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Part 4: Psalms 91-120 PSALM 91 By Neville V. Stevens New International Version used throughout unless otherwise specified. In these Psalms, we learn
all about the ‘knowledge of Salvation’ and what it means to Christians and
Jews today. Although ‘salvation’ is often spoken of in the
churches, does anyone really know what it means or when it will occur? The Word of God makes it very clear! Psa 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This is a very specific, prophetic statement! And it means what it says. There is a shelter where
the Sons of Jerusalem will dwell and it’s high up on a mountain with an
eagle’s eye-view of everything around.
What is more, they will be dwelling in the shadow of the Majestic Glory which will cast a great light and which will
be seen by many people living in the area. This is partially explained by Jesus words
in Matt
4:12-17 “When Jesus heard that John
had been put in prison, he
returned to It was obvious at this
point that Jesus Christ would have to return to take over His
Kingdom since His reign did not begin then. His right to reign, however, did! To this end, forceful men-at-arms will take the
Kingdom by force in preparation for the Lord
Christ’s arrival. Jesus Christ
confirmed this when He spoke about
John the Baptist: Matt 11:7-15 “As
John's disciples were leaving (after
Jesus learned that John had been put in prison),
Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did
you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 8
If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No,
those who wear fine clothes are in kings' palaces. 9 Then what did
you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10
This is the one about whom it is
written: "`I will send my messenger ahead
of you, who will prepare your way before you.'” Jesus said this after John had
been put in prison (see V2). It
was after this that Jesus returned to
Galilee and went to live in John came
alright, and prepared the way for the Lord Christ, but the At His first
appearance, Jesus Christ did not take over the reins of government on earth, but at
His next appearance He will! He will
be the same Jesus who
was born to the Virgin Mary, but this time the government will be on His
shoulders and His Kingdom will be established: Isa 9:6-7 “For
to us a child is born, to
us a son is given, and the government
will be on his shoulders. And
he will be called Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his
government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over
his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will
accomplish this.” As the Wonderful Counselor, He ensured that the Apostles had His Spirit which was to be sent by God in
Jesus’ Name. We can read
all about this Promised Counselor,
this Teacher of Wisdom –
the very Spirit of Christ –
in John
14:15-31. This Spirit of Christ, The Counselor, is an addition
to the Holy Spirit, which
was given as a down-payment, but The Counselor reveals all things (V26), namely the Testimony of Jesus, which
is the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev 19:10). Without the Spirit of Prophecy, no-one knows the Testimony of Jesus.
The Wonderful Counselor
is given to those who will take the Understandably, there are
now thousands of Christian churches arguing and fighting over doctrinal
issues and none of them understand anything!
And none of them ever will unless they obey the Commandments of God – as
Jesus did – and hold to the Testimony of Jesus as the offspring
of the Woman will do (Rev 12:17). Even these offspring will suffer terribly
for their tardiness in accepting the Testimony
of Jesus. Psa 91:2 I will say of the LORD,
"He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I
trust." This confirms the meaning of what is said
in V1
about dwelling in the shelter of
the Most High. Psa 91:3 Surely he will save you from
the fowler's snare and from
the deadly pestilence. A fowler’s snare is
used to catch birds. Unfortunately for
the fowler, his efforts will be in vain.
Those who dwell in
the ‘shelter of the Most High’
will be immune to the fowlers
snares. But the fowler and his
cohorts will not be immune to the weapon used against them, which
is described as a deadly pestilence. Psa 91:4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. This describes a ‘great eagle’ covering its
fledglings. The fowler’s snare is a reference to this and who their target
is. Psa 91:5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor
the arrow that flies by day, Psa 91:6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor
the plague that destroys at midday. There’s always some lunatic somewhere, even today, that wants to put God to the test! So they set traps and snares and fire their
‘arrows’ at the servants of God. They
lack the comprehension to know that God’s servants are under His care and
protection. For such hostile lunatics,
a quick death is not appropriate. If
they understood the Scriptures, they’d know that God has some serious weapons
in His arsenal. Although it’s a
prophecy for a later time,
God describes one of His plagues that will afflict those who attack Jerusalem: Zech 14:12-14
“This is the
plague with which the LORD will strike
all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while
they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their
sockets, and their tongues will rot in their
mouths. 13 On that day men will be stricken by the
LORD with great panic. Each man will seize the hand of another, and they will
attack each other. 14 So those who lay traps
and snares and fire upon God’s servants will not have an easy
exit from life: Psa 91:7 A thousand may fall at your
side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not
come near you. These are serious plagues, but God’s servants will be immune from
them! Yet those who attack them will not
be immune, and they’ll have just enough time to contemplate what they have
done. Psa 91:8 You will only observe with your eyes and see
the punishment of the wicked.
In complete
contrast to the Tribes of Israel and the churches today, God’s servants know who the wicked are! And soon the Western world will know
too! God’s servants will see them die
in their thousands and ten thousands at God’s hand, so all ambiguity will be
removed. Psa 91:9 If you make the Most High your dwelling-- even the LORD, who is my refuge-- Psa 91:10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent. Most Christians today
make their local preachers their refuge; they’d rather listen to them than
seek the refuge of the Most
High God. They’ll have to
learn the hard way that they are not under God’s
protection! If they don’t listen to
God then He will refuse to listen to them! The Psa 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard
you
in all your ways; Psa 91:12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not
strike your foot against a stone. There’s a very
interesting story behind this. It
relates to something the devil quoted, which involved his temptation of Jesus
Christ. He tried to get Jesus to jump
off a Jesus knew that this was
speaking of a certain man who would be under God’s protection in Yet, just as
assuredly, the devil will muster forces against the servants of God. The outcome, as we’ve seen, will be a
foregone conclusion. The devil’s
forces will die horribly and no harm will come to God’s servants. Psa 91:13 You will tread upon the lion
and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. Ferocious beasts and coiling, slimy reptiles (as they’re
euphemistically described) will be crushed by God’s servants. In fact, this is the outcome of another
prophecy that was given in the Garden of Eden: Gen 3:14-15 “So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above
all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will
eat dust all the days of your life. 15
And I will put enmity between
you and the woman, and between
your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike
his heel." Two
things you’ll quickly notice in this parable; firstly,
the devil has offspring,
and secondly, the ‘woman’ is referred to as “he”. The ‘woman’ will crush the head
of the devil and the whole array of his offspring – described as ‘wild
animals’, and the devil will strike at the heel of the “woman”. We could say that the devil’s forces will
try to nip at the
heels of the ‘woman’ like
dogs and jackals, because in Jesus own words, this is what they
are! Dogs, jackals and wild animals,
as well as snakes and vipers! The ‘woman’ of
course, is the House of David,
which
gave birth to Jesus Christ: Rev 12:13-17 “When the
dragon saw that he had been
hurled to the earth, he pursued
the WOMAN who
had given birth to the male child.” This is where the enmity
between the serpent [dragon] and the woman sets in. V14 “The WOMAN was given the TWO WINGS OF A GREAT EAGLE, so
that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be
taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. 15 Then from his
mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the WOMAN and sweep her away with
the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the WOMAN by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that
the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the WOMAN and went off to
make war against the rest of her
offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” It goes without saying that the offspring of the WOMAN obey the Commandments of God! What is more, they also hold
to the Testimony of Jesus
which, as we all know, is the Spirit
of Prophecy (Rev 19:10).
The offspring of the WOMAN
is actually the Speaking of the WOMAN, who crushes the heads
of Satan’s offspring, God says this: Psa 91:14 "Because he loves me,"
says the LORD, "I will rescue
him; I will protect him,
for
he acknowledges my name. We just read of the first
rescue when Satan tries to destroy the ‘Woman’ with a flood. You’ll also notice that God refers to the WOMAN as ‘he’. As we all know, the Woman is the House
of David, which gave birth to Jesus Christ. Jesus, of course, is the Son of David. Psa 91:15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble,
I
will deliver him and honor him.
There is no
greater honour than to be victorious in battle – especially when fighting for
God’s Kingdom! Psa 91:16 With long life will I satisfy
him and show him my
salvation." God’s servants will see God’s salvation! These are the faithful brothers of Elijah,
and the sons of God
appointed to prepare the way for
the Lord Christ. It’s these
sons who establish the House of David once
again. Elijah is a true Levite! His brothers are either true Levites or
grafted Levites, and they too will have long lives. In fact, very long lives! When we get to Psalm 103 we’ll read more about
this. But here’s a quick preview: Psa 103:2-5
“Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits-- 3 who
forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your
life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who
satisfies your desires with good things so
that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.” When God calls His servants to duty, they
sometimes have diseases and ailments, and after a period of testing, He heals
them. What is more, “their
youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
We’ve just been reading about the Great Eagle covering its fledgling
offspring. These are the ones whose
youth will be restored or renewed.
It’s not the state of our bodies that God is concerned about, but the
state of our minds. Our bodies can be
repaired, but our minds can be a world of their own, and they have to be
trained in righteousness. Only through
God’s Holy Spirit can this be achieved.
Our bodies or flesh count for nothing! John 6:63 “The
Spirit gives life; the
flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” In Psa 92:14 below we’ll see a further reference to these things. PSALM 92 A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day. Psa 92:1 It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High, Psa 92:2 to proclaim your love in the morning and
your faithfulness at night, Psa 92:3 to the music of the
ten-stringed lyre and the melody of
the harp. It’s good to be
proclaiming God’s love in the morning, in the daylight hours, because soon
the long, dark night will
descend, and this is when God’s faithfulness comes to the fore. Those who were faithful to God will find He
is faithful in return, and this is when you will need this assurance. If no preparation was made for this event,
then survival will look very doubtful.
Without proper preparation, the average Christian won’t have the chops
to handle it. And just a quick
reference to the “melody of the
harp”. Those who have proven
faithful to God will be given harps
to sing the Song of Moses
and the Song of the Lamb (Rev 15:2-3). This occurs just before the seven last plagues are
released on the world and just after the long, dark night – which,
incidentally, lasts for many years.
This will be the climax of God’s fury against the inhabitants of the
earth following the almost universal acceptance of the Mark of the Beast.
Those who are given the harps to sing the Song of Moses are the ones
who refused the Mark
of the Beast (same verse). Psa 92:4 For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD; I sing for joy at the works of your
hands. More and more people
today are despising the
work of God’s hands, preferring to believe in evolution. Whether it be through
a brain malfunction or lack of observation ability, they should have known
that the design and perfection
of every living creature proves that a Master
Designer and Creator has
been at work with His hands.
There are people in this world who crave so much to be recognized as ‘intelligent’ and ‘scientific’ that they couldn’t see reason if you pounded them
over the head with it. Oddly enough, many of
these people claim to be Christians.
And as Christians, they would surely know of God’s indictment against
them in the Scriptures: Rom 1:18-27 “The wrath of God is being
revealed from heaven against all the godlessness
and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by
their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God
is plain to them, because
God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his
eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been
made, so that men are without excuse.” This stands as a powerful indictment
against all who seek to discredit the work
of God’s hands, and cretinous and arrogant human beings should know
better. As Christian nations, we were
taught from an early age to believe in the Great Creator God. These were our formative years as
Christians and we didn’t doubt the existence of a Creator. Then along the way came the godless and wicked men, who claimed to be wise, and who
sought to suppress the truth. V21 “For although they
knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile
and their foolish hearts were
darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for
images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.” And so began the trend to worship
the creation more
than the Creator! And now
the trend is to worship, not the Creator, but ‘Mother
Earth’. All the pseudo
‘wise’ now believe that ‘Mother
Earth’ is a living breathing entity which must be assuaged from
violently punishing us all for breathing carbon dioxide into the air, and
mindless and godless lunatics believe them!
This obsessive lunacy about carbon dioxide, which represents around
.03% of the atmosphere, and which is an essential plant food, has now
degenerated to being classified as a noxious poison which must be
eliminated. The lunatics are in control of
the asylum! ‘Mother
earth’ or ‘Gaia’ the Hindu god, as some refer
to it, is not in control of the climate! God is! And now we discover the outcome
and the punishment for these mindless and pagan
beliefs! V24 “Therefore
God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading
of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged
the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things
rather
than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26 BECAUSE OF THIS, God gave them
over to shameful lusts. Even
their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27
In
the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were
inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed INDECENT ACTS with other men, and received in
themselves the due penalty for their perversion.” Thousands of these faggots received
their due penalty with AIDS
and other sexually transmitted diseases, and duly died. Others continue to linger with their
diseases knowing that death is inevitable. This prophecy has been
fulfilled in our time, and we’ve seen it happen in our day. This is a serious sign to all that that
should have given thanks to the
Creator God and acknowledged
and obeyed Him! Psa 92:5 How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your thoughts! Not only are the works of
God’s hands great, but His thoughts are equally great. So many Christians come to the wrong
conclusions on everything because they don’t understand the thoughts and
intentions of God. Generally speaking,
Christians will happily ‘cross the
floor’ when it comes to the question of creation versus evolution because
of peer pressure, yet they still believe God owes them something in the
afterlife. If they understood how
profound the thoughts of God were, they would realize that love and
faithfulness to Him is their primary responsibility. In other words, as a part of the creation,
they owe to their Creator and not the other
way around. Disobedience carries severe penalties – not
rewards in the afterlife.
Senselessness and disobedience will only lead to death forever. God intends to create the
perfect Kingdom, made up of perfectly obedient people. Senseless fools would never understand
this. Psa 92:6 The senseless man does not know, fools do not understand, Psa 92:7 that though the wicked spring up like grass and
all
evildoers flourish, they
will be forever destroyed. There will be no place in
God’s Kingdom for stupid, wishy-washy people who can’t even control their own
minds! And who still they continue to
believe that God owes them something.
Well, God’s advice to them is that they will be forever destroyed!
They’ll be gone forever! Why
would God want un-teachable, self-opinionated people in His Kingdom? Psa 92:8 But you, O LORD, are exalted
forever. Psa 92:9 For surely your enemies, O LORD, surely your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered. Those who become the enemies of God through disobedience will surely
know the consequences. The greater
part of the world is covered with pagans in one form or another. These have the distinct characteristics of
being like their father the devil.
They think like him and they act like him. As long as they choose to emulate the
devil, they are useless to God for any purpose – except one! And we’ll get to this in a moment. The House of Israel has a
long history of emulating the nations of the earth and adopting their
practices. This was the trend in days
of old, and it’s still the trend today.
To be sure, there were subtleties involved when the practices of
pagans were slowly introduced. Often
it was the cuisine, the eating of forbidden animals and other creatures,
which led to the adoption of pagan cultures.
Anything that heightened the senses was desirable to them, regardless
of what God had to say to the contrary.
One thing led to another, and before long, multiculturalism became the
desirable standard. The Tribes of
Israel wanted to experience all that other cultures had to offer. In fact, Western nations, who promote
multiculturalism, like to make the point that it’s the cuisine of other
nations which has enriched their lives.
Therefore, it was desirable to dilute our gene pool to accommodate the
pagan migrants. They seem to forget
that these people bring other practices with them other than their food
styles, and they never seem to assimilate to the culture of their host
countries. Long ago, God made a
distinction between the nations of the earth and His people And how does God intend
to punish them? By the same manner
which they experienced in And now we get to the
question we just posed about God’s use of His enemies and what that purpose
is. God has many enemies outside of His
chosen
people, the 12 Tribes of The warnings have always
been there, but it was intended that the penalties for disobedience would be
enacted at the end of 6,000 years.
These climactic and disastrous events would herald in the So clearly, God is going
to punish His people, the Tribes of Israel, for their sins. We can all be thankful that God has an
exit-strategy. He plans to rescue them
and bring them back to their ancestral lands where they will receive their
allotted territories and once again live in safety. Yet before this, they will be
punished in a way that has no precedence in the history of the world. Wave after wave of catastrophic events will
destroy them and their enemies will take full advantage of this until only a
remnant remains alive. How much easier it would
have been to acknowledge their Creator God and obey Him! We already know that this is not going to
happen; the trend is already heading towards the opposite spectrum. The House of Israel is determined to live
their lives in any manner they choose, and they don’t want the Creator God to
interfere. In just a little while they
will be crying out to God but He won’t be listening! Don’t think this to be too strange, because
God turned His back on our Lord Jesus immediately before He took our sins on
Himself. He paid the penalty for the past
sins
of those who would afterwards follow Him in His obedience to the Father. All have sinned and come short of the glory
of God, but it’s those who come to repentance who hold God’s interest. His plan is to regenerate the earth with
people just like His Son Jesus. It’s God’s intention to
rescue the remnant of His people This will come about when
the world has descended into chaos, and the ‘lost sheep of Psa 92:10 You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; fine
oils have been poured upon me.
Traditionally,
the pouring of oil was for
the anointing of kings: 1Sam 16:13 “So Samuel
took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence
of his brothers, and from that day
on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David IN POWER.” The extent of
this POWER can be seen in
his battle with Goliath. While all the
armies of the Israelites trembled before him, David went boldly out and
killed him! This same power will be on
God’s anointed ones, and
the enemies of God will be ill-matched against them. Psa 92:11 My eyes have seen
the defeat of my adversaries;
my ears have heard the rout of my
wicked foes. That great POWER never departed from
David, and he saw his enemies routed and vanquished! This is the same assurance that God gives
to His servants when He anoints them with His Holy Spirit. God likes to make a clear
distinction between His servants who serve Him – and those who do not! Psa 92:12 The righteous will flourish
like a palm tree, they will grow
like a cedar of Lebanon; Psa 92:13 planted in the house of the
LORD, they will flourish in
the courts of our God. The ‘courts of our God’ dispense God’s Law, and those who will flourish there
will be the keepers of the Law. Obviously, these are the teachers
of God’s Law, and what they
teach
is righteousness! Like palm
trees and cedars,
they will stand taller in the eyes of God.
Even at a great age, they will remain youthful or ‘fresh and green’ as the next
verse states: Psa 92:14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they
will stay fresh and green, Psa 92:15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and
there is no wickedness in him." Unlike Christians today who believe God’s Law is wickedness and
shouldn’t be kept, God’s servants will obey the Rock, who gave the Law at Mount Sinai (or Horeb),
which we all know is Jesus Christ
(1Cor 10:4). Christianity today had better get their act
together and stop persecuting those who obey God’s Law! Why are they so obsessed with criticizing
obedience to God? Surely if they want
to criticize others, a more appropriate criticism should be against something
like same-sex marriage. But even in
this they disagree with God when He instituted marriage between a man and a woman – and especially since
He has condemned those who disagree and who are now proposing their own form
of ‘marriage’. Their form of ‘marriage’ is perversion, and it carries a heavy penalty. Is this the type of perversion they clamber
for? Well, they’ll see plenty of it in
the Great Tribulation, whether they be willing partners or not! As for the reference to
bearing fruit in old age, yet staying fresh and green like a palm tree or a
cedar, the Prophet Isaiah adds this reference: Isa 65:22-23 “No longer will they build houses and others live in
them, or plant and others eat. FOR AS THE DAYS OF A TREE, so
will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their
hands. 23 They will not toil in vain or bear children
doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them.” PSALM 93 And now we come to the
final conclusions to six thousand years of this present creation – the time
of the establishment of the Psa 93:1 The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the
LORD is robed in majesty and is armed
with strength. The world is firmly established;
it
cannot be moved. As we previously said, the
world, as we know it, will be moved and all the continents restored to their original positions, but
this will occur before the LORD
reigns over all the earth. Psa 93:2 Your throne was established
long ago; you are from all eternity. This is a difficult concept to grasp when specifically speaking of the
meaning of eternity in the
past. On the other hand, we can easily
contemplate eternity into
the future, and even visualize a world without end. To visualize these things, we need to go
back to the very beginning.
Thankfully, Almighty God has given us this insight through the wisest
man who ever lived. David’s son
Solomon is this man. Because God loved
David, His Son Jesus was born through his ancestral linage as well as the
linage of Solomon. Solomon wrote many
profound things about life and this creation and even when it all began. Like David, and like his famous descendant
Jesus, Solomon spoke in parables. And thus he takes on the persona of the One
he is speaking of and speaks in the first person tense: Pro 8:22-33 “The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old; 23 I
was appointed from eternity, from
the beginning, before the world began.” Solomon is speaking about eternity, and you’ll quickly
notice that this is not speaking about him
personally. V24 “When
there were no oceans, I was given birth, when there
were no springs abounding with water; 25 before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, 26
before he made the earth or
its fields or any of the dust of the world.”
Before the
world began, before the mountains were settled in place, before there were any oceans, this is
when
this
Being was born. V27 “I was there
when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep (a
reference to the landmass of the earth), 28
when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the
deep, 29 when he gave
the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.” This Being was there when all these
things were done, and what is more, He was in the company of another, and was
a craftsman at His side: V30 “Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. 32
"Now then, my sons, listen
to me; blessed are those
who keep my ways. 33
Listen to my instruction and
be wise; do not ignore it.”
This last exhortation is the
very words of the Craftsman,
the Creator at
His Father’s side. Perhaps some people don’t
know this, but as the Creator, God
continues with His work everyday: John 5:17 “Jesus
said to them, "My Father is
always at his work to this very day, and
I, too, am working." It’s quite funny that some people seem to
believe that their ‘reward’ is to become lazy lay-abouts with no duties and
no responsibilities. When God speaks
of “my
sons”, He expects them to be creative and productive – just
like Him! It’s no coincidence that
Jesus’ career while on earth was that of a carpenter and stonemason; that is,
a builder and designer. Consequently,
He was a fit and muscular man! It’s
grossly insulting to portray Him in any other way. Today we live
in a world awash with labor-saving devices and real labor has become a thing
of the past. Added to this, we have
instant entertainment, on call, 24 hours a day. Hence people clamber to be entertained, and
creativity has become a low priority.
Anyone who has a son will know their joy at building sand castles or
playing in the backyard sandpit, building roads and using a block of wood as
a vehicle. This is creativity that little
children rejoice in. They also like to
draw and design, while developing the thoughts of their minds. The more we encourage this, the more
productive and creative they become in life.
These are the sorts of children who are best equipped as productive,
problem-solvers in this world in later life.
And of course, Solomon wrote many things in support of training our
children in the Book of Proverbs. It’s worth
noting that the days are coming when life will no longer be easy. It will be only the skilful, productive and
innovative ones who will survive. The
reason being that nothing will be left of their former lives! Everything will be swept away, and survival
will depend on them being able to use basic tools to provide food, shelter
and clothing. These are some of the
problems the people of the earth will face when God restores the face of the
earth. And this is the event which the
Psalmist speaks of in the next verse: Psa 93:3 The seas have lifted up, O LORD, the seas have lifted up
their voice; the seas have lifted
up their pounding waves. In recent years we’ve
seen plenty of tsunamis which are caused by the displacement of the earth’s
mass through earthquakes at the sea floor.
These are relatively minor in comparison to the tsunamis that will
result when the continents and islands are moved back to their original
positions. The people on the earth
will be perplexed and horrified by what they see, and the prospects of
survival will seem very grim. Mariners
know the terrors of riding out a storm in a great ship, and in such
circumstances, they long for the safety of land. In that day, however, the land will offer
little protection and the death toll will be horrific. God has said that He
would never again destroy all the earth’s inhabitants with a flood as He did
in the days of Noah. But at the same
time, He was putting them on notice that destruction would be forthcoming
through other means, and as it happens, the means to do this will be through the restoration of the
earth. When the continents and
islands begin their migration back to their original form, the ‘tectonic plate theory’ will be seen as
the product of sick minds of people who’ve never been able to prove their
theory. It will be obvious in that day
that the fictitious tectonic-plate theory is not responsible
for what their eyes are seeing. For
forty years, observers have had the benefit of the satellite positioning
systems, and to this very day, they’ve been unable to demonstrate that any
continent has moved. According to their
theory, the continents should have moved somewhere between 1-2 metres in the
past 40 years, but this just hasn’t happened!
Perhaps then they’ll see their ridiculous theory as merely an
extension of their ‘mother earth’ theory, where the
creation is worshipped rather than the Creator. The theory is that the earth is alive and
slowly recycling itself, engulfing some regions and disgorging others. The real problem with their theory is that
there is no evidence for it. Almighty God intends to
get the attention of everyone who has demeaned Him as the Creator, and
they’ll certainly know when He does this!
When the continents and islands migrate back to their original
positions, the most notable evidence will be the surging of the sea as
displacement begins. It’s the mighty
power of God which will do these things. Psa 93:4 Mightier than the thunder
of the great waters, mightier
than the breakers of the sea-- the
LORD on high is mighty. Psa 93:5 Your statutes stand firm; holiness adorns your
house for endless days,
O LORD. We’ve seen too much in history to fail to
acknowledge that human beings in their natural form are not ideal candidates
for God’s Kingdom. The history of
humanity has been brutal and evil.
Every vile excess has been practiced, and rarely was the sanctity of
life ever acknowledged throughout most of history. Human beings have merely done as they
pleased and lived their lives with no regard for their Creator God, and they
certainly didn’t seek His advice in matters of conduct. As it happens, it’s their conduct for which
they will be judged. The stark reality
is that most will be judged in absentia.
There will be no formal charges for the vast majority of people on
earth. They’ll be judged by the Judge of the Earth, and He
will pay them back for what their
actions deserve. PSALM 94 Psa 94:1 O LORD, the God
who avenges, O God who
avenges, shine forth. All Christians would be
familiar with these words: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” This is the context of what the Book of
Hebrews says in this regard: Heb 10:26-31 “If we
deliberately keep on sinning after we have received
the knowledge of the truth,
no
sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and
of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. 28
Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of
two or three witnesses. 29 How much more severely do
you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under
foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30
For we know him who said, "IT
IS MINE TO AVENGE; I WILL REPAY," and again, "The Lord will
judge his people." 31 It
is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” We’ve spoken
a lot about the Song of Moses
which will be sung by the Saints to the accompaniment of harps (Rev 15:3). It was Moses who wrote the
words above about vengeance
belonging to God, as quoted in the Book of Hebrews, and even more
surprising, it’s a part of the Song
of Moses: Deut 32:35-47 “IT IS MINE TO AVENGE; I WILL REPAY. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near
and their doom rushes upon them."
36 The LORD will judge his people and have compassion on his
servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or
free. 37 He will say: "Now where are their gods, the
rock they took refuge in, 38 the gods who ate the fat of
their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter!” God makes no pretense about being a jealous
God (see the 2nd Commandment), and when people worship false gods,
they can expect no mercy. Vengeance
belongs to God! V39 “See now that
I myself am He! There is no god
besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I
will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. 40 I lift my
hand to heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, 41 when I sharpen my flashing sword
and my hand grasps it in judgment,
I will take vengeance on my
adversaries and repay those who hate me.” These are the words of the Creator God
Himself, so there is no excuse for failing to understand His intent! V42 “I
will make my arrows drunk with blood, while my sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and
the captives, the heads of the
enemy leaders." 43 Rejoice, O nations, with his
people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants;
he will take vengeance on his
enemies and make atonement
for his land and people.” And now Moses
concludes the words of the Song of
Moses: V44 “Moses came
with Joshua son of Nun and spoke all
the words of this SONG in the hearing of the people. 45 When
Moses finished reciting all these words to
all Israel, 46 he said to them, "Take to heart all
the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command
your children to obey carefully all
the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you--they are your life.” Yes, the words of God’s Law are not just idle
words, they are our life!
As we’ve seen, the Book of
Hebrews confirms what Moses wrote concerning God’s vengeance, and it is a dreadful thing to fall
into the hands of the Living God.
Most of the inhabitants of the earth will learn this the hard way! At the human
level, we’ve seen our Christian nations lavishing foreign aid on the
undeserving third-world countries, only to see them turn against us like snarling,
ungrateful dogs. So we understand the
ungratefulness of the undeserving.
Throughout Africa and the Muslim world, including And now we’re
seeing it throughout the Muslim world.
Insurrection and civil war is spreading around the The attitude
of the West is incomprehensible, and in particular, the White House. They scrambled to support the rebels in
their civil war in The Western
nations, that is, the Tribes of Israel, have been slow to learn who the enemy
is. The enemy are those who have
openly declared the destruction of the 12 Tribes of Israel, including the
Tribe of Judah – who have faced their venomous resolve many times in the
past! The rest of the Tribes of Israel
are already fighting two major wars with them in As things
stand, there’s an even bigger threat.
This time, it’s a nuclear-armed Freedom means
different things to different people.
Those who enjoy freedom are rarely satisfied – it’s never enough! Real freedom can only exist when justice is
served and the guilty are punished.
This ensures the freedom of the innocent. When justice breaks down, then freedom is
compromised. You can talk about
extending mercy to the guilty, but this only encourages others to commit the
same atrocities, and this only further endangers the innocent. They kill
those who should not die, and spare those who should not live. And
this is exactly what God says: Eze
13:19 “You have
profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread.
By lying to my people, who
listen to lies, you have killed those who should not
have died and have spared those who should not live.” The interesting part about this is that
it’s referring to social justice, but the
principle extends far beyond this.
It’s actually a reference to women making themselves alluring to
entice men, and as frequently happens, especially if they encounter a rich
one, they emerge screaming “rape!”
It’s become a tidy little ‘earner’
for these wanton creatures who actually prey on men. The
principle is that a whole network of lies has led to this, and sexual
impurity is only a side-effect. The truth is
that a whole philosophy of lies and deceit are in place now to deceive the
people, and central to this are the leaders of Christianity. These are the ones who have created the
illusions. This is what God says through
the Prophet Ezekiel, concerning the House of Israel: Eze 13:8-19 “`Therefore
this is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because of your false words and lying
visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign LORD. 9
My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They
will not belong to the council
of my people or be listed in the records of the HOUSE OF And now we see that God
is more concerned about their
attitude towards Jerusalem, where their white-washed flim-flam
rhetoric is designed to make the Israelis concede to their enemies, and in an
atmosphere where there is no peace: V13 “`Therefore this
is what the Sovereign LORD says: In
my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and
torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14 I will tear down the wall you have
covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation
will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it;
and you will know that I am the LORD. 15 So I will spend my wrath against the wall
and against those who covered it
with whitewash. I will say to you, "The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it,
16 those prophets of
Israel who
prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no
peace, declares the Sovereign LORD."' And isn’t this exactly
what we are seeing today? The White
House is using their white-washed lies to insist that the Israelis will have
peace if they bow to the demands of the Muslim hordes that are all around
them. Some peace! The Muslim foreigner in the White House has
set systematic strategies in place to ensure the Holy City of Jerusalem
becomes the property of Islam. His
chosen envoys have been given clear instructions of what he requires. And now we have a situation that is
rampantly escalating, with Hilary Clinton and Susan Rice making things many
times worse with their obvious bias against the Israelis. Both are ‘prostitutes par excellence’ in their pursuit of the destruction
of the Israelis and the forfeiture of the City of When Jesus
referred to Himself as the ‘bread
of life’, this is not what He had in
mind! John
6:35 “Then Jesus
declared, "I am the bread of
life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never
be thirsty.” Those who lie to His people, and those who
believe these lies, are out of touch with the ‘Bread of Life’ Jesus Christ, and such people
will know hunger and thirst on a grand scale! With their pious indifference to obedience
to God, such people have set themselves up for destruction. Those who want to believe lies should know
they have no part with Jesus Christ! It will only
take one nuclear bomb detonated over As a prophet,
David envisaged how this will all happen and what it will be like: Psa 94:2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. At the time of God’s judgment of the earth, the proud
and the wicked will be doing things worthy of death, and death is exactly
what they will face from the hand of God. Psa 94:3 How long will the wicked, O
LORD, how long will the wicked be
jubilant? For a little while all the
wicked will be jubilant, buoyed with the success of killing God’s people, the
House of Psa 94:4 They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers are full of
boasting. And you will see plenty
of their boasting when they achieve their goals of wiping out God’s people by
crushing them in murderous slaughter. Psa 94:5 They crush your people, O LORD; they oppress your inheritance. And let’s not be shy about whom God’s inheritance is! The Prophet Joel tells us in the clearest
terms that God’s inheritance is the
Tribes of After He has restored the
fortunes of The reason
for this judgment is for what they did to God’s inheritance, the Tribes of Israel. They scattered
His people among the nations – as slaves – and as we clearly see,
this was done in the immediate years prior to the Battle of Armageddon.
As we all know, the The House of Israel, or
as Jesus refers to them, ‘the lost sheep of Psa 94:6 They slay the widow and the
alien; they murder the fatherless. The evildoers will boast (see V4
above) that they can do anything they please, and nothing can restrain
them! Not even God Himself! They’ll assume that God is seeing nothing
and makes no move to restrain them.
Evil will prevail because there is nothing to stop it. Psa 94:7 They say, "The
LORD does not see;
the God of Jacob pays
no heed." This will be the general
perception, among both the victors and the vanquished. People tend to forget that Jesus Christ was
forsaken by God at the crucial time of His death. Remember the words, “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?” God turned His
back at this crucial time, because it had to happen this way. Jesus Christ had to pay the penalty for God’s inheritance for their past
sins! Which He did! Should, therefore, God’s inheritance escape the
penalty of their sins and their continual disobedience to God? Why would God listen to them in their
time of trouble when He didn’t
listen to the appeals of Jesus as He took their sins upon Himself? People who go on sinning after they know
better, should not expect anything different! God will not listen to
their cries! As the Book of Hebrews
puts it, this is tantamount to crucifying the Lord Christ all over again (Heb 6:4-6). Psa 94:8 Take heed, you
senseless ones among the people; you
fools, when will you become wise? Christianity needs to sharpen itself up a bit. They constantly act like fools and think
they are beguiling God with their nonsense.
Their focus is so narrow that they only care about themselves and
their perceived rewards. They have no
understanding at all of what God plans to accomplish. In short, God plans to populate the whole
world with His inheritance,
the
people of Psa 94:9 Does he who implanted the ear
not hear? Does he who formed the eye
not see? Here God is confirming that He created
the ear and the eye. You may have noticed that Jesus often used
the saying, ‘Let him who has ears let him hear’. And here we have a good example of this: Matt13:10-17
“The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do
you speak to the people in parables?" 11 He replied,
"The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven
has been given to you, but not
to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an
abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13
This is why I speak to them in
parables: "Though seeing,
they do not see;
though hearing, they do not
hear or understand. 14 In
them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "`You will be ever
hearing but never
understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 17
“For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly
hear with their ears, and
they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear
with their ears, understand
with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men
longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but
did not hear it.” Psa 94:10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does
he who teaches man lack knowledge? Contrary to general
perception, God does indeed discipline
nations. He can rise up and
destroy them in a moment, and their woes can come like the waves of the sea,
until they are left desolate and empty and without hope. And the other question asked in this verse
has equal weight for those who truly want to serve their
God. First they have to realize that God teaches with
a tremendous volume of knowledge. The Word of God is filled with such
knowledge, but as we just read in what Jesus had to say about closing their eyes and their ears,
most people never come to the knowledge
of the Truth. The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom was not
given to everyone, but only to His
servants. There are many
secrets of the Kingdom
concealed in the Scripture, but the Spirit
of Prophecy is needed to unlock them.
This Spirit of Prophecy
is indeed the Testimony of Jesus
(Rev 19:10)
and without the one you don’t have the other!
God gave the Spirit of
Prophecy to the man He chose, and it’s from this man that men should seek knowledge and instruction (Mal 2:7). In these last perilous days, it’s worthless
to be seeking knowledge from those who have no knowledge, because all they’ll
do is to make your eyes unseeing and your ears unhearing until you become calloused to the real message
of God. As the Lord Jesus pointed out,
this is the knowledge of the
secrets of the Kingdom. Didn’t the Lord Jesus and
all the Apostles teach from the only Scriptures that existed in their
time? Isn’t this where the secrets of the knowledge of the
Kingdom are hidden? On this
occasion, didn’t Jesus Christ teach from the prophecies of Isaiah?
