sacrifices! Eat them yourselves! 22 When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. 23 This is what I told them: 'Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Only do as I say, and all will be well!'" Here is one of the key sections of Scripture that show "animal sacrifices" were NOT originally a plan of God for Israel to have as part of their worship towards the Lord Almighty. It was ADDED because of their hard-heart and to give emphasis to SIN and to that which is WRONG and CORRUPT and EVIL. The shedding of animal blood was to give emphasis to the fact that SIN can only be cleansed and washed away by the blood of the Messiah Savior. 24 "But my people would not listen to me. They kept on doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward. 25 From the day your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have continued to send my prophets - day in and day out. 26 But my people have not listened to me or even tried to hear. They have been stubborn and sinful - even worse than their ancestors. 27 Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond. 28 Say to them, 'This is the nation whose people will not obey the LORD their God and who refuse to be taught. Truth has vanished from among them; it is no longer heard on their lips. 29 0 Jerusalem, shave your head in mourning, and weep alone on the mountains. For the LORD has rejected and forsaken this generation that has provoked His fury.'" The Valley of Slaughter 30 "The people of Judah have sinned before my very eyes," says the LORD. "They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it. 31 They have built the pagan shrines of Topheth in the valley of the son of Hinnom, where they sacrifice their little sons and daughters in the fire. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing! 32 So beware, for the time is coming," says the LORD, "when that place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. They will bury so many bodies in Topheth that there won't be room for all the graves. The corpses of my people will be food for the vultures and wild animals, and no one will be left to scare them away. 34 I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Judah. The land will lie in complete desolation. CHAPTER 8 1 "In that day," says the LORD, "the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people. 2 They will dig out their bones and spread them out on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars - the gods my people have loved, served, and worshipped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like dung. 3 And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the LORD Almighty, have spoken! When God decides to punish there is no messing around as we say, it is punishment that will bring much sorrow, pain, and finally full and deep repentance. Deception by False Prophets 4 "Jeremiah, say to the people, 'This is what the LORD says: When people fall down, don't they get up again? When they start down the wrong road and discover their mistake, don't they turn back?' 5 Then why do these people keep going along their self-destructive path, refusing to turn back, even though I have warned them? 6 I listen to their conversations, and what do 1 hear? Is anyone sorry for sin? Does anyone say, 'What a terrible thing I have done'? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse rushing into battle! 7 The stork knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know what the LORD requires of them. Knowing the ways and commandments of the Lord, knowing His mind, having the mind of Christ in you, is the key to having God walk with you. It would seem that when Israel and/or Judah fall into sin they just cannot turn out of it. It seems to be our nature that makes it extremely difficult to turn from sin once we are deeply caught in its clutches. It would seem only HARD PUNISHMENT gets the Israelites out of deceptive sin and a stiff- hard-heart, towards correctly serving the Almighty One. 8 "How can you say, 'We are wise because we have the law of the LORD,' when your teachers have twisted it so badly? 9 These wise teachers will be shamed by exile for their sin, for they have rejected the word of the LORD. Are they so wise after all? 10 I will give their wives and their farms to others. From the least to the greatest, they trick others to get what does not belong to them. Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that. 11 They offer superficial treatments for my people's mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when all is war. 12 Are they ashamed when they do these disgusting things? No, not at all - they don't even blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be humbled when they are punished, says the LORD. 13 I will take away their rich harvests of figs and grapes. Their fruit trees will all die. All the good things I prepared for them will soon be gone. I, the LORD, have spoken!" The ones who are supposed to be wise, the ones who are to teach the way and law of the Lord, have FALLEN SHORT, they have MISSED THE MARK, they have REJECTED THE TRUTH, they are as Jesus said the blind who lead the blind, and both shall fall into the ditch. Death and destruction shall come on all the leaders and those who follow them, in their wrong way of life. 14 "Then the people will say, 'Why should we wait here to die? Come, let's go to the fortified cities to die there. For the LORD our God has decreed our destruction and has given us a cup of poison to drink because we sinned against the LORD. 15 We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror. 16 The snorting of the enemies warhorses can be heard all the way from the land of Dan in the north! The whole land trembles at the approach of the terrible army, for it is coming to devour the land and everything in it - cities and people alike.' 17 "I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm," says the LORD. "No matter what you do, they will bite you, and you will die." Such is death, such is knowing you are sent to die for your sins and rebellious ways. God will eventually punish the children that He loves, to correct them, to bring them back to serving Him in spirit and in truth. It is one of the great written lessons of God dealing with Israel and Judah through the centuries. SIN finally brings DEATH! Jeremiah Weeps for Sinful Judah 18 My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. 19 Listen to the weeping of my people; it can be heard all across the land. "Has the LORD abandoned Jerusalem*?" the people ask. "Is her King no longer there?" "Oh, why have they angered me with their carved idols and worthless gods?" asks the LORD. 20 "The harvest is finished, and the summer is gone," the people cry, "yet we are not saved!" 