JOSEPH'S BIRTHRIGHT AND JUDAH'S SCEPTRE #7

Joseph's Birthright #7

Israel's Idolatry

JUDAH'S SCEPTRE AND JOSEPH'S BIRTHRIGHT 

by Allen (1917)

CHAPTER VII.

EPHRAIM-SAMARIA-ISRAEL'S IDOLATRY

     "When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of

Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria, for they

commit falsehood." (Hosea 7:1.) Here the names of Israel,

Ephraim, and Samaria, are used interchangeably for the one

kingdom. It bears the name Ephraim, because it is the Birthright

kingdom; that of Samaria, because that was the name of their

capital city; and the name of Israel, for the reason that when

dying Jacob, whose name had been changed to Israel, in bestowing

the Birthright upon Joseph's two sons, said: "Let my name be

named on them."

     When the blessing of Him that dwelt in the bush came upon

Joseph, he who was separated from his brethren, it is declared

that his glory was the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands

of Manasseh. Thus he received, in so far as tribal honor or glory

is concerned, a double portion. So, at the time of the division

of the land by lot, under the leadership of Joshua, we find the

declaration that "there was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh,

for he was the first born of Joseph; but that "they gave no part

unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in," and the

reason given for it is, "For the children of Joseph were two

tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim." Josh.14:4.

     

The fact is that Jacob adopted the two sons of Joseph gave

them tribal headship, and thus made thirteen tribes in Jacob.    

And since Judah, Benjamin, and Levi were the tribal heads of 

the kingdom of Judah, there were still ten tribes for the Birthright

kingdom, and the Lord's promise to the king of Israel stood fast.

The history of the kingdom of Israel, as opposed to that of the

Jews, is full of the sin of Jeroboam and of her kings who walked

in this sin. This sin was, in a special sense, the sin of that

nation. It pertained exclusively to them, because it was born,

bred, lived, and died among them; for no other nation took up

with it, not even their brethren of the kingdom of Judah. It was

the standing sin of the nation; to them it ever stood as an open

door through which other forms of idolatry might enter, and

through which they did enter. For, although it is said of Omri,

the sixth king of Israel, that he wrought evil in the sight of

the Lord in following the sin of Jeroboam, and also that he did

worse than all that were before him, the Lord is compelled to say

of Ahab, the son of Omri, that he did worse than his father; for

it was he who introduced the worship of Baal among the Israelites. 

Following the introduction of Baalism, other idolatries were quickly 

introduced among them, and soon the cup of Israel's iniquity was 

full to the brim; the result of which was that she was cast out of the land.

     Israel was not only cast out of that land, their God-given

heritage and which-if God be true-must yet become their everlasting 

home; but she was cast off by the Lord and divorced from him, 

because of her harlotry in forsaking him, her lawful husband, 

for the worship of idols.

     Before giving the details of the casting out and the casting

off, we deem it advisable to give a complete list of Israel's

dynasties, together with a list of all the kings who reigned over

Israel from the time when the kingdom was taken from Solomon and

given to Jeroboam, his servant, until they were finally driven

out of the land, and also to give what the Scripture saith concerning 

the idolatry of each of these her kings.

     So we place, below, the name and number of the king, the

number of the dynasty, and the length of time which each of the

kings reigned, in one column; and what is said concerning his

idolatry in the other.

I. DYNASTY.

1st King, Jeroboam. Reigned 22 years.

Idolatry

"And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to

the house of David: if this people go up to do sacrifice in the

house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this

people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam, king of

Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam, king of

Judah, whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of

gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to

Jerusalem behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of

the land of Egypt.  And he set the one in Bethel, and the other

he put in Dan. And this thing became a sin, for the people went

to worship." (1 Ki.12 26-30.)

2nd King, Nadab. Reigned 2 years.

"And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way

of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin."

(1 Ki. 15: 26.)

II DYNASTY

3rd King. Baasha. Reigned 24 years.

"And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way

of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin." 

(1 Ki.15: 34.)

4th King. Elah. Reigned 2 years.

"For all the sins of Baasha (Jeroboamism), and the sins of Elah

his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to

sin, etc." (1 Ki.16:13.)