In telling us this, He was directing us to the prophets of old, and
Isaiah in particular. It
was for this reason that the Book of Isaiah was the first to be commissioned
by God for the first full study of prophecy.
And that study is now at our website. Psa 94:11 The LORD knows the thoughts
of man; he knows that they are futile.
It’s a bad time for Christians to have futile thoughts. God has said that His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: Hos 4:6
“My
people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject
you as my priests; because you have ignored the LAW OF YOUR GOD, I
also will ignore your children.” Some people might believe they can tough it
out and ignore God’s
knowledge and Law, but they should be aware that their children will
also suffer along with them. God is not
served through the futile thoughts
taught in the churches today. And just one
other thing while we’re on the subject!
God has said that those who lack
knowledge and ignore His
Law will be rejected as
priests. Lo and behold, God’s
servants today are a Brotherhood of Priests – Levite Priests! Jesus Christ Himself is a Priest – a High
Priest in service to the Father. By
now, the reader should be fully familiar of the Lord Jesus’ intentions, which
we’ve quoted many times: 1Cor 15:24-28 “Then the end
will come, when he hands over the
kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. 25
For he must reign until
he has put all his enemies under
his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27
For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that
"everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not
include God himself, who
put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this,
then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under
him, so that God may be all in all.” So here we find that the Greatest Priest of all has other
duties as well – as do all the Priests of God. Like the Warrior Priest Jesus Christ, God’s
chosen Priests (whom
He has not rejected) are also warrior Priests and their duty will be to fight to
establish God’s Kingdom. In this role,
they’ll be called the Sons of Jerusalem.
These are specifically taught
by God! And their knowledge comes from Him. Psa 94:12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD, the man you teach from your law; Psa 94:13 you grant him relief from days of trouble, till
a pit is dug for the wicked.
God disciplines and punishes every
son He receives until they become proficient and knowledgeable to the teachings of His Law. It’s these who are granted relief from the woes of the troubles of Jacob,
their
fellow Israelites. In taking
the Kingdom by force, the result will be many dead enemies who must be
buried. And the logical place to dig this pit will be in the
Psa 94:14 For the LORD will not
reject his people; he
will never forsake his inheritance. Here we see that His people
are
His inheritance. Psa 94:15 Judgment will again be founded
on righteousness, and all
the upright in heart will follow it. While many people
continue to pontificate about the ‘sensitivities’ of the Muslim hordes over
trivial issues, like the public burning of the Koran, God’s servants will be
delivering long-overdue justice,
and their judgments
will be founded on righteousness – the type of righteousness that the
pontificators could never understand! In time to come, the
Tribes of Israel will rue the day they self-righteously defended the feigned
sensitivities of the Muslim hordes instead of burning their mosques along
with the evil creatures in them.
You’ve heard of justice, haven’t you?
Like an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth? For example, did you hear about the
church-burning in Rhwanda, with the churches full of Christians – men, women
and children? How much outrage was
expressed by you personally and all the Christians in your nation? Now we have Muslims burning churches everywhere,
most recently in Psa 94:16 Who will rise up FOR ME against the wicked? Who
will take a stand FOR ME against evildoers? Well that’s God’s question – so is it you? No, of course it isn’t! And neither would I suggest you do so
because you would be powerless against the forces of evil that prevail
today. As individuals, this is not
possible, and as far as expecting a good result, you would probably be very
disappointed. In reality, this is the
responsibility of your government through the law-enforcement agencies and
even the military, but these don’t even recognize the enemy, even
though they’ve been fighting wars with them for the past ten years! Psa 94:17 Unless the LORD had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence
of death. Just remember, we’re
still considering the question God raised in the last verse about who would rise up FOR HIM against the
wicked. Anyone who does rise
up without
God’s help will finish up dead – in the silence of death! Obviously, someone must rise up for Him, and that
someone will be given God’s help! The first prerequisite for being this
‘someone’ is that he must be a servant of God. And the second prerequisite is that he must
not be weak and squeamish when dealing with God’s enemies. It’s not a job for the faint-hearted! But let’s be very clear
about a few things. God’s primary
concern is not for the plight of the ‘lost sheep of The reader will
understand that the numbers of these evil creatures that surround the Psa 94:18 When I said, "My foot is
slipping," your love, O LORD, supported me. Contrary to the inane, senseless and childish attitude of the churches
today, God’s servants will do their duty, and God’s love and support will be with them – even when the
task seems impossible. Psa 94:19 When anxiety was great within
me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.
At the present
time, the only anxiety is the anxiety to get going. To take the fight to a growing enemy, whose
numbers continue to grow exponentially! Psa 94:20 Can a corrupt throne (government) be allied
with you-- one that brings on misery by
its decrees? And
this is the other side of the coin.
Presently, the Israelis have a so-called alliance with And to get back to
something we mentioned earlier, there is no possible way that the servants of
God will have either the time or the inclination to be supportive of a mad,
morally-corrupt government that has picked a fight with God over His Holy
City Jerusalem! Psa 94:21 They band together against the righteous and condemn
the innocent to death. Well this confirms what
we’ve just said! Meanwhile, God’s servants
will be otherwise engaged with a people more attuned to their God and His
Law. The same people who have suffered
persecution and death for centuries for their faithful obedience to God’s
Law. And of course, we are speaking of
the faithful Jews. Long ago, God chose
them to be the saviours of the House of Israel. Psa 94:22 But the LORD has become my
fortress, and my God the
rock in whom I take REFUGE. Well, this is the answer
to the question posed in V16 above, about who would take a stand for God against
the enemy. Naturally
enough, the answer is the tried and tested servants of God! They will be taking REFUGE for 3½ years out of Satan’s reach
(Rev 12:14). During this time they will be trained in
the use of sophisticated weaponry (which this world has never seen or
imagined), and they will be invigorated with youthfulness as warriors. The first thing the world will notice is
that they will depart in a ‘Great
Eagle’ – a flying ‘Great Eagle’. The assumption drawn will be
that it’s an alien spacecraft and those taken were really extraterrestrial
beings. Following this, it will seem
logical to those who pose as Christians to hunt down anyone who has sought to
emulate
God’s servants and
their obedience to God’s Law. Meanwhile, Satan will
launch his fury against others and a great persecution will begin. The same people who hate the Jews today
will launch the persecution against those who keep the Commandments of God, and hold to the Testimony
of Jesus (V17).
It’s these Jew-haters that will get the ball rolling, but they’ll fail
to notice the real enemy among them, and these will be rallied by God to
administer the coup de grace, and this will be against those who killed God’s
people in the Churches of God.
Cascading disasters will be their lot for years to come until the
whole nation becomes a ruin! Too many people today
forget that the wages of sin is
death. Somehow it’s become
entrenched in their thick skulls that the wages of sin means life
everlasting. When God says He will repay them for their sins by destroying them, this is what
He means and this is what they deserve!
There’s no suggestion of any second chance being given when they have willingly
sinned against their Creator God: Psa 94:23 He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them. And isn’t this what we just read in Zech 12:9? And yes, it is talking about the vermin that
surround the The writing was on the
wall a long time ago concerning Ephraim’s treachery towards the Tribe of
Judah and God’s To add to the madness, we
recently had a Christian Pastor publicly burning a Koran, only to see him
ostracized by the leftist media. They
condemned him for destroying a ‘holy’ book, which they consistently referred to
as the ‘holy Koran’. Have you ever seen these media lunatics
condemn anyone for destroying a Holy Bible?
No! The ‘holy Koran’, which
they are so quick to defend, is an endless harangue against Christians and
Jews and anyone else who doesn’t worship Allah the devil. The evil Koran calls for the
murder of all Christians and Jews – and they had the gall to ostracize the
Pastor for burning these ‘satanic verses’ as Salmon Rushdie
put it. Salmon Rushdie was a Muslim
until he realized just how satanic the Koran is. Now we’re seeing the
evidence of the changing wind against Christianity, and in favour of
Islam. You might have noticed that
it’s rare indeed to hear the name of Jesus Christ mentioned by the media
today, and never as a Prophet,
yet He is the greatest Prophet of all.
He’s actually called the “Word
of God”. In other words, He is
the embodiment of all the Scriptures.
On the other hand, how often do you hear the media refer to Mohammed
by any other title than the ‘Prophet Mohammed’? In their minds, Mohammed is a prophet, but
the Lord Jesus isn’t! It may seem to
very subtle, but the trend has already begun – and God has noticed! The very act of defending
‘satanic
verses’ as ‘holy’ shows the
mindset of those who control public perceptions and generate the trends. They defend evil and persecute
righteousness! And if this wasn’t
enough, Satan will drive them to kill true
Christians, who keep the
Commandments of God and hold
to the Testimony of Jesus. And
this will complete the charge-sheet and justice will run its course. PSALM 95 Psa 95:1 Come, let us sing for joy to
the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock
of our salvation. We’ve been speaking a lot
about salvation and where it will come from.
We already know that the Rock
which poured out water in the desert to save the Israelites was Jesus Christ. It’s this Rock which will feature prominently in saving the remnant
of the House of Israel and returning them to the Promised Land. It’s the Promised Land
which will be the safe-haven for God’s people in that day, not only from the
enemy, but also from the effects of the restoration of the earth. Mountains will crumble, inland seas will be
displaced, and landslides will devastate anything in their path. All this will occur when the landmass of
the earth is restored to its original shape. It’s as well to get a
head start on these things and understand them, because if you don’t, then
you will never understand the meaning of salvation. We all know the population of the earth
numbers in excess of six thousand million people, most of whom are not
welcome to live in God’s Kingdom. We’ve spoken of the
preparations needed for the establishment of the Promised Land, and the
displacement of those who have no right to be there. We’ve spoken about the digging of a pit in This will be a time of
rejoicing and thanksgiving, which Isaiah also mentions in V14-16
“They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they acclaim the LORD's
majesty. 15 Therefore in the east give
glory to the LORD; exalt the name of the LORD, the God of All things considered and
with a world in chaos, there will be joyous singing and acclaim throughout
all the earth when the Sovereign
God reigns. The
West will rejoice, but then so will the East – where there will be some
survivors. Many of those who were
formerly dragon-worshippers in the And now the Psalmist reiterates
these things with thanksgiving and music and song: Psa 95:2 Let us come before him with
thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. Psa 95:3 For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. Psa 95:4 In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. In fact, the mountains came from the depths of the earth, being mostly of diorites and
granites. When God restores the earth,
these mountains will go back to where they came from, and the earth will become
like a plain. All the useless, chaotic
mountains will be no more. All the
land will be returned to productivity.
There will still be mining, but in that day the mineralization of the
earth will be realigned and easily accessible. Not the jumbled up mess we see today! Psa 95:5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. We can therefore presume that since God made all these things, He has
the right to restore them to their acceptable beginnings. While this will result in the casualties of
billions of people outside of the The importance of the
next six verses can be seen by their inclusion in Heb 3:15-4:7. It stresses the importance of not
hardening our hearts when we hear
His voice. This is basically
what Jesus said about ears that can’t hear and eyes that cannot see. He was referencing those who have no
interest in understanding God’s
ways. For this reason, He
spoke in parables so they wouldn’t understand, lest they should turn and be
healed by Him. Christians today are
notorious for twisting the Scriptures to suit themselves. This will become evident as we begin to
read the following verses and how they relate to keeping God’s Sabbath holy. Just to summarize in advance, God is saying
that if you don’t keep His weekly Sabbath Day holy, then you will not
enter His Millennial Sabbath rest either. We’ll first consider what
the Psalmist says, before going to the Book of Hebrews: Psa 95:6 Come, let us bow down in
worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; Psa 95:7 for he is our God and we are
the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. TODAY,
IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, Psa 95:8 DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS as you did at Meribah, as you did that day
at Massah in the desert, Psa 95:9 where your fathers tested and
tried me, though they had seen what I did. Psa 95:10 For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said,
"They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not
known my ways." Psa 95:11 So I declared on oath in my
anger, "They shall never enter
my rest." This rest is speaking of entering the Promised Land where they
will find peace. Just a quick word about
what happened at Meribah, which was a particularly sad event. The Israelites were at the point of
rebellion against Moses and complained that he had led them to the desert to
die of thirst. Moses became agitated
and made a serious mistake: Psa 106:32 “By the
waters of Meribah they angered the LORD, and trouble came to Moses because of
them; 33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses' lips.
34 They did not destroy the peoples as
the LORD had commanded them, 35 but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. 36
They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.” After all they
saw of God’s miracles in And now we come to the
Book of Hebrews, where this very episode is used to reflect on the present day, which is referred
to as “Today”. Heb 2:12 – 4:13 “See
to it, brothers, that none of you
has a sinful, unbelieving heart
that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one
another daily, as long as it is called Today,
so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We
have come to share in Christ if we
hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15
As has just been said: "TODAY, IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS as
you did in the rebellion." 16 Who were they who heard and
rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Continuing in
the Book of Hebrews: V8 “For if
Joshua had given them rest,
God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;
10 for anyone who enters
God's rest ALSO RESTS FROM
HIS OWN WORK, JUST AS GOD
DID FROM HIS. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will
fall by following their example of disobedience.” Well you can’t get any plainer than
this! If God rested on the Seventh Day from His work, so must we rest on the Seventh Day from
all our work! This, in
fact, summarizes what we’ve just read in the passage from the Book of
Hebrews. If you hope to enter God’s
Millennial Rest, you must rest on His
Sabbath-day. V12 “For the word of God is
living and active. Sharper
than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and
spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing
in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid
bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” We’re already giving our account to God in all that we say and do. He is already judging the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts and minds
to determine our suitability for salvation in the PSALM 96 In this Psalm, God makes
a plea to all the nations of the
earth to come to their senses if they hope to be spared and see salvation. Optionally, they can refuse and suffer the consequences –
which at that time, many will have already seen. The wreckage of their civilization will be
very evident from where they stand.
Their future will look very bleak indeed – unless they come to their
senses and turn to their Creator God.
To those who do, God will extend His mercy. Psa 96:1 Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all
the earth. The songs which most of
the world sings today are scarcely a reflection of their devotion to their
Creator God. The Prophet David was a
writer of songs, and his songs were directed to the glory
of God! Therefore, it’s David’s
example that should be followed when all the earth reconsiders their position. In other words, they have to learn some new
songs! One of these is the Song of Moses (Rev 15:3), which we often refer to. Psa 96:2 Sing to the LORD, praise
his name; proclaim his
salvation day after day. This is a good starting
point for the people of the world who want to be like David and his most
famous son, Jesus Christ. Anyone who
wants to be saved from their horrific circumstances will need to be attuned
to God when seeking His help. Psa 96:3 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. If they pay close attention to what David wrote, then they will learn
a great deal about the marvelous
deeds of the Almighty. Psa 96:4 For great is the LORD and most
worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all
gods. Psa 96:5 For all the gods of the
nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. It’s been a problem for what seems forever in the past that men have
worshipped the sun, moon and stars. So
God is confirming He made them all,
and He also confirms that He, as the Creator,
should be worshipped – not the creation. It should not go unnoticed that Islam
glorifies the moon on their flags; the moon being the lesser light. The Lord Christ, on the other hand, is
symbolized as the Sun of
Righteousness (Mal 4:2) and the Bright Morning Star (Rev 22:16).
The Apostle Peter confirmed that when
a certain day dawns the Morning
Star will rise in our hearts (2Pet 1:19).
The context in which Peter makes this reference is in relation to the sure Word of Prophecy, which
he advises to pay attention to. Psa 96:6 Splendor and majesty are
before him; strength and glory
are in his
sanctuary. There will be a sanctuary
where people will find rest,
and the protectors of this sanctuary will be fierce adversaries to all who
oppose it. They will also be imbued
with both strength and glory
which will include invincibility
(remember Zech
12:8?). Psa 96:7 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe
to the LORD glory and
strength. It will seem to the families of the nations (Gentiles)
that the glory and strength
they observe comes from transgressors
rather than God. In this, both Jesus
and Isaiah made this clear: Isa 53:12 “Therefore I
will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with
the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” And now we find
out from what Jesus said that the so-called ‘transgressors’ were His own disciples: Luke 22:36-38 “He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take
it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.
37 It is written: `And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is
written about me is reaching its fulfillment." Well, soon it
will be fulfilled and the families of nations had better ascribe this glory and strength to the LORD if they know
what’s good for them. And just to
conclude what Jesus said in this regard: V38 The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords." "That is enough," he replied. If those two
swords are in the hands of the Jews and the Levites, then it will be
enough. Collectively, these will be
called the House of David –
as
they were in days of old – and as we all know, they will be like both
David and God (Zech 12:8). Once again, the House of
David will go out to battle as the ‘Armies of the Living God’ as David
described his army. Then the families
of the nations will know they are not to be
trifled with. If they behave
themselves, then they will be invited to attend God’s court. Psa 96:8 Ascribe to the LORD the
glory due his name; bring
an offering and come into his courts.
They’ll need to
ring the door bell with their elbow, because their arms will be full of the mandatory
offerings for the Psa 96:9 Worship the LORD in the
splendor of his holiness; tremble
before him, all the earth. Only those who have their priorities right will worship the LORD in
the splendor of His Holiness, and this will require the deepest respect for
Him. By this time, all the world will
know the consequences of failing to do so.
We are of course, speaking of the time when the LORD reigns and the earth has been restored and is
no longer quaking or moving: Psa 96:10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The
world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will
judge the peoples with equity. God’s judgment will
be equal to their conduct, and this will not
necessarily bode well for nations of the world. They will however, get a heads-up if they
abandon their gods and turn to Him and seek His Truth. Psa 96:11 Let the heavens rejoice, let
the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; Psa 96:12 let the fields be jubilant,
and everything in them. Then all the
trees of the forest will sing for joy; Psa 96:13 they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He
will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth. As we’ve said many times, “God’s
Word is Truth!” – and so by this Word the whole
world will be judged. PSALM 97 Psa 97:1 The LORD reigns,
let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. This is speaking of shores
that are very distant from And now we get a preview
of how God’s reign comes about, and the circumstances preceding it. Psa 97:2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Doom and gloom are everywhere, and there is little comfort for man or
beast. Added to this is God’s
trademark reaction to the nations who have defiled His righteous ways: Psa 97:3 Fire goes before him and
consumes his foes on every side.
You’ll recall how
God dealt with Psa 97:4 His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The peoples of the earth
will have a lot to contend with in that day!
When the fire starts coming down from heaven the whole world will be
trembling with fear. It won’t go unnoticed
that the earth itself is also trembling and shaking with mountains melting away and disappearing: Psa 97:5 The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the
Lord of all the earth. The prophets of old knew
that the earth had to be repaired and restored, and this is just one of the
many occasions when they referred to this.
Unlike the prophets of old, the geologists of this age are totally
confused and understand nothing about the earth. They’ll be just as shocked as everyone else
when they see the mountains melt
like wax. And as they do, the
worthless theories of this world’s ‘scientists’
will take yet another setback. We’re
already getting pretty used to this with their lunatic theories on ‘manmade global warming’, which is an
international scam of the highest order.
It seems that people are quite willing to be deceived as long as it
sounds ‘scientific’. As a real scientist said recently in regard
to this scam, “It’s merely a quest for cheap virtue”, meaning it’s a way for
people to show feigned concern for the earth and its people and appear
virtuous in doing so. You might also
note how often the name ‘Gaia’ is
mentioned in relation to the earth by many of these lunatics. Gaia is the presumed pagan ‘goddess of the earth’, who “must be obeyed”. If you love God then you’ll not
get involved with it. Leave it all to
the fools who love cheap virtue!
They’ll soon find out that their ‘virtue’
wasn’t so cheap after all. Psa 97:6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.
Yes, it’s true! The whole world will see God’s Glory! What is more, when the heavens proclaim His righteousness,
it will be through catastrophic fire from the sky. While they’ll see God’s Glory – His dwelling-place, they
won’t be happy to see His Judgments. Psa 97:7 All who worship images are
put to shame, those who boast in idols-- worship him, all you
gods! Anyone who worships anything other than the
True God will be put to a lot of shame. But there will be
exceptions: Psa 97:8 Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Psa 97:9 For you, O LORD, are the Most
High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. There are presently 50
million of these on earth today.
God knows them all and
they’re called demons. Psa 97:10 Let those who love the LORD
hate evil, for he guards the lives
of his faithful ones and DELIVERS
THEM FROM THE HAND OF THE WICKED.
This is the true
meaning of the term ‘salvation’. It means to be DELIVERED FROM THE HAND OF THE ENEMY. Speaking of his son John the Baptist,
Zechariah prophesied this: Luke 1:69-79 “He has raised
up a HORN OF SALVATION for
us in the house of his servant
David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of
long ago), 71 SALVATION
FROM OUR ENEMIES and FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US--72
to show mercy to our fathers and to remember
his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father
Abraham: 74 TO RESCUE US
FROM THE HAND OF OUR ENEMIES, and to enable us to serve him without
fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, my child, will be called a PROPHET OF THE MOST HIGH; for you will go
on before the Lord to prepare the
way for him, 77 to
give his people the KNOWLEDGE OF SALVATION through the forgiveness of
their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the RISING SUN will come to
us from heaven79 to shine on those living in darkness and
in the shadow of death, to guide
our feet into the path of peace." You could just about write a book about
what is spoken of in these few verses, but we’ll restrict it to just the
pertinent points regarding the KNOWLEDGE
OF SALVATION. I have yet to
hear any church
anywhere
detail the true meaning
of
salvation. They simply
presume they are already ‘saved’
even though they’ve never even faced the enemy. The KNOWLEDGE
OF SALVATION was destined
to come from a PROPHET OF THE MOST
HIGH just as the holy
prophets of long ago prophesied. It’s important to note
that all that Zechariah prophesied here concerns his son John, and
was a prophecy about him. He was to
precede the Lord Christ, the RISING
SUN from heaven. Jesus Christ
was born six months later – after Zechariah prophesied these words. So getting back now to
the last verse in this Psalm (V10), we can understand whose ‘lives of the faithful ones’ He
guards and delivers from the hand of the wicked. It’s the prophet of the Most High and all his faithful brothers.
It’s these who become the HORN OF SALVATION in the HOUSE OF DAVID. So
don’t be too quick to be fooled by others who offer ‘salvation’ when they don’t understand what it is! They have no light of dawn and they
understand nothing. Psa 97:11 Light is shed upon the
righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Light is shed upon the
righteous, and they know the true meaning of joy through obedience to God. Not so with the unrighteous – they have no
light at all! So don’t listen to them! Psa 97:12 Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous, and praise his holy name. Praising God’s Holy Name is usually done in song, which we spoke at
length about in the last Psalm and which continues in the next. PSALM 98 A psalm. Psa 98:1 Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous
things; his right hand and his holy
arm have worked salvation
for him. Psa 98:2 The LORD has MADE HIS SALVATION KNOWN and revealed his righteousness
to the nations. Contrary to popular
belief, the churches of this world don’t know anything about God’s salvation! They imagine it to be some sort of feeling
in the heart and they talk a lot about giving their hearts to the Lord. It further enhances their reputation if
they can speak in the archaic, old English language. In this way their ideas about salvation
sound so ‘spiritual’. When God makes His SALVATION KNOWN to them, they won’t be speaking so ‘spiritual’, believe me! They’ll be pounding on themselves for being
so false and stupid! As we just saw in
Zechariah’s prophecy about his son John, it was John who was to bring the KNOWLEDGE OF SALVATION. John was the Elijah who preceded our Lord
Christ’s first appearance. Psa 98:3 He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of As one might well
imagine, those who are enslaved in concentration camps and whose lives hang
by a thread, will rejoice to hear good tidings. Just think back to WW2 when the Allies
liberated the Nazi concentration camps.
What the Jews went through will be repeated when the ‘lost ten Tribes’
face their destiny and their punishment.
Perhaps if they had paid more attention to the prophets of long ago,
they might have known what to expect. Well, the Jews hard
service is almost over,
and soon God will be comforting
them (Isa
40:1-5). On the other hand,
Ephraim’s hard service is just about to begin. It might have spared them a lot of
heartache if they had been more supportive of We shouldn’t forget that
all of The Spanish and the
French were the first to take full of advantage of this, securing vast areas
of the Meanwhile, the Eastern
seaboard of But the trump card was
played when Ephraim established the nation through the founding fathers of the new nation with one of the most
amazing documents of all time: The Constitution of the Speaking of Ephraim, God says this: Hos 9:10 “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the
desert; when I saw your
fathers, it was like seeing
the early fruit on the fig tree.” And it is speaking of Ephraim, see V11. In fact, the whole Book of Hosea relates to
Ephraim. When God saw the founding fathers of the nation it was like finding early figs on a fig-tree. Obviously, God was very pleased with
them! On the other hand, Europe and The reader might recall
that the Lord Jesus destroyed a fig
tree that failed to produce
early figs. This was, in fact,
a prophetic sign for Ephraim, which would be enacted once the documents of
the founding fathers are no longer adhered to. This is the generation that is now taking
that stand. And now, almost on a daily
basis, the US Constitution is being violated.
The US Constitution was to be their training ground for the observance
of just law, even though it wasn’t God’s Law.
But it was a start in the right direction and God was pleased with the
founding fathers who instituted it, because they emphasized the importance of
law. Ephraim stands head and
shoulders over all of Europe, and to be perfectly honest, the European states
collectively are mere minions in relation to the might and power of And yet, Bible Prophecy
confirms that Ephraim will be taken
out of the way and left powerless to defend itself. Every Western observer knows there are
forces of evil building up today. The
West is already fighting two limited wars with these evil creatures and every
sane person knows these wars are against Islam. In days of old, the Apostles and Prophets
understood the Scriptures, and the Apostle Paul was one of these. It was he who made reference to Ephraim when he said this: 2Thess 2:5-7
“Don't you remember that when I was with
you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know
what is holding him (the Beast – see V3-4) back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is
already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.” Paul was recounting a conversation he had
previously had with these Christians in Thessalonica, in reference to the
coming of the prophesied beast. He
confirmed that this would not happen until ‘he’
is taken out of the way. The ‘he’
to whom he was referring is confirmed in the Scriptures
as Ephraim. Until the mighty Ephraim is taken
out of the way, the Beast will not appear. Paul may or may not
have known where Ephraim was in his day, but he certainly knew who
and what he, Ephraim, would be in the last days. Because he understood the Scriptures, he
knew that Ephraim would be a mighty force in the last days – before
the Beast arose. And he knew the Beast
would not make his appearance until Ephraim was no more the mightiest nation
and the most powerful restraining factor on earth. We have been privileged to see these
fulfillments of Bible Prophecy in our day. So Ephraim must be taken
out of the way! It would be a serious
mistake to assume that this will happen because Ephraim is the worst nation
on earth, because it isn’t so! In
Truth, they are the best nation that ever was by human standards, but they fall way short of
the standards of righteousness that
God insists upon. As this Psalm started out
speaking of salvation from
the ends of the earth, it’s
clear that God’s people, the descendants of Jacob, will be in serious need of
rescue. The halcyon days are almost over
and we are now living in the calm before the storm. It’s unimaginable the
horrors that the greatest nation on earth will encounter, but these things
are virtually engraved on stone and it has to be this way. By what other means could the nation be induced
to return to God and begin obeying Him?
At the height of their splendorous living they’ve only succeeded in
going further away to the point where they not only disobey Him, but now they
openly
challenge Him as the
Creator God. What is more,
this insanity is now being taught in the schools under the title of ‘evolution’. God intends to meet their challenge! It will be a long, dark night before they
see the Light of Dawn! Years in fact! By now, the reader should
have a fair idea of the meaning of salvation, because all the prophets spoke
of it at length – particularly David.
Since David is to be resurrected as the king over all the House of
Israel, he has a vested interest in seeing that the meaning of salvation is
clearly understood. When he wrote all
these things he knew that the Tribes of Israel would have to be rescued in
order to enter the Promised Land
and the Promised Rest. At that time, the surviving remnant will be
citizens of the And now we
come to the time when David will be raised up as king over the survivors of
the House of Israel, and they will be a physical nation, who will bear
children and live to a great age. As God puts it, like the age of a tree (Isa
65:20-23). Remember how the angels
first shouted and sang for joy
when God first created the earth and everything in it, and laid out the
continental landmass? Remember how God
spoke to the Prophet Job and reminded him?
Job
38:4-7 “Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 5 Who
marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who
stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its
footings set, or who laid its
cornerstone-- 7 while
the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” Well all this is about to
be reenacted when the earth is restored to its origin design: Psa 98:4 Shout for joy to the LORD, all
the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; Psa 98:5 make music to the LORD with
the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, Psa 98:6 with trumpets and the blast of
the ram's horn-- shout for joy before the LORD, the King. Psa 98:7 Let the sea resound, and
everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. There will be one Psa 98:8 Let the rivers clap their
hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; (the mountains will have cause to sing and
rejoice once they become productive ground) Psa 98:9 let them sing before the LORD,
for he comes to judge the earth. He
will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity. PSALM 99 Psa 99:1 The LORD reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim,
let the earth shake. There are two cherubim who stand at God’s side. One is Michael and the other is
Gabriel. Both these Cherubim are
mentioned in relation to the endtime prophecies, and both are powerful
warriors of God. If the ruler of a
nation offends God, then these are the ones He dispatches to destroy
them. And it’s happened many times in
the past. They’re very thorough in
their work, and Psa 99:2 Great is the LORD in Psa 99:3 Let them praise your great and
awesome name-- he is holy. Psa 99:4 The King is mighty, he loves justice-- you have established equity; in Jacob you
have done what is just and right. I think we all know what
justice is. It’s the punishment for
wrong-doing, specifically disobedience to the law. But of course, God’s justice goes way
beyond this. He reserves justice for
whole nations, and even though they may not know God, these nations get the
punishment they deserve. Psa 99:5 Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. Psa 99:6 Moses and Aaron
were among his priests, Samuel was among those who called on
his name; they called on
the LORD and he answered them.
There is an interesting
aside to this. All three, Moses, Aaron and Samuel
were all Levites. Psa 99:7 He spoke to them
from the pillar of cloud; they kept
his statutes and the decrees he gave them. David is the writer of these Psalms, and he knew that God spoke to
Moses and Aaron directly some 400 years previously. David knew Samuel very well, and it was he
that anointed David as King over all Psa 99:8 O LORD our God, you answered them (that is, Moses, Aaron and Samuel); you were to Psa 99:9 Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his holy mountain,
for the LORD our God is holy. Since we’re speaking
about Moses, Aaron and Samuel, there is a The irony of
this is that the Jews worshipped
the God of the Old Testament, which was Jesus Christ! It was Jesus Christ Himself who led the
Israelites through all their journeys and finally to the Promised Land. This is confirmed in 1Cor 10:2 as we’ve quoted many times before.
The Jews know what they
worship, as Jesus said, but lamentably, most of Christianity
does not! In fact, Christianity
generally has rejected the Law
and the Prophets – that is, the Old
Testament, and have no clear understanding of what God requires, and
are therefore incapable of worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth. How unlike Jesus they are! Jesus quoted from the Scriptures many times,
and which Scriptures were they? The Old Testament, as we call it,
was the only Scripture
in His day. And this is why
the Jews have been chosen to bring
Salvation. The Jews have
faithfully worshipped the God of
the Old Testament (Jesus Christ) for thousands
of years. Mainstream Christianity has
not! There’s even
more irony involved here. The Jews know
what they worship (as
Jesus said), but does Christianity?
The truth is they’ve been fighting over doctrinal issues for
centuries, and can’t agree on anything.
There are as many different doctrines as there are churches! Even with such a diminutive knowledge base,
you would think they could flange together some form of coherency based on
Scripture. But such is not the
case! Yet they all claim
to worship God in Spirit and in
Truth – which they don’t! PSALM 100 A psalm. For giving thanks. Psa 100:1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all
the earth. Psa 100:2 Worship the LORD with
gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Psa 100:3 Know that the
LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people,
the sheep of his pasture. Those who don’t believe God made us are
probably of the opinion that all life evolved from nothing. Therefore they should be prepared to accept
the cycle of life that exists, where the strong devour the weak, and then
philosophically accept their fate. All
life eventually ends up as dust, so when non-believers are torn to pieces by
predators, why should they be surprised?
They are merely following the path of life. After all, God hasn’t demanded that all
human beings believe Him to be the Creator; He has merely given them that
choice. And there is good reason for
this! God intends to populate the
earth with sound, rational, logical, compliant people, and as such,
intelligent people know that life
can only come from life. Therefore, there has to be a Designer, Creator Source for
the creation of life. Those who accept
this and who recognize their obligations to God for the life He has given
them are the very progenitors who will populate His Kingdom. All others must accept their fate according
to the dictates of their beliefs. As
animals die and return to dust, so must they.
As animals have no hope of an afterlife, neither have they. And this summarizes the meaning of life. It should come as no
surprise to the rational human being that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. God loves the earth and His creation, and He
intends to see it survive forever. A
lot of work went into its planning and design, and it’s worth
preserving. Jesus Christ felt so,
because He gave His life for it (John 3:16).
Therefore it’s incumbent upon all His disciples to feel the same way. Psa 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with
praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. Those who enter the gates of
the Psa 100:5 For the LORD is good and his
love endures forever; his
faithfulness continues through all
generations. Jesus Christ’s unquestionable faithfulness to His Father is well known
to all Christians, and just as assuredly, His faithfulness through all generations has
been demonstrated through all who
think as He does. PSALM 101 Of David. A psalm. The life of David is an
example one of those generations,
and he now proceeds to give us some good advice. Psa 101:1 I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will sing praise. Psa 101:2 I
will be careful to lead a blameless life-- when
will you come to me? I will walk in my
house with blameless heart. Psa 101:3 I
will set before my eyes no vile thing.
The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not
cling to me. We’ve seen too
many faithless men in this day and age.
These are the ones who have divested of logic and now cling to the
delusion that they are no longer accountable to a Creator God. Psa 101:4 Men
of perverse heart shall be far from
me; I will have nothing to do with evil. This is very good advice! David is telling us to stay well away from
evil. The Apostle Paul also gave us
some good advice in relation to having nothing to do with evil: 2Tim 3:1-5
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3
without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not
lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5 having a form of godliness
but denying its power. HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.” Paul was speaking
of our days, the
final days before the Psa 101:5 Whoever
slanders
his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
him will I not endure. You
can see the similarities here to what Paul says above, when he speaks of the slanderous, the proud and the boastful. These are the sorts of people we should have nothing to do with. They are just troublesome and
irritating! As far as having a ‘form
of godliness’ as Paul puts it, their fake hypocritical charades
is something that no sound-minded person would want anything to do with. The late Elizabeth Taylor, a Jewess, made
an interesting observation in something she said, “The problem with people who have no vices is that
generally you can be pretty sure they’re going to have some pretty annoying
virtues." -- Elizabeth
Taylor. The point is that those who
claim to have no vices and who preach virtue are frequently hypocrites and
their hidden vices sometimes make the headlines – as we’ve all seen. Psa 101:6 My
eyes will be on the faithful
in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me. David is making it clear his preferences for
those who will minister in his royal court when he once more becomes
the King over all of Psa 101:7 No
one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will stand in
my presence. This confirms what
David says in the previous verse.