21 I weep for the hurt of my people. I am stunned and silent, mute with grief. 22 Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people? Do YOU weep at times for the sins of Israel and Judah today? We have many terrible and huge sins ... crimes, killings, drugs, drunkenness, sexual immorality, adultery, abortion, homosexuality, lesbianism, same sex marriage, broken homes, hate, violence, child abuse, and on and on it goes. We have an outward form of religion but it has no power to make our nations live closer to the way of the Lord. We have doctors, medicine, hospitals, but there is no real healing of our hearts and minds. The overall of the way our nations live has angered the Holy One. He will have to punish us, a very severe punishment, to bring us back to Himself in humble repentance. CHAPTER 9 1 Oh, that my eyes were a fountain of tears; I would weep forever! I would sob day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered. 2 Oh, that I could go away and forget them and live in a shack in the desert, for they are all adulterous and treacherous. Judgment for Disobedience 3 "My people bend their tongues like bows to shoot lies. They refuse to stand up for the truth. And they only go from bad to worse! They care nothing for me," says the LORD. 4 "Beware of your neighbor! Beware of your brother! They all take advantage of one another and spread their slanderous lies. 5 They all fools and defraud each other; no one tells the truth. With practiced tongues they tell lies; they wear themselves out with all their sinning. 6 They pile lie upon lie and utterly refuse to come to me," says the LORD. 7 Therefore, the LORD Almighty says, "See, I will melt them in a crucible and test them like metal. What else can I do with them? 8 For their tongues aim lies like poisoned arrows. They promise peace to their neighbors while planning to kill them. 9 Should I not punish them for this?" asks the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself against a nation such as this?" 10 "I will weep for the mountains and wail for the desert pastures. For they are desolate and empty of life; the lowing of cattle is heard no more; the birds and wild animals all have fled. 11 "I will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins," says the LORD. "It will be a place haunted by jackals. The towns of Judah will be ghost towns, with no one living in them." 12 Who is wise enough to understand all this? Who has been instructed by the LORD and can explain it to others? Why has the land been ruined so completely that no one even dares to travel through it? Are you friend wise enough to understand what the God of Israel has here written and preserved? Can you see behind and beyond the nice sounding politics of those who would desire to be your leader of your Nation, your State, your Province, your Town or City. Yes, they may be sincere, they may want to see good things coming to pass, a better future, better prosperity, better health, equal pay for equal work, a greener economy, peace and not war. They may say all this, promise all this, yet they do NOT have the heart or the mind to TURN our people BACK to serving the Holy One of Israel in spirit and in truth. No matter who comes to lead your nation, the downward slip into more sin and a moving away from the Word of the Lord, is and will be, ever heading down. Are you wise enough to see the picture as God sees it? Why did it come on Judah in the days of Jeremiah? Why will it come on us, at the time of the end? Here is why! 13 The LORD replies, "This has happened because my people have abandoned the instructions I gave them; they have refused to obey my law. 14 Instead, they have stubbornly followed their own desires and worshipped the images of Baal, as their ancestors taught them." 15 So now, listen to what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Look! I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink. 16 I will scatter them around the world, and they will be strangers in distant lands. Their enemies will chase them with the sword until I have destroyed them completely." They were to be destroyed completely, the destruction was to be full and complete, but not every single person was to be destroyed. Weeping in Jerusalem 17 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Think about what is going on! Call for the mourners to come. 18 Quick! Begin your weeping! Let the tears flow from your eyes. Hear the people of Jerusalem (Heb. Zion) crying in despair, 'We are ruined! Disaster has come upon us! We must leave our land, because our homes have been torn down.'" 20 Listen, you women, to the words of the LORD; open your ears to what he has to say. Teach your daughters to wail; teach one another how to lament. 21 For death has crept in through our windows and has entered our mansions. It has killed off the flower of our youth: Children no longer play in the streets, and young men no longer gather in the squares. 22 And the LORD says, "Bodies will be scattered across the fields like dung, or like bundles of grain after the harvest. No one will be left to bury them." 23 This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man gloat in his wisdom, or the mighty man in his might, or the rich man in his riches. 24 Let them boast in this alone: that they truly know Me and understand that I am the LORD who is just and righteous, whose love is unfailing, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken!" Are you coming to KNOW the Lord more and more? Are you growing in grace and knowledge? Are you understanding the mind of God more each day as you study His word? 25 "A time is coming," says the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised in body but not in spirit 26 the Egyptians, Edomites, Ammonites, Moabites, the people who live in distant places, and yes, even the people of Judah. Like all these pagan nations, the people of Israel also have uncircumcised hearts." Truly God is no respecter of persons. All nations will be punished in time for their sins and for the way of living that seems right in their eyes but which are the ways of death. This is the lesson we need to get from the passages we have read about the original destruction that was to come on Judah in the days of Jeremiah. It is written for our instruction, it was recorded (see Jeremiah 30:1-3) for the time will come once more that Israel and Judah will need to be punished for their sins, to again go into captivity, to once more be delivered from the lands of their enemies, to be brought, with weeping and crying, with a humble repentant heart, back to the land of promise, under the mighty arm of the Messiah Christ Jesus, to be the delight of God forever more. ............................................ To be continued