III DYNASTY

5th King. Zimri. Reigned 1 week.

"And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken,

that he went into the palace of the king's house, and burnt the

king's house.”

Reigned 1 week. over him with fire, and died, for his sins which

he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the Lord, in walking in

the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did to make Israel

to sin." (1 Ki.16:18,19.)

IV. DYNASTY.   

6th King. Omri. Reigned 12 years.

"But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord, and did worse

than all that were before him. For he 6th King, Omri. walked in

all the way of Jeroboam, Reigned 12 years. the son of Nebat, and

in his sir wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the Lord

God of Israel to anger with their vanities." (1 Ki.16 25-26.)

7th King. Ahab. Reigned 22 years.

"And Ahab, the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord

above all that were before him. And it 7th King, Ahab. came to

pass, as if it had been a Reigned 22 years. light thing for him

to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that he took

to wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians,

and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. And he reared up an

altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in

Samaria. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the

Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel that were before

him." (1 Ki.16:30-33.)

8th King. Ahaziah. Reigned 2 years.

"And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way

of his father, and in the way of his 8th King, Ahaziah. mother,

and in the way of Jeroboam, Reigned 2 years. the son of Nebat,

who made Israel to sin: for he served Baal, and worshiped him,

and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel, according to all

that his father had done." (1 Ki.22:52,53.)

9th King. Jehoram. Reigned 12 years.

"And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his

father, and like his mother; for he put away Reigned 12 years.

the image of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he

cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam, the son of

Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom." (2

Ki.3:2,3.)

V. DYNASTY.

10th King. Jehu. Reigned 23 years.

"Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made

Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the

golden calves that were in Bethel and that were in Dan."

(2 Ki. 10: 29.)

11th King. Jehoahaz. Reigned 17 years.

"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, and

followed the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which made

Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom." (2 Ki.13: 2.)

12th King. Joash. Reigned 10 years.

"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord; he

departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who

made Israel to sin; but he walked therein." (2 Ki.13:11.)

13th King. Jeroboam, the 2nd, son of Joash. Reigned 41 years.

"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he

departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who

made Israel to sin." (2 Ki.14:24.)

14th King. Zachariah. Reigned 6 months.

"And he did that which was evil imthe sight of the Lord, as his

father had done: he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the

son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." (2 Ki.15 9.)

VI DYNASTY

15th King. Shallum. Reigned 1 month.

(Sins of Shallum not recorded.)

VII DYNASTY

16th King. Menahem. Reigned 10 years.

"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he

departed not all of his days from the sins of Jeroboam, the son

of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." (2 Ki.15:18.)

17th King. Pekahiah. Reigned 2 years.

"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: and he

departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who

made Israel to sin."(2 Ki.15:24.)

18th King. Pekah. Reigned 20 years.

"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord: he

departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who

made Israel to Sin." (2 Ki.15:28.)

19th King. Hoshea. Reigned 22 years.

"And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, but not

as the kings of Israel that were before him." (2 Ki.17:2.)

     After the introduction of Baalism and other idolatries,

there were a few feeble attempts at reformation; but they were

only partial, as we may readily see. Take, for instance, the case

of Jehoram to which we referred in the last chapter; how it is

written that "He wrought evil in the sight of the Lord, but not

like his father and mother, for he put away the image of Baal

that his father had made, nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins

of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin." It was

this slight and hypocritical attempt to purify the worship of the

people which so displeased the Lord, and which made Elisha the

prophet give that scathing rebuke to Jehoram in the presence of

his kinsman kings. For if he knew enough concerning the Lord God

of his race to have his conscience troubled over Baal, he had

sufficient light to have made a clean sweep of the whole thing,

but he did not do it. And the sequel proves that he did not

succeed in destroying Baalism from among his people, for they

were soon back to it, and even went so far as to offer their own

sons and daughters in living sacrifice to the idol of Baal.

It was to this kingdom, the people of which are Israelites and

not Jews, that the Lord sent Elijah the prophet to make the fire

test as to whether he or Baal be God. And when the Lord answered

by fire, which not only consumed the sacrifice but the stones of

the altar, the water in the ditch, and the very dust under the

altar, it was these people who shouted loud and long: "The Lord,

he is God! The Lord, he is God!" But they never forsook

Jeroboam-ism, and soon relapsed into the worship of Baal worse

than ever.