Lying deceivers will have no place in God’s Kingdom. Psa 101:8 Every morning
I will put to silence all
the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from
the city of the LORD. The term ‘cut off’ is code
for execution. Hopefully, there will be less of these
after a period of cleansing of habitual offenders. Contrary to all the politically correct
nonsense, capital punishment is definitely a deterrent to
all would-be offenders! And justice
must be swift! There’s an old legal
saying, “Justice delayed is justice denied”. Those in God’s Kingdom
will have seen the carnage and cruelty of enemy forces and the slaughter of
millions of their countrymen, will have no tolerance for those who want to
perpetuate the cause of all this slaughter.
They’ll readily recognize that anyone who fails to remain faithful to
God and His Laws have no rights to life.
Both David and Paul attest to the type of conduct that will be
outlawed. PSALM 102 A prayer of an afflicted man. When he is faint and pours out his
lament before the LORD. As we saw in the last
verse, the wicked must be silenced
in the land, and this will be acknowledged by all who have learned
their lesson through incredible hardship and humiliation and who now desire
to serve God. So now David speaks of
the future horror that will bring them to this point. Psa 102:1 Hear my
prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. David is appealing on behalf of his future
subjects – and this is
confirmed in V18-20
below, which we’ll get to shortly. Psa 102:2 Do
not hide your face from me when I
am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. Psa 102:3 For
my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. Life drains away when one is in deep
distress and the body begins to break down. Psa 102:4 My
heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.
When your diet consists of ashes
(see V9
below) it might be easy to forget. Psa 102:5 Because
of my loud groaning I am reduced to skin and bones. Because of the stress of the
situation there won’t be much to be happy about. Generally, people in forced labor are
reduced to skin and bones. Even after
an invasion, when everything is either looted or burnt, all food sources
evaporate and there is nothing to eat.
Starvation becomes the norm. Psa 102:6 I am
like a desert owl, like an owl among
the ruins. History
tells us of the aftermath of war and the ruins
that result. I hope the reference to
the owl doesn’t mean looking for rodents to eat, but this seems to be the
implication. Rodents do tend to
survive well on rotting carcasses. Psa 102:7 I lie
awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof. Presumably, exposed to all the
elements and at night when most birds refuse to fly. Psa 102:8 All day long my enemies taunt me; those who rail against me use my name as a curse. Under such holocaust conditions,
everyone becomes the enemy when the food wars begin. There’s an implied meaning here that the
Saints will be blamed for everything that has resulted; it’s generally called
‘scapegoating’. It results when no-one
is prepared to take responsibility for their own actions. The litigious actions of people in the
courts, even today, goes to show how quick they are to blame others for their
problems. Well, the ‘turn the other cheek’ principle is
going to come back to haunt them. Psa 102:9 For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears Psa 102:10 because
of your great wrath, for you have taken
me up and thrown me aside. While
this is so, didn’t the House of Israel do this first to their Creator God? The wheel that goes around comes around and
this is how justice works. It’s always
a bit late to be lamenting after the event.
If you were told in advance would you listen and be warned-off from
such a fate? The truth is that most
people won’t! Some people just have to
learn the hard way because they won’t believe God. So whose fault is it? It might be of interest to know that
Abraham believed God and it
was credited to him as
righteousness (James 2:23).
So what ever you do, trust and believe God! When you find yourself thrown aside and in want of all things, just remember if
you start believing God,
then you will also be credited
with righteousness. God does
have compassion on the righteous! Psa 102:11 My
days are like the evening shadow;
I wither away like grass. An evening shadow descends into
the darkness of the night. David is
speaking of a long dark night
before the dawning of a new day. The days of punishment are not going to be
kind to anyone because this is not what punishment was
designed to do. Because of false assumptions
there are a lot of people who don’t believe they deserve punishment from
God. The Book of Hebrews would tell
you different: Heb 10:26-31 “If we deliberately
keep on sinning after
we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is
left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of
judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died
without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29
How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy
thing the blood of the covenant
that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30
For we know him who said, "It
is mine to avenge; I will repay," and
again, "The Lord will judge
his people." 31 It is a dreadful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God.” I can’t imagine dying any more severely
than dying without mercy,
but this is without taking into account the methods of the enemy. To be sure, this is speaking of those
who’ve been sanctified by
God’s Holy Spirit and then turned away from Him, so I
would imagine they can expect the worst! There is a
perception today that God should forgive everyone for everything, even those
things that are deeply offensive to Him.
Most people have heard of the ‘mark
of the Beast’ and they’re well aware that it’s something to avoid. Yet if push comes to shove and they’re
forced to accept it, then God will just have to forgive them! But will he? This is what God has to say on the subject:
Rev 14:9-12 “A third angel followed
them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the
forehead or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been
poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented
with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There
is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of
his name." 12 This calls for patient endurance on the
part of the saints who obey God's commandments and remain faithful to Jesus.” There are no
ifs or buts about this! Accept this ‘mark’ and you’ll suffer the
penalty! It’s rated as the highest
treasonable act anyone could commit!
You’ll notice the final verse about the patient endurance
of the Saints. The Saints, which are those who have God’s
Holy Spirit, will endure whatever death is meted out to them – rather
than to defy their God! And by way of
comfort to them, God adds this: V13-14 “Then I heard
a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed
are the dead who
die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor,
for
their deeds will follow them." They will willingly die for their God, just
as Jesus did, because they didn’t love their lives so much as to shrink from
death! And now David
begins to speak of the endgame when
the Lord Christ arises. His
first objective will be to show favour to Psa 102:12 But
you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all
generations. Psa 102:13 You will arise and have compassion on
Zion, for it is time to show favor
to her; the appointed
time has come. This is
a reference to the dawning of the new day when the Sun of Righteousness arises
with healing in His wings (Mal 4:2).
You’ll recall that the Apostle Peter also spoke of this in 2Pet 1:19
“…until the day
dawns and the Morning Star
arises
in your hearts.” The Morning Star or
Sun, of course, is Jesus
Christ (Rev
22:16). Psa 102:14 For her
(Zion or Jerusalem) stones are dear to your servants; her
very dust moves them to pity. Only
the servants of God will feel real compassion for Psa 102:15 The nations will fear the name of the
LORD, all the kings of the earth
will revere your glory. Does
anyone really believe that the nations of the earth will suddenly have an
epiphany and turn to God out of the goodness of their hearts? They’ll fear God because they’ll understand
the might and power of the ‘Armies of the Living God’ who will
wreak havoc on every nation they attack.
When “the appointed time has come” the Sons of
Jerusalem will drive hard into the neighbouring nations leaving devastation
in their wake. So of course, the nations will fear the Name of the
LORD! They’ll have no answer for
the weaponry involved! Psa 102:16 For
the LORD will rebuild Psa 102:17 He
will respond to the prayer
of the destitute; he will not despise their
plea. Obviously this follows a
period when God refused to respond to their pleas! This was when they refused to listen to Him, so He refused to listen to
them. This is something
God has warned about many times. When
God judges that they’ve suffered enough and are completely destitute, God will recognize
the sincerity of their pleas. It’s a
fact of life that when someone faces imminent death, suddenly God is very
real to them – as a last hope.
This is not ideal behaviour!
People tend to want to learn the hard way. Psa 102:18 Let this be written for a future
generation, that a people not yet
created may praise the LORD: Psa 102:19 "The
LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth, Psa 102:20 to
hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to
death." This is
what is referred to in V1 regarding David’s future subjects of future
generations. It is of course speaking
of the last days of human rule, and the future generation that will remain
when David is resurrected to rule over the 12 Tribes of Israel. But it has other ominous portent in the
reference to ‘generations’. Generally,
it’s the young and fit who survive such conditions, that is, the new
generation. The oldies, from the
present generation are the first to go in holocaust conditions. The old generation had their lifetimes,
their allotted span, and did nothing to distinguish themselves in the service
of God. God is looking for a new generation who don’t have
the baggage of the past generation.
God knows He can create in them a virtuous nation. There are precedents for
this, and these can be seen in the days of Moses, when God ensured the bodies
of the present generation fell in the desert, and they were refused entry to
the Promised Land. It was the new
generation that were led into the Promised Land. This is confirmed in the Book of Hebrews: Heb 3:16-4:1
“Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they
not all those Moses led out of Psa 102:21 So the name of the LORD will
be declared in Psa 102:22 when the peoples and the
kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD. Psa 102:23 In the course of my life he broke my strength; he cut short my days.
This is rather
interesting, because David’s life was cut short, that is, short of the
allotted 70 years. Though it’s hard to
nail down exactly, it seems that David died around the age of 65 years. His death came after a short co-regency
with his son Solomon, who was anointed as king before David died. Jesus Christ’s life was
also cut short as were the lives of many of his disciples. It seems that only John lived to a great
age – and this was prophesied: John 21:19-24 “Jesus
said this to indicate the kind of
death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow
me!" 20 Peter turned and saw that the disciple (John) whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one
who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who
is going to betray you?") 21 When Peter saw him, he asked,
"Lord, what about him?" 22 Jesus answered,
"If I want him to remain alive
until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me."
23 Because of this, the rumor spread among the
brothers that this disciple (John) would not
die. But Jesus did not say that he would not
die; he only said, "If I want
him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?" And of course, this was fulfilled on the
Isle of Patmos where Jesus Christ
appeared to John some 65 years later.
V24
“This is the disciple who testifies to these things
and who wrote them down. We know
that his testimony is true.”
Psa 102:24 So I said: "Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my
days; your years go on through all generations. It’s clear that David was speaking for others as well, who were to
follow him, including his most famous descendant Jesus Christ. Psa 102:25 In the beginning you laid
the foundations of the earth, and
the heavens are the work of your hands. Psa 102:26 They will perish, but you
remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change
them and they will be discarded. The clothing or the
appearance of the foundations of the earth, the landmass, will be changed
like a garment and the old will be discarded.
This also includes the heavens, and most particularly the sun and the
moon. Psa 102:27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end. People seem to believe that the LORD God of the Old Testament
dramatically changed when He came to earth as the man Jesus Christ. Yet David confirms that He remained the same. The Book of Malachi confirms this: Mal 3:6
“I the
LORD do not change. So you, O
descendants of Jacob are not destroyed.” Jesus Christ is the Creator that laid the foundations of the earth, and created everything in it. All this was the work of His hands! This is confirmed by the Apostle John: John 1:1-8
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God [the
Father], and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all
things were made; without
him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The
light shines in the darkness,
but the darkness has not
overcome (see margin)
it. 6 There came a man
who
was sent from God; his name was John (John
the Baptist). 7 He came as a witness to testify
concerning that light, so
that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not
the light; he came only
as a witness to the light.” Jesus Christ was the Light of Life, and
John the Baptist came to bear witness to this. John was not the Light
itself. God the Father deemed it
necessary to send a man ahead of His Son Jesus to prepare the way for Him. In short, John the
Baptist was a man of God who came to prepare the way for the Creator Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made. Jesus Christ is the Light of Life, and without Him there is only darkness. Yet darkness
can never overcome
this Light, but still dark forces try incessantly to
do so! There are dark, evil forces in
this world. Remember how the Apostle
Paul referred to them? Eph 6:12
“For our struggle
is not
against flesh and blood,
but against the
rulers, against the
authorities, against the POWERS
OF THIS DARK WORLD and against THE SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL IN THE
HEAVENLY REALMS.” There
is a spirit world and these
evil creatures presently
rule the whole world. But
now their days are numbered! And their
end will come with the dawning of a
new day. Psa 102:28 The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will
be established before you."
We could speak a
lot about this concerning the children
and descendants of His Servants, but the time is
not right for this disclosure now. But
then, you should already understand the nature of Jesus’ birth and how He was
conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Nevertheless, the offspring
of Jesus will inherit the PSALM 103 Of David. Psa 103:1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being,
praise his holy name. Here we see that the soul is your body along with all its
innermost parts, but most particularly your mind. Your thoughts and your mind determine what
you are as a human being. It’s a
strange quirk of the mind that so many people believe we all have an ‘immortal soul’. God says the soul that sins shall die
(Eze 18:4),
but according to these people, the ‘immortal
soul’ lives on after death.
Somehow they believe that they discard their body when they die, and
go on living through their ‘immortal
soul’. Even Jesus didn’t discard
His Body when He died – His body was resurrected and came to life again! Noticeably, the words ‘immortal soul’ don’t appear in the Bible. The next four verses
detail the benefits of serving the Creator God, and these are things we
should not forget. All those who repent and begin to serve God have their past sins forgiven. And just as assuredly, God heals all our
diseases. And no, He doesn’t do this
through the medical profession! Surely
Jesus Christ proved this often enough!
He healed many people, and even raised Lazarus from the dead. All this was done without recourse to the
medical profession. The truth is that
the medical profession kills more people than they cure. Some of their medications are positively
dangerous, and while they might alleviate symptoms of one organ, they are
doing devastating damage to others.
Doctors freely admit that their medications are designed to ‘contain’ diseases rather than cure
them. Surgery is a slightly
different thing, particularly on the battlefield or in severe accidents. Immediate action must be taken to stem the
flow of blood or a patient will die within minutes. Stitching wounds and removing bullets and
other foreign objects are a part of surgery.
Organ transplants however, are not – and they are against all that God
teaches us. Nevertheless, it’s up to
the individual whom he will trust for his healing. God counsels us to trust in Him and no
other: Psa 103:2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- Psa 103:3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, Psa 103:4 who redeems your life from the
pit and crowns you with love and compassion, Psa 103:5 who satisfies your desires
with good things so that your youth
is renewed like the eagle's. Notice the apostrophe
here in the word ‘eagle’ – it’s speaking of one eagle in particular – a bird
of prey! To those who are advanced in
age, do you really believe that you will live on in God’s Kingdom as old
men? God plans to demonstrate the renewing of our youth in
His servants, and this is one of the means by which you will
recognize them. Speaking of the renewing
of the youth of His servants, we now launch into the duties of God’s servants
for the purpose of righteousness
and justice: Psa 103:6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. God set a precedent for this in the time of Moses. Moses and the Israelites left devastation
in their wake as they advanced against their enemies and it was all done in
the interest of righteousness and
justice: Psa 103:7 He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Psa 103:8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow
to anger, abounding in
love. And this describes God very well in
relation to His people God made His ways known to Moses,
and this was done in the presence of all 12 Tribes of Israel – and no
others! Yet there is a caveat to
this. Gentiles who chose to live
according to the teachings of Moses are grafted into the Tree to become as
Israelites, and such people are equally loved by God. And we all know exactly what
ways God made known to Moses, don’t we? In view of this, human
beings are without excuse if they fail to follow God’s Ways. If they make their choices to oppose God’s
Ways, then those choices will lead to death – forever! The time is coming when God will punish His
people for their sins in the most horrendous time of carnage imaginable, then
at their lowest point, He will move to reassure them: Psa 103:9 He will not always accuse, nor
will he harbor his anger forever; Psa 103:10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay
us according to our iniquities. In the next verse, God
gives the proviso for this, and it’s something that doesn’t exist in the
House of Israel today. To most people
today, God is merely a vague entity, which they are conscious of, but they
certainly don’t fear Him! Psa 103:11 For as high as the heavens are
above the earth, so great is his love for THOSE WHO FEAR HIM; Psa 103:12 as far as the east is from the
west, so far has he removed our
transgressions from us. That is, from THOSE WHO FEAR HIM! Anyone who doesn’t FEAR to disobey God, don’t
FEAR Him at all. Too
many people today consider God their equal, and feel they have the right to
dictate the terms of their worship.
This is a right that has never been given to anyone. God is the Great Creator, and He dictates
the terms of worship; He always has and He always will. There is no nation on earth today that
doesn’t have laws to regulate the conduct of their citizens. Lawlessness leads to anarchy; this should
be well understood by all humanity.
Some nations have draconian penalties for the slightest infraction of
their law, and this is a fearful
deterrent to all would-be offenders.
We all know that, wherever we live, disobedience to the law carries a
penalty, and for some offences the penalty is death. Psa 103:13 As a father has compassion
on his children, so the LORD has compassion on THOSE
WHO FEAR HIM; Psa 103:14 for he knows how we are
formed, he remembers that we are dust.
So it’s those
whom God considers His children that He has compassion for. Only those who have God’s Holy Spirit will
honour their Father, their God, and they have a healthy fear of disobeying Him. Jesus Christ was such a Son, and He was
also the Firstborn of many brothers who would follow His example of obedience
to God. Even if it means death in
martyrdom! Others won’t be so
lucky. Every human being is appointed
to die once and return to dust. The
LORD God made this very clear at the outset in the Garden of Eden, and the
cemeteries are full of such people. Psa 103:15 As for man, his days are like grass, he
flourishes like a flower of the field; Psa 103:16 the wind blows over it and it
is gone, and
its place remembers it no more.
The winter
grasses of the field flourish for a season and afterwards they are gone. This is the perfect analogy for human
life. We have our season, and then we
are gone. In time, no-one will
remember us. Only those who died with
God’s Holy Spirit will be remembered, and only by
God! Only these will have
distinguished themselves enough to be included in the resurrection. The rest will remain dust forever! Psa 103:17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the LORD's love is with THOSE WHO
FEAR HIM, and his righteousness with their children's children-- Psa 103:18 with those who KEEP HIS COVENANT and REMEMBER TO OBEY HIS PRECEPTS. Only those who obey God
precepts or ways, and keep
His Covenant faithfully, will experience
God’s love from everlasting to
everlasting – that is, eternity! Psa 103:19 The LORD has established his
throne in heaven, and his kingdom
rules over all. As we’ve just pointed
out, every form of government has rules
and laws, and God’s Kingdom is no different! There is a form of
worship today which mandates that obedience to the Law of God is not
required. Such people insist that God
accept them ‘just as they are’ and
with no strings attached. It’s a
lip-service form of worship, and those who participate are fully convinced that
saying a few nice things about Jesus is all the service God requires. Yet even the mighty angels of God obey His
Word! Psa 103:20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who
obey his word. Even God’s angels obey
Him! Yet many humans, who claim to
worship Him, refuse! Anyone who thinks
otherwise can never be the servants of God! Psa 103:21 Praise the LORD, all his
heavenly hosts, YOU HIS SERVANTS
WHO DO HIS WILL. And isn’t this they type
of service God stipulates? Since the
angels of God do the will of God, why would any human servant feel themselves
to be exempt? Psa 103:22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his
dominion. Praise the LORD, O
my soul. Here the Prophet emphasizes that all the works of God’s hands
maintain their role in praise of God, with particular emphasis on the earth,
sun, moon and stars and the heavens in general, which we get to in the next
Psalm. The earth dutifully provides
the days with absolute precision, with each seven days providing a unit of
one week. The moon provides the months
to complete the year and with an accuracy that continues forever. It’s the moon that provides the timing for
the three Holyday seasons prescribed by God in the Bible. The sun provides the four seasons of the
climate we are all familiar with as the earth courses around it. It’s the sun that provides the climate for
all who dwell on earth with minimal processional variation. All these things are praiseworthy of God
and the provision He has made for His Creation. PSALM 104 The theme of this Psalm
is about water and its importance to all life, both now and forever. It may seem to be a fundamental statement
of obvious importance, but David was a prophet, and he’s setting the theme
for something of greater prophetic value.
Water has played a significant role in the overall Plan of God. Some of the major roles for water are
obvious from Biblical history, most notably the Great Flood in the days of
Noah. Then we have the departure of
the Israelites from God has provided natural
barriers of rarified air and great distances, to prevent human beings
advancing beyond the earth. Beyond the
earth is the realm of God. There is no
viable existence possible beyond the limits of earth for any of the human
kind. This is, however, not true of
His angels, who have no such barriers. Psa 104:1 Praise the
LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you
are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. In this next verse, God
speaks of stretching out the
heavens like a tent. In the
Book of Isaiah, He mentions this, and confirms that this is where He lives: Isa 40:22
“He sits enthroned above
the circle of the earth, and
its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens
like a canopy, and spreads them out LIKE A TENT TO
LIVE IN.” Some of the verses that
follow are difficult language to explain, and the meaning supplied may relate
to the best efforts of the translators.
Either something was lost in the translation, or the prophet reported
what he saw to the best of his knowledge.
Nevertheless, the whole heavens beyond the earth are God’s realm where
He can move without restriction – as can all His angels. Psa 104:2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a
tent Psa 104:3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot and
rides on the wings of the wind.
Today, human
beings do the same thing when they fly in an aircraft. They are literally flying on the wind in a
‘chariot’ or airplane. The Prophet would have a difficult time
explaining this in his day. Later
prophets would have had a better idea because of the account of Elijah, who
flew off in one of God’s flying ‘chariots’ or aircrafts, for want of a better
descriptive word. God “wraps
Himself in light as with a garment”. This light
cannot be seen by human beings, so God is invisible to us:
1Tim 6:15-16
“…God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of
kings and Lord of lords, 16 who
alone is immortal and who
lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.
To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” It may seem strange that light can’t
be seen, but certain types of light, like ultraviolet light, cannot be seen
with the naked eye. Similarly, light
in a vacuum cannot be seen either. The
Tyndall Phenomenon holds that the light of a torch shone in an endless vacuum
would be invisible. Only if something
of substance was placed in the path of the light would it be seen. So although God’s Dwelling-place is
generally close to the earth, it cannot be seen. And then we find this
statement in V3
above: “lays
the beams of His upper chambers on their [the cloud’s] waters.” We’ll see a further reference to this in V13
below: Ps
104:13 “He waters the mountains
from his upper chambers; the
earth is satisfied BY THE FRUIT OF HIS WORK.” Our Lord Christ had something to say
about this in relation to the fruit of God’s work: John 5:17 “Jesus
said to them, "My Father is always AT HIS WORK to this very day, and I, too, am working." This tells us the
type of work God does every day. He
provides rain to the mountains,
controlling the weather and the climate. Everything functions according to God’s
will. Human beings have no power to
regulate either the weather or the climate! Anyone
who thinks otherwise is deluding themselves.
The upper chambers of God’s dwelling-place are above the mountains and
in the vicinity of the clouds. While
God’s dwelling-place cannot be seen by human beings, the day will come when
people will see it, as we mentioned earlier. Psa 104:4 He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. High winds and powerful storms are often the unwelcome messengers of
God, and it’s as well to take notice of this.
Frequently, God sends them to warn when He is not pleased. Raging fires can also be another warning. Lightning often starts fires that become
catastrophic. There was an occasion in
south-eastern The Creator God
micromanages all climates on the earth for good or for bad, and there is
nothing that mankind can do about it, except, of course, to acknowledge Him
as the Creator and trust in Him for good outcomes. The inhabitants of this earth should lose
the arrogance of believing they understand all about the earth’s climate as
well as the delusional state of mind where they believe they can regulate
it. Money, in the form of carbon credits, is the form of
delusional thinking that is likely to invoke God’s displeasure for their
arrogance. God knows these AGW
advocates are lying, greedy parasites, and this is why God has been hammering
the earth with the freezing conditions which has exposed them as liars. The latest demented offering from these
liars is that the freezing conditions are a sure sign of global warming,
which they’ve conveniently tagged ‘climate
change’ when circumstances refuse to cooperate with their delusional
thinking. Raving lunatics is the term
that best describes them! The problem
is that by listening to such lying deceivers the punishment falls on everyone. There is a passage in the Prophets that illustrates this principle
about those who take advantage of the people for gain: Eze 13:19
“You have profaned me among my people for a few
handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By
lying to my people, who listen to lies, you
have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.” It’s bad enough
that these creatures are deceiving people for gain, but now they’ve become
steeped in voodoo and have begun referring to the earth as the ‘goddess Gaia’. As a matter of fact, this is Oprah
Winfrey’s religion, which illustrates the growing source of this
madness. It hasn’t gone unnoticed that
this is when Winfrey’s show started to ‘bomb’ when she began to offend many Christians,
so she played the smart card and closed down the show in an effort to salvage
her remaining credibility. The foundations of the earth are its landmass as the next couple of verses will show. Psa 104:5 He set the earth on its foundations; it
can never be moved. Oh dear! This is not what the
earth ‘scientists’ have been
saying, is it? They would have us
believe that the earth’s landmass is riding on tectonic plates that move
across the earth. Always constantly
moving, they say, and this is what is causing earthquakes. The exception, of course, is when
earthquakes occur, which they frequently do,
where there are none of these mythical tectonic plates
boundaries. This always causes
heartburn for the theorists! There was a time long ago
when the mantle of the earth went into meltdown and the continent broke up,
sliding the pieces of landmass across the earth. If you were to figuratively move all these
pieces back towards It was this stabilized
and unmovable landmass,
which was to be covered with water
in the days of Noah’s flood. Psa 104:6 You covered it with the
deep [the oceans] as with a garment; the
waters stood above the mountains.
This is the worldwide flood of Noah’s day. Noah’s ark eventually came to rest on the
top of Atheists have long
disputed the story of Noah’s Psa 104:7 But at your
rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; Psa 104:8 they flowed over the
mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. It took about four months for the waters to
recede into the underground vaults where God stores it. And there is a storage of water that will
one day flow again, and this will flow from the threshold of the Psa 104:9 You set a boundary they cannot
cross; never again will they cover
the earth. God also gave this
undertaking immediately after the flood in Noah’s day and He provided a sign
in support of this. Gen 9:11-17 “I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut
off by the waters of a
flood; never again will there be a
flood to destroy the earth." 12 And God said,
"This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and
every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13
I have set my rainbow in the clouds,
and it will be the sign of the
covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring
clouds over the earth and the
rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my
covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a
flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds,
I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all
living creatures of every kind on the earth." 17 So God said
to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth." So now we know that God will not
again destroy all life from the earth with a flood. Instead, God speaks of the flood of war which will
decimate the peoples of the earth in the last days, and war will continue to the end. Dan 9:26 “….The end will come like a
FLOOD: WAR will continue
until the end, and desolations have been decreed.” A result similar
to that in the days of Noah will come from the ravages of war, and very few
will be left alive: Isa 24:5-6 “The earth is
defiled by its people; they have disobeyed
the laws, violated the
statutes and broken the
everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth's inhabitants are burned
up, and very few are left.” There is a
lot more to this last passage from the Book of Isaiah than is immediately
evident. The earth has been defiled by
the people living on it. The reason
being, that they have disobeyed
God’s Laws, violated His
Statutes, and broken the
everlasting Covenant. You’ll
notice that Daniel said that war
would continue to the end, and that desolations have been decreed. These desolations
have been decreed by God
and will leave the earth desolate and with few survivors. These desolations were decreed from the
beginning, and relate to the restoration
of the earth as it once was, with the landmass having a precise shape
and configuration. When God restores
the earth to a single continent once more, everything manmade will be
flattened and destroyed and nothing will be left standing. This is the type of desolation that God speaks of. And now the Psalmist
begins to explain the complexities of God’s Work and how He accepts
responsibility for the care and feeding of all lifeforms. And He does it all without the need to
recruit environmentalists, greenies, and global warming advocates. Psa 104:10 He makes springs pour water
into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. First of all, He takes care of the most vital ingredient for the
sustaining of life – water! Without
water, all life would cease on earth.
A fact well-known to those who advocate interplanetary travel – an
obvious barrier to their ambitions! Psa 104:11 They [the springs and rivers] give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild
donkeys quench their thirst. Springs
and rivers provide the essential water for all the creatures of the earth,
without which, nothing would survive. Psa 104:12 The birds of the air nest by
the waters; they sing among the branches.
The branches of
the trees which grow by the waters provide the ideal nesting places for birds
to rear their young. Psa 104:13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the earth is satisfied by the fruit of
his work. This was explained in V3
above. The highest clouds or water
chambers are those which water the mountains. It may seem to be a
fairly elementary description of the ecology here, but there are a number of
points to it all. The primary point is
that all living things are dependent on the Creator God who works to provide for them. Psa 104:14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-- bringing forth food from the
earth: Psa 104:15 wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart. Fermented wine is a blessing when taken
in moderation. It relaxes us and
gladdens us and has great medicinal value as well because of the alcohol
content. Olive oil tends to make our faces shine, so it should be
everyone’s first choice for cooking and for salads. On the other hand, trans-fats are very
unhealthy. These are the types of fats
that are manufactured from things that were never meant to be a source of oil
for human consumption. As an example:
palm oil, which is highly modified and hydrogenated for human consumption,
should be avoided. Grain was designed
to make bread, and it
sustains the heart. Bread is a staple food
throughout the Bible. So in this verse
we see three well-known staples of life: wine,
olive oil and bread. All three of which have great significance
in our worship of God. Psa 104:16 The trees of the LORD are well
watered, the cedars of Lebanon that he planted. The
Cedars are native to Psa 104:17 There the birds make their
nests; the stork has its home in the pine trees. All the creatures of the earth know their place, and each lives in the
place provided for them. It’s
important to note this because some human beings don’t seem to know the
limits of their boundaries. This
becomes very important when we get to Psalm 105. Psa 104:18 The high mountains belong to
the wild goats; the crags are a refuge for the coneys. The rocky crags of mountains are the natural place for these
creatures. The sure-footed goats do
very well there. Psa 104:19 The moon marks off the seasons, and the sun knows when to
go down. This is a reference to God’s seasons –
there are three. The first is the
Passover Season, the second – the Pentecost Season, and the third is the
Feast of Tabernacles Season. God’s seasons are determined by the
moon. The sun also plays a
part in God’s holy seasons; it’s when the
sun goes down at sunset that the first day of each Holy Day season
begins. The Passover season is also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The
Pentecost season is sometimes called either the Feast of Weeks (see Deut 16:16) or the Feast of Harvest.
The Feast of Tabernacles
is alternatively called the Feast
of Ingathering. God’s
appointed seasons are marked off according to the growing season as
it occurs in the Psa 104:20 You bring darkness, it becomes
night, and all the beasts of the
forest prowl. The nighttime is the time
for the predators to prowl. It’s under
cover of night that they seek out prey.
This is especially true of lions
who have no natural predators. Psa 104:21 The lions roar for their prey and seek their food from
God. Lions seek the prey that is provided by
God. In this, the strong devour the
weak, and this was the intended means to provide for all animals. It’s the function of natural life that the
lion’s prey breed far more prolifically than the lions, so there is always
plenty of food. This is how God
designed it to be for the allotted six thousand years. There will, however, be changes in the
Millennial rule of God. It will begin
throughout the Psa 104:22 The sun rises, and they steal
away; they return and lie down in their dens.
The predators of
this earth do their work in darkness. And this is the nature of the beast. All creatures know what
they are appointed to do, and this also includes the birds that the Prophet
Jeremiah refers to: Jer 8:7-8 “Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the
dove, the swift and the thrush observe
the time of their migration. But my people do not know the
requirements of the LORD. 8 " `How can you say,
"We are wise, for we
have the law of the LORD," when
actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?” And this
summarized the whole point being made.
God made the seasons, and all His creation observe these seasons, except
His people Psa 104:23 Then man goes out to his work, to his labor until evening. But not with the sure knowledge of the rest of God’s creatures, who
automatically obey the designs of God’s seasons. The animals, the birds, the sea life, all
have their seasons which they obey.
They know instinctively what God has planned for them and they live
accordingly. Psa 104:24 How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is
full of your creatures. There are religious
teachers and philosophers today, who would have difficulty organizing a chook
raffle, yet they presume to teach through their lying pens the ways of God or
the function of the earth. Some of
them would have difficulty changing a light bulb, yet here they are trying to
philosophize about the operations of all life. Even worse, this has crept into the schools
as a teaching called ‘evolution’. The
Truth is they refuse to acknowledge God as the Creator. The Prophet now begins to
point out their errors by reminding one and all of the complexities that
no-one, even today, can fully understand. Psa 104:25 There is the sea, vast and
spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number-- living things both large and small. Psa 104:26 There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which
you formed to frolic there. Psa 104:27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. All the creatures of the earth understand the seasons, and know that
their lives depend on them. They know
of the lean times and they understand the time of plenty, and they regulate
their behaviour accordingly. Psa 104:28 When you give it
to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with
good things. All the animals know to expect this in the
proper seasons. On the other hand,
should God withhold His blessings, then they will return to dust.
What is more, there was a time when God did this on a grand scale, and
all the former lifeforms perished. The
time of Noah’s flood was one such time, but this was minor in comparison to
the catastrophe that preceded it. This
greater event occurred before God RENEWED the face of the earth (see V30 below). Psa 104:29 When you hide your face, they
are terrified; when you take away
their breath, they die and
return to the dust. It was at this time when
all life was extinguished from the earth. Psa 104:30 When you send your Spirit, they
are created, and you RENEW
the
FACE OF THE EARTH. It was through God’s Holy
Spirit that the face of the earth
was renewed. The designing and
the planning had all been done, and all that was required was for God to
command matter to obey Him, and accordingly, this was done. God merely said, “Let there be….” And by
this means, God’s Spirit RENEWED
the FACE OF THE EARTH and everything in it. It was this new creation
that God so loved. So much so, that it
will endure forever. This present
creation is God’s preferred creation, rather than the former, the dinosaur or reptilian era,
which became hopelessly corrupted under Satan’s rule. It should come as no surprise that Satan
and his rulers are still depicted today in the Bible as serpent or reptilian-like
creatures. Satan’s rule has
continued during this past 6,000 years, but God is in the process of training
those who will replace Satan as the ruler of this earth. This was begun in the Garden of Eden, when God created mankind in His own image. Not as another animal, but as the embryonic
form of the God Family. It was from the human
kind that God would make the selections for the new ruling body in His
Family. At the appointed time, the
present rulers of this world will lose their powers and be removed. It was not God’s intention for
them to be replaced with untried, untested, incompetent rulers who were no
better than their predecessors.
Instead, the new rulers would be tried and tested in every way to
ensure their competence for the task.
God’s Kingdom will be governed by His Law, and naturally enough, the
God Family will be fully competent in understanding the Law, since
they will have a prior history of observing it. The selection process
will require not just obedience to God’s Law, but obedience under all
circumstances, even if it involves great suffering. The Lord Christ set this example for all of
us to follow, and the outcome will be the same for all who succeed in
following His example. Trials and
hardship, and even pain and suffering, will determine who is totally
committed to God’s Way. Don’t be too
surprised to learn these things, because didn’t God’s own Son have to go
through it all first? God doesn’t only
seek our verbal assurances of faithfulness, He requires us to be tested. God even likens this to silver and gold being refined in a
furnace: Mal 3:2-5 “But who can
endure
the
day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire
or a launderer's soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will PURIFY THE LEVITES and
refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD
will have men who will bring
offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be
acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. 5
"So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify
against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud
laborers of their wages, who
oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice,
but
do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty.” As we can plainly see here, this passage is
speaking about the Day of the
LORD’s coming. There’ll be a
big cleansing operation under way in Judah
and Jerusalem to get rid of the sorcerers, adulterers and
perjurers. Deceivers, liars and those
who pervert the Truth will be ejected from the region. To be sure, the Levites will be refined first,
because it’s the Levites who must be in place to prepare the way for the day of His coming (see V1). Not to be uncharitable to the churches, but
it is not their role to prepare
the way for the Lord Christ. Their
role is to follow the example of the Levites and to prepare themselves to be
tested in the refining process of fire, to hold fast and to endure to the end. Remember how the Levite John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus
Christ? All these things were in the
planning from the very beginning. And
this is how it will be with the return of the Lord Christ. At that time, only the Levites will have
been purified and able to bring offerings in righteousness. The Jews will quickly realize this and will
become allied with the Levite Sons of Jerusalem. This will fulfill the words of Jesus Christ
when He said ‘Salvation is from the Jews’ (John 4:22). Why would God choose anyone else? The Jews have been faithful to the Holy
City Jerusalem and the With the return of the
Lord Jesus, the whole world will see Him in His Glory and His reign will last
forever. Psa 104:31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever; may the LORD rejoice in his works-- Psa 104:32 he who looks at the earth, and
it trembles, who touches the mountains, and they smoke. As we clearly see, this is a big departure from the One who originally
came as a humble carpenter. The mere
look of this Mighty One will set certain processes in progress. As we saw in the previous verse, God
intends, once again, to renew the face of the earth. The works of God is to create, that is, to
make something that doesn’t exist suddenly appear. The face of the earth is presently chaotic,
and the boundaries of the islands and continents are clearly removed from
their matching boundaries. In the days
of Adam and Eve, God renewed all life on earth, and life-forms appeared as we
know them today. And now God’s works
will involve restoring and renewing
the whole face of the earth.
When this is done, The glory of the LORD is
to endure forever, and for this to be so, many changes will need to be made. Physical changes to the face or landmass of
the earth will occur. Nations must be
conquered and brought into subjection of the Lord of lords and King of kings. This means compliance with the Laws and
Statutes of God under the We who are alive today
have been privileged to see all these things.
All the Prophets longed to see this day, but they never saw it. This was also true of the Apostles, who
were told they would not see one of the days of the Lord, and this is the day we
are now discussing: Luke 17:22 “Then he
said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man,
but you will not see it.” The day will come
when the Apostles will be resurrected, but they won’t see the day when the
Lord Jesus returns to mete out the justice prophesied. We can tell you about one of these days and
it occurs in the Edomite-held
lands to the south of the Psa 104:33 I will sing to the LORD all my
life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. Like David, there will be many people who
will long to see this day and to praise Him for His actions just as Bible
Prophecy states. Psa 104:34 May my
meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD. In anticipation of these events, we need to have our minds attuned to
the things of God and to be thinking and meditating about them. It’s time to lose the stupidity of political correctness and multiculturalism, and to start
believing that God’s Way has always been right. It’s the state of our minds that need an
overhaul if we are still thinking in terms of these failed political
ideologies. Failing to do so will
result on being on the wrong side of the ledger. We must always be accountable for our
thoughts as well as our actions, or we must prepare to suffer the
consequences. There will be only one
culture in the Psa 104:35 But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, O my soul. Praise the LORD. It stands to reason that there will be no place for sinners, and the definition of a
sinner is one who transgresses God’s Law. Along with the incorrigible wicked, these
sinners will be wiped off the face of the earth. Anyone who chooses to disobey God will have
no future in God’s Kingdom. PSALM 105 The Prophet Daniel wrote
this: Dan
2:21-22 “He
changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge
to the discerning. 22 He
reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and
light dwells with him.” This virtually sets the theme for the next
few Psalms. Psa 105:1 Give thanks to the LORD, call
on his name; make known among the
nations what he has done. The problem today is that most
people don’t know what He has done or with any degree of certainty as to whom
He is referring. He didn’t do all
these wonderful acts for
those who opposed Him; in fact, He destroyed many nations along the way. The wonderful
acts He did were on behalf of the sons of Jacob – the 12 Tribes of
Israel. The odd thing about this is
that the Israelites, that
is, the ‘lost Ten Tribes’ seem to have forgotten the wonderful acts God did on
their behalf. With this in mind, the
Psalmist begins a revision course. Psa 105:2 Sing to him, sing praise to
him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Well all these wonderful
acts are recorded in the Old Testament, and although these are the
Scriptures that the Lord Christ and all the Apostles used (the only Scriptures that existed at that
time), Christianity all but ignores them.
So they are hardly in a position to be making these things known among the nations, are
they? Did they learn anything from all
God’s wonderful acts, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced. If they did, then it’s not evident from
what they teach! Psa 105:3 Glory in his holy name; let
the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. You would have noticed that some of God’s wonderful acts were killing the enemy which threatened His
people In the Western world, we
have laws relating to justifiable homicide.
This usually involves self-defense or the defense of others. For instance, if some madman comes at you
with an axe, intent on cleaving your head in two, you reach for the shotgun
and blow his head off. It’s a simple
act of self-preservation that is recognized under law. Of course, if it went the other way, and
you were killed, your wife and children would have to sit through a messy
court trial listening to the defense lawyer arguing that his client is not
responsible. And the reason is he was
abused as a child. The inference being
that the murderer deserves sympathy and mercy, with no regard for the plight
of the victim. Thankfully, this ‘abused as a child’ defense is starting
to wear very thin, and juries are less inclined to listen to this form of
madness today. The point is that, today,
we’ve sacrificed justice for psychotic reasoning where the offender’s rights
outweigh that of the victim. Today we
live in a ‘nanny’ state where the
state provides ‘cradle to grave’
protection against having our feelings hurt.
The slightest infraction of the ‘political
correctness’ doctrine demonstrates everyday that there is no such thing
as free speech, except if you happen to be a left-wing looney. In which case, you have unfettered rights
to accuse and abuse everyone or anyone falsely and unjustly, without any fear
of the recourse of the law. Years
after they left office, President Bush and Dick Cheney are still the whipping
boys for these mindless fools. Psa 105:4 Look to the LORD and his
strength; seek his face always.
God doesn’t
favour emotional cripples and weaklings who can never rise above
misfortune. He favours those who have
the character and fortitude to advance against all odds. It’s called faith. Those who rely on Him and seek His face
always, are the ones who can rise above the misfortunes of life. As we wind down to the end of the age,
there will be enough misfortune to go around for everyone. The Apostle Paul spoke of these last days
with these words: 2Tim 3:1 “But mark
this: There will be terrible times
in the last days.” He was warning Christians of what to
expect. Throughout Muslim countries
today, and throughout There is a very strange
mentality permeating the Western nations today. It all began in But let’s not get too
reminiscent of the Civil War of 1861; there’s a worse one coming! This war too will involve those who are ‘strangers’,
that is, those who are not of the Tribes of
Israel. These are destined to rise up
against the American Israelites, and they include South American Indians,
Africans, Asians, and of course, the source of all the troubles in the world
– the Muslims. Even now, events are
creeping rapidly towards that day! It will be the most
testing time in all history for Christians.
It will be like a long dark night that will seemingly never end. Those who were accommodated through political correctness will rise up
against you and then you will see the futility
of the PC doctrine in all its
glory. It’s during this time
that Christians will need to reflect on many things. Chiefly, how did they get to this
point? They’ll be wondering what
happened to the salvation that they fondly spoke about for so long. Salvation seemed to offer deliverance from
all adversity, yet they’ll wonder why adversity is closing in on all
sides. As reality strikes home,
they’ll begin to realize that there was something lacking in their church
doctrine. As it happens, this will
prove to be correct. It will be time
to take stock and to start remembering
what God’s doctrine is all about. Psa 105:5 Remember the wonders
he has done, his miracles,
and the judgments he pronounced, Psa 105:6 O descendants of Abraham his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones. The sons of Jacob,
that is, the 12 Tribes of God has set down judgments
for these last days, and His
judgments will extend throughout all
the earth for the first time since the days of Noah. Psa 105:7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth. Some may wonder why God’s judgments will now come on all the earth. The reason is that God’s Kingdom will spread throughout the earth, and remedial measures need to be
taken to clear the way for a successful transition. As it was in the days of Noah, there are
people on this earth for whom God has no interest. These aligned with Satan generations ago,
and adopted the dubious status of becoming God’s enemies. God, on the other hand,
remembers His Covenant with Abraham and with Isaac his son, for a thousand generations. Psa 105:8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded, for a thousand generations, Psa 105:9 the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. As an actuary might calculate a
generation, one generation would be about 22 years. So the implied thousand generations would exceed 44,000 years. It’s obvious then that God’s concern for
the children of When God mentions a thousand generations, He’s
actually using a figure of speech. He
uses it as a time scale beyond our understanding. In the next verse, He clarifies the Covenant as lasting forever! A Covenant without end! Psa 105:10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Psa 105:11 "To you I will give the As a point of
interest, Ephraim was to be greater than Manasseh. It was As the rightful owners of
the Psa 105:12 When they were but few in number, few
indeed, and strangers
in it, Psa 105:13 they wandered from nation to
nation, from one kingdom to another. These
were perilous times and hostility was always present. Even Jacob’s twin brother Esau confronted
him, but thought better of attacking him, even though Jacob expected him
to. Esau seemed to understand that
this could be a hazardous move with unforeseen consequences, and as it turned
out, he was right! God was watching
over Jacob and his family. Psa 105:14 He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings: Psa 105:15 "Do not touch my
anointed ones; do my
prophets no harm." Of course, Esau wasn’t
fully aware of this, but his ‘spirit
handlers’ were, and they know God too well to provoke Him. As it turned out, Jacob was no slouch with
a sword and a bow either. There was a
certain ridge of land that was strategically important to him, and the
occupiers were reluctant to vacate. So
Jacob led the attack against them and drove them out (Gen 48:21-22). Sensibly, he killed their warriors with
both arrow and sword to discourage any form of retaliation. When God says, “Do not touch
my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm”
He was referring to two prophets – Jacob and Joseph. Jacob
prophesied about many things in Gen 48, but particularly about Joseph. Joseph was a prophet and was known to have
dreams. It was these dreams which
seemed to upset his brothers as well as Jacob. One dream in particular seemed to get up
everyone’s nose: Gen 37:9-11 “Then he
had another dream,
and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had
another dream, and this time the sun
and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." 10
When
he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him
and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow
down to the ground before you?" 11 His brothers were
jealous of him, but his father kept
the matter in mind.”
His father Jacob rightly understood the meaning of the dream, and
lived to see it fulfilled later in All these things came
about to fulfill God’s purpose for the sons of Jacob. He intended for them to live in Psa 105:16 He called down famine on the land and destroyed all their supplies of
food; Psa 105:17 and he sent a man before them--
Joseph, sold
as a slave. It’s quite amazing how
God always seems to send a man to prepare the way, and this was the role He
chose for Joseph. However, sitting in
an Egyptian dungeon for 2 years wouldn’t have been pleasant, and especially
since he was there on trumped-up charges. Prior to this, Joseph was
sold by his jealous brothers to the Ismaelites: Gen 37:28 “So when the
Midianite merchants came
by, his brothers pulled
Joseph up out of the cistern and
sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took
him to Arabs have some cruel
methods of dealing with slaves: Psa 105:18 They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons, Psa 105:19 till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD
proved him true. And this was the point of
the severe persecution that Joseph suffered!
Eventually Joseph was proven to be a prophet. Psa 105:20 The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free. It was a lucky break for Pharaoh when he released Joseph. He managed to stumble onto the right side
of God who said this: “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my
prophets no harm”. As a
result, Pharaoh was greatly blessed through Joseph. It could easily have gone the other way! Psa 105:21 He made him (Joseph) master of his
household, ruler over all
he possessed, Psa 105:22 to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom. All in all, it turned out to be a smart move by Pharaoh. God has a habit of destroying those who attempt to harm His prophets. As a matter of fact, there will be a demonstration
of this in the near future. Typically,
they will be swallowed up by the
earth (Rev 12:16). It will be
typical of what happened to Moses enemies: Num 16:28-34 “Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that
the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: 29
If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to
men, then the LORD has not sent me. 30 But if the LORD brings
about something totally new, and
the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that
belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know
that these men have treated the LORD with contempt." 31 As
soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart 32
and the earth opened its mouth and
swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all
their possessions. 33 They went down alive into the grave, with
everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were
gone from the community. 34 At their cries, all the Israelites
around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to swallow us too!" This account of Moses
actually became an oath used by the Levites for over a thousand years. In the days of Alexander the Great, he sought
assurances from the Levite/Celtic nation in As an interesting aside
to this, the king of Psa 105:23 Then In the days of Moses, the
Children of Israel had grown into a formidable population that caused the
Egyptians concern. They attempted to
kill all the male babies to prevent a future insurrection. Through unusual circumstances, Moses
escaped this fate and finished up a prince in Pharaoh’s household. He enjoyed a very good lifestyle there, but
concerns for his fellow Israelites began to alarm him. Psa 105:24 The LORD made his people very
fruitful; he made them too numerous for their
foes, Psa 105:25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people, to conspire
against his servants. Moses could see what was
happening, and sought to intervene but it backfired and he was forced to flee
the country, and finished up living in the After this, he was
wandering near Psa 105:26 He sent Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
It was these two
men who were sent to confront Pharaoh, whom God ensured would not
listen. God had no intention of
providing Pharaoh with a lifeline or a quick exit out of his
predicament. God fully intended to
punish him severely for enslaving His people The Pharaoh in Moses day
had no intention of divesting of the cheap slave labour that he’d become
accustomed to, and which had continued for some centuries. Sure their numbers were becoming a threat,
but he’d already addressed this problem by increasing their workload and
working them to death under harsh whips.
What’s more, he could make their burden even harder if provoked. He actually did this after being confronted
by Moses and Aaron, making the biggest mistake of his life. Now he had really provoked God! Psa 105:27 They performed his miraculous
signs among them, his
wonders in the Psa 105:28 He sent darkness and made the land dark-- for had
they not rebelled against his words?
There seems to be
a subliminal message in this between a dark
land and dark forces of
evil. As we mentioned above,
this had been going on for a long time, and the Egyptians knew very well who
the Creator God was, but Pharaoh himself was the self-appointed god in place
of Him, and he had no intention of divesting of his ‘deified’ position. Pharaoh
had indeed rebelled against God’s
words a long time before this.
In fact, as a rebellious spirit being, he rebelled long ago, before
God came and said, “Let there be light”
– when He renewed the earth
with new life forms. Pharaoh typifies
the dark forces of evil that live on this earth even today. Earlier pharaohs had
shown favour to the Israelites because they believed that Joseph was a
prophet of the Most High God, but over time all this changed. In time, the chosen people of God became
the enemy, and had to be treated as such.
This tells us a whole lot about the ‘spirit rulers of the heavenly realms’. There are 50 million of these demons on
earth today, and a great many of them hold positions of power over the human
realm. Psa 105:29 He turned their waters into blood, causing their fish to die. Well fish can’t live in blood!
If it were colored water, they would have survived quite well. In some capital cities today, we have
polluted rivers which are too thick to drink yet too thin to plow, but fish
still survive very well there. I
mention this because some people seem to believe that only the color of the
water changed. God says the water turned into blood, and
He ought to know! This caused the fish to die. The Egyptians were forced
to dig beside the Psa 105:30 Their land teemed with frogs, which went up into the bedrooms of
their rulers. They were in the bedrooms, the kitchens, the
ovens, the kneading troughs and everywhere else (Ex 8:2-4). So Pharaoh agrees to a deal with Moses to
let God’s people go. But as soon as
the frogs disappeared into the Psa 105:31 He spoke, and there came
swarms of flies, and gnats throughout their country. In the outback desert parts of Pharaoh knew the source
of all these curses and calamities, but still he refused to yield to the
Creator God. Pharaoh considered
himself a god, and demanded that he be worshipped as such. So yielding to any other god, even the
Great God, was completely alien to him.
He intended to tough it out.
Such is the mentality of demons!
And Pharaoh was a demon! It’s not generally
recognized, but idols and false gods are demons,
and when people worship them, they are in fact worshipping demons.
In the Book of Revelation, God reminds everyone of the reasons for plagues, just as He reminded
Pharaoh: Rev
9:20-21 “The rest of mankind that were
not killed by these plagues
still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not
stop WORSHIPING DEMONS, and
idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood--idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor
did they repent of their murders,
their magic arts, their sexual immorality or
their thefts.” And here we see
what results from worshipping demons!
People who worship demons are generally very superstitious people who rely
on magic tokens or supernatural signs to bring them luck. It’s these very people who have the
mentality to commit the vilest outrages, like murder, sexual
immorality, and theft. A common defense in the courtroom after
being caught is to plead insanity as justification for their actions. Insane or not, they are still guilty of
their crimes, and the purpose of this passage from the Book of Revelation is
to demonstrate that death is the penalty.
Those who succumb to the influence of demons and commit these
outrageous acts must be put to death.
Any student of the Bible would know what type of sexual immorality God finds the most abhorrent. It’s homosexuality! Those who are prone to justifying this are
literally following the doctrine of demons. The Western nations are being forced
through political correctness to accept this as a natural sexual
lifestyle. Almighty God strongly
disagrees! I think every rational
person is smart enough to know that this type of behaviour will not
exist in the Yet still people don’t
heed God’s warnings. And neither did
Pharaoh in Moses’ day. Pharaoh
continued to resist God, and so God upped the stakes. Now the Egyptians would have all their
possessions destroyed, their crops their livestock and everything that
ensured their continuing existence.
Their whole country would be brought to ruin. Psa 105:32 He turned their rain into hail, with lightning throughout their
land; Psa 105:33 he struck down their vines and
fig trees and shattered the trees
of their country. Their vines, their fruit, their
crops – all were destroyed! Psa 105:34 He spoke, and the locusts
came, grasshoppers without number; Psa 105:35 they ate up every green
thing in their land, ate up
the produce of their soil. There was literally
nothing left! No crops, no feed for
the livestock, and the situation became extremely grim for the Egyptian
population. Psa 105:36 Then he struck down all the
firstborn in their land, the firstfruits
of all their manhood (the firstborn male). The livestock that survived the lightning
and hail were yet decimated again with the destruction of the prime animals –
the firstborn of the flocks and herds.
Not only this, but on the night of the Passover, the firstfruits of all their manhood,
the
human firstborns, were also killed. As a point of interest,
the killing of all the firstborn sons of And finally, Pharaoh had
a change of heart and decided to let the Israelites go, but not before God
plundered them of all their wealth. We
talk today of economic downturns, and the ominous signs of lower standards of
living, yet our nations are not learning from the
example God made of Pharaoh. The House
of Having suffered
catastrophic calamities, the Egyptian people actually paid the Israelites to
leave: Psa 105:37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold, and from among their tribes no one faltered. There were 600,000 men among the Tribes of Israel (Ex 12:37),
and a reasonable estimate of the total number of men, women and children
would be around 2,000,000. Not one of
them faltered in their exodus. What is
more, they were laden with silver and gold: Exodus 11:1-2 “Now the
LORD had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Psa 105:38 Egypt was glad when they left,
because
dread of Logically now, the
storyline would take us to the crossing of the Presently, the House of
Israel is headed for captivity and slavery once more. And although, based on human reasoning,
this may seem to be many years in the future, the truth is that it will come
like a tornado, a lashing storm, smashing and destroying everything in its
path. At that time, there will be no
peace for man or beast. Remember how
quickly Pharaoh was brought to ruin! On the way to their final
destination, which concluded some 40 years later, God provided the Israelites
with His protection and sustenance.
During this sojourn, it should be noted that God was more
accommodating towards these people than they were towards Him. After hundreds of years of slavery, they
were now free, but in terms of gratitude, they weren’t exactly faithful to
their Deliverer. In But now they were free
and it was time for righteous and
just laws to govern them. God
Himself led them to the place where they would receive them. It was Psa 105:39 He spread out a cloud as a covering, and a fire to give light at night. The pillar of fire also allowed the 12 Tribes of Israel to travel by
night (Ex
13:21). The cloud hid God
from view, but it also guided the Israelites as God led them. On occasion, this cloud also shielded them
from the enemy: Ex 14:19-22 “Then the
angel of God, who had been traveling
in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar
of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of As the Israelites
proceeded onwards, they were provided with food – the food of angels. All they had to do was gather it each
day. Yet, in no time at all, they
became dissatisfied and complained because they craved meat. Psa 105:40 They asked, and he brought them quail and satisfied them with the bread of
heaven (Manna). Well,
they had a funny way of asking, but nevertheless,
God provided them with flocks of quail and they gorged themselves on them. Their next demand was for
water, so they ‘asked’, and once
again God obliged. Psa 105:41 He opened the rock, and water
gushed out; like a river it flowed
in the desert. As we can see here, this
wasn’t a trickle of water! It was a
torrent that formed a river in the desert.
Two million people with all their flocks and herds availed themselves
of its abundance. God wasn’t pleased with
them because they never valued their liberty after generations of
slavery. They expected to be pampered
and began to become lazy lay-abouts.
They had many challenges ahead, not least of which was the
displacement of the hordes that stood between them and their destination. You might have noticed the words we just
quoted from Ex
14:19 ““Then the angel of God, who had
been traveling in front of The Tribes of Israel
should have been remembering the exploits of their forefather Abraham. What a warrior he was! As we pointed out earlier, Abraham rode out
against four kings and their armies with only 315 men, well-trained no doubt,
and slaughtered all four armies. They
should have remembered that their God, the very One who
had delivered them from the hand of their enemy, met Abraham when he returned
from the slaughter and blessed him (Gen 14:17-20). Psa 105:42 For he remembered his holy
promise given to his servant Abraham. It
was because of the exploits and the faithfulness of Abraham that God
delivered Abraham’s descendants from the hand of their enemy and freed them
from slavery. Psa 105:43 He brought out his people with
rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy; Psa 105:44 he gave them the lands of the nations, and
they fell heir to what others had toiled for-- Psa 105:45 that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the LORD. Just as Abraham did! Gen 26:4 “I will make
your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all
these lands, and through your
offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, 5 because Abraham obeyed me and KEPT MY
REQUIREMENTS, MY COMMANDS, MY DECREES AND MY LAWS." There was no-one
closer to God than Abraham, and God frequently met him face to face. Of course Abraham knew all about God’s requirements, His Commandments, His decrees, and His Laws. What is more, Abraham obeyed
them! God gave Moses the very same
Commandments and Laws that He gave to Abraham some 430 years before. In V44
above, we find that the Israelites
fell heir to the possessions of other nations – everything they’d toiled for
– and God Himself gave it all to them.
And why did God do this? He did
it so they “might keep
His precepts and observe His Laws”. Failure to do so would not result in “all the nations of the earth being blessed”. The Israelites were to set the example for all
the inhabitants of the earth – and in this, the Israelites have failed
miserably! The only thing that holds
them in good stead today is the faithfulness of Abraham and this is the point
being made by the Psalmist. God’s promise
to Abraham can never be annulled, so while the House of Israel fails in their
duty to obey God, others will set the example – as Abraham did – and will
duly establish a righteous nation and begin to provide a homeland for the
hordes of disobedient Israelites
– which they are today! This is how
God does things and His love and care is toward those who obey
Him. It should come as no surprise that God’s army will follow after
the exploits of Abraham. PSALM 106 Psa 106:1 Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. God’s love doesn’t extend to the
disobedient! Mercy perhaps, but not
His love! God’s love is for those who
obey Him, and this is something that God has always made very clear. Psa 106:2 Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the LORD
or fully
declare his praise? Isn’t this what we’ve been speaking
about? And isn’t this what most
Christians today baulk at? They don’t
explain it as it is, and neither do they care. Their only concern is for imaginary rewards
which they hope for. If they
concentrated too much on the mighty
acts of the LORD, they might stumble on the requirements for
obedience – and this would never do!
They’re happy to receive rewards as long as there are no strings
attached, like living according to God’s Law.
They are, however, willing to obey some laws, provided it’s not
the fourth Commandment. Their only concession to this is that God
accepts their substitute, which of course is Sunday worship. And
even then, God must accept their right to work on this day if they so
choose. God freely acknowledges their
right to work on this day, but utterly forbids working on the Sabbath Day – the
Seventh Day! So their
substituted day isn’t holy after all!
Yet God’s Sabbath Day is, and what is more, the violation of this Holy
Day carries the death penalty. So
don’t expect God’s love; instead, hope
for His mercy! Psa 106:3 Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly
do what is right. The blessed ones
fulfill all God’s requirements and constantly
do what is right. As for justice, it’s not
something we see much of these days.
The Laws of God tell us what justice
means, and in some cases, justice
means the death of the offender. At
the grassroots level when a murderer is convicted, public opinion usually
objects to putting the offender to death.
This is not justice!
When a family is left fatherless, they have a right to see justice
carried out according to the Creator’s instructions. It’s God’s right to determine who lives or
dies, and He Himself has set those parameters, and they must be
followed! When the authorities refuse
to do this, then they become as guilty as the one they are protecting. The reason is because they have discounted
God’s instructions in favour of their own.
On a national level all will pay the prescribed penalty. Since the Tribes of
Israel are at the forefront of denying justice as a result of disavowing
God’s instructions, they’ve now placed themselves in a vulnerable
position. It should have been obvious
to all that the judgment day would come and that they would be judged for
what they have done. The Psalmist is speaking
of justice, and justice will be done.
When the fate of God’s chosen people Psa 106:4 Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people,
come to my aid when you save them, Psa 106:5 that I may enjoy the prosperity of your chosen ones, that
I may share in the joy of your
NATION and join your
inheritance in giving praise. When the House of Israel
receives their inheritance, they will become one NATION – God’s NATION. This is how God explains it all: Eze 37:15-28
“The word of the LORD came to me: 16
"Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, `Belonging to Continuing in
Eze 37:18 “When your countrymen ask
you, `Won't you tell us what you mean by this?' 19 say to them,
`This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph--which is in Ephraim's hand--and
of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join it to Judah's stick, making them a single stick of wood,
and they will become one in my hand.'
20 Hold before their eyes the sticks you have written on 21
and say to them, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will take the Israelites
out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their
own land. 22 I will make them ONE NATION in the land, on the mountains of As we all
know, David ruled over all 12 Tribes during his 40 year reign. And once again he will ruler over all 12
Tribes after he is resurrected. He
will be both King
and Prince. He will be King over the House of Israel
and a Prince under
God Himself: V24 “`My servant David will be king over
them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.
25 They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land
where your fathers lived. They and their children and their
children's children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their PRINCE forever. 26 I
will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase
their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. 27
My dwelling place will be with them;
I will be their God, and they will be my people. 28 Then the
nations will know that I the LORD
make In the last verse from
Psalms, David spoke of the joy of
God’s nation and their
inheritance. So now he speaks
of a similar situation that occurred anciently when they were brought out of
slavery in Psa 106:6 We have sinned, even as our
fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. And now David gives us
examples of these things in order to bring them to remembrance: Psa 106:7 When our fathers were in
Egypt, they gave no thought to your
miracles; they did not remember your many kindnesses, and they rebelled by the sea, the Red Sea. The Tribes of Israel had
just seen many miracles which enabled them to leave the forced slavery in Psa 106:8 Yet he saved them for his name's sake, to make
his mighty power known. The lesson to be learned
here is to remember that we suffer trials to build our faith in God. Nothing is impossible for Him, and through
His mighty power, He can do anything He pleases. In this particular case, the Israelites
might have considered two options.
Either God was going to remove the obstacle before them, or destroy
the threat behind them. As it turned
out, God did both! Psa 106:9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
he
led them through the depths as through a desert. After their acrimonious insults the night before, the Israelites awoke
to the mighty act of God’s Power. A highway
stood before them between two great walls of water. In jubilation they fled to safety, reaching
the Then the second stage of
God’s Mighty Power came. The
Israelites looked back to see the destruction
of their enemies: Psa 106:10 He SAVED them from the HAND OF THE FOE; FROM THE HAND OF THE ENEMY he
redeemed them. Psa 106:11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. Here we see the classic example of the meaning of salvation – a concept that Christianity is not
familiar with! Salvation means to be delivered
from the hand of the enemy – those who hate you! The words above in V10
are virtually the same words
used by another prophet six months before the birth of our Lord Christ. This man was the Levite Priest and Prophet
Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist.
It was John’s role to prepare the way for his cousin, Jesus
Christ. This is Zechariah’s account: Luke 1:66-79
“Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking,
"What then is this child going
to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.
67 His father Zechariah
was filled with the Holy Spirit and
prophesied: 68 "Praise be to the Lord, the God of
Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. 69 He has
raised up a horn of salvation
for us in the HOUSE OF HIS SERVANT
DAVID 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long
ago), 71 SALVATION FROM
OUR ENEMIES and from the
hand of all who hate us-- 72 to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74
TO RESCUE US FROM THE HAND OF OUR
ENEMIES, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in
holiness and righteousness before him all our days.” This tells us very clearly what salvation
means. It’s not an emotional feeling
or a vague concept; it’s exactly what David said it was in Psa 106:10
above! It means to be rescued from the hand of the enemy. David was actually prophesying about John
the Baptist, who was to be a “horn of salvation
for us in the HOUSE OF HIS SERVANT
DAVID”. The horn of salvation is a
reference to a fighting force
that will defeat the enemy
and establish the House
of David once more. All this
must be done in preparation for the return of the Mighty Jesus Christ. Continuing Zechariah’s
prophecy about his son John: V76 “And you, my
child, will be called a prophet of
the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord
to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the KNOWLEDGE OF SALVATION through the forgiveness of their
sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will
come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in
darkness and in the shadow of death, to
guide our feet into the path of peace." And this confirms what we’ve been
saying. It was the role of John’s
latter-day counterpart to give God’s people the “KNOWLEDGE OF SALVATION”. Today, Christians and Jews need to have
this knowledge, because this knowledge will affect both. It’s the House of David that is to rise up and bring them salvation through
the destruction of their enemies – just as God stated through His holy prophets long ago. The
Rising Sun, who will come from heaven,
is the One who will guide our feet in the path of peace. Without the guidance of the Mighty One
Jesus, nothing would be accomplished.
Logically, the Prophet of
the Most High, who is to prepare the way for the Lord
Christ, must have the Spirit of Christ. It’s to this man that God will impart the knowledge of Salvation. Getting back to the
Psalms: Psa 106:12 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. They had just crossed the Well, not quite! Psa 106:13 But they soon forgot
what he had done and did not wait for his counsel. This brings to mind the Second World War. Throughout WW2, Winston Churchill was like
ferocious bulldog in defense of his nation against the evil hordes determined
to destroy them. He tirelessly
encouraged them, driving them on to action, constantly instilling the hope of
victory, steadfastly standing firm against all adversity. Churchill was like a towering rock in his
resolve to secure victory. At the end
of it all, the people forgot what he had done and rejected him, throwing him
out of office at the very next election!
Understandably, Churchill was shattered by their ingratitude towards him. After saving them from death and
destruction, they no longer sought his counsel. God feels the same way when His people forget so easily,
and refuse His counsel. Psa 106:14 In the desert they gave in to their craving; in
the wasteland they put God to the
test. No sooner were they in the This is the account of
their craving: Ex 16:1-4 “The whole Israelite
community set out from Elim and came to the As Peter said, people are
slaves to whatever has mastered them: 2Pet 2:19
“They promise them freedom, while they themselves
are slaves of depravity--for
a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” What Peter said
here is directed towards those who will live in the last days, and this is the context 2Pet 3:1-4 “Dear friends, this is
now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders
to stimulate you to wholesome
thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy
prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your
apostles. 3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers
will come, scoffing and following
their own evil desires. 4 They will say, "Where
is this `coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything
goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." So, it seems that time doesn’t erase the tendency
to whine and complain and to scoff and ridicule the message of the holy prophets and the Apostles. Even in these last days, people are not
thankful for the abundance of good things they enjoy. The Tribes of Israel presently live in
freedom, with a super abundance of everything, but they’ve divested of the wholesome thinking that God
requires of them. Foremost in their
minds today is the pursuit of pleasure, and they can never get enough of it
in all its forms. God knew that He had to
teach the Israelites lessons about life, including the need to be content in
whatever situation they find themselves.
This involved wholesome
thinking and appreciation for everything
He had done for them. Yet this wasn’t
their state of mind shortly after leaving Yet God made allowances
for their short-term memory in those days and overlooked their slanderous
insults. Ex 16:4-16 “Then the LORD said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The
people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I
will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5
On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be
twice as much as they gather on the other days." 9 Then Moses
told Aaron, "Say to the entire Israelite community, ‘Come before the
LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'"
10 While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they
looked toward the desert, and there
was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.” In the midst of all this grumbling, the Glory of the
LORD appeared in the cloud as a stark reminder to beware! God demands certain protocols to be
observed. One of these is that we ask – not demand! And this must be done with the utmost
respect! V11 “The LORD said to Moses, 12 "I have heard
the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, `At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you
will know that I am the LORD your God.'" 13 That evening
quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew
around the camp. 14 When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost
on the ground appeared on the desert floor. 15 When the Israelites
saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?" For they did not know
what it was. Moses said to them,
"It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is
what the LORD has commanded: `Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take
an omer for each person you have in your tent.'" As we will
see, God gave them what they asked for, but it came with a penalty for their
grumbling and their wanton disrespect: Psa 106:15 So he gave them what they
asked for, but sent a wasting
disease upon them. David describes this
wasting disease in one of the earlier Psalms: Psa 78:27-32 “He rained meat down on them like dust, flying birds like
sand on the seashore. 28 He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents. 29 They ate till they had more than
enough, for he had given them what they craved. 30 But
before they turned from the food they craved, even while it was still in
their mouths, 31 God's anger rose against them; he put to death
the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Death is not something to
be taken lightly. People should
realize that we only have one shot at life before we return to dust. It’s only the comparative few to whom God
has given His Holy Spirit, and who have lived by it, that will be brought up
in the resurrection to live again.
Jesus Christ made this qualification when He said this: Luke 13:22-30
“Then Jesus went through the towns and villages,
teaching as he made his way to After God had given them
everything they wanted, the ancient Israelites sought more. Certain individuals started to demand
status. They considered themselves as
good as Moses and Aaron, and they demanded the same privileges of counsel and
direction of their affairs. We see a
lot of this in politics as well as religious organizations. Some people are not willing to earn their
positions of leadership, instead they demand it! However, God does favour good organization,
and for this reason, seventy elders
of the Tribes were selected for responsibility in governing procedures as
counselors. (Num
11:24-25). On these men,
God placed His Spirit to guide them.
These seventy elders were chosen by God through Moses. Suddenly, there were
hundreds of councilors in addition to the seventy. These were obviously self-appointed ones
who felt they had as much clout as anyone else including Moses and
Aaron. 250 of these decided to oppose
Moses and Aaron, and they were led by four men – Korah, Dathan, Abiram and
On. Num 16:1-3 “Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain
Reubenites--Dathan and
Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth--became insolent 2 and
rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known
community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. 3
They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You
have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the
LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?" It’s funny they
should say this! After all, who was it
that God spoke directly to? And
through whom was it that God did many miracles? Who was it that God used to lead the
Israelites out of slavery? God made
the choice of His faithful servants, and these were Moses and Aaron! Not content to be God’s
holy nation, these 250 self-appointed councilors sought power and influence
over God’s servants as well as all the people. Psa 106:16 In the camp they grew envious of Moses and of Aaron, who
was consecrated to the LORD. It’s the age-old disease that inflicts some people; those who are
never content unless they are exercising authority over others. Give them a little status and they want it
all! These are typically those who envy
others, and it was envy that led to their
demise. First they campaigned to build
their base of 250 men, and then they approached Moses and Aaron as a group. Today we might call it a ‘peaceful demonstration’ which accords
with the fundamental principles of democracy.
These four, in particular, wanted to establish their right to ‘free speech’ and to make it clear that
they didn’t accept
God’s authority through His servants.
They were demanding that God accept rulership through committee, and
of course, these four wanted authority in the committee. To the average person
today, this might have seemed an acceptable way of handling things. After all, this is how things are handled
today in democracy. In democracy, the
aspirations of the people are decided by the few who have the loudest voices
– those who make the most fuss! This
type of procedure can lead to the people-in-general accepting things they
formerly would never have contemplated. An obvious one is the legalization of
homosexuality! But the list is endless
today. When Jesus spoke of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets being in God’s Kingdom and
others being thrust out, He was delivering an important message. That message was: If
you want to enter into God’s Kingdom, then listen to the Prophets! When people crave things that are outside
of the parameters of God’s Law, then they are setting themselves up for
destruction, and God Himself demonstrated this very principle in the presence
of Moses and Aaron and all the
people who didn’t
participate in this form of
rebellion. It’s what might be
called today, ‘shock therapy’. Psa 106:17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it buried the company of Abiram. The Israelites who viewed this event learned a valuable lesson. They learnt that God is not to be trifled
with. Contrived human logic doesn’t
invalidate God’s instructions. He is the
Creator God and He will be obeyed!