     Finally the Lord raised up Jehu, who destroyed all the house

of Ahab, and became the king of Israel. He, upon his ascension,

"gathered the people together and said unto them, Ahab served

Baal a little; Jehu shall serve him much. Now therefore call unto

me all the prophets of Baal, all his priests; let none be

wanting; for I have a great sacrifice to do for Baal ; whosoever

shall be wanting (lacking) he shall not live. But Jehu did it in

subtlety, to the intent that he might destroy the worshipers of

Baal." (2 Ki.10:19.)

     His ruse worked like a charm; they all came, prophets,

priests and all the worshipers, "so that there was not a man left

that came not," and the house of Baal was full from one end to

the other. Then he commanded his guards to destroy them, saying

that the man who let one escape should pay the penalty with his

own life. They did their work and did it well. So the record

reads, "Thus Jehu did destroy Baal out of Israel." But, oh, note

the very next words: "Howbeit, from the sins of Jeroboam, the son

of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from them, to

wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel and that were in Dan."

(2 Kings 10:29.)

     It was in regard to Israel, this same ten-tribed kingdom,

that the Lord, through the prophet Hosea, said, "Israel slideth

back as a backsliding heifer," and of whom he said, "I will heal

their backslidings, I will love them freely"; and whom he

exhorted, saying: "O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God!" But

they would not. And yet at that same time the Lord declared that

the Jews did have power with him, and that they were among the

faithful saints.

     In the face of all these facts can there be any further

question as to the real meaning of the expression, "Ephraim is

joined to his idols" - Jeroboam's calves? Or need we be

surprised, in the fact of these cold, hard facts, that the Lord

should say, "Let him alone?"

     No, surely no. The only surprise is that we should have been

so stupid as to have tried to spiritualize Ephraim and his idols.

     Since it is a well-known fact that the Jews also went into

the worship of Baal, and that for this they were eventually

carried away to Babylon, we deem it advisable that all may the

more readily grasp other facts with which we shall yet deal, to

give at this juncture a tabulated list of Judah's kings from the

time God broke up the united kingdom,-for you will remember that

he said, "This is of me" - until the Jewish people went into the

Babylonish captivity.

KINGDOM OF JUDAH. 

(Dynasty a continuation of David's house.) 

1st King ............ Rehoboam.......Reigned 17   years

     

2nd  "    ............Abijah ..............  3    

3rd  "    ............Asa ................     41   

4th  "    ............Jehosaphat ..........25   

5th  "    ............Jehoram ............   8    

6th  ..   ............Ahaziah ............    I    

7th  "    ............(Queen) Athaliah....6    

8th  "    ............Jehoash .............    40   

9th  ..   ............Amaziah ............    29   

10th "    ............Azariah, or Uzziah...  52   

11th ..   ............Jotham .............   16   

12th ..   ............Ahaz .............      16   

13th "    ............Hezekiah ...........  29   

14th ..   ............Manassah ...........  55   

15th "    ............Amon ..............    2    

16th "    ............Josiah ..............    31   

17th "    ............Jehoahaz ............  3    mos.

18th "    ............Jehoiakim ...........11   years

19th "    ............Jehoiachin ..........  3    mos.

20th "    ........... Zedekiah ............ 11   years

     

     In this list we perceive that the same dynasty, which

commenced when David was made king over the united tribes,

continues throughout this entire list down to and including

Zedekiah; while, in the previously given list of Israel's kings,

you notice, there are no less than eight dynasties. The reason is

obvious. Judah's kings are the God-given royal line, along which

the swaying sceptre passed from father to son. For the Lord had

promised this family that neither the sceptre nor a law-giver

should depart from them until Shiloh should come. But such was

not the case in the kingdom of Israel, hence feudalism prevailed

among them.

....................

To be continued

 

GOSPEL IN BRITAIN #7

Britain and the Bible

Great rulers loved God's Word

THE BIBLE AND THE BRITISH MONARCHY  by B. L. Bateson From "Thy Kingdom Come" - a publication of The Association of the Covenant People - Vol.17, No.12, December 2004.