Anyone who thinks otherwise are deluding themselves – just as these
four men and all their followers were.
This was quite an event, and as you will see, the penalty suffered
included their wives and children as well.
It demonstrates the principle that when you cut off the head of the
snake you destroy its body as well.
Because of the wickedness of the principle player, his offspring also
suffered the penalty – as with ‘the sins of the fathers are upon the
children…’ (2nd
Commandment). The account of this is
found in the Book of Numbers, and is well worth reading because it details
important information for the future time when God’s Kingdom will be
established. This is the account: Num 16:12-35
“Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of
Eliab. But they said, "We will not come! 13
Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk
and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord it over
us? 14 Moreover, you haven't brought us into a land
flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and
vineyards. Will you gouge out the eyes of these men? No,
we will not come!" This alone accurately describes the mindset
of these people! Their memory of It’s not
clear what happened to On, son of Peleth, who was the fourth offender, but
perhaps he decided to shut his mouth prior to this and to fade from the
limelight. V28 “Then Moses
said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these
things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men
die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the
LORD has not sent me. 30 But if the LORD brings about something
totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything
that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will
know that these men have treated
the LORD with contempt." Well, you can’t be fairer than this! Either God had sent Moses or He hadn’t, and
the outcome would determine this! V31 “As soon as
he finished saying all this, the
ground under them split apart 32 and the earth opened its
mouth and swallowed them, with
their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions. 33
They
went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they
perished and were gone from the community. 34 At their
cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The
earth is going to swallow us too!" As you can imagine, this was a terrifying
event that left the whole community of Israelites fear-stricken, and perhaps
they were feeling some degree of guilt themselves. Whole families, with their tents and all
their possessions disappeared into a huge crevasse which then closed on them,
never to be seen again. But it was not
over yet! There were still the 250 who
had joined the rebellion, and they had to be dealt with: V35 “And fire
came out from the LORD and consumed
the 250 men who were offering the incense.” Though they had no choice in the matter, it
was either burial or cremation, and this is what happened. Hundreds of years later,
David reminds us of this event: Psa 106:18 Fire blazed among their
followers; a flame consumed the wicked.
Because we live
in democracies today, people believe they are free to do as they please, even
if their actions are wicked. Most
people today are not prone to learning from such examples as taught in
the Scriptures. They’ve developed the
idea that God is obligated to accept their standards of behaviour with
perpetual forgiveness. So if
misfortune befalls them, then it’s automatically God’s fault. According to their well-rehearsed views,
God is obligated to forgive them for everything. Do the laws of the land forgive us for our
offenses when we transgress them?
No? And neither does God! Under our national laws, all offenses
remain forever unless there are statutes of limitations where they expire
after a period – usually seven years for minor offences. With God’s Law, all offences remain unless
they are forgiven following repentance.
If we make the effort to learn God’s requirements and obey them, then
God will forgive all our past offences.
Every sin against Gods’
Law carries a penalty, and unless repented of, the penalty is ultimately
death – forever! Whether or not you
worship the Creator God, it doesn’t nullify this penalty. The only thing that nullifies this penalty
is repentance and obedience
to God – and for one reason only! This
one reason is because His Son Jesus paid the ultimate Sacrifice that others
might live. This noble Sacrifice was
done out of obedience to God, and it paved the way for all those who choose
to obey God to be spared from eternal punishment through death. He didn’t say they would not die, because
all of His followers died. Rather,
it’s through His Sacrifice for our past sins that He has
enabled us to live again. Any sin that
remains unforgiven by God remains an indictment against us. There is a judgment coming, and this begins in the FAMILY OF GOD, that is, the family or House of Israel. Of
all the families of the earth, God chose just one family – the Family He brought out of Egypt: Amos 3:1-2
“Hear this word the LORD has spoken against you, O
people of Israel--against the WHOLE
FAMILY I brought up out of Egypt: 2 "You only have I chosen of all the
families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your
sins." The Apostle
Peter referred to verse when he wrote this account in: 1Pet 4:16 “However,
if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear
that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the FAMILY OF GOD; and
if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not
obey the gospel of God? 18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be
saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?" 19
So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and
continue to do good.” The whole Family that God
brought out of Psa 106:19 At Horeb they made a calf and
worshiped an idol cast from metal. We can’t pretend that a
servant of God, Aaron, was not involved.
He was! Sometimes the servants
of God do take missteps, or make mistakes, or even commit outright sins. In this case, it was the latter. Aaron succumbed to the mood of the people,
and decided to assuage them by giving them what they wanted. With a bit of ‘creative’ reasoning he was even able to justify it. We’re hearing plenty of ‘creative’ reasoning all the time
now. For example: “If two men are in love with each other,
why shouldn’t they marry? What have
you got against love?” The implication
being that if you don’t favour homosexual perversion, then you must be
anti-love. This example is not too far
off the mark when it relates to what the people did with Aaron’s cooperation,
because the whole purpose of the casting of the golden calf was so that the
people could get involved in naked activities. Moses returned to see the Israelites ‘running
wild’ (Ex 32:25) which doesn’t suggest quietly bowing down to an
idol, although no doubt this is how it all began! The KJV plainly states they were naked
in the same verse. The Apostle Paul
provided the association between idol-worship and sexual misconduct in 1Cor 10:6-8
“Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from
setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do
not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written:
"The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8
We should not commit sexual
immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand
of them died.” The truth of the matter
is that idol-worship seems to switch on certain neurons in the brain to
engage in sexual activity. This is the
fundamental attraction of it. This is
also true of mind-altering illicit drugs, which is a form of idol-worship to
those who indulge. Such people don’t
like reality; they prefer fantasy, even if it destroys them. It was on the occasion of
the worshipping of the golden calf that God took the decision to set the
Levites apart as His own Tribe. This
is the account of what happened: Ex 32:25-29 “Moses saw
that the people were running wild
and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock
to their enemies. 26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and
said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me." And all the Levites rallied to him.” In fact, it was only
the Levites! The rest of the Tribes liked what they did
and weren’t keen to divest of their sexual misconduct. And so God used the Levites to execute His
punishment on the ringleaders of this outrage: V27 “Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD, the
God of Israel, says: `Each man strap a sword to his side. Go
back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his
brother and friend and neighbor.'" 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded,
and that day about three thousand of the people died. 29 Then
Moses said, "You have been set
apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and
brothers, and he has
blessed you this day." This was quite an
undertaking by the Levites, who, out of zeal for their Creator God, rose up
against their own brothers among their fellow Israelites. By this very act, they proved themselves
worthy of God. The ringleaders were
punished and the rest of the people saw justice done. Perhaps we’re reminded of the travesty of
justice that occurs when a willful murderer is convicted and suddenly the
people rise up to spare him from capital punishment. These people, who refuse to allow the law
to take its course, are on a par with those who fell under the Levites
swords. They can rationalize all they
like, but punishment must always be a deterrent to others. It goes much further than
this though. Today we have lunatics
who defend the enemy over their own people.
We have murderous, sex-driven maniacs who have only one goal, and this
is to wipe out the Israelite nations, and they do this in the name of their
religion – Islam! Anyone who doesn’t
recognize these vile, evil creatures for what they are, could hardly claim to
have anything in common with their Creator God. One thing is certain, they could never
aspire to be Levites! What happened to
their sense of justice? Don’t they
realize that by their actions they are empowering Islam? Today, most of Those who still possess a
functioning brain would know who the enemy is today. Those who have read the many examples in
the Bible would know what the fate of this enemy is. Yet while the Tribes of Israel remain so
steeped in self-righteousness and placation of the enemy, they are unlikely
to act in the manner in which the Levites did in the service of God. In the days of Moses they took the decision
to put God’s enemies to the sword. On
this particular day, it was a certain section of the Israelite community who
had defied God in disobedience, and it was these who paid the ultimate
penalty. Just before leaving this
subject, there is a future prophecy yet to be enacted, which involves a
Levite – a writer as it happens – whom God will send against the enemies
among His own people. This prophecy
will be fulfilled when the time comes to cleanse This next verse follows
on from the previous, which speaks of the golden calf. The Glory
of God was right above them, but they chose to worship the image of a
bull: Psa 106:20 They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats
grass. As we all know, idols don’t place any
restrictions on their worshipers. How
could they when they can’t speak? So
the worshiping of an idol doesn’t relate to a code of conduct. People worship idols as a means to gain rather than to
restrict themselves to standards of conduct.
The superstitious assumption is that if they worship the idol, all
good things will flow to them. The
truth is that those who worship idols are usually the poorest and most miserable
people on earth. As we’ve pointed out
many times, those who worship idols are worshiping demons and eventually,
insanity results as superstition embeds in the minds of the worshiper. The result is that they are incapable of
making rational decisions. The question now arises
as to the means by which people worship God today. Do they do it in recognition of Him being
the Creator God? Do they acknowledge
that, as the Creator, He is the One who directs the activities of His
creation? Did He instruct His Family, His only
Family, to obey Him in
everything He says? And didn’t the
Apostle Peter confirm that judgment
would come – and that it would “begin with us”, that is, Christians? So, on what basis does God judge? Is it according to law? God is the Great Lawgiver and the Great
Judge, and He judges according to His
Law. As Jesus Christ said, “If
you want to enter into [eternal] life, keep the Commandments”: Matt 19:16-17
“Now a man came up to Jesus and asked,
"Teacher, what good thing
must I do to get eternal life?"
17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?"
Jesus replied. "There is only
One who is good. If you want to enter
[eternal] life, OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS." The man who spoke
to Jesus was of the opinion that if he did some good thing, like donating to the poor or something
similar, that this would gain him entrance to eternal life. Jesus
retorted by reining him in about what he perceived to be good. The man
actually believed that his own ‘righteousness’
would get him over the line. Perhaps
Jesus was referring to the Scripture from Isaiah when He responded to the
man: Isa
64:6-7 “All
of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all
shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. 7 No one calls on your
name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away because of our sins.” As we all know,
sin is the transgression of God’s
Law (1John 3:4) – the Ten Commandments. Jesus then had to point out to the man who
asked Him what they were, and gave a number of examples. As it happened, the man responded by saying
he’d been keeping the Ten Commandments from his youth. And now David begins to
speak about the Family of God,
that is, the 12 Tribes of Psa 106:21 They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great
things in Psa 106:22 miracles in the Psa 106:23 So he said he would destroy them-- had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in
the breach before him to keep his
wrath from destroying them. God does listen to His
faithful servants, and in this case, God listened to Moses and changed His
planned course of events. This account
is found in Ex
32:9-14. Psa 106:24 Then they despised the pleasant land; they did not
believe his promise. This was when they sent a
man from each of the Tribes (except Levi) to assess the Promised Land. Instead of sending a Levite representative,
Moses sent two representatives of Joseph – one each from the Tribes of
Ephraim and Manasseh (Num 13:1-15).
Those who went and saw the Psa 106:25 They grumbled in their tents and did not obey the
LORD. Even worse, they began to speak about stoning Moses and Aaron
and returning to We can learn a lot of
things from these words. The
Israelites had seen many miracles through the power of God, but still they
became irrational at the slightest provocation. They hadn’t even begun to fight
and they were already speaking of defeat. This is what happens when one listens to
irrational people. First someone makes
an alarmist statement, and then everyone fears the worst. Mob-rule takes over and everyone begins to
act like irrational lunatics. In our
nations today, we generally call these ‘peaceful’
demonstrations, even though they are usually anything but. Remember the Watts Riots of the
1960’s? Today we’re seeing these so-called
‘peaceful’ demonstrations,
supposedly in pursuit of democracy in Leaving aside the
decaying motivations of today and getting back to that of the ancient
Israelites, Joshua and Caleb
confirmed that the enemies
protection was gone. They
could see that the enemy was vulnerable to attack, and that through God’s
Power, the victory would be theirs.
Yet the mob-rule mentality took over, and so God withdrew His
offer. The rebels would not
go in and possess the Promised Land; instead they would die in the desert and
a new generation would enter in their stead.
For forty years they would have to endure desert living. This turned out to be quite a penalty
because of their irrational behaviour. Psa 106:26 So he swore to them with
uplifted hand that he would make them fall in the desert, Psa 106:27 make their descendants fall
among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands. And so the forty year penalty droned on – and so did their insolence! It seems they learned nothing from penalty
for their actions. In no time at all,
they were worshipping the gods of their enemies. And not just any god, but the original Baal – the devil! The occupants of the Psa 106:28 They yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor and ate
sacrifices offered to lifeless gods; Psa 106:29 they provoked the LORD to
anger by their wicked deeds,
and a plague broke out among them. As we’ve pointed out many times, the worship of foreign gods has
strong sexual overtones. This is the
attraction of such worship. And now we see the
account of Phinehas, and what he did when an Israelite decided to couple up
with a Midianite woman of one of the tribes of Ishmael, the father of the
Arabs. Psa 106:30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was checked. Phinehas was of the priesthood line and was the grandson of
Aaron. There’s an interesting account
of what he did in order to end a plague that was sweeping through the
Israelite community. Num 25:6-13
“Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right
before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they
were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the
son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his
hand 8 and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of
them--through the Israelite and into the woman's body. Then
the plague against the Israelites was stopped; 9 but
those who died in the plague numbered 24,000. 10 The LORD said to
Moses, 11 "Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the
priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so
that in my zeal I did not put an end to them. 12 Therefore tell him I am making my
covenant of peace with him. 13 He and his descendants will have a covenant of a lasting
priesthood, because he was zealous
for the honor of his God and made atonement for the Israelites." You can see by
the description of the Israelite man and the Midianite woman that they seemed to be engaged in coitus
when the spear went through both of them.
What is equally interesting, this Midianite
woman was an Arab of the line of Ishmael. Ishmael had 12 sons who became tribes in
their own right and the Midianites
were one of these. As we found out
earlier (Gen 37:28) the Midianites were Ishmaelites and
were slave traders. After this
episode, God passed judgment on the Midianites and instructed Moses to kill
them wherever they encountered them, and gave him the command to take a
census of the Israelites to establish
an army for the purpose: V16 “The LORD
said to Moses, 17 "Treat
the Midianites as enemies and kill them, 18 because they
treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the affair of Peor and their sister Cozbi,
the daughter of a Midianite
leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of Peor (or the Baal of Peor incident)." Num 26:1 “After the
plague the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, 2
"Take a census of the whole
Israelite community by families--all those twenty years old or more
who are able to serve in the army
of Israel." Now
the Army of Israel had been
given specific instructions to kill one of the tribes of
Ishmael – the Midianites,
and it was time to organize the army into a fighting force. It’s hardly surprising that thousands of
years later, the House of Israel is still fighting wars with the descendants
of Ishmael – the Arabs. All of whom are Baal worshippers who worship the devil – Allah! This act of Phinehas in
killing the Israelite who was copulating with the Arab woman was to be
remembered favourably by God for endless
generations. It’s something we
shouldn’t forget! God even expanded on
this by requiring an army to be raised to continue the killing of the
Arabs. It sounds like good advice even
today. As for Phinehas, God greatly
blessed him for his honourable act: Psa 106:31 This was credited to him as righteousness for endless generations
to come. Phinehas exhibited all
the warrior qualities of his forefather Abraham, and this was credited to him as righteousness. These are the same words that were spoken about Abraham (Gen 15:6, Rom 4:3, James 2:23). In Gen 15:6, this was immediately after Abraham had
gone to war against four powerful kings and defeated them with just 318 men
from his own household. This is when
Melchizedek, the Priest of the Most High, met him on his return (Gen 14:17-18). We’ll be discussing this in greater detail
when we get to Psalm 110. David continues with the
many issues concerning ingratitude by the Israelites. He refers next to Meribah, the second
action by Moses in causing the Rock to bring forth water. Psa 106:32 By the waters of Meribah they
angered the LORD, and trouble came
to Moses because of them; Psa 106:33 for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came
from Moses' lips. Moses had the Holy Spirit
of God as all true prophets do, and in a brief act of carelessness,
Moses finished up forfeiting his life over this incident. Moses was told to touch the Rock and the
water would gush out, but instead he became angry and struck the Rock. This act, together with what he said,
offended God. God’s punishment was
that he would die and be buried on Psa 106:34 They did not destroy the
peoples as the LORD had commanded them, Psa 106:35 but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. Well whadya know! Instead of
killing the pagan hordes, they mingled with them and adopted their customs. I wonder what the big attraction was? Surely not the worship of pagan idols that
always ended in sex orgies! Surely
not! Well, of course it was! It didn’t take much to get the Israelites
cranked up like lusty stallions. They
were prepared to worship the devil if it meant an illicit sexual
encounter. The most powerful narcotic
in those days was the sexual drive induced by pagan worship and the sex
orgies that followed. It was an
irresistible state of mind that drove them, brought on by demonic influence. Perhaps you’ve noticed that it’s also a
problem today! Now if they had killed
and destroyed these pagans the problem wouldn’t have existed. But apparently they knew better than
God! This is also a disease of the
mind today, where some pastors, priests, evangelists and religious leaders
use their position to entice others into clandestine sexual encounters. All in the name of their god of
course! Obviously they are not serving
the Creator God, though they’re expert in creating the illusion that they
are. As preachers feigning
righteousness, we can assume they are not remembering the account
of Phinehas, to whom God credited righteousness for endless
generations to come. Psa 106:36 They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. Idols, eh? With the Glory of God overhead in a cloud,
they still pursue idols? Once they
join the culture, their minds become warped.
Step by step they advance into greater perversions and
atrocities. You’d think it couldn’t
get much worse than this, but they soon find a way. For their perverted lifestyle to continue,
they must appease the gods. Would a
glass of sherry and some cookies do the trick? Not likely! Psa 106:37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. Demons had a vested interest in destroying the House of Israel, and
the best way to do this is to stop the breeding cycle. So the demons demanded their sons and
daughters to be sacrificed in appeasement.
With mindless solemnity, the Israelites handed over their children to
be burned alive in order that the cycle of orgies might continue. Psa 106:38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols
of Psa 106:39 They defiled themselves by
what they did; by their deeds they
prostituted themselves. A rose by any other name
is still a rose! They were faggots,
harlots and degenerates and they willingly prostituted themselves – all in
the honour of demons! If you were an observer to all this, what
would be your judgment? Hopefully, you
would see things as Phinehas
did, and administer the same retribution as him. God thinks the same way! Psa 106:40 Therefore the LORD was angry
with his people and abhorred his
inheritance. God’s inheritance is the
children of Psa 106:41 He handed them over to the
nations, and their foes ruled over them. The
worship of idols and the accompanying sexual promiscuity was the tipping
point and God handed them over to the enemy to be defeated and ruled
over. I might add these were the same
enemies whose gods the Israelites worshipped – the idols of Psa 106:42 Their enemies oppressed them and
subjected them to their power. Foreigners gained control
of their country and subjected them to their rule. There were sporadic periods of this, but
the most notable period was when the Philistines
ruled over them. It was David
himself who turned the tide of battle when he killed Goliath. Psa 106:43 Many times he delivered
them, but they were bent on rebellion and they wasted away in their
sin. There were many occasions when others ruled
over them, but even when they again got the upper hand, they still failed to
wipe out all the enemy. They just
never seemed to learn, and this is true to this very day. All the Western nations are overrun by
foreigners today, and the age-old enemies, now called Muslims,
are at the forefront of incessant terror, and still no-one wipes them
out. Now they are literally gaining
the upper hand and plotting the destruction of the West. Christianity, generally
speaking, has never been compliant with God’s Law, yet they seem to be
willing to bend to Islamic Shariah law.
Since they’re so unwilling to live by Gods’ Law, perhaps they’ll find
Shariah law a welcome change. They
should be aware though, that disobedience to Shariah law carries the death
penalty for ‘infidels’ – as Islam
calls them. This is especially
applicable to Christians and Jews. The
whole purpose of satanic Islam is to target all Christians and Jews to
prevent them from worshipping the Creator God. Young women and girls will fare better than
the men because of the Muslim’s voracious appetite for sex slaves. Men will be killed in order to eliminate
the competition, except for those who are suitable to be working slaves. Islam knows all about slavery; they control
the slave trade throughout the world even today. It took a hundred years of badgering by the
Western Nations to eradicate the slave trade in In the living hell that
is coming, male slaves will be prevented from reproduction, and the method to
prevent this is castration. There’s
going to be a lot of eunuchs in the House of Israel in days to come. As a matter of fact, God actually addresses
eunuchs as having a place in His Kingdom: Isa 56:4-5 “For this is what the LORD says: "To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and
hold fast to my covenant-- 5 to them I will give within my
temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I
will give them an everlasting name
that will not be cut off.” Those who undergo forced castration for the
sake of God’s Kingdom will not be abandoned, but honoured. V7 “These I will
bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt
offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar;
for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." Yes, well there will be burnt offerings and sacrifices on God’s Altar in the In this Psalm, we’re
presently discussing God’s deliverance, and how often He delivered the House
of Israel from adversity. As God
states in the last verse, the trend was, that after all this, they would
rebel against Him and adopt their own ways again. Throughout their entire history, they never
seemed to learn. It was always just a
remnant who remained faithful and obedient to God! Psa 106:44 But he took note of their
distress when he heard their cry; Psa 106:45 for their sake he remembered his covenant (with Abraham concerning
his descendants) and out of his great love he
relented. God’s love for
Abraham outweighed His anger for his descendants, and He showed them mercy. Psa 106:46 He caused them to be pitied
by all who held them captive. At a rough guess, their plight must have been particularly horrendous
to induce any form of pity from these evil
creatures. Satan’s hordes are not
known for their pity. Ruthlessness and
unrestrained cruelty, yes, but pity – no!
Yet, God knows how to induce pity in the most pitiless of people;
you’ll recall how the Egyptians showed pity by giving the Israelites bags of
silver and gold after they themselves began to feel vulnerable. God has ways of making anyone vulnerable,
even whole nations. And now David continues
to speak as a Prophet, speaking of the future of the House of Israel and the
outcome of their long history. As we
saw a few verses back, David foresaw the day when he would be remembered by God and stand
with the House of Israel in His Kingdom.
As a Prophet and Patriarch, he is speaking of our day. Psa 106:47 Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name and glory in your praise. You’ll realize that David was not saved
and gathered from the nations in his day. So he’s clearly speaking of another day at
a future time. David was still ruling
as king when he died peacefully. Psa 106:48 Praise be to the LORD, the God
of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the LORD. The remnant of the House of Israel when they are saved and gathered from the nations will have a complete
change of heart towards God. In that
day they will praise Him as the God of Israel. Their destination will be
their ancestral allotments in the Promised Land from where they were driven
in 720 BC, and have never returned.
They disappeared from the region and finally settled in faraway lands
to become nations in their own right.
In the interim, they were ruled over by the pagans who had conquered
them, and they took this paganism with them when they finally settled in Centuries later, they
were visited by men of God and learned of the appearance of Jesus Christ, and
slowly Christianity was adopted as their religion. In the 4th century AD, Emperor
Constantine decreed Christianity as the official religion of the PSALM 107 This Psalm begins with
the migration to the lands where the House of Israel would settle and become
nations in their own right following their period of captivity in strange
lands and the massacre and enslavement that occurred in 720 BC. Hundreds of years of slavery ensued before
they finally gained independence and freedom. Psa 107:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he
is good; his love endures forever.
God specifically
says for the redeemed of the LORD
to say
this! It took many
centuries before they did say this, and it was after they became Christians
that it was finally fulfilled. The
European nations eventually became Christian nations. Psa 107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD SAY THIS-- those he REDEEMED FROM THE HAND OF THE
FOE, Psa 107:3 those he gathered from the lands, from east and west, from
north and south. Here we find that the
term ‘redeemed’ means essentially the same thing as ‘saved’. Redemption
means to be saved FROM THE HAND OF THE FOE or enemy. Psa 107:4 Some wandered in desert
wastelands, finding no way to a
city where they could settle. Following the slavery
that ensued after the 720BC defeat of the northern Ten Tribes of Israel, they
sought an escape route from where they were enslaved. No doubt many attempts
were made to escape to a far-off land where they might live in peace, but it
seems that many failed: Psa 107:5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away. For what may have been
three or four hundred years, the ‘lost
Ten Tribes of In the meantime, the
Israelites who were still in slavery heard many reports about their
fellow-Israelites, and that their codes of conduct were vastly different from
their own. These early British or
Berith-ish people were the Covenant people (‘Berith’ means ‘covenant’
in Hebrew). The original ‘Brits’ were
called Celts and they ruled the No more death and misery
through slavery and failed escapes, instead, they would trust in God for
delivery: Psa 107:6 Then they cried
out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their
distress. What had happened in the interim was, the
Celts had spearheaded a pathway all the way from Europe to ********************** For those who have an
interest in the history of the Celts, it was the historian Strabo that gave
this account and which is reproduced in an old historic book: ‘Literature
of the Celts’ by Magnus Maclean, pages
7-8: “So formidable were the Celts during the period
of their ascendancy that it served the purpose of the classic nations –
Greeks and Romans – to keep peace with them as best they could, and even play
them off against their hereditary foes.
And so the expansive tribes were for the most part on friendly terms
with both, especially the Greeks. We
have an account in Strabo of an interview which Alexander the Great had with
their ambassadors. It is given on the
authority of Ptolemy, his general. The
young potentate knew well the advantage of cultivating good fellowship with
his powerful neighbours, and when the tribes of the While they
were drinking, says the general, Alexander asked them what was the object of
their greatest fear, thinking they would say himself. But the imaginative Celts had quite other
views. They feared no man.
One thing only alarmed them, they replied, and that was lest the heavens should one day fall
and crush them. Still, they added,
that they valued the friendship of such a man as he was above everything. (General Ptolemy
obviously misunderstood the meaning. They feared no man; they only feared the power of heaven – which
is a reference to God.) “How
vainglorious these Celts are!” muttered the young autocrat to his courtiers,
a little piqued, perhaps, at their rejoinder.
Yet, if such was really the object of their superstitious dread, the
promise they made was not without its own grim cogency. “If we fulfill not our engagement,” they
said, “may the sky falling on us crush us, may the earth opening swallow us, may the sea overflowing
its borders drown us” With Alexander
they kept their pledge, but in 280 BC, when another king ruled Thus compelled
to evacuate ********************** Just to add some comments
to this last sentence where it says that Paul supposedly wrote
the epistle to the Galatians. Paul didn’t! Whoever wrote this spurious book was trying to condemn those who were ‘Judaising’, that is, keeping
the Commandments of God. This well-known colony of Celts in
Galatia were ‘Judaising’
– they were keeping the
Commandments of God, as did Paul and all the other Apostles. The spurious epistle of Galatians was
probably written at least a century after Paul died. And it
was written by someone who had renounced obedience to God in favour of the
weird form of ‘grace’ that we all
hear so much about today. It’s the
oddest thing, but this spurious writer actually did us a favour. He proves by his words and his contempt,
beyond all doubt, that the Celts
were Commandment-keeping people.
This is the crux of the whole epistle, where the writer castigates the
well-known colony of Celtic
Galatians for obeying God’s
Law. As we have learned from
the historic record, this well-known
colony were Celts. The Celts were the
original British people and they tended to colonize far and wide. We shouldn’t however, be confusing the
Irish with the Celts (which many people
do). Most of the Irish are
descended from the Vikings – a completely different breed of people who
mainly live in southern It didn’t go unnoticed
that President Obama visited It should come as no
surprise to anyone that the Irish have been cursed for generations. Anyone with knowledge of their history will
understand why. Even more bizarre,
they seem to claim some sort of association with the Celts, though to be
fair, they did adopt many of their writing skills which they used to generate
fictional tales of superstitions and the occult. The Irish today are among the most
superstitious people on earth. One of
their most famous occultist superstitions is kissing the Blarney Stone. The Celts were a powerful
nation of people, and seemingly invincible in battle. Therefore they had many enemies. Even in the early centuries of
Christianity, the colonies of Celts were still being targeted as objects of
hatred – particularly by the growing counterfeit Christianity that had begun
its relentless pursuit of power. Hence
the spurious book of Galatians was written, which suggests the Galatian Celts
had been ‘druided’ (later versions
translate it as ‘bewitched’). The original Druids were a priesthood,
which obeyed the Commandments of God.
This is the reason for the scathing attack in the book of Galatians by
an unidentified author. This was long
after Julius Caesar invaded Mind you, when the Angles
and the Saxons finally gained ascendancy, they drove the British back into In relation to the true
identity of the Celts, since the Celts were the ‘Berith’ or Covenant people,
this narrows their identity down to just one tribe, and this was the Tribe of
Levi. The Levites had the money and the
means to charter or buy ships to transport them to the It was the Celts who
sired such great and noble men as King Arthur and his knights of the round
table. These were fabled warriors, and
they lived by codes of conduct that were previously unheard of in It was through the
pathway provided by the Celts that God had led the Israelites to the cities where they could settle: Psa 107:7 He led them by a straight
way to a city where they could settle. Those who followed the lead of the Celtic Levites found favour with
God and did migrate to the cities far from the As we all know, David was
a Prophet and a Patriarch (Acts 2:29-30), and as a prophet,
his prophecies extended thousands of years into the future. When we get to Psalm 109 we’ll see a prophecy
that predicts the demise of Judas Iscariot – a thousand years later! And we’ll see that this was David’s
intent. As a Patriarch, David is the father of future nation. In fact, David was a father of Jesus
Christ, who called Himself the Son
of David. Jesus Christ Himself
confirmed that He was both the root
and offspring of David (Rev 22:16), and urges the Churches of God to
remember this! As a Prophet, David’s writings predict the future, even though he frequently reminds us
of the past – our origins and our history.
A prophet always hopes that others will use this knowledge to better
understand what God requires of them, and how they can better get to know and
understand His ways. Importantly, it’s
incumbent upon all those who seek Him to give thanks and to honour His
decisions and His deeds. All of them
are examples for us all. The Apostle Paul makes this very point in 1Cor 10:11-12
“These things happened to them as examples and were written
down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has
come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be
careful that you don't fall!” Anyone who doesn’t heed these examples that
were specifically written
down for us are in danger of falling or failing. Psa 107:8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his
wonderful deeds for men, Psa 107:9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. God knows how to provide our needs, but in order to expect these
promised blessings, we must first seek God’s righteousness. This is the point that Jesus was making
when He said these words: Matt 5:6 “Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
they will be filled.” This becomes an order of priorities. If we seek out physical needs first, then
we are in danger of cheating ourselves of greater blessings. God expects the pursuit of His
righteousness to prevail always, even above our physical needs. We’ve just been reading of the Israelites
who put their physical needs first, demanding bread and water while accusing
their God of failing to provide it.
This occurred not once but many times.
They could never understand that God was teaching them to be a holy
nation, yet they continued to demonstrate that they were an unholy
nation. God understood their needs and
was perfectly willing to fulfill them, but the least He might have expected
was some sort of gratitude. Many times
God grew weary of them, and except for the faithful few, the rest were
becoming increasingly worthless to Him.
It’s astounding how often God provided them with good things, yet it
was always under duress because He knew they were not genuinely
thankful. Showing more kindness to the
people soon proved to be counter-productive. It’s a lesson
of history, which we can all take note of, wealth and power rarely engenders
godly behavior; in fact, it tends to encourage the opposite. The human mind tends to become more
rational when faced with desperation and death. As all hope fades, they realize their only
hope lies in other sources. In such
circumstances, the wise man will make God that
source and seek him early. Getting back now to when
the 12 Tribes of Israel split into two nations, and the northern Ten Tribes
went into captivity, Now we take a bit of a
leap forward to when the Tribe of Judah came under attack. It was 130 years after the Northern Ten
Tribes went into captivity that Nebuchadnezzar attacked and conquered the
Jews. He first attacked and made them
a vassal state in 606 BC, but by 586 BC they had been carried off in slavery
to The day came when
Nebuchadnezzar invaded the Psa 107:10 Some sat in darkness and the
deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, Psa 107:11 for they had rebelled
against
the words of God and despised
the counsel of the Most High. This
was always a problem with all the Tribes of Israel,
and it still is today. The House of
Israel still believes it knows better than God so they don’t seek His
Counsel. But believe me, they will in
days to come! There are, however,
subtle differences between the House of Israel and the House of Judah, and
one of these differences is, that the Jews seem to be faster learners and
come to their senses quicker. Although the Jewish
nation of Psa 107:12 So he subjected them to bitter
labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help. After about 20 years of paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, the Jewish
nation decided to rebel, and this led to swift retribution where they were
led away in captivity. For a further
50 years they lived their lives in servitude and slavery, during which time,
they remembered the prophecy of
Jeremiah about the 70 years
(606-536
BC). No doubt they waited
anxiously for this to be fulfilled.
And so it was 70 years before they were released from slavery. In order for this to happen, there had to
be a change of dynasty in the Babylonian Empire, and this change came through
Cyrus, the ruler of the
Medo-Persian Empire. Just to clarify these
things, this is where the prophecy of Jeremiah is mentioned: 2Chron 36:20-23
“He carried into exile to The account
continues in the next Book of the Bible: Ezra
1:1-8 “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order
to fulfill the word of the LORD
spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his
realm and to put it in writing: 2 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
"`The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the
earth and he has appointed me to
build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Anyone of
his people among you--may his God be with him, and let him go up to Psa 107:13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved
them from their distress. These 70 years were
certainly dark days for the Jewish people of Psa 107:14 He brought them out of
darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. Psa 107:15 Let them give thanks to the
LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, Psa 107:16 for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron.
This is interesting terminology, because
these are the words God later used in regard to a powerful ruler of the spirit realm. This spirit ruler had some qualities that
were different from his colleagues.
His name was Cyrus. Almost out of nowhere Cyrus rose to great power to control a great empire – the
Medo-Persian Empire. Isa 45:1-2
“This is what the LORD says to his anointed,
to Cyrus, whose right hand
I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their
armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: 2
I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and
cut through bars of iron.” It’s worth noting
a few things about Cyrus. He’s not the
same murderous maniac that some of Satan’s rulers are. It could be said that he has a greater fear
of God than the others. If God opens
the door for him, then he will do God’s bidding. He’s not loyal to God but he greatly fears
Him. He showed his disloyalty to God
long ago when he joined Satan and the others in rebelling against God, which
left them all marooned on earth in exile.
Possessing
the faint remnant of rationality, Cyrus will be used by God to bring about
certain outcomes even yet in the future. This is the same Cyrus, a spirit being, who
once ruled over the It’s not unusual for God
to use these spiritual forces of evil when it suits His purpose, and it could
be added, that God knows these spirit creatures extremely well! They always make themselves available
whenever God chooses to punish His people, and they do it with the enthusiasm
of pigs in a patch of strawberries. As we pointed out, Cyrus
is a little different. It was Cyrus
who ended the dynasty of Nebuchadnezzar when he oversaw the death of his
grandson and took over the kingdom.
What is more, Cyrus looked favourably on the Jewish captives and their
Holy City Jerusalem, and sought to release them to go and rebuild it – because
God had ordered him to (Ezra 1:2).
This is precisely what happened at the end of the prophesied 70 years. Psa 107:17 Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered
affliction because of their iniquities. Psa 107:18 They loathed all food and drew near the gates of DEATH. We’ve been speaking of
Cyrus, one of the rulers of the heavenly realm. Cyrus is just one of the many
rulers of the spirit realm
that inhabit the earth. Death is another one of them,
and so is Grave (see V20
below). Both Death and Grave are named in the Book of
Revelation, and frequently throughout the Scriptures. These two are destined to wreak havoc on
the earth. This is the mention of them
in the Book of Revelation: Rev 6:7-8 “When the
Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature
say, "Come!" 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale
horse! Its rider was named Death,
and Hades was following
close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by
sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.” (Note
the capitalization of these names!) Hades and Grave are the same being; the OT just translates it
differently. Both these evil
creatures, Death and Grave (or Hades) are mentioned frequently in the Old Testament
prophecy. One notable place where they
are mentioned is in relation to a prophecy concerning the mightiest nation on
earth today: Ephraim! This is what the
Prophet Hosea says: Hos 13:14 “I will
ransom them from the power of the
grave; I will redeem them
from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O
grave, is your destruction?” Death has some
cute ways of engineering plagues as a form of urban terror. When sickened by such plagues, people will loathe all food and succumb to the effects of Death’s efforts. Naturally enough, Death’s plagues will target the House of Israel – the people
of God. His purpose is to break the
power of God’s people Psa 107:19 Then they cried
to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. This echoes the words of V6 of
this Psalm. Same words, but a
different place and a different time!
This indicates a duel purpose for these prophecies. Psa 107:20 He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued
them from the grave.
As the Prophet Hosea wrote, Grave is notorious for his destruction. So disease or plagues, from which they were
healed, as well as destruction, are the two
factors from which they were rescued. Psa 107:21 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his
wonderful deeds for men. This is a repeat of V15
above, the verse which precedes the mention of Cyrus and the freeing of the
Jewish slaves. Psa 107:22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings and tell of his works with songs
of joy. During their 70 year captivity of the
Jewish people, there was little rejoicing, and limited opportunity to sacrifice thank offerings. Psa 107:23 Others went out
on the sea in ships; they
were merchants on the mighty waters.
This is what we
were speaking about earlier, when some of the Israelites embarked on
ships. These ‘others’ weren’t
slaves, but wealthy traders who traversed the seas. In the Middle East, The importance of this
Prophet’s journey is not immediately evident without bringing to mind the
exploits of Cyrus, whose human counterpart was Darius the Mede who originated from Ninevah in Media – the
land of the Medes. Today we know the Medes as Kurds. Jonah’s opinion of the
Assyrians was that they were fierce warriors, who, at the height of their
power, God had used to punish the northern Ten Tribes and take them into
captivity. It was Jonah’s opinion that
they deserved destruction and hoped that his message to them, and their
refusal to listen, would lead to their destruction at God’s hand. As it happened, it went the other way, and
the Medes repented and gave glory to God.
This, in itself, is a message for these last days. It’s about an ally in the heartland of evil
that will be used to good effect when the time comes to restore As we all know from
history, the northern Ten Tribes of Israel were conquered by the Assyrians
and taken into captivity. A hundred
years later, Nebuchadnezzar came to power and took over the Assyrian Empire. Seventy years later, Cyrus and Darius
the Mede mounted the coup that secured the empire for themselves. All of which is linked to
the timely exploits of Jonah the
Prophet. It should be pointed
out that Jonah was a prophet and not just a story-teller as some believe him
to be. It was Jesus Christ Himself
that confirms that Jonah was a
prophet, and at the same time, He speaks favourably of the men of Ninevah who repented
and turned to God: Matt 12:39-42 “He
answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous
sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the PROPHET JONAH. 40 For as Jonah was
three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man
will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of There are
many things in what Jesus said here that requires further explanation, but
the main point at this time is the repentance of the men of Ninevah, and the coming judgment. The men
of Ninevah, who repented, will rise and condemn “this generation”. And to whom does this refer? This
evil generation of snakes and vipers are the ones that killed righteous Abel, the
son of Adam: Matt 23:35-36 “And so upon
you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel
to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the
temple and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, all this will come
upon this generation.” No-one in their right mind would suggest
that the Jews killed righteous Abel,
the
son of Adam! Yet there are
many demented Christians today who seem to believe this! They ignore the satanic hell-hole of the One thing is
certain! Those who are so bereft of
understanding of what Jesus actually said will not be in any
resurrection! They won’t be judging anyone because
they’ve never repented of their stupidity.
One point to note in what Jesus said is about the resurrection; not only His own which occurred exactly three days and three nights
after His death, but also the resurrection of others as well who have
repented and turned to God. The key point
is that Jonah was a prophet
and this was confirmed by
Jesus Christ. The purpose of a
prophet is to predict future events and to warn people. Importantly, they don’t generate ‘prophecy’
from their own minds – only false prophets do this! Those who listen to God’s prophets see the
wonderful works that He has done and learn from them: Psa 107:24 They saw the works of the
LORD, his wonderful deeds in the deep.
In the following
verses, the Prophet David predicts the events about Jonah and the storm that
nearly claimed his life along with the lives of all on the ship. Psa 107:25 For he spoke and stirred up a
tempest that lifted high the waves. You’ll recall how Jonah
was headed in the wrong direction and in defiance of God’s instructions, and
so God sent a terrible storm. Psa 107:26 They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their
peril their courage melted away. The ship raised high on
the waves and then descended into the trough – again and again! The situation looked hopeless. Psa 107:27 They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wits'
end. Desperation has really set in! Psa 107:28 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them
out of their distress. They really did cry out
to God, and then decided to draw lots to see who the offender was. Sure enough, the lot fell to Jonah, and he
confessed to being the cause of their troubles. Then the true spirit of the man of God came
to the fore, and he told them to throw him overboard to drown him in order to
assuage God’s anger. This was done (Jonah 1:12-16),
but as it happened, he didn’t drown. Psa 107:29 He stilled the storm to a
whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. Immediately after Jonah was thrown
overboard, the sea became calm. Even
today, the name ‘Jonah’ has become
a metaphor, when things go wrong, it’s suggested that ‘there must be a Jonah among us’. Psa 107:30 They were glad when it grew
calm, and he guided them to their
desired haven. And so the ship and its
crew landed safely at port. This was
quite an event and one which was long remembered. The men
of Now we see that the crew
and the ship become a parable. At
their darkest hour they turned to God to save them and He calmed the angry
sea. Their desired haven was Tarshish in southern Notice the Gentiles had shared
in the Jews’ spiritual blessings! This makes a mockery of those who think
that Gentiles are exempt from the Jews’
spiritual blessings! Which, of
course, is the purpose of the spurious book of
Galatians! The purpose of which is to
repudiate the spiritual blessings
bestowed
by God on the Jews! These spiritual blessings are God’s
perfect Law! Psa 107:31 Let them give thanks to the
LORD for his unfailing love and his
wonderful deeds for men. Following on from the
previous verse concerning the men in the ship who were transporting Jonah, we
find that they did praise God and told of His wonderful deeds.
In faraway The elders of the city
would have had a keen interest in knowing what happened. Psa 107:32 Let them exalt him
in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of
the elders. To the captain and the
crew, who had seen a real miracle, they gave all praise to God. Centuries later, the Apostle Paul confirms
that these people living in The rest of this Psalm
may seem to be a bit confusing – until we get to the last
verse (V43),
and then the reason for it will become clear. And now we see the
distinction between Gentile
and Israelite and how God
has cursed the one and blessed the other.
For those God cursed,
even the natural elements were against them.
And both the land and the people were cursed: Psa 107:33 He turned rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground, Psa 107:34 and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of
those who lived there. It should not go
unnoticed that wherever the sons of Ishmael (Arabs) settled, the land became
a curse. They became lazy nomads who
never produced anything of value. They
are certainly not known for their agricultural accomplishments. In fact, for thousands of years they’ve
been known as lazy vagabonds who covet the accomplishments of others – and
isn’t this true today? It’s a timely
warning for us to observe whose land has been cursed. Where are
the majority of desert lands to be found?
It’s obvious to even the casual observer that these lands are where
Arabs and Muslims live today. Wherever
they go, they take their curse with them. In contrast to this, the
choicest lands on the face of the earth have been given to the Tribes of
Israel – But perhaps the greatest
miracle of all is the Jewish homeland in the On the other hand, the
low-life nations that surround them, have accomplished nothing in
comparison. Like lazy, incompetent
beggars, which they are, they rely only on the handouts of wealthy Western
nations, and what they get by way of foreign aid, they squander. And as fate would have it, both the people
and their land are cursed. What they
don’t realize is that it’s God Himself who has cursed them. God has made no secret of the fact that He
has hated them from the very beginning! For those whom God blessed however, things were
wholly different. Psa 107:35 He turned the desert into pools of water and
the parched ground into flowing
springs; Psa 107:36 there he brought the hungry to live, and they founded a city
where they could settle. There can be no doubt
that this is what happened to the Israelis in these last days. The desert areas became productive with
flowing water sources and agriculture flourished. After several wars, they secured Especially Ephraim! Ephraim, the Psa 107:37 They sowed fields and planted VINEYARDS that yielded a fruitful
harvest; Psa 107:38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and
he did not let their herds diminish. In
prophetic terms, the House of
Israel is God’s VINEYARD,
just as the men of God’s blessings were not
enough for the mightiest power on earth; they sought to interfere in the Well, for this, they will
pay the ultimate penalty – which is death!
The fate of Ephraim will shock the world! Linked to this is Ephraim’s city, the city they founded, just
as the Jews’ City is Following this calamity,
the population of Psa 107:39 Then their numbers
decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity and
sorrow; Psa 107:40 he who pours contempt on nobles made them wander in a trackless
waste. It’s obvious that God’s contempt would be
for the ‘nobles’ who now live in a drunken stupor and rule over the
people. Mind you, the people are not
blameless either! After all, didn’t
they vote a Muslim to be their president?
Yet, not all the people – only half of them cast their vote for
him! This alone show which side of
politics has God’s favour! Yet there
are further divisions to be taken into account. These relate to the spiritual aspects of
life and the faithfulness to the Creator God.
Leaving aside the obvious trend to disavowing God as the Creator,
there is yet the principle brought out by the Apostle Paul, and this relates
to the spiritual blessings of the
Jews, which even the Gentiles of his day acknowledged. Today, however, the majority of Christians
don’t! Such people have a form
of worship that has no relationship to the teachings of the
Bible. Didn’t Jesus Christ
Himself confirm that salvation
is of the Jews? John 4:22
“You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we
worship what we do know, for
SALVATION IS FROM THE JEWS. 23 Yet a time is coming and
has now come when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind
of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his
worshipers must worship
in spirit and in truth." Why would anyone imagine they have salvation assured if they
don’t become as the Jews and return to obedience to God and His perfect
Laws? Anyone who thinks otherwise is
deluding themselves! God has made it very clear
who He will save! During
the most horrific period in the history of the world, God will save
His faithful people – the upright and the obedient. Then they’ll actually experience the meaning
of salvation! Psa 107:41 But he lifted the needy out of their affliction and increased their families like
flocks. Not only will God save the needy out of their affliction, but they
will be the patriarchs of future generations.
They will breed like flocks
of sheep to become a very great nation. This is one of the reasons that the Lord
Jesus referred to the Ten Tribes as ‘the lost sheep of For those who think this
is unfair, especially when they have such high expectations for themselves,
they need to be honest and practical about it. The ruling Family of God, are the replacements for the present
rulers of this world. The
members of this Family have been fully trained for this role, and at that
time, will have actively participated in the establishment of the In the time of trouble
that is coming, many Christians will stumble and die because they’ll be
unprepared for it. Their ideas about ‘spiritual’ salvation will take a
decisive blow when they come to realize the true meaning of being saved. Even worse, they’ll see the Sons of
Jerusalem forcefully driving Satan’s brood out of When all hope is gone,
Christianity in general, will see the first signs of the coming As for the establishment
of the Psa 107:42 The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut
their mouths. The wicked are those who
never believed God, and who have rejected the Scriptures that Jesus and the
Apostles used. The wicked believe that
the OT Scriptures don’t meet with their own standards of righteousness. But in days to come, they had better shut their mouths! Psa 107:43 Whoever is wise, let him heed these things
and consider the great love of the LORD.
It was God’s
purpose that someone, a prophet,
who has the Spirit of Prophecy,
would emerge in the last days to explain everything. There is no point in listening to
television evangelists who drone on, sapping away the reality of God’s
message and replacing it with fake love.
Do you really believe that Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets were wasting their time when
they taught us what to expect when the It’s never a
good idea to become enmeshed in the ways of this world, because in no time at
all you’ll be believing all their theoretical nonsense. And this theoretical nonsense has many
forms. When it becomes extremely
dangerous, is when you start believing the preachers who understand
nothing. You don’t need their
‘salvation’ – you need God’s salvation! Only those who truly do the will of God will live forever! 1John 2:15-17 “Do
not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father
but from the world. 17 The WORLD and its desires PASS AWAY, BUT THE MAN WHO DOES THE WILL OF GOD LIVES FOREVER.” This
WORLD, as we know it, is about to PASS AWAY, which is
the essence of what John was writing.
Dangerous times are ahead. All
the Apostles and Prophets spoke if it.
David, in the next Psalm begins to speak of this. PSALM 108 A song. A psalm of David. Psa 108:1 My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing and make music with all my soul.
This is not what
one might expect to read when confronted with the passing away of
this present evil world. It depends on
how you look at it. Those who long for
the Psa 108:2 Awake, harp and lyre! I
will awaken the dawn. The Apostles and Prophets
spoke of a new dawn, and so
did Jesus Christ. The new
dawn awakens after a long, dark night. It begins with the rising of the Sun or Morning-star. Jesus
Christ is that Sun or Morning-Star (Rev 22:16). He will arise after the way has been prepared for Him as prophesied in Mal 3:1. We find that the Sun of Righteousness is also mentioned in this Book: Mal 4:2-6
“But for you who revere my name, the SUN
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go
out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked;
they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these
things," says the LORD Almighty. 4 "Remember the
law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Psa 108:3 I will praise you, O LORD,
among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. Speaking of awakening the dawn (V2 above), David says he will praise
the Bright Morning Star – which is
the Lord Jesus. He is the One
for whom all praise is due. He is the
One who made all the plans for the Saints to inherit the It was the Churches of
God who were offered rulership in the We could jump a few
verses and go to John 15:1-8 where it speaks of Jesus Christ
being the Vine and the
Father the Gardener,
but we won’t complicate matters further here.
But recall what we spoke of concerning the vineyard and the Back in the Book of John,
we see that Jesus warned His disciples to have His peace and to not be afraid. This was said on the eve of our Lord
Christ’s murder at Satan’s hands. So
although Jesus feared what He was about to suffer, He had peace of mind
knowing He was doing that which was required of the Father. He likewise advised His disciples to have
the same mind and to not be afraid. During the pruning of the vineyard by the Gardener (the Father), many branches will be
removed (See John 15:1-8 again). By removing the unproductive branches, the
vine will then bear
much fruit. During this pruning process of the House of Israel (the vineyard), there will be
widespread bloodshed and
many cries of distress! This is why the Lord Christ warned His
disciples not to be afraid.
Rather, they should see it as a sign that the This is why Chapter 12 of
the Book of Revelation is directed to the Churches, so they will understand
that the chosen Bride – the Woman – is already active
preparing the way for them. The Woman, of course, is the House of David, which
gave birth to Jesus Christ – the son of David.
And just so this link will be well-understood by the Churches, Jesus
confirmed that He is the offspring
of David in His parting words: Rev 22:16-17 “I,
Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this TESTIMONY FOR THE CHURCHES. I am the Root and the OFFSPRING OF DAVID, and
the bright Morning Star." 17 The Spirit and THE BRIDE say, "Come!" And let him who
hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever
wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” For a long time the Bride has been saying “Come!” We’ve been saying to the Churches of God,
Come and hear the Testimony of
Jesus, which really is for the Churches
of God, but up until now, they think they already have it. Do they really, though? Do they have the Spirit of Prophecy?
Well, on past performances, they’ve clearly shown they don’t! Notice what the Testimony of Jesus is: Rev 19:9-10
“Then the angel said to me, "Write: `Blessed
are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'
" And he added, "These are the true words of God." 10
At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do
it! I am a fellow servant with you
and
with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship
God! FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS IS
THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY."
The Churches of God are
the offspring of the
Woman; in other words they are the heirs who will inherit the Bride’s domain – the The members of Churches
of God know who they are, because these alone have kept the Commandments of God, observed His Annual Holydays, and were founded in this era
by a specific shepherd
– who was prophesied to have the name of ‘Armstrong’. The parable about this is found in Zech 11:15-17
– which we’ve explained many times in the past. And just to confirm these
things: Rev 12:13-17 “When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the
earth, he pursued the woman
who
had given birth to the male child (Jesus). 14 The
woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly
to the place prepared for her in
the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time (3½
years), out of the serpent's reach. 15
Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the
woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped
the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had
spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged
at the woman and went off to make
war against the rest of her offspring--those who OBEY GOD'S COMMANDMENTS and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” Belatedly, the offspring of the Woman will hold to the Testimony of Jesus and they’ll
finally understand what is happening to them. And just one final word
about Jesus words to His disciples concerning the Counselor, and what he
warns them not be to
afraid of. It follows on from
His words about the Vine and the Gardener, which we quoted in John 15:1.
In this chapter, they are told to be willing to lay down their lives for
their friends – which Jesus Himself did for His friends when He was
arrested. He said, ‘If it’s me you seek, then let these others
go’. This is what He was asking
now of His disciples. In times of
trouble and imminent death, a disciple should give himself up in order to
free his friends. John 15:12-26 “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13 GREATER LOVE HAS NO
ONE THAN THIS, THAT HE LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS. 14
You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call
you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead,
I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I
have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to
go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then
the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is
my command: Love each other. 18 "If the world hates you, keep
in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world,
it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.
20 Remember the words I spoke to you: `No servant is greater than
his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they
obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat
you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty
of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who
hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them
what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen
these miracles, and yet they have
hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill
what is written in their Law: `They hated me without reason.' 26
"When the Counselor comes,
whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will
testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been
with me from the beginning.” As we can clearly see,
this is speaking of extreme persecution.
It you obey God, then the world will hate you. This should come as no surprise to anyone
who obeys God.
Those who obey God know there are plenty of lunatics in this
world who pose as Christians, yet refuse obedience to God and His Law. These people go out of their minds spewing
hatred for those who
keep the Commandments. Why
this mad, deranged obsession against obedience? The reason that Jesus gives is because they
have never known the Father. These
crazy people actually believe that God
the Father was the God of the Old Testament. It was God
the Son who was the God of the Old Testament! In the days of the
Apostles, the Counselor did come
– as
Jesus promised. With the When everything is going
along nicely and everyone is flourishing with an abundance of goods and
possessions, there seems to be no immediate urgency to be obedient to God and
His Laws. Even among those who realize
that obedience to God is mandatory for entering His Kingdom, many choose to
delay such action. They know there is
open hostility by mainstream Christianity to keeping the Commandments of God,
and to some, it seems logical to follow along and retain the acceptance of
these wicked people. It’s not the
acceptance of the lawless that we should be pursuing, but the acceptance of
God. It’s God who holds the power of
life and death over us, and it’s He who will decide our fate. God is faithful to all
that is written in the Scriptures. It
was He who inspired it all, and it’s He who will see it all through to
fruition. Only those who bear much fruit will have God’s love and faithfulness
backing them. Psa 108:4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the
skies. If God’s judgment is to
begin in the House of God (House
of Israel), then we should understand that He will be ruthless to
those who reside outside of the House of Israel. He never chose the others of the families
of the earth, but only the 12 Tribes of Israel – those He once extracted from
Presently, Satan and his
demons rule on this earth, but this is about to change. And when it does, these evil creatures will
be locked away in prison, and a new rulership will emerge. The New Rulers will rule over all the
earth. And didn’t Jesus Christ confirm
this? This is what He said: Rev 2:26-29
“To him who overcomes
and
does my will to the end, I
will give AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS-- 27 `He will rule them with an iron
scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery' -- just as I have
received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the MORNING
STAR (Spirit of
Christ – the Counselor). 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” It may seem like a new concept to the
Churches to actually have power over the nations and to rule them with a iron rod or scepter, and to smash them to pieces like pottery,
but the House of David is
going to demonstrate this in advance. The House of David will be out there in
advance of you, and will prepare
the way. Psa 108:5 Be exalted, O God, above the
heavens, and let your glory be over
all the earth. Yes, all the earth will be
subject to God for good or for bad.
The nations who yield early will spare
themselves a lot of pain, which will follow the beating with a ‘rod of iron’. And this is the reason
why: Psa 108:6 Save us and help us with your right hand, that
those you love may be delivered.
Those nations
that are holding God’s people captive will need to hand them over or else
suffer the consequences, and these consequences will be very grim indeed. In order that this rescue
can take place, provision must be made for their accommodation in the
Promised Land, and their ancestral allotments secured. Psa 108:7 God has spoken from his
sanctuary: "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Psa 108:8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh
is mine; Ephraim is my
helmet, Psa 108:9 Moab is my washbasin, upon Psa 108:10 Who will bring me to the fortified city [ Note that the Day of Vengeance was in His
heart, and isn’t it just amazing that the House of Israel has no concept of
this? Here they are, having suffered
endless outrages by these Muslim hordes, and now they’re out there trying to
‘win
their hearts and minds’. How
totally at odds they are with the Mighty Christ! When the Mighty Christ crushes these evil
snakes and vipers, the House of Israel will offer nothing by way of support. No wonder our Lord Jesus says He is appalled! Today, Ephraim
and Manasseh ( Since there is no
possibility of Ephraim fighting a just war, that is a war
of justice, the purpose of which is to kill the
enemy, they’ve been forewarned that God will no longer go out with their armies. Psa 108:11 Is it not you, O God, you who
have rejected us and
no longer go out with our armies?
Why wouldn’t God reject
them? They have nothing in common with
their Creator in many ways, but most notably, God’s enemies are not their enemies!
Increasingly though, they are seeing the Jews as their enemies. They seem to believe that if the Jews
sacrifice their lives and handover everything to God’s enemies, then peace
will ensue. Psa 108:12 Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is
worthless. Perhaps Ephraim should
have thought of this when they elected a worthless
man as President! And look at
some of the scumbags he engaged as his advisors! Do you miss President Bush yet? Psa 108:13 With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our
enemies. It’s true that Ephraim will
gain victory in days to come, but not by their own
efforts. It will require the services
of others to rescue them, and unfortunately, it will be only a remnant that
remains alive. As for their current
enemies, they’ll learn the hard way that they should have taken decisive
remedial action while they had the chance.
When the Lord Christ tramples down their enemies and crushes them like
a wine press, it will be too late for Ephraim to save themselves. That day is fast approaching now! In V8 of this Psalm where it says: “Gilead is mine, Manasseh
is mine; Ephraim is my
helmet, In essence, what it’s
saying here is that Ephraim will not be given military
authority; instead this will be given to Have we so quickly
forgotten the lessons of WW2 and how this war was won? The war in #We won’t go
into the battles with the King of
Greece here. These things are
well-covered in our Study on the Book of Isaiah. But just a brief note: The Beast
of Greece will have his heart set on capturing Jerusalem, and those who know their God will
firmly resist him. These are the Sons of Jerusalem! PSALM 109 For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. In the last Psalm,
mention was made of the Blood of
the Covenant, and it was made in reference to Ephraim ( Psa 109:1 O God, whom I praise, do not remain silent, Psa 109:2 for wicked and deceitful men
have opened their mouths against me; they have spoken against me with lying
tongues. Isn’t this what Jesus Christ warned His
disciples about? Didn’t He say they
would be hated by all men because of Him?
Jesus was persecuted, and didn’t He confirm that they would be
too? Jesus forefather David also warns
you now in this Psalm. As truth would
have it, so is the House of David
warning you. Can we be sure this is
referring to the Churches of God?
Well, we’re about to uncover the absolute truth of this. We’re about to read the words quoted by the
Apostle Peter when the Apostles sought a replacement for the worst traitor of
all – Judas Iscariot! Psa 109:3 With words of hatred they surround me; they
attack me without cause. This is what happened all
right! And Judas Iscariot was leading
them! Later they had great trouble
trying to invent a cause
for this arrest, and finally settled for false witnesses to condemn Him. Psa 109:4 In return for my friendship they accuse
me, but I am a man of prayer. Jesus treated Judas as a friend,
and His final words to him are found in this verse: Matt 26:48 “Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: "The one I
kiss is the man; arrest him." 49 Going at once to Jesus,
Judas said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him. 50 Jesus
replied, "Friend, do
what you came for."
As for being a Man of prayer, Jesus Christ
spent the whole night praying to God for the strength to endure this
ordeal. This is a very good example to
follow in such circumstances! Psa 109:5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my friendship. It’s always your fair-weather friends who desert you when the going
gets tough. Friendship means nothing
to such people if it causes them inconvenience. In this case, Judas was a thief and greedy
for money. He’d been stealing from God
as ‘keeper of the purse’, that is,
as treasurer of the group. Fearful of
being caught out, he chose to betray his Master. Mind you, he was already possessed by Satan (John 13:27)
when the betrayal happened. Satan was
already grooming and controlling him long before this. Psa 109:6 Appoint an evil man to
oppose him; let an accuser stand at his right hand. This is speaking of Judas Iscariot, who was totally evil, and so
cunning that none of the disciples suspected him. However, Jesus Christ knew in advance of
the betrayal. Psa 109:7 When he is tried, let him be
found guilty, and may his prayers condemn him. One can just imagine this ruthless thief giving flowery prayers in the
company of others to mask his real intent.
It’s a ploy that is still used today by television evangelists. Generally speaking, our prayers are a
private matter between us and God and should not be used to
impress others. When we pray, we pray
to God, and as Christians, we do this in
the Name of Jesus Christ. Very
important! And now we come to the
verse famously quoted by the Apostle Peter in relation to the replacement
of Judas Iscariot: Psa 109:8 May his days be few; may another take his place of
leadership. The account of this is
found in Acts
1:20 “For," said Peter, "it is
written in the book of Psalms,
"`May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' (Psa 69:25) and, "`May another take his place of
leadership.'” Peter and
the other Apostles knew this referred to Judas Iscariot, and so a replacement
had to be found. As a point of
interest, this is how the replacement of Judas was determined: Acts 1:21-26
“Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us
the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22
beginning from John's baptism
to
the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his
resurrection." 23 So they proposed two men: Joseph
called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they
prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen 25 to take
over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs."
26 Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added
to the eleven apostles.”
For those who believe God
will forgive them for anything, they should be aware that there are
limits. Physical sins will be
forgiven, but the sin against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, because
it’s this sin that identifies the state of the mind. Mad fools who rant and rave against
everything that is holy to God are not candidates for God’s Family nor His
Kingdom! Judas Iscariot falls into
this category. Psa 109:9 May his
children be fatherless and his wife a widow.
The curses that
befell Judas are well documented. This
verse documents his premature death.
His children became fatherless, and his wife a widow. Moreover, the sins of the father were visited on his children – just as
God states in the 2nd Commandment (Ex 20:4-5). This is something to remember when people
start mouthing off about things they don’t understand! Psa 109:10 May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven
from their ruined homes. This seemed to be a very
apt punishment for the children of a thief, that they should be deprived of
everything. Just remember that our
sins fall on our children! Psa 109:11 May a creditor seize all he
has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor. It seems that Judas put 30 pieces of silver as a down-payment on a
block of land. After his death, his
creditors seized it back, but feeling guilty about the ‘blood money’ they converted it to a burial site for the poor. Psa 109:12 May no one extend kindness to
him or take pity on his fatherless
children. Even the children of this
traitor were odious to all who knew about it, and no-one took pity on them. Psa 109:13 May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from
the next generation. Well, it seems that all
Judas’ children died without descendants. Psa 109:14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the
LORD; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out. Judas was the son of Simon of Iscariot (John 6:71).
No one can be sure where the place-name of Iscariot was, but there is some rather weak evidence that Simon was of the Tribe of Simeon, who are today
the Germanic peoples. If it is true,
then God is certainly remembering
the iniquity of the modern-day fathers of the Tribe of Simeon and their fabled ‘Fatherland’
which murdered so many Jews in WW2. It
was a monstrous betrayal of God’s people Judah – the very Tribe of Jesus
Christ! As stated, it’s drawing a long
bow based on flimsy evidence, to state that Judas was a German; nevertheless,
some of the historic evidence is compelling. Psa 109:15 May their sins always
remain before the LORD, that he may cut off the memory of them
from the earth. As we’ve already seen,
Judas’ descendants were cut off in that day.
They died without descendants.
Whether Judas had other brothers through his father Simon can only be
guessed at, but it seems he must have because God is watching to remove that
particular family line from the earth.
That is, the one through Simon
of Iscariot. Is there a
specific family line of Germans who have a reputation for persecuting
Jews? If so, then they would have been
right at home in the Nazi Party. Oscar
Schindler obviously wasn’t one of that
detestable family line. Speaking of Judas once
again: Psa 109:16 For he never thought of doing a kindness, but
hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted. Good grief! This man was an
animal! No pity, no mercy, no compassion for the
suffering of others! You could just
imagine such a man herding people into a boxcar to be taken away and gassed. Psa 109:17 He loved to pronounce a curse-- may it come on him;
he found no pleasure in blessing--
may
it be far from him. That’s right, curse
everyone and send them off to be killed!
Especially the poor, needy and desperate! Psa 109:18 He wore cursing as his
garment (I wonder if it had a swastika insignia); it
entered into his body like water, into his bones like oil. Yes, he was rotten to the core! An accursed man, fit only to be burned! Psa 109:19 May it be like a cloak wrapped
about him, like a belt tied forever around him. The cursing that this man engaged in will be forever associated with
him. Even today, the name ‘Judas’ is a descriptor for ‘betrayal’. So now all traitors can
know what to expect when they demean and curse the Word of God. Psa 109:20 May this be the LORD's payment to my accusers, to those who speak
evil of me. There is a payment due to those who
accuse and abuse God’s Son
– the
Word of God personified. Those
who speak evil of Him will
receive the same type of treatment as Judas.
And that day is not far off! So just remember to whom
your faithfulness belongs and don’t be afraid. Psa 109:21 But you, O Sovereign LORD,
deal well with me for your name's
sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me. This is God’s promise to
the Saints that they will be delivered from death – just as Jesus was. Death had no hold over Him! Psa 109:22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded
within me. Wasn’t it the poor and needy that Judas
liked to target? Wasn’t he the type who hounded to death the poor and
needy and the broken-hearted?
In the holocaust that is coming on the House of Israel, you’ll find
many Judases among them! As it
happened to Jesus, so it will happen to you.
But unlike Judas,
if you remain faithful to God, He will deliver you. Psa 109:23 I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a
locust. The fading
of the evening shadow is the prelude to the long dark night
before the new dawning. It seems like a poetic description, but is
in reality an identifier of a time
of severe trouble. In this
Palm, David is warning us of what to expect.
Christians and Jews who obey God’s Commandments are very familiar with
the fading of the evening shadows
because on the evening of the sixth day they know by the setting of the sun when the Sabbath begins. Terms such as this would be meaningless to
the disobedient! Psa 109:24 My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt.
This is actually
speaking of starvation which causes people to look like emaciated
matchsticks. The Jewish people know
all about this! They went through this
in WW2. But their hard service is over, and God will comfort them
(Isa 40:1-2). Not so for the House of The sad thing is that the
Churches of God must accompany the Tribes of Israel in their holocaust and
captivity, and suffer the same fate.
It’s their job to set the example of obedience to God even in the face
of death. Psa 109:25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when
they see me, they shake their heads. Well, they would shake their heads, wouldn’t
they? Habitual accusers blame God for
everything, and so when they see true Christians standing firm and obeying
God even if it costs their lives, they will think them to be maniacs. Accusers like this would probably believe
Jesus to be a maniac because He didn’t run when they came to arrest Him. As we all know, Americans
are very litigious people. Whenever
anything goes wrong they can’t just accept it as misfortune, they have to
apportion blame through accusations
– usually
false or misguided – but still it has to be blamed on someone. So the word-smiths go to work to try to
flange together some cock-and-bull story that implicates someone for some
offence or act of negligence no matter how unseemly their accusations might
be. Then some erstwhile soul in
dragged into the courthouse to face their fabricated nonsense. Everyone sues everyone, and the greater the
lie the greater the compensation they can expect. The whole nation has been conditioned to
this type of lying deceit. So don’t think for one
moment when the greatest calamity of all time hits the nation that they won’t
be looking for scapegoats. Because
they will! Let’s just imagine a
scenario where a nuclear bomb is detonated over Logic alone would dictate
that the party to blame is the rogue, Islamic ‘axis of evil’ that did it!
But this is not the way it works in As if Satan doesn’t know
this! He’s the one who will invoke
the campaign to hunt down those who hold
to the Testimony of Jesus and obey
the Commandments of God. That
is, the real Christians! We’ve already read about this in Rev 12:17. Don’t think it won’t happen! Psa 109:26 Help me, O LORD my God; save me in accordance with your love. Thus the day will come when the true Christians will be ruthlessly
persecuted just as Jesus Christ forewarned.
Mindless accusations will come flooding like a river. A major calamity will occur, and in the
minds of maniacs, the obvious target to blame will be the people of God. Like the Jews in WW2, they’ll be hunted
down in the cities for the purpose of driving them to extinction. Psa 109:27 Let them know
that it is your hand, that
you, O LORD, have done
it. In an increasingly litigious society, there
is always someone else to blame.
No-one takes responsibility for their own actions, because it’s much
more convenient to blame others. When
catastrophe befalls the nation in such a spectacular way, God Himself will be
the obvious one to blame. At that time
they will know that God brought this on them – because they will be told! God is going to let them know this!
For their redress of grievances, they will turn on the Saints. Psa 109:28 They may curse, but you will bless; when they attack they will be put to
shame, but your servant will rejoice. Those who know their God will rejoice when these things happen,
because they will know that the The Saints will see
themselves vindicated and their accusers will fall. Psa 109:29 My accusers will be clothed
with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak. They’ll also be wrapped in chains and ready for transport as slaves –
and it’s called the DAY OF
RECKONING. This is what the
Scripture has to say in regard to this day: Hos 5:9 “Ephraim will be laid
waste on the DAY OF
RECKONING. Among
the tribes of The Scriptures relating
to this also makes it very clear what the reasons are: Isa 9:21, 10:1-4 “Manasseh will feed on Ephraim, and
Ephraim
on Manasseh; together they will turn against Well, the
question is asked, “What will you do on the DAY
OF RECKONING when disaster comes from
afar?” Since this disaster is not preventable, it
will be the duty of everyone to respond to it in a godly manner – or
not! Some will, others will not. Naturally enough, the blame-game will begin
and fools will instigate it. Fully
half the American people are the fools!
These people won’t see it as a sign of the impending appearance of the
Bridegroom; rather they will see it as a time to apportion blame. We have an example of this in Isa 8:19-22 “When
men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their
God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the LAW and to the TESTIMONY!
If they do not speak according to
this word, they have no light of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam
through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking
upward, will curse their
king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the
earth and see only distress and
darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.”