     Among the outstanding characteristics of the Celto-Saxon 

peoples  have been love and reverence for the Bible. These are 

distinctive marks  of the true Israel of God.

     At the same time, it is true to say that the nations which

rejoice in the open Bible are, generally speaking, those whose

monarchies and rulers have upheld the Book; that is to say, the

Celto-Saxon peoples of the North-West European countries, the

nations of the British Commonwealth and the United States of

America. On the other hand, the nations which have rejected the

Bible and remained in darkness and superstition have been those

whose monarchs have opposed the open Bible, such as Spain and

France.

     It is also significant that the monarchies which still endure in 

so-called Christendom, and are most firmly enthroned in the love 

and affection of their peoples, are the very ones which have shown 

their devotion to the Word of God. Amongst these none has 

manifested greater love and reverence for the Bible than the

Royal House of Britain. [At least up to George VI, the previous

monarch]

     One of the most illustrious ancestors of our present Royal

House, Alfred the Great, who was crowned king of the West 

Saxons in A.D. 871, was a man of prayer and a lover of the Bible. 

In A.D. 893 he became nominally king of all England, and it has 

been written of him, 'He was the first English king who gave up his

whole life to the welfare of his country.' Other kings had regarded 

their kingship largely as a position to be used for their own pleasure 

and ambition. Alfred treated his solely as a duty which he owed to 

his people. He was not content to be merely a king; he was a father 

of his fatherland, a servant of his own subjects.

     It was without doubt prayerful study of God's Holy Word,

under the influence of the Holy Spirit, was responsible for

Alfred's remarkable character. He instituted great educational

reforms and expressed a desire that every youth should be able 

to read the Scriptures before studying any other subject. Alfred

ordered a translation of the whole Bible into Anglo-Saxon, and

took part in that work of translation himself.

     More than six hundred years elapse before we read of any

further important connection between the Bible and a British

monarch, years which saw the growth of darkness and superstition

in a priest-ridden land. In the sixteenth century, William

Tyndale, who found that he could not print the Scriptures in the

English tongue in his own land, owing to Roman Catholic

opposition, succeeded in printing English New Testaments on the

Continent and importing them secretly into England. On October

6th, 1536, however, he was strangled and burnt at the stake in

Belgium as a heretic. The last words of the martyr were: "Lord,

open the King of England's eyes."

     Tyndale's prayer was answered, and in that same year King

Henry VIII, although he remained a Roman Catholic to the last,

was induced by his Lord Chancellor, Thomas Crom well, to grant a

royal licence for the issue of the Bible in the English language.

This was produced by John Rogers, who was afterwards burnt at the

stake in Mary Tudor's reign. In 1538, Henry issued a Royal

Injunction that the Bible should be set up in all parish

churches, so that it might be available to all who could read.

     This version appeared in 1539 and was known as 'The Great

Bible' owing to its size; also as the 'Chained Bible', because it

was chained to the desks of the churches for safe keeping. When

the king saw it, he said: 'In God's name, let it go forth among

our people.' This was therefore the first really authorized

version of the Bible. Unfortunately, however, Henry afterwards

ceased to encourage the circulation of the Scriptures, and many

copies of the Bible were destroyed.

     In 1547 the boy-king, Edward VI, succeeded his father, Henry

VIII. His tutors were not only scholars but lovers of the Bible,

and Edward VI grew in an atmosphere of Christian in fluence 

and piety. He has been called the 'young Josiah', because, like that

ancient king of Judah, he sought to destroy idolatry and lead his

people in the way of the. Lord. It is said that at his Coronation

three swords of state were brought to be carried before him, as

the king of three kingdoms. Edward remarked that there was yet

one wanting and, when the nobles enquired his meaning; he replied

that it was the Bible, adding: 'That book is the Sword of the

Spirit, and to be preferred before these swords. That ought in

all right to govern us, who use them for the people's safety by

God's appointment. Without that sword we are nothing, we can do

nothing, we have no power. From that we are what we are this day.