These words cover much of what we’ve been saying, and they very much
apply to the DAY OF RECKONING! Among the
Tribes of Israel, there will be a small number of people who will acknowledge
God’s right to bring the Day of
Reckoning upon His people Psa 109:30 With my mouth I will greatly
extol the LORD; in the great throng I will praise him. This is the province of the Saints to realize that God is delivering
justice. Having advanced beyond the
pathetic doctrine of Christianity today, they will realize that the House of
Israel must be cleansed of the rebels before the righteous remnant are
admitted to the It’s the speed and finality of
everything that will happen that will shock everyone! And only a remnant of the Israelites will be saved. It’s this remnant which will be called the
‘sons of the Living God’. It’s the remnant of those
to whom God once said ‘You are not my people’ meaning the
House of Israel, but in the
very place where He said
these things, they will be called the ‘sons
of the Living God’! Obviously,
the descendants of the Israelites will form the remnant of those who will be saved. Yet here again, even though the Israelites
number like the ‘sand of the sea’, only a remnant will be called the ‘sons
of the Living God’. Their nobility will live on forever! Psa 109:31 For he stands at the right
hand of the needy one, to save his
life from those who condemn him.
Those chosen by
God for a purpose must
endure to the very end, and if so, then they will be saved. It won’t be easy, but they can know now
that the end will come with speed
and finality! PSALM 110 Of David. A psalm. Psa 110:1 The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool
for your feet." Jesus quoted this verse (Matt 22:44)
in relation to Himself and God the Father, thereby showing that the God
Family has more than one member. The LORD (God Almighty) spoke to
my Lord (Jesus
Christ). The Apostle Paul also
referred the crushing of His enemies under
His feet in 1Cor 15:25 “For he must reign until he has put all
his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy
to be destroyed is death. 27
For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that
"everything" has been put
under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who
put everything under Christ. 28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made
subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all
in all.” Psa 110:2 The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Psa 110:3 YOUR TROOPS will be willing on your
day of battle. Arrayed
in holy majesty, from the womb
of the dawn you will receive the dew of your youth. This is a reference to the dawning
of a new day, which the Apostle Peter spoke about. The dew
of the dawn is a reference
to the Living Water that
our Lord Jesus spoke about. This is a
hard concept to explain but this is what is being said: The Lord’s troops
will come from It may be upsetting to
some Christians to see that the
House of David will be like God in their power and splendor, but
then, most Christians don’t baulk at claiming to be like God themselves, do
they? Are Christians the troops of God who are willing on the day of battle? Are they willing to defend God’s Holy City
Zion? Could they rightly claim to
belong to the House of David? The answer would be no! The House
of David was established by the Levite Prophet Samuel, and once again
it will be established by a Levite.
The Levite Priesthood will recruit from the Tribe of Judah, David’s
Tribe, and the men of And now David tells us
about the Mighty One, Jesus, and His appointed duty forever. God Almighty said to Him: Psa 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not
change his mind: "You are a
priest forever, in the
order of Melchizedek." A priest teaches God’s
Truth, and Jesus was no exception, even though He was not a priest
while on the earth. Just to confirm
this: Heb
8:1-6 “The point of what we are saying
is this: We do have such a high
priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty
in heaven, 2 and who
serves in the sanctuary, the
true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. 3 Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices,
and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. 4
IF HE WERE ON EARTH, HE WOULD NOT
BE A PRIEST, for there are already men who offer the
gifts prescribed by the law. 5 They serve at a
sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses
was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that
you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."
6 But the ministry
Jesus
has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the
old one, and it is founded on better promises.” Leaving aside for the moment the many
points mentioned in this passage, which follows after a mention of Melchizedek in Heb 7:17,
which is a quote from this very verse in Psa 110:4.
We now find there’s a change
of the priesthood specified for these last days. Traditionally, the Priesthood served at the
Altar with offerings and animal sacrifices.
Now the Order of Melchizedek
is to be the commanding Order
of Priests. So what is the Order of Melchizedek? First of all, let’s read
what follows the establishment of the Order
of Melchizedek which we read in the last verse: Psa 110:5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. The Lord Jesus, who now sits at God’s right hand, is going to crush kings on the day of His wrath. And this gives us a very important insight
into the nature of the Order of
Melchizedek. There are only three
Books of the Bible that mention Melchizedek,
the first Genesis, the
second Psalms, and the
third the Book of Hebrews. We find this account in the Book of
Genesis: Gen 14:17-20 “After Abram
returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him,
the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the
King's Valley). 18 Then Melchizedek
king of Psa 110:6 He will judge the nations, heaping
up the dead and CRUSHING
THE RULERS OF THE WHOLE EARTH. Now
it’s not just the rulers that surround the Psa 110:7 He will drink from a brook beside the way;
therefore
he will lift up his head. This is a very
complicated verse to explain. In V3
above we read this line: “from the womb of the dawn you
will receive the dew of your youth” The ‘womb’ represents a new
birth that will occur at the dawning
of a new day. At the dawning
of the new day, the troops of God
must prepare the way for
the High Priest Melchizedek
– which
is Jesus Christ! It’s this
formidable force who will receive the dew
of their youth. Dew, of course, is water;
in this case, Living Water. To further
complicate the explanation, we have this verse regarding Living Water: Jer 17:13 “O LORD, the hope of Jesus
spoke at length about this Living
Water to a Samaritan woman: John
4:7-14 “When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to
her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9
The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan
woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus
answered her, "If you knew the GIFT
OF GOD and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked
him and he would have given you LIVING
WATER." 11 "Sir," the woman said, "you
have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this LIVING WATER? 12
Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it
himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?" 13
Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14
but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water
I give him will become in him a
spring of water welling up to eternal life." Jesus
Christ had this Living Water to give, and those who receive it will become a spring of Living Water
leading to eternal life. As a
matter of fact, those who receive this Living Water will emanate streams of this Living Water from
within them. Jesus Christ
confirmed this: John 7:37-39 “On
the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,
"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as
the Scripture has said, streams
of living water will flow from within him." 39 By
this he meant the
Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to
that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been
glorified.”
Jesus Christ referred to something from the Scriptures about Living Water and it’s found in
Isa
58:11-12 “The LORD will guide you
always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame (that
is, repair and renew the strength of our bodies). You
will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters
never fail. 12
Your people will rebuild the
ancient ruins and will raise
up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.” Now back to the
meaning of V7
above, which says: “He will drink from a brook beside the way; therefore he will lift up his
head.” There’s an alternative
translation given in the margin notes of the NIV version: “The One who
grants succession will set him in authority.” This is a more exacting translation of this
verse, because this whole Psalm is speaking of
the powerful Order
of Melchizedek, which will destroy kings and sovereign rulers to the
ends of the earth. This powerful
Order of Priests will fight
under the authority of Melchizedek,
King of PSALM 111 Psa 111:1 Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart in
the council of the upright
and in [their] assembly. Psa 111:2 Great
are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by
all who delight in them. The
Order of Melchizedek may not appeal to all initially, in fact, it will appeal
to only a few who understand the Scriptures, and are fully aware of the Testimony
of Jesus. It’s these few people who
will see and understand the necessity for these works of the LORD to be carried out in order to secure the Psa 111:3 Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness
endures forever. It remains to the seen
just how many will see God’s deeds
as glorious and righteous! Nations go to war over all sorts of issues,
and every nation believes their cause to be just. But when God speaks of war and the destruction
of His enemies, Christianity sometimes takes exception to this. Christianity fully expects their government
to take appropriate action when their nation comes under threat, but often
they themselves seek exemption based on ‘conscientious objection’. We’re used to seeing anti-war protestors,
who seem to think that war is an act of murder. Laughably, they often quote the 6th
Commandment in defense of their views, even though they refute obedience to
God’s Law. Are all wars just? Well, this depends what side you are
on. However, when God wages war, then
these wars are just. This is why the Melchizedek, King of Psa 111:4 He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is
gracious and compassionate. If none of the exploits
of the men of God such as Abraham were remembered, then we would have
little hope of understanding anything.
And it’s not just Abraham since there are scores of men of God who performed great
and notable acts which were wonders
from God. The Book of Hebrews, chapter
13, lists quite a number of them.
These lived by faith and they died in faith, knowing that a better resurrection awaited them
(V35). Why, then, do the
majority of Christians choose to forget all God’s wonders? Even when they don’t forget, they often
have a strange take on the events that have occurred. For instance, there is a prevailing
mentality that God destroyed ‘innocent’
people when He brought Noah’s flood on the earth. They seem to ignore the fact that violence had filled the earth
in that day (Gen
6:11-13). There were no ‘innocents’ among them! Not even the children and babies! They were the offspring of the evil ones
and they carried the sins of their
fathers on their heads – even from the moment of birth! Even today, we recognize certain
characteristics in people through their gene pool, and genetics has a lot to
do with many things. For instance, God
has a special interest in the gene pool of the Patriarchs, which continued
through Jacob and his 12 sons. This is how it was in the
days of Noah, where God specifically speaks of a certain gene pool that
prevailed alongside that of Noah: Gen 6:4-8 “The Nephilim were on the earth in
those days--and also afterward--when
the sons of God went
to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown. 5 The LORD saw how great man's
wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The
LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled
with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I
have created, from the face of the earth--men and animals, and creatures that
move along the ground, and birds of the air--for I am grieved that I have
made them." 8 But
Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” It’s no good pretending that this never
happened, because it’s very clear that the ruling class of the spirit realm
became involved with the daughters of men.
The offspring of these were giants and were men of renown who
prevailed and dominated everywhere.
The gene pool was horribly corrupted.
Since it couldn’t be bred out of them, the only option was to destroy
them all and begin again. As it turned
out, Noah was perfect in his generation
and was not tainted with this gene pool (Gen 7:1). It should be pointed out, however, that
the wife of one of Noah’s sons was!
And so the gene pool continued afterward
through this woman, and one branch of mankind was corrupted by it. This was Ham’s wife. Ham is the progenitor of the arch rebel
Nimrod who set up rule in In the days of Noah,
prior to the flood, the masses had reached the epitome of evil and there was
no restraining them. They were
bloodthirsty, murderous creatures which epitomized the very nature of Satan
and his demons. This is another reason
why Jesus Christ likened these last days to the days of Noah: Matt 24:37-39
“As it
was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son
of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people
were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
39 and they knew nothing about what
would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That
is how it will be at the coming of the Son of These are the sorts of
things that should be remembered because they really are wonders of God and
they still have ramifications for us today.
Those who do continue to remember will know that God is to be feared, especially when we
cross forbidden boundaries. One of
these forbidden boundaries is the violation of God’s Covenant. Psa 111:5 He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. If God remembers His Covenant, then so should we! And note that the Covenant is forever! This Covenant wasn’t established in writing to be
forgotten. It was established forever
and is binding forever! Most
Christians today would like to forget it.
They don’t like God laying down His Law to them, and some preachers
have actually called them “The Terrible
Ten”! What’s so terrible about not
stealing or not
murdering others? You can understand their objections to the
5th Commandment forbidding ‘false
witness’ since these preachers are masters of this. The vast majority of them are lying
deceivers themselves, so they don’t want any interference from God in their
activities. Obviously, these are not
the type of people who fear retribution from
God. This is true of many Christians
today, and they are destined to learn the hard way. In truth, God is
addressing His people – His true servants – who do fear Him and remember
His Covenant forever. These are the ones who teach God’s Truth to
others, and these teachings will result in the choice of life or death for
the rest of God’s people, the House of Israel. Psa 111:6 He has shown his
people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. The average person has not seen the Power of God’s Works as expressed here. But that day is not far off. God’s servants, His Troops, will
take the lands of other nations, driving the inhabitants to the ends
of the earth. Kingdoms will fall,
people will die, and slowly but surely the whole world will be eradicated of
the vermin that oppose their Creator God. Psa 111:7 The works of his hands are
faithful and just; all his precepts
are trustworthy. God is the Creator, and
we are merely flesh and blood, or even dust – which is the final destination
of most people today. Dust they are,
and to dust they will return. It was
for the sake of this Creation that Jesus Christ gave His life. He loved it so much that He was prepared to
lay down His life for it (John 3:16,19).
In regard to this verse, a verdict
was given on the appropriateness of giving eternal life: V19 “This
is the verdict: Light has
come into the world, but men loved
darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
20 Everyone who does
evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be
exposed. 21 But
whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be
seen plainly that what he has done has
been done through God."
So it’s very clear that only those who live by the Truth will
experience eternal life! When your
local preacher quotes John 3:16 and puts his own spin on it, he’s lying to you! If you really do believe Jesus Christ and do everything He requires of you,
then you will inherit eternal life.
Eternal life is not tossed around like
chops on a barbeque, you know! It
has to be earned! Psa 111:8 They (His precepts) are steadfast for ever and ever, done in faithfulness and
uprightness. Christianity seems
to believe they are exempt from God’s
precepts. In their view,
obedience was ‘done away on the Cross’
in favour of ‘grace’, and somehow
this translates into the gift of eternal life. Well, it’s not what God’s
prophets are saying, is it? What is eternal are God’s precepts which are forever and ever. Precepts
are
God’s principles for living. Psa 111:9 He provided redemption for his
people; he ordained his covenant
forever-- holy and awesome is his name. You do know what a covenant is, don’t you? It’s an agreement between two parties,
where one agrees to perform a certain function for which the other party will
respond with payment. This is exactly
how God’s Covenant was enacted. The
first party, which was the 12 Tribes of Israel, faithfully promised to obey
all of God’s Commandments and to live righteous lives, while God, on the
other hand, would richly reward them for their obedience. It was the House of Israel which broke the
Covenant! Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of WISDOM; all who follow
his precepts have good
understanding. To him belongs eternal
praise. There are not too many
people today who fear God,
so their pursuit of wisdom
has not yet begun, and this point should be
emphasized! Some believe that as
Christians they don’t need to fear God.
Do you know who Wisdom
is? 1Cor 1:24 “…but to those whom God has called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
POWER of God and the WISDOM of God.” Paul wrote this to stress the importance of
the beginning of WISDOM as
confirmed by one of the wisest men who ever lived – Solomon. Yes, it’s true that Solomon wrote about our
Lord Jesus Christ! And this is what he
wrote: Proverbs
8:12-36 “I,
WISDOM, dwell together with
prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. 13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil;
I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. 14
Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power. 15
By me kings reign and
rulers make laws that are just; 16 by me princes govern, and all
nobles who rule on earth. 17 I love those who love me, and those
who seek me find me. 18 With
me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. 19 My
fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. 20
I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, 21
bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full.” Though this is written in parable
form, it’s not speaking of a concept of wisdom, but of a
certain
Person. As a point of interest, Jesus Christ also
spoke in parables. He did this so that
only the wise would understand. And now we come to the
meaning of this parable: V22 “The LORD brought me forth as the first
of his works, before his
deeds of old; 23 I was
appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began. 24
When there were no oceans, I was
given birth, when there were no springs abounding with water; 25
before
the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, 26 before he made the earth
or its fields or any of the dust of the world. 27 I
was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, 28
when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the
deep, 29 when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not
overstep his command, and when he
marked out the foundations of the earth. 30 Then I was the CRAFTSMAN at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. 32
"Now then, my sons, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. 33
Listen to my instruction and be
wise; do not ignore it.”
Solomon was the son of David,
and a very famous one at that! It’s
fitting that the son of David should be the one to identify an
even greater Son of David – Jesus Christ – and to write of Him. Paul also
made it very clear about who WISDOM
is, and duly directed us to the writings of Solomon who details the beginning of WISDOM. WISDOM
was the Craftsman at God’s side
from the very beginning, that is, the
One who became Jesus Christ. And so this
is the answer to the fear of God
being the beginning of Wisdom. Jesus
Christ is that Wisdom, and He was also the
God of the Old Testament. No-one has ever heard the voice of the
Father nor seen His form: 1Tim 6:15-16 “….God, the
blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light,
WHOM NO ONE HAS SEEN OR CAN SEE.
To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” The God of the Old Testament was frequently
seen and heard by various Prophets of God.
No-one, however, has ever seen the Father or heard His voice. Shortly we’ll be coming
to Psalm 119,
where, for 176 verses, the
Psalmist literally pounds on us about the importance of obedience to God and His Laws,
Precepts and Covenants. Whilst
the average Christian skims over all references to obedience to their
Creator, there is no escape from this Truth in Psalm 119. PSALM 112 Psa 112:1 Praise the LORD. Blessed
is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. Except for a few scattered Christians, the only significant number of
people on earth today, who keep His Commandments and statutes, are the Jews. Psa 112:2 His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will
be blessed. There are no other people in living memory
who have displayed such might against impossible odds as the Jews in fighting
for their land. Most rational people
would recognize that this was done through the Power of God. In every war, the Jews prevailed, even when
faced with overwhelming and impossible odds.
God has made them mighty in
their land. There is no single
nation in the There are many Christian
church organizations who would disagree with these things, and who actually
favour the enemy who have no rights to this Psa 112:3 Wealth and riches are in his house (the House of It’s quite funny that the
Jews are held in contempt for being blessed with wealth from God, especially
since they are accused of starting a new world order (NWO) – yet another
demonic fantasy! These accusers seem
not to have noticed that Islam uses their oil wealth to subvert other nations
and their stated desire is to start their own new world order where they
dominate all the ‘infidels’. Fear does
funny things to people, and the fearful generally resort to senseless,
beggarly behavior when confronted by an enemy. Realizing that Islam is a real threat to
their well-being, they choose to ostracize the Jews believing that this will please
Islam and gain their favour. Talk
about backing the wrong horse! Did
Jesus Christ say that salvation comes from the Muslims? No!
He said it comes from the Jews!
This is something that recalcitrant Christians are going to learn the
hard way – and it will be in the
time of the darkest hour. Psa 112:4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. Even in the darkest hour,
the Jews always prevailed and prospered.
Why wouldn’t God bless those who obey Him? Almighty God demands obedience to Himself,
and those who refuse only succeed in subjecting themselves to punishment – and
the full extent of that punishment is not yet evident! When this day comes, the House of Israel
will learn many things from the Jews who have faced their own dark days but
have survived. Psa 112:5 Good will come to him
who is generous and lends freely,
who
conducts his affairs with justice. Good doesn’t come to
those who are mean and greedy! God loves a cheerful giver! 2Cor 9:6-7 “Remember
this: Whoever sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not
reluctantly or under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver.” It’s a fact
of life that most of the mean and greedy live in slums and ghettoes, and no
good ever comes to them. Generally
speaking, such people are not gracious and compassionate and generous to
others. Consequently, they have found
their niche in life at the lowest levels of society. And it’s these who are hostile to those
who’ve conducted their lives in a more gracious manner and have reaped the
benefits. It’s the ghetto-dwellers who
want to ‘spread the wealth around’. Such people don’t want to give,
they want to get! They are
quite happy to live as parasites to society. Psa 112:6 Surely he will never be
shaken; a righteous man will be
remembered forever. How many ghetto-dwellers
are remembered? It’s the gracious and
compassionate who are remembered in this world! But let’s not be too hard
on the ghetto-dwellers, even though they have what they deserve, because soon
there will be many ghetto-dwellers – people of no fixed abode. People will be driven from their dwellings
and seek refuge wherever they can find it – and this won’t be easy! The formula for survival
continues: Psa 112:7 He will have no fear of bad
news; his heart is
steadfast, trusting in the
LORD. The righteous man will have no fear of bad
news, because God will look after him.
The righteous man looks to God for justice and deliverance, and in the
end his faith will be vindicated. Psa 112:8 His heart is secure, he will
have no fear; in the end he will
look in triumph on his foes. When the enemy advances
across the nations, plundering and killing, the righteous man will look in triumph over his foes
if
he endures to the end. Psa 112:9 He has scattered abroad his gifts
to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. In the carnage that follows the military defeat of It’s an interesting
choice of words about the light
dawning for the righteous. The
Prophet Isaiah spoke of this: Isa 8:20-22 “To the law and to the testimony!
If they do not speak according
to this word, they have no LIGHT OF DAWN. 21 Distressed and hungry, they
will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking
upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they
will look toward the earth and see
only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.” Isaiah makes it very clear here, that only
those who speak according to the LAW
of
God and the TESTIMONY
of
Jesus will find refuge in the LIGHT
OF DAWN. Psa 112:10 The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and
waste away; the
longings of the wicked will come to nothing. This confirms what Isaiah said! PSALM 113 Psa 113:1 Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD. The servants of the LORD
know
their God. God is known by many names – all of which
are descriptors of Him, but most importantly, He is the Creator God who
created all things. The servants of
God praise their God because they know they live because of His mercy and
kindness. Which brings us to
another point! Does mainstream Christianity
know their God? They choose to reject
the God of the Old Testament in favour of Jesus Christ, yet they don’t have
the wit to understand that Jesus Christ is the God of the OT. Jesus Christ came to introduce His
Father, who is now our Father, if we have the Spirit of
Christ. Prior to this, no-one
knew the Father. No-one has seen the
Father at any time or heard His voice: 1Tim 6:15 “…God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of
kings and Lord of lords, 16 who
alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, WHOM NO ONE HAS SEEN OR CAN SEE.
To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” We’re all well aware that Moses spoke to
the God of the Old Testament face
to face, and that God is the One who became Jesus Christ. So we can see it’s a bit hypocritical to
see Christians making moral judgments about the God of the Old
Testament. In so doing, they are
criticizing the very One whose Name
they have taken – that is Christian! There was a time when Jesus Christ was addressing
the mainstream religion of His day in relation to His identity. He cited two men as witnesses to His identity, one was John the Baptist and the other
was Moses: John 5:31-45 “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid. 32
There is another who
testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid. 33 "You
have sent to John and he
has testified to the truth. 34 Not that I accept human testimony;
but I mention it that you may be saved. 35 John was a lamp that burned and gave light, and you chose for a
time to enjoy his light. 36 "I have testimony weightier
than that of John. For the very
work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing,
testifies that the Father has sent
me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself
testified concerning me. You have never heard his voice nor
seen his form, 38 nor does his word dwell in you, for you
do not
believe
the one he sent. 39
You diligently study the Scriptures
because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40
yet you refuse to come to me to have life. 41 "I do not
accept praise from men, 42 but I know you. I know that you do not
have the love of God in your hearts. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not
accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. 44
How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the
praise that comes from the only God? 45 "But do not think I will accuse you before the Father.
YOUR ACCUSER IS MOSES, on whom your hopes are set. 46
If you believed MOSES, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. 47 But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going to believe what I say?” Do you see the
parallels to this present day? Many
Christians today diligently study the Scriptures (though not the only
Scriptures that existed in Jesus’ time), and they believe they are
worshipping a new God, who is different to the former One. Everything that Moses wrote related to the God
of the Old Testament – Jesus
Christ, whom he spoke exclusively about! When Jesus Christ, as God of the Old
Testament, came to earth, He spoke of and introduced His Father,
whose work He was doing on earth. As Jesus Christ said, He won’t be accusing
them, but Moses will! Now there’s some poetic justice for
you! Isn’t it Moses whom
mainstream Christianity rejects today?
Isn’t it Moses’ writings that they refuse to remember or listen
to? And what were the Lord Christ’s
final words in the Old Testament – in the Book of Malachi? Mal 4:4-6 “REMEMBER the law of MY SERVANT MOSES, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb FOR ALL When Jesus Christ came to
earth as a man, the only people who were obeying God and the Law of Moses
were the Jewish people. It was the
Jewish people that listened to Him and believed. It’s a matter of record that the Jewish religious leaders did
not! These religious
leaders dictated the terms of their religion and held the people in obedience
to them. They were famous as
nit-pickers, flaunting their own presumed righteousness, while violating
their own teachings. From the very
outset, John the Baptist came along and ripped into them with scathing
insults. John hated self-righteousness! As Jesus said, John was a lamp that burned bright, and the reason for
this is that John was one of the few men to be born on this earth who had God’s Holy Spirit from birth. Moses was another one, and we all know that
Jesus Christ was also born with God’s Holy Spirit. There are also several others. Obedience to God’s Law
has many benefits, not least of which is our well-being. Some people wonder why adversity befalls
them from time to time, and they never seem to realize that it results from
sinning. Sin is the transgression of
God’s Law, and those who refuse to obey God’s Law are going to have adversity
during the course of their lives.
Sickness and disease are the result of sin, and the remedy is to obey God and to stop sinning. Jesus Christ made this very clear when He
healed a man: John
5:13-15 “The man who was healed had no idea who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there. 14 Later
Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, "See, you are well again.
Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." 15
The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.” The reality is that after a
lifetime of sin, most people already have the markers for disease in their
bodies. Today we would call it an impaired immune system, which
makes us prone to disease. After a
lifetime of taking advice from the medical profession, you are sure to have
an impaired immune system. You can’t
expect anything else if you’ve been introducing foreign chemicals into your
body – most of which have serious side-effects. The vast majority of these medications are
positively dangerous to your health.
As we all know, doctors are famous for writing prescriptions every
time a patient walks into their surgery.
Being smart business men, they know the advantage of getting their
patients on the medication treadmill, because the side-effects will guarantee
a successful practice with long-lasting clientele. One of the big medical hoaxes of today is
the fiction of high cholesterol.
Cholesterol has no associations whatsoever with heart trouble! The medication given to combat this
fictitious problem however – the statin drugs like Lipisol – are a known
cause of blood-clotting which leads to strokes. Perfectly healthy people who believed their
doctor are now dropping dead! Is this what God intended? Does
He really suggest that our health and well-being should be ensured by the
medical profession? No He
doesn’t! This is what God says: Psalm 103:1-5
“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being,
praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not
all his benefits-- 3 WHO
FORGIVES ALL YOUR SINS AND HEALS ALL YOUR DISEASES, 4 who
redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5
who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed
like the eagle's.” You’ll recall that when Jesus
Christ healed that man of his diseases, He told him to stop sinning or something worse might happen to him. Just as assuredly as God will forgive
our sins if we stop sinning, so will
He also heal us of all our diseases! For the record, the last time I personally
consulted a doctor was 36 years ago, and this was for a medical certificate
in order to get a pilots license. I never
take medication of any description, and I am healthy. In fact, vigorously healthy! I shudder to think what my health would be
like today if I had trusted in doctors! Just to add a caveat to
this, there is a place for surgeons when broken bones need to be reset, or
blood flows need to be stemmed or wounds need to be stitched, which is very
common in wars or accidents. The line
is drawn when we seek healing through drugs and medications, most of which do
nothing to aid the healing of the disease.
The acknowledged purpose of these drugs is not to heal but to ‘contain’ the disease. All logical medical practitioners know that
the body’s own immune system must repair itself. Stitching a wound doesn’t repair the
underlying muscle tissue, rather the body does this. After all, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:13-14 “For
you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14
I praise you because I am fearfully
and wonderfully made; your
works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psa 113:2 Let the name of the LORD be
praised, both now and forevermore. Psa 113:3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the
name of the LORD is to be praised. With the rising of the sun – the
new dawn – the Power and Might of God will advance throughout the
earth. Psa 113:4 The LORD is exalted
over all the nations, his
glory above the heavens. All the nations of the earth will be aware when the Psa 113:5 Who is like the LORD our God,
the One who sits enthroned on high, Psa 113:6 who stoops down to look on the
heavens and the earth? God sees everything that
is happening on earth, and He has His agents who stand ready to
intervene. These agents are commonly
known as guardian angels. Their role
is to protect the righteous and to provide their needs. Psa 113:7 He raises the poor from the
dust and lifts the needy from the
ash heap; Psa 113:8 he seats them with princes,
with the princes of their people. In these two verses, the
needy are being likened to the Prophet Job, who, in his darkest hour sat on
an ash heap. Job had lost everything,
and now he sat on a heap of ashes
(Job 2:8). Obviously, there are many lessons to be
learned from the experiences of Job, but now is not the time or place to be
getting into an extensive study like that.
Remember how we referred to Solomon’s description (Proverbs 8:27-30)
of the Craftsman at God’s side? And
how he spoke of the marking off of
the landmass of the earth when the earth was created? Well, we find these same things written in
the Book of Job. For example, Job 38:4-6. Such things would require an extensive
study and many explanations. However,
it’s all interconnected. Psa 113:9 He settles the barren woman in
her home as a happy mother of children.
Praise the LORD. When Job and his wife lost all
their children, they later had many more.
There could scarcely be a more pitiful day than to lose all your
children, yet in the aftermath of the terrible times ahead, the remnant of
the House of Israel who returns to God will have homes of their own, and they
will raise children. In fact, one of
the first responsibilities of the Sons of Jerusalem in the PSALM 114 Psa 114:1 When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue, Psa 114:2 Judah became God's sanctuary, Over the years, we’ve
explained many times that the continents of the earth will be restored to
their original positions on the earth, as when God marked out the landmass of
the earth. All continents
and islands will be migrated back towards Psa 114:3 The sea looked and fled, the Psa 114:4 the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
The Mediterranean
Sea will disappear, and even the Almighty God doesn’t like
chaos, and what we are presently seeing on this earth is the chaos of a
former era. God intends to restore the
earth to what it was originally with all the design He put into it. The original single continent of the earth
was designed with a straight-edge or measuring line; that is, it has
perfectly aligned boundaries (Job 38:5). Psa 114:5 Why was it, O sea, that you
fled, O Jordan, that you turned back, Psa 114:6 you mountains, that you
skipped like rams, you hills, like lambs?
We’ve just given
the reasons why this will happen in the presence of the LORD. The LORD intends to repair this chaos. Psa 114:7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob, Psa 114:8 who turned the rock into a pool, the
hard rock into springs of water.
This is not the
sort of thing that one might expect to see.
But the truth is that this is what the Tribes of Israel did see on at
least two occasions while in the desert with Moses. The water flowed from the Rock and created
pools and rivers. It was through
Moses, a Levite, that this life-giving water was delivered. PSALM 115 And now we come to a very
special Psalm, where the rescue of the 12 Tribes of Israel from captivity by
the Levites in the days of Moses, are brought to mind. This Psalm is directed to only
the House of Israel – the
nation, and the House
of Aaron – the Priesthood! This Psalm is also known
for one other thing. The Knights
Templar, who were outlawed as a group during the reign of French King Philip
the Fair, were succeeded by a later organization called the Freemasons. The Freemasons were careful not to disclose
their former associations with the Knights Templar, but were careful to
provide the evidence of their origins to all who sought to find it. It should be stated that the Freemasons
have little in common with the Knights Templar today, except for the evidence
of their secret origins. Whereas the
Knights Templar sought to capture So what has this to do
with this Psalm? In their ceremonial
role as a priesthood in their organization, the Freemasons always have a
Bible opened at roughly the center, and precisely at Psalm 115. At least, this is where it’s supposed to be
opened, but whether this if followed exactly today, I wouldn’t know. The
idea was to draw attention to this Psalm! The presence of the Bible in Freemason
ceremonial gatherings is to confirm that this organization is based on
Christianity. I’m not a Freemason, but
I am both a Levite and a Christian.
The reader would certainly know that many honourable men in history
were Freemasons, including It’s not surprising then,
that the conspiracy theorists have taken up the gauntlet to discredit the
Knights Templar and their successors, the Freemasons. When President George Bush mentioned the
term ‘Crusade’ in relation to the invasion of Psa 115:1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness. One
might well imagine George Washington saying these very words! This is the type of God-fearing man that he
was. Psa 115:2 Why do the nations say, "Where
is their God?" And the nations would say
this, wouldn’t they? Do the nations
today care about God’s glory – or only their own? Everything this Brotherhood has written is
about God’s Glory and His love and faithfulness. A very large proportion of Christianity
today doesn’t worship our Creator God; instead they worship a lesser god – a
god they have devised for themselves! In a way it’s funny the
nations should say, “Where is their
God?” because at Jesus Christ’s first appearance, it was John
the Baptist who introduced Him when he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”
Psa 115:3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. It’s not to us personally that we should be desirous of glory, but to
God. He alone can deliver us and only
if we give full weight to obedience to Him.
And it all comes down to our state of mind. If everything we do involves seeking our
own well-being and pleasure, then our lives will become a disaster waiting to
happen. Don’t put your trust in
possessions or riches, or even in your fellow countrymen, because eventually
they will fail you. The blind cannot
lead the blind – or both will fall into the pit together. The general population today is steeped in
superstition, and they’ve generated their own form of worship that closely
assimilates paganism. While they may
not practice things like voodoo, they’re generally influenced by it. Have you watched any game shows lately,
like ‘Deal or no Deal’? The
contestants come armed with lucky charms and lucky numbers, never realizing
that the odds are totally random. But
still they persist with their superstitious beliefs. All luck is totally random – unless it
comes from God. Everything else is
mere chance and circumstance. There
are no genies, jins or demons watching over you to do you good. These spirits are there to do you harm! It’s not everyone who
goes to the trouble to fashion an idol in order to bow down to it as a deity,
but the principle remains the same.
Anyone who seeks relief or sustenance from any source other than God
is wasting their time and destroying their lives. In the hurly-burly of life this is not always
evident, but soon it will be. So the lesson here is,
don’t trust in superstitious people who think like pagans: Psa 115:4 But their idols are silver and
gold, made by the hands of men. Psa 115:5 They have mouths, but cannot
speak, eyes, but they cannot see; Psa 115:6 they have ears, but cannot
hear, noses, but they cannot smell; Psa 115:7 they have hands, but cannot
feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their
throats. Psa 115:8 Those who make them will be like them, and
so will all who trust in them.
Paganism is the
worship of demons, and anyone who knows their Creator God would know that
this type of worship carries severe penalties. In anyone delves into this demon worship
then they will become just like
them. In fact, half the
American nation has become just like them.
These are the ones who voted in their current President, who, in
reality is a demon. I wonder if the
Democrats miss President Bush yet? They
will! By then it will be
too late! Those who put their trust
in demons are going to need a lot of help, but then, who will they turn to? Psa 115:9 O house of Israel, trust in the LORD-- he
is their help and shield. This has been the message
for the Tribes of Israel since the days of Moses. God established a Covenant with them; in
exchange for obedience to His Law given at It’s no random occurrence
that the House of Israel no longer trusts
in the LORD or believes Him.
They no longer acknowledge God’s clear instruction of driving out the
satanic forces from the God’s Law was given to
Moses and administered through the House
of Aaron. This is the Law that must be remembered, and which was
given to Moses FOR ALL ISRAEL:
Mal 4:4
“Remember the law of my servant Moses,
the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb FOR
ALL ISRAEL.” A funny situation has
developed in the House of Israel today.
Most Christian churches don’t know who the Israelites are, and so they
claim the title of “spiritual” As “spiritual” In fact, the line of Aaron or House of Aaron will once again
become prominent in Bible Prophecy.
All that was prophesied of John will be fulfilled by someone from the
House of Aaron, and it begins here: Mal 3:1-7 “See, I will
send my messenger, who
will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are
seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will
come," says the LORD Almighty. 2 But who can endure the day
of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's
fire or a launderer's soap. 3 He
will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; HE WILL PURIFY THE LEVITES and refine them like gold and
silver. Then the
LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4
and the offerings of Judah
[the Jews] and Once the Levites are
purified and established, and the faithful Jews have been brought into the
fold, attention will turn to the rest of the descendants of Jacob,
that is, the other 10 Tribes. All 12
Tribes must be purified, and it will start with the Tribe of Levi and the Tribe
of Judah. V5 “So I
will come near to you for judgment. I
will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and
perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who
oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but
do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty. 6
"I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob (the
12 Tribes of Psa 115:10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD-- he is their help and
shield. As it was in the days of Moses, and in the days of John the Baptist, so will it be in the last days
at the time of the end. From the
rising of the House of Aaron, to the establishment of the Incrementally, others
will join the Levites and the Jews
as they learn to fear their Creator God and realize they have duties towards
Him. Psa 115:11 You who fear him, trust
in the LORD-- he is their help and shield.
It goes without
saying that the first step is to listen to God’s messenger and heed what he
teaches – see Mal
2:4-9 “And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so
that my covenant with Levi may
continue," says the LORD Almighty. 5 "My covenant was with him, a
covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he
revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his
mouth and nothing false was found
on his lips. He walked with me in peace and
uprightness, and turned many from sin. 7 "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek
instruction--because he is the messenger
of the LORD Almighty.”