From that we receive whatsoever it is that we at this present do

assume. He that rules without it is not to be called God's minister, 

or a king. Under that we ought to live, to fight, to govern the 

people and to perform all our own affairs. From that alone we 

obtain all power, virtue, grace, salvation, and whatsoever we need 

of Divine strength.'

     He then commanded a Bible to be brought and carried before

him with great reverence. One of his earliest acts was an

injunction requiring the great Bible to be placed in every parish

church within three months, and that everyone should be exhorted

by the clergy to read it.

     Following the boy-king's death, during the dark days and

persecutions of Mary's reign, every possible step was taken to

undo Edward's work, and thus it was Queen Elizabeth's task, 

when she succeeded to the Throne, to restore to her people the 

open Bible. For her public entry into London the inhabitants of the

city had prepared a number of triumphal arches to welcome their

new Queen. These arches bore witness to the hopes of the people,

for they were rich in elaborate symbolism. Some of them were

historical and allegorical tableaux. Among them, one exhibited

"Time" leading forth from the curse of ignorance of his daughter,

Truth. Truth bore in her hand an English Bible, which she

presented to the Queen. Elizabeth took it reverently in both

hands, pressed it to her heart and raised it to her lips. This

was a happy augury for her reign. Realizing that the days of

tyranny and oppression were passed, the populace gave way to

rejoicing. The year after her Coronation she accepted the

dedication of the Geneva Bible, copies of which were issued in

smaller forms suitable for personal and domestic use, and thus,

under Elizabeth, the Word of God spread rapidly from the churches

to the homes of England.

     Elizabeth I in her reign the Word of God spread rapidly from

the churches to the homes of England.

     James VI of Scotland, who succeeded Elizabeth as James I of

England, and united the crowns of the two countries, was once

called by the King of France 'The wisest fool in Christendom'.

Whatever foolish things he may have done, however, James showed

true wisdom in adopting a suggestion made by Dr. Reynolds, one of

the Puritan leaders at the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, that

it was time a new translation of the Bible was made. The king

suggested a plan for carrying out this project. This was that

learned men from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge should

be chosen to do the work; that it should then be reviewed by the

bishops and most learned men of the Church, then sanctioned by

the Privy Council, and finally ratified by royal authority and

made the sole Bible to be used in the Church of England. This

version appeared in 1611 and has ever since been known as the

'Authorized' Version, although, for some unknown reason, it was

never laid before the King's Privy Council and officially

authorized as James had intended. From that time to this, no

other version has superseded this excellent translation in its

most beautiful English.

     William III and Mary, who succeeded to the throne upon the

deposition of James II for attempting to subvert the Protestant

Faith and destroy the freedom of the people, were crowned as

joint rulers in 1689, and it was upon this occasion that the

presentation of the Bible to the Sovereign first formed part of

the official coronation ceremony. In their reign the Society for

Promoting Christian Knowledge began its work and the Society 

for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts received a

charter.

     Passing over a few more pages of history, it was during the

reign of George 111 (1804) that the British and Foreign Bible

Society was founded. His fourth son, the Duke of Kent, and father

of Queen Victoria, spoke at the Annual Meeting of the Society in

1813 and stated that it was his father's wish that there might

not be a cottage in the land without a Bible, or a child that

could not read it.

     In 1838, a year after her accession, Queen Victoria became

Patron of the Windsor Auxiliary of the Society, and held that

position until her death, when she was succeeded by Queen

Alexandra. That great and noble Queen, Victoria, was a great

lover of the Bible, and she knew how to wield the 'Sword of the

Spirit' to the salvation of souls. On one occasion she was asked

the secret of Britain's greatness. Picking up the Bible which was

beside her, the Queen replied: 'This is the secret of Britain's

greatness.' When the Bible Society celebrated its Jubilee in

1854, the Queen sent a personal gift to the funds; whilst almost

the first public function carried out by the Prince of Wales was

the laying of the foundation stone of the present Bible House in

June 11th, 1866.

     Early in his life King George V promised his mother, Queen

Alexandra, that he would read a chapter of the Bible every day, 

a promise which he faithfully fulfilled. It is not surprising,

therefore, that his son, George VI, a very beloved Sovereign,

grew to love, revere and obey the Bible, and that he, together

with his gracious Consort, on many occasions, stressed the vital

importance of reading the Word of God. During the dark days of

1940, George VI sent the following message to many millions of

men and women in the Services, printed on the flyleaf of specially 

published New Testaments: 'To all serving in my Forces by sea 

or land or in the air, and, indeed, to all my people engaged in the 

defence of the Realm, I commend the reading of this Book. 

For centuries the Bible has been a wholesome and strengthening 

influence in our national life, and it behoves us in these momentous 

days to turn with renewed faith to this Divine source of comfort 

and inspiration.'

     In June 1944, when the Bible Society was engaged in a

campaign in London, Her Majesty the Queen sent a personal 

message in which she said 'I welcome this effort of the Bible 

Society to bring the Bible back to the people and the people 

back to the Bible, and it is my earnest prayer that God's rich 

blessing will rest upon this and similar enterprises.'

     The reigns of the three great monarchs which were most

conspicuously marked by a national and official recognition of

the Word of God were the three most progressive, most prosperous

and most glorious periods in the whole history of England.

     Thus, in the reign of Alfred the Great our country grew from

a state of ignorance and division into a united and civilized

kingdom. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, England for the first

time took her position as a great world power, and during the

reign of the great and good Queen Victoria she enjoyed an era of

blessing and prosperity hitherto unparalleled.

Courtesy The National Message (abridged)

                             ................

A DECLARATION WE DON'T HEAR FROM TODAY'S LEADERS

 "And in my governing [of] this land, I have ever set the last

Judgement day before mine eyes, and so to rule, as I shall be

Judged and answer before a higher Judge, to whose Judgement Seat

I do appeal in for those thoughts [that are sometimes] cherished

in my heart that tended not to [be for] my peoples good." (from

last speech of Queen Elizabeth I)

                              ...............

     Yes, there was a time our nations were GREATLY BLESSED.

Though it's leaders and it's people did NOT understand all the

truths of the Bible, and all the ways of the Lord for us to live,

they were in some areas of religion DECIEVED and BLINDED, yet

they were close to the Lord as they knew best, sincere, and had a

mighty LOVE of His WORD, the Holy Bible. With that in view the

Almighty BLESSED them AND the nations they ruled and governed. 

Though they sometimes ruled un-righteously, the overall was good 

In many ways.

    I grew up in the 1940s and 1950s when the villages and towns 

Closed down on Sunday, observing Sabbath, that I grew up from 

Age 7 going to a Church for England school, and a local Sunday 

school. Being taught that the 10 Commandments should be obeyed,

I believed Sunday was the 7th day of the week, for I knew and could 

recite the Ten Commandments as in Exodus 20, word for word as in  

the KJV Bible. Not one person ever told me that Sunday was the 

first day of the week—— I was reading the Bible as an innocent 

child and teenager, as to the 4th commandment. But at least society

was “religious” per se.  But today it is a night and day difference.

     It is sad to see that today there is NO ONE to lead our

nations to the Bible as our leaders once did. We as nations of

people are continually REJECTING God's Holy Word and Laws, 

some call it "progressive" and "tolerance with love" as we continue 

on the path of abortion on demand and the legalizing of marriages

between the same sex. We even have “gay” minister of “Christian”

churches, I put Christian in “ ... ”

     In rejecting (ever casting God out of our schools etc.) we

head into the day of reaping what we sow. Sin and unrighteousness

can only bring ultimate destruction of our nations. This is the

teaching of all history, the old Roman Empire and its fall is

witness to the end result of sin and evil and a rejection of what

is good, pure, holy, and righteous.

     It was foretold by Jesus that before His return evil was to

abound and the love (true love) of many would wax cold. We are

into those days, we are into the last days of this age and as God

wills, the nations will reap what they have and what they are,

sowing.

     But beyond the evil and horror of what is yet to come on

this earth, we have the sure promise from God that there is

coming an age of RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS. And the 

leaders of the world tomorrow WILL ONCE MORE HOLD 

UP THE BIBLE TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE NATIONS 

THEY WILL SERVE AND GOVERN!!

     The truths of all that is yet to come, bad and then GOOD, is

expounded fully in many studies on my Website.

     We continue to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on

earth as it is in heaven."

Keith Hunt