Typically, people don’t listen to God’s
admonition, and they ignore what He says! Most Christians are floundering in their
belief that they’re “spiritual” The first thing you will
notice in these last two verses is that God is admonishing a group of people who live among all the people before whom they
will be despised and humiliated. Who could this possibly be referring
to? Well, the answer is that it’s the same people to whom the whole
Book of Revelation is
addressed to: the Churches of God! The importance of the Churches of God
cannot be understated! They are very,
very
important to the rescue of
the Tribes of Israel. This is their
appointed function! The problem is
they’ve become set in their ways and are not heeding God’s admonition. They still live according to their
convoluted ideas about salvation and rewards and have become steeped in
delusion. Consequently, they have no
idea of what to expect or what their duty to God is. Duty means to perform a task or tasks to
completion. They will never complete
their duty as long as they refuse to listen to God’s messenger! God’s Covenant continues through Levi, not
some self-appointed minister in the Church whose record will show that you’ve
been deceived. There is no ‘place
of safety’ for you, and none was ever promised. The Churches of God are not
the House of David – which
gave birth to Jesus Christ!
This reference is found in Rev 12:13 – the verse the Churches always
avoid quoting! The
Churches of God are not the ‘Woman’
– they are the offspring of
the ‘Woman’! It’s a woman
that gives birth and becomes a mother to her offspring. This is the encoded meaning of the ‘Woman’. This ‘Woman’ is the House of David, which gave birth to Jesus Christ. The House of David was founded by a Levite
Priest and Prophet called Samuel,
who
was of the House of Aaron. Psa 115:12 The LORD remembers us and
will bless us: He will bless the
house of Psa 115:13 he will bless those who fear
the LORD-- small and great alike. In view of our foregoing
explanations, God will remember the House of Israel and bless them, and this
will be done through the House of Aaron.
There will be plenty of fear of the LORD to go
around when He arises to act. Those
who fear the LORD God in reverence will be the ones
rewarded. Psa 115:14 May the LORD make you increase,
both you and your children. The House of Israel will
continue to be a nation of human beings.
They will live in peace and bear children, and will eventually number
like the sand of the sea
and the stars in the sky. Psa 115:15 May you be blessed by the
LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. Like the sand of the sea
and the stars in the sky,
God has made it all. It will be God’s
good pleasure to give the earth to man to rule over. Naturally enough, His choice of rulers will
be a quantum improvement over the present rulers of this earth. Psa 115:16 The highest heavens belong to
the LORD, but the earth he has given to man. Satan and his demon rulers presently rule this earth but all this is
about to change. The New Day will dawn
with men ruling this earth, and the first of these men have already been
appointed. These men will take the Psa 115:17 It is not the dead who
praise the LORD, those who go down to silence; Psa 115:18 it is we who extol the LORD,
both now and forevermore. Praise the
LORD. God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. Those who died as God’s children will live
as His children following
the resurrection. A situation arose in Jesus’ time when He
was confronted by the Sadducees, who taught there was no resurrection. The Pharisees, on the other hand, falsely
taught that everyone who
had ever lived would be resurrected. Both
were wrong! Luke 20:27-38
“Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no
resurrection, came to Jesus
with a question. 28 "Teacher," they said, "Moses
wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children,
the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. 29
Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died
childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married
her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32
Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection
whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?" 34
Jesus
replied, "The people of THIS
age marry and are given in
marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy
of taking part in THAT age and in the resurrection from
the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and
they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They
are God's children, since
they are children of the
resurrection. 37 But in the account of the bush, even
Moses showed that the dead rise,
for he calls the Lord 'the God of
Abraham, and the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'
38 He is not the God of the dead,
but of the living, for
to him all are alive." God is the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob even though they
are presently dead, but to God, it’s as if they are already
alive. To be considered worthy of taking part in THAT age and in the resurrection from
the dead, you must be God’s
children. Who, then, are God’s children? We certainly know that Jesus Christ had
offspring, because the Prophet Isaiah tells us: Isa
53:10-11 “Yet it was
the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes
his life a guilt offering, he
will see HIS OFFSPRING and prolong his days (through His offspring, whom He lives in), and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11
After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be
satisfied; by his knowledge
my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their
iniquities.” Many will be justified – but not
all! Without the Spirit of Christ, none are justified! The Spirit
of Christ is called the
Counselor (John 14:25-27). Through this Holy Spirit, the Counselor,
Jesus’ knowledge will be imparted to them.
This accumulated knowledge
is called the Testimony of Jesus. As we all know, the Testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy (Rev 19:10). It’s only
those who possess this Spirit – the Spirit of Christ – who will considered worthy of taking part in
that age! If anyone doesn’t
have this Spirit of Christ, then he doesn’t belong to Him! Rom 8:9 “You,
however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the
Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the SPIRIT OF CHRIST, he does not
belong to Christ.” In Jesus’
response to the Sadducees, He mentioned Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, and confirmed they were ‘God’s children’ and would be among the ‘children of the resurrection’. But it’s not just these three men from
antiquity who will be children of the resurrection. There are others: Luke 13:28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing
of teeth, when you see Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob and ALL THE PROPHETS in the kingdom of God, but
you yourselves thrown out.” So not only did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
have the Spirit of Christ,
but so did ALL THE PROPHETS! Did all the Prophets of old have the Spirit of Christ? And can we be sure of this? 1Pet 1:10-11 “Concerning
this salvation, THE PROPHETS,
who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with
the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time
and circumstances to which the SPIRIT OF CHRIST in them was pointing when
he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” So it’s
true! All the Prophets of God had the SPIRIT OF CHRIST – the
Counselor! After our Lord
Christ’s resurrection, this Counselor
was also given to the
Apostles (Acts 2:1-4) – just as
Jesus promised! PSALM 116 Psa 116:1 I love the LORD, for he heard
my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. When people repent of their sins, they throw themselves on God’s
mercy, seeking forgiveness. It’s not
hard when all hell breaks loose to realize that something is horribly wrong
with our service to God. It’s
something that Christians everywhere are going to have to come to grips
with. Without the necessary repentance,
God will not hear their prayers. In times such as this, God is not prepared
to listen to their justification of their conduct. They either acknowledge their sins and
repent – or they are on their own! What Christianity if
facing today is a long struggle for survival!
The satanic forces of evil are building everywhere, and anyone with a
functioning brain would recognize who these evil creatures are. The problem is that most of Christianity
has rejected the source of all knowledge – the Scriptures that Christ and the
Apostles used! Ironically, their
nemesis Islam uses these Scriptures in a bizarre and corrupt way to justify
their hatred of Jews and Christians.
Christianity has scarcely noticed!
And it’s hardly surprising!
Christianity has rejected the Law and the Prophets – which
forms the basis of the Scriptures. But not all! There are Christians today who will repent
and turn to God, and He will hear them. Psa 116:2 Because he turned his ear to
me, I will call on him as long as I live.
When we reach the
right degree of repentance before God, then we will no longer fear
death. We will either live for God or
die for Him, divesting of any thoughts for our own well-being. This is what real repentance is! Psa 116:3 The cords of death entangled
me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and
sorrow. Sometimes it requires severe hardship,
trouble and sorrow to come to our senses.
To be sure, these things sound alarmist until they happen, and usually
then it’s too late to prevent it. But
there is a way out if you choose to take it. Psa 116:4 Then I called on the name of
the LORD: "O LORD, save me!" A plea such as this usually follows an acknowledgement of guilt and a plea to God for forgiveness. Anything short of this will result in your
prayers going unheard. Psa 116:5 The LORD is gracious and
righteous; our God is full of compassion. God
has a special interest in extending His mercy because of promises He made to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He intends
to keep this promise and deliver a nation of offspring. When the Patriarchs are raised from the
dead, they are going to see their offspring, so God has a vested interest in
making sure these offspring are worthy of their famous forefathers. As a point of interest,
God has also made similar promises to David, who is also a Patriarch – as well as a Prophet for that matter: Acts 2:29-30 “Brothers,
I can tell you confidently that the patriarch
David died and was buried,
and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he
would place one of his descendants on his throne.” Perhaps we
sometimes overlook the fact that the Book of Psalms was written by a Prophet of God. The meaning of a Patriarch is to be the
father of a family or nation. So what God promised David on oath
will be fulfilled. Psa 116:6 The LORD protects the
simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. The term simplehearted
is the opposite of being cunning,
greedy, exploitative, and in our walk through life, we come across
many people like this! And to be
perfectly honest, they are not nice people to be around. If you want peace of mind – ignore and
avoid them! Psa 116:7 Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to
you. You can have peace of mind when you trust
in God. He is able to turn any
situation to our advantage. The fact
is that God is always quick to demonstrate this when we truly repent and turn
to Him. Psa 116:8 For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, Psa 116:9 that I may walk
before the LORD in the land of the
living. Psa 116:10 I believed; therefore I said, "I am greatly afflicted." It’s a fact of life that people only believe God when they’re afflicted. Their affliction becomes the trigger for
taking stock of themselves. David
understood this. What then, does it take
to believe God? Well, apart from the
penalty for disobedience that leads to affliction, the first step is to start
disbelieving
the lies that have been
thrust upon you by others. Psa 116:11 And in my dismay I said,
"All men are liars." This may seem to be a radical statement, but it is true! Anyone who is not a bearer of Truth is
a liar! Every statement
they make eventually morphs into a lie.
You see this again and again.
Such people begin with a fact, and then twist it to serve their own
interest. Since we’re speaking of believing God, these people
tend to aspire to a position behind the pulpit to become your ‘spiritual’ mentors. Just be aware they are lying to you – and
they know it! Especially when
they relate the stories they have
made up! Peter mentions this
in 2Pet 2:2-3
“Many will follow their shameful ways and will
bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with STORIES THEY
HAVE MADE UP. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and
their destruction has not
been sleeping.” Their sickening, syrupy stories, which are
designed to get you all emotional, are just a pack of lies to make you feel
good and to demean the message of God.
Peter goes on to state what their end will be! Psa 116:12 How can I repay the LORD for
all his goodness to me? This should be fairly
obvious by now! Your journey to repaying
the LORD is to repent of your disobedience and to start obeying Him! This will require you to stop listening to
liars and to start believing the Scriptures – especially the Law and the
Prophets. Psa 116:13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on
the name of the LORD. This is the next
step. I’m sure we’re all aware of the
meaning of the Cup of Salvation. Jesus Christ explained it thoroughly to the
12 Apostles just before His death.
This is the Passover! Anyone who fails to observe it has no part
with Christ. It was a solemn
undertaking that those who take of the Body and Blood of Christ are prepared
to follow Him. The Cup of Salvation guarantees us
a place in the resurrection of the children of God provided it’s done
in a worthy manner. An
example of an unworthy manner is to observe it on any day you like
and refer to it as the ‘Lord’s supper’ instead of the Passover! This is
treating the Lord’s Blood with contempt and denying Him as the Passover
Lamb. The Apostle Paul pointed out that this is
why many people have died – because of their contempt for such a Holy
Observance! 1Cor 11:27-32 “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the CUP OF THE LORD in an unworthy manner will be guilty
of sinning against the body and blood
of the Lord. 28 A man ought to examine himself before he
eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats
and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many among you are weak and
sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31 But if we
judged
ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32 When we are judged by
the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will
not
be condemned with the world.” Paul was
actually referring to these verses in the Book of Psalms when he made that
comment. It’s a sad thing when
people become weak and sick
and then die. In some cases – as
Paul mentioned, they have only themselves to blame. The reason being they brought judgment on themselves. The truth is that some died as a warning to
others that they might take the warning seriously. The lesson is that we must judge ourselves so that we don’t
come under judgment. It doesn’t mean, however, that
none of us will face death. Jesus
Christ didn’t face God’s judgment because He never sinned,
but still He had to face death. He was
the Passover Lamb to be slaughtered.
Those who partake in the Passover, who eat and drink the Body and
Blood of the Passover Lamb, are taking a vow to follow Him. Psa 116:14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his
people. There are implied vows
with the observance of the Passover. Psa 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Those who observe the Passover in a worthy
manner are called Saints, and it’s only the death of these who are precious
in God’s eyes. Death to these Saints
is a guarantee of life in the hereafter!
These are the sons
of God’s Family and they
are precious to Him! The deaths of God’s children are precious
because to God it’s as if they were still alive. Their resurrection is assured and they will
live forever. Psa 116:16 O LORD, truly I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son
of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. The reference to the ‘maidservant’ is a reference to the
‘Woman’
we spoke of earlier. The offspring
of the Woman will indeed be servants
of God. Satan himself is going
to come after them to destroy them for a 3½ year period, but they will
eventually be freed of their chains;
that is, captivity and slavery. Psa 116:17 I will sacrifice a thank
offering to you and call on the name of the LORD. It will be a joyous day when they are freed whether in life or in
death, and their fulfilled vows
will be known in the presence of
God’s people. Psa 116:18 I will fulfill my vows to the
LORD in the presence of all his people, Psa 116:19 in the courts of the house of the LORD-- in
your midst, O PSALM 117 Psa 117:1 Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all
you peoples. When the Some nations will choose
to behave themselves for a while, while other nations will be foaming at the
mouth. It would be obvious to everyone
today who these satanic forces are who would be upset after losing their
mosque and then seeing a Placating these evil
hordes hasn’t benefited Christian church organizations much, has it? In their defeatist minds, the Psa 117:2 For great is his love toward
us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD. Anyone who doesn’t remain
faithful to God should not expect any
corresponding faithfulness from Him!
Such people will be on their own! PSALM 118 The true servants of God
do remain faithful to Him in all circumstances. They understand the stakes involved – just
as Jesus Christ did when He fulfilled His Passover obligations and went as the
Sacrificial Lamb to His death. While life seems to be
precious now, soon death will be everywhere and very commonplace. Many will die, and will never live
again. Others, who remain faithful to
God, will live again – just as Jesus did.
Jesus Christ set the example of trusting in God for deliverance from
the dead. The very same Spirit that
raised Jesus from the dead will also raise those who remain faithful to God: Rom 8:11
“And if the Spirit of him who
raised Jesus from the dead is living
in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give
life to your mortal bodies THROUGH
HIS SPIRIT, who lives in you.” If this SPIRIT is not living in
you, then you will be dead forever! There is, of
course, another consideration. There
are many people who received the Spirit of God and didn’t remain
faithful to Him! So what is the
outcome for them? Do they get a second
chance? Well, of all the people on the
face of the earth, these alone will be brought up for judgment and they will
face trial. In all trials, the judges
have a range of options ranging from acquittal to punishment or in the most
extreme cases – the death penalty! Let’s be
practical about this; no-one likes delivering a death sentence, but those who
paid the ultimate price for their faithfulness to God will be the ones
judging them. These will be in a
position to know the gravity of the unfaithfulness of the guilty and will
view their unfaithfulness as a severe offense. Particularly since the guilty were warned
in advance. It’s a bit
like baptism, where one descends into the depths and then rises to life. This is the point when we commit ourselves
to obedience to God even if we must sacrifice our lives in martyrdom. Down through the centuries, there have been
many Christians who obeyed God throughout their lives and eventually
died. They were given God’s Holy
Spirit and lived by it. But even so,
they may not have done anything that distinguished them in any way. Perhaps they didn’t face a situation where
they had to put their lives on the line through faith. So there are shades of faithfulness which
must be determined through judgment. Soon the
severest test of all will be coming on the earth. One of the wildest and most vicious of all
monsters in the spirit world will seize power and enforce the worship of
himself. As proof of their obedience
to him, people will be required to accept his mark on their hands and their
foreheads. Furthermore, he will cause
those to be killed who refuse his mark.
This is to be the greatest martyrdom of the saints of all time. It will be make-or-break time for
them. As things presently stand, most
Christians will unhesitatingly accept the mark of the beast believing that
God will forgive them for acting under duress. However, the Saints will have an entirely
different view! They will see it as a
betrayal of God and will firmly resist this beast, even knowing that
martyrdom will result. In fact, this
is what we just read about earlier in Psa
116:14-15 “I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in
the presence of all his people.
Precious in the sight of the
LORD is the death of his saints.”
The death of
God’s Saints will be very precious to God.
This goes to illustrate the difference between professing Christians and the true Saints. If death becomes an impediment to
faithfulness to God, then we are not worthy of Him. You’ll notice that death was no impediment
to the Lord Jesus Christ! He accepted death in martyrdom to
prove His faithfulness to His Father. Anyone who doesn’t have
the mind of Christ and His determination, will find themselves in severe
trouble: Rev
14:9-12 “A third angel followed them and
said in a loud voice: "If
anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead
or on the hand, 10 he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury,
which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be
tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the
Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for
those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives
the mark of his name." 12 This calls for patient
endurance on the part of THE SAINTS who OBEY GOD'S COMMANDMENTS and remain faithful to Jesus.” The Saints will have to endure to the end,
and if this means death then this is required! It happened to Jesus and therefore you must
be faithful to Him and follow Him.
Failure to do so will lose your life forever! And this is the type of faithfulness that
God demands. You’ll notice that the SAINTS are described
as those WHO OBEY GOD’S
COMMANDMENTS – and remain faithful to Jesus! Psa 118:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for
he is good; his love endures forever. The Saints are the ones who give thanks to the LORD because
they know that God has good reasons for putting them to the test. He required it of His Son Jesus, and the Saints know that this is the
standard required by Him, and they also know that God’s love will prevail
over death. Psa 118:2 Let On present trends, the
Tribes of Israel are not of the mindset to acknowledge God as the
Deliverer. They think they know the
way to peace, and it’s their misguided strategy that is causing the
problem. Yet it should be noted that
God has reserved for Himself certain people from among the Tribes of Israel
for service to Him. As the largest
Christian nation on earth, All these things must be
accomplished, and as in days of old, the House of Aaron from the Tribe of
Levi will be at the helm to facilitate it.
This is the way that God does things, and we have the example of John
the Baptist, who was of the House of Aaron, and it was he whom God sent to
prepare the way for the Lord Christ.
This is the way it will be in the last days. Psa 118:3 Let the house of Aaron say: "His love endures forever." The importance of the House of Aaron cannot
be underestimated, because they will be the lifeline to many people. It’s from these many people that the faithful
will emerge. They will have learned
that God is the One to fear
– not
the enemy! Psa 118:4 Let those who fear the LORD say: "His
love endures forever." This will be said in a
time of severe trouble, yet there will be worse to come. We spoke about the coming ‘beast’ earlier
and the mark he will enforce. The
Prophet Daniel also spoke of this: Dan 7:19-22 “Then I
wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from
all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws--the
beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever
was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head
and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell--the
horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth
that spoke boastfully. 21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the SAINTS and
defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the
saints of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed
the kingdom.” From
these last two verses, we can plainly see the time setting for these
things. In the interim, the SAINTS will suffer, and they
will have to endure to the end. The
Saints won’t be alone in this; their fellow Israelites will also be suffering
the same fate of defeat and captivity, but it’s the Saints whom God will
listen to: Psa 118:5 In my anguish I cried to the
LORD, and he answered by setting me
free. As Daniel says, the time will come when they
will possess the Psa 118:6 The LORD is with me; I will not
be afraid. What
can man do to me? We all know what man can
do to us, because we see it happening all the time! The point is that we should not be dwelling
on these things, because what God can do is far worse. Mankind can kill you now, but God can kill
you forever. Yet if we remain faithful
to God He will redeem us from the grave.
Jesus Christ Himself has proven this for us! Those, whom God is with,
will receive His help. And they will TRIUMPH over their enemies: Psa 118:7 The LORD is with me; he is my
helper. I will look in TRIUMPH on my enemies. Jesus Christ Himself set us this example, because this is exactly what
He did after He was killed by the demons of the spirit realm: Col 2:15
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he
made a public spectacle of them, TRIUMPHING over them by the cross.” Peter goes even
further by identifying these treacherous demon creatures and describes the
punishment they received for their evil deeds of long ago: 1Pet 3:18-22
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the
righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
19 through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison 20 who disobeyed long ago when
God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.
In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21
and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of
dirt from the body but the pledge
of a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right
hand--with angels, authorities and
powers in submission to him.” Jesus actually went to
the demons that were in prison and preached to them, triumphing over them by
the Cross – from which He was made alive again through God’s Holy
Spirit. You can imagine that Jesus’
words to these demons in prison were not well-received! Yet they certainly learned that the Lord
Jesus has absolute authority over
them. These demons were
imprisoned in the Abyss, and one of these will emerge as the entity we spoke
of earlier – the Beast: Rev 17:8 “The beast,
which you saw, once was, now is not, and will
come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants
of the earth whose names have not been written in the
book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see
the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.” So we can see
that there are some pretty nasty creatures living in the Abyss today, and the
time will come when they will be released. Psa 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
Trusting in man
is never a good idea! They’re
notorious for giving bad advice. It’s
not only better, but essential, that we take refuge in the LORD Himself, and
this requires us to follow all His instructions. A large proportion of God’s instructions
come through His servants, whom He has sent to guide you. Psa 118:9 It is better to take refuge
in the LORD than to trust in princes. Well it goes without
saying today that there are ‘princes’ or rulers of the people who give very
bad advice today. Central to the
interests of the largest Israelite nation on earth today – Yet, half the people
still don’t regret what they’ve done!
Even worse, half the people fully support Obama’s push to destroy the
Israelis. He’s done this by supporting
the Muslim nations that surround the Meanwhile in the Holy
Land, God’s might and power will descend on those nations that surround the Psa 118:10 All the nations surrounded
me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. This is actually speaking of As we earlier pointed
out, the House of Aaron
must make its entrance, just as it formerly did with John the Baptist, who
was born into the House of Aaron
(Luke 1:5),
which is the Levite Priesthood. This
priesthood will be located in Psa 118:11 They surrounded me on every
side, but in the name of the LORD
I
cut them off. This term ‘cut
them off’ is a rather humorous, descriptive term for killing them as we see in the
next verse: Psa 118:12 They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning
thorns; in the name of the LORD I
cut them off. Swarming is something the Muslim hordes have been doing a lot of lately! When they have no Jews or Christians to
kill, they resort to killing each other.
Right across the Middle East and This represents the
preliminaries of the emergence of the House of Aaron, which is prophesied to
establish the House of David.
Formerly, it was the Levite Priest and Prophet Samuel who established
the House of David by anointing David king over all Once again, the Levite
priesthood will establish this tie, and this is how it will happen: Zech 12:1-9
“This is the word of the LORD concerning Here we see that As we continue the verses
in the Book of Zechariah, we find the leaders of From this moment on, the
House of Judah and the Sons of Jerusalem will meld to become one as the House
of David. This is the combination of
the royal House of Judah and the Levite Priesthood, and God will ensure the
safety of the rest of Judah: V7 “The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first,
so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's
inhabitants may not be greater than that of
Judah. As Jesus Christ said, “Salvation comes from the Jews”
(John 4:22),
and Christianity had better get used to this!
These verses from the Book of Zechariah detail the beginnings of
salvation and the establishment of the God states that He will
shield As for the fiction that
God has rejected the Jews in favour of Christianity, the reverse is
true. Remember what the Apostle Paul
said in relation to the Jews? This is
what he said: Rom
3:1-4 “What advantage, then, is there in
being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First
of all, they have been entrusted
with the very words of God. 3 What if some did not have
faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? 4 Not
at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar. As it is written:
"So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you
judge." Paul asks the question “What
advantage is there in being a Jew?”
And he says, much in every way! It was to the Jews that God
entrusted the Scriptures! And
it’s just as well He did! If it were
up to Christians today, the Scriptures that Jesus, Paul and all the Apostles
used would be discarded as being no longer necessary. Yet in this very passage from the Book of
Romans, Paul quotes from Psalm 51:4. Psalm 51 is sometimes
called the repentance chapter, and with good reason. This is what it says in V10-19 “Create in me a pure
heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not
cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to
sustain me. 13 Then I
will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back
to you.” How are
you going to teach transgressors
God’s ways if you reject the Law and the Prophets? Sin
is the transgression of God’s Law, and the wages of sin is death – as all Christians should
know! Anyone who chooses
to go on sinning should expect to face death.
V14
“Save me
from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my
tongue will sing of your righteousness.” Bloodguilt
is what the wages of sin is
all about. V15 “O
Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You
do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in
burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18
In your good pleasure make Paul stated that there is
much advantage in every way to being a Jew.
Apart from stating that they were entrusted
with the very words of God, he didn’t really elaborate further. But he did direct us to Psalm 51,
which we’ve just covered. So do
Christians today really believe there is much advantage in being a Jew? Not really!
They castigate the Jews for rejecting Jesus Christ and consider them
to be inferior. It’s quite funny that
they take this view, since they themselves reject the Law and the Prophets
and refuse to obey God’s Law. The
Jews, on the other hand, have preserved the Sacred Scriptures for thousands
of years, and have steadfastly held to obedience to God’s Law. The Apostle John had this
to say: John
1:1-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with
God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without
him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The
light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” Jesus Christ is the very embodiment of God’s Word – the
Holy Scriptures. This is
why we refer to them as the Sacred Scriptures. When
John wrote this, the Old Testament was the only Sacred
Scriptures! And who preserved these? It was the Jews! So who do the Jews worship? They worship the God of the Old Testament –
and
that God is Jesus Christ!
It’s only Christians today who don’t believe this, yet the early
Christians did! The Apostle Paul
confirmed it: 1Cor
10:1-4 “For I do not want you to
be ignorant of the fact,
brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all
passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the
cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from THE SPIRITUAL ROCK that accompanied them, AND THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST.” How could
Christianity fail to understand this?
Paul specifically said he didn’t want them to be ignorant of this fact, and what do we find today? Christianity is ignorant of this fact! The fact is that some Christians are
ignorant of many facts! There are some
who believe Hitler and the Nazis were doing God a favour in exterminating the
Jews. What these Christians don’t
realize is that the Jews were doing them a service in order that they might
understand what they are soon to face.
Now isn’t this a paradox? Jesus Christ
plainly said that the Jews know
what they worship: John 4:19-24 “Sir,"
the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our
fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in In their
holier-than-thou attitude, Christians today like to criticize the Jews. They seem to forget that it was the Jews
who took Christianity into the world to be delivered to the ‘lost
sheep of We’ve spoken
at length about the hardships the ‘lost’ Ten Tribes must suffer in the Great
Tribulation, and how those who hoped to be saved must be prepared to face
death while maintaining their faithfulness to God. They must literally follow
Jesus Christ! One would be
hard-pressed to find an example of this type of faithfulness in the history
of the ‘lost’ Ten Tribes. They’ve
never had the mindset or the determination to do such things out of
faithfulness to God. Instead, we must
turn to the history of the Jews
to find such examples, and Daniel describes a perfect example: Dan 3:12-18 “But
there are SOME JEWS whom
you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon--Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego--who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods
nor worship the image of gold you have set up." 13 Furious
with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these
men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to
them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve
my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15
Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and
all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I
made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you
will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will
be able to rescue you from my hand?" 16 Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to
defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown
into the blazing furnace, the God
we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from
your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not,
we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship
the image of gold you have set up." It’s worth
pausing to reflect on this! If we were
standing before a blazing furnace, and about to be thrown into it, would we
be prepared to honour God first and submit to this death, or would we cave in
to the demand to save our lives? Quite
frankly, it takes a Jew to have this type of faith, and it’s their obedience
to God’s Law has instilled
in them this type of faith. These
three Jews flatly refused to disobey the Second Commandment even in the face
of death. This is exactly the
challenge that the House of Israel will face when the mark of the Beast is
introduced! And this brings us back
to the theme of the inhabitants of the City of The fight-back will come
at a very dangerous time, a time when the Jews in the Psa 118:13 I was pushed back and about
to fall, but the LORD helped me. This time they will not
be thrown into a fiery furnace, or gas chambers for that matter, but will be
rescued! Psa 118:14 The LORD is my strength and MY SONG; he has become my salvation.
The Sons of Jerusalem have a theme SONG titled “ It’s perfectly obvious
that mainstream Christianity doesn’t see things God’s way. They are more comfortable siding with God’s
enemies because it inflates their self-righteous egos. Never does it occur to them that if God
plans to live on this earth (and He does!) then He wants
the last vestiges of Satan’s brood removed.
He gave us an example of this with Noah’s flood, which was a
first-class example of God’s
righteous acts. Faced with overwhelming
odds and in danger of serious defeat, the inhabitants of the Psa 118:15 Shouts of joy and VICTORY resound in the tents
of the righteous: "The
LORD's right hand has done mighty things! Psa 118:16 The LORD's right hand is
lifted high; the LORD's right hand
has done mighty things!" The time is coming when
God will ensure that everyone knows that it’s His hand that will bring about
victory, and the nations will be powerless to prevent it. As we learned earlier, anyone who tries to
harm Psa 118:17 I will not die but live, and
will proclaim what the LORD has done.
When all the
nations of the earth are against you, as they will be towards the Israelis in
that day, the prospects will seem very grim!
Yet what they will see with their own eyes will give them the
assurance that they will live and not die. Psa 118:18 The LORD has chastened me severely, but he
has not given me over to death.
Let’s not get all carried away with the sins of the
Israelis. The Israelis are not being chastened for the
sins which are most common among Christianity today, but for another reason
entirely. Unlike Christianity, the
Jews have been faithful to God’s Law, and what is more, they’ve been
entrusted by God to preserve it. What
the Israelis will be chastened
for is because they’ve listened to the advice of the lawless! This is
what got them into trouble in the first place. Why would they be listening to lawless,
Christian nations on how to establish peace with God’s enemies? Especially since the advice is always to
give away GOD’S LAND! Does Christianity really believe that God
would favour this type of advice? What
sort of reasoning is this? Now here’s a remarkable
thing! The next verse speaks of OPENING the Gates of Righteousness! What is so remarkable about this is that
one of these Gates is sealed shut – and it was done by the enemies of God. Psa 118:19 Open for me the gates
of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. The Gates of Righteousness are the Gates of
the City of And this is the Gate that
will be OPENED: Psa 118:20 This is the gate of the LORD through which
the righteous may
enter. There is a Gate called the King’s Gate (sometimes
called the Golden Gate) and it faces east towards the
So it will be that the
Jews will witness a remarkable event and they will know that this is the might and power of God. Psa 118:21 I will give you thanks, for
you answered me; you have become my
salvation. Christians talk a lot
about salvation, but they have yet to learn what it means. The Book of Psalms was written by a Prophet
of God, and the Prophets of God know what salvation means. Psa 118:22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; Psa 118:23 the LORD has done this, and
it is marvelous in our eyes. If there remains any
doubt about whom the Cornerstone
is, then the Apostle Peter, speaking to Christian converts, makes it very
clear in these verses: 1Pet 2:4-8 “As you
come to HIM, the living Stone--rejected by
men but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5 you also, like
living stones, are being
built into a spiritual house to be
a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Psa 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad
in it. And what day is
this? We’ve just been referring to the
Book of Zechariah, the 12th chapter, which refers to these
events. Go to the 12th
Chapter of Zechariah and note the opening words of verses 3, 4, and
6. You’ll find these words are “On
that day”. Psa 118:25 O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Success is assured for those who
have remained faithful and obedient to God Psa 118:26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless
you. Aren’t the opening words of this verse the precise
words Jesus spoke to those
in Isn’t it odd that many Christians today favour the Muslim hordes over the Jews for rights to this Holy site? It’s the most sacred place on earth, and these Christians are determined to give it to Islam! And how do they justify this? Well, they do it by misreading the previous passage of Scripture, which they believe relates to the Jews: Matt 23:33-36 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? 34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. 35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the BLOOD OF RIGHTEOUS ABEL to the BLOOD OF ZECHARIAH SON OF BEREKIAH, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.” First of all, when Jesus referred to this generation of snakes and vipers, who was He referring to? He made this clear in the Garden of Eden when He addressed the devil: Gen 3:14-15 “ So the LORD
God said to the serpent,
"Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the
livestock and all the wild animals! You
will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between YOUR OFFSPRING
and hers; he will crush
your head, and you will strike his heel." So
the serpent has OFFSPRING! This generation
of offspring has existed since the birth of Adam’s offspring, and one
of them was a demon. This was CAIN, and he was a child
of Satan! 1John 3:12 “Do not be like CAIN,
WHO BELONGED TO THE EVIL ONE
and
murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his
own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.” The brother he
murdered was Abel, righteous
Abel, as Jesus puts
it. Cain was one of the brood
of vipers who killed righteous Abel. For those who
think Jesus Christ was addressing the Jews when he spoke of this, then they
should be aware that Jacob,
the
father of And what
about Zechariah, son
of Berekiah, whom these snakes
and vipers murdered between the Let’s look at Luke’s
account of this now: Luke 11:47-51 “Woe to
you, because you build tombs for
the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed
them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what
your forefathers did; they killed
the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49
Because of this, God in his wisdom said, `I will send them prophets and
apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' 50
Therefore this generation will
be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the
beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood
of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary.
Yes, I tell you, this generation
will be held responsible for it all.” Just remember what we read earlier about
Jesus going and preaching to the demons
in hell and triumphing over them.
We just read this in Matt 23:23 “You snakes!
You brood of vipers! How
will you escape being condemned to hell?” There are 50,000,000 of these demons
on earth, and they are all going to be condemned
to hell – along with their father Satan! A great many of these demons worm their way
into human affairs and seek to control them.
It’s hardly surprising that they sometimes appear as angels of
light. As Luke points out, they arrange
to kill the prophets, and then pontificate about building tombs for them to
allay suspicion from themselves. This
is the way they’ve conducted themselves since the day when they killed
righteous Abel! What is even more
bizarre, this evil brood of vipers controls the tombs of the Prophets and
frequently bar the Jews from visiting them.
There’s the tomb of the Patriarchs in Satan has been
surprisingly tolerant of mainstream Christianity because they don’t pose a
threat to his overall strategy. Since
they don’t obey God, they are very easy to manipulate. Already Satan has the majority of Christian
groups calling for the destruction of the Jews in favour of Islam. They are indeed, very ‘useful idiots’! Yet Satan knows he still faces a challenge,
and this challenge will come from those Christians who emulate the Jews and
remain faithful to God and His Laws.
God the Father, who provided the revelation of the Book of Revelation
and gave it to His Son Jesus, made it clear what must soon take place (Rev 1:1),
makes it very clear about Satan’s furious conduct in these last days. And this revelation provides us with these
details: Rev
12:13-17 “When the dragon saw that he
had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the
male child. 14 The woman
was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place
prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time,
times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. 15 Then
from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman
and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the
woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had
spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged
at the woman and went off
to make war against the rest of her
offspring--THOSE WHO OBEY
GOD'S COMMANDMENTS and hold to the TESTIMONY OF
JESUS.” It’s true that
we often quote these verses, but the significance of it is very important
because it will be a major event! As we all know,
Christianity-in-general doesn’t OBEY GOD’S COMMANDMENTS, but
the
Psa 118:27 The LORD is God, and he has
made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join
in the festal procession up
to the horns of the altar. Do you recognize this
procession? Do you still recall how
Jesus Christ fulfilled it while on earth?
And how it was enacted to fulfill
the words of the Prophet? That
Prophet was Zechariah. Remember how He
rode into the City of Just a special note on
how the Lord Christ will arrive. These
are the words of the angel that addressed the Apostles at the time of His
departure: Acts
1:10 “They were looking intently up into
the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside
them. 11 "Men of
Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into
the sky? This same Jesus,
who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into
heaven." And n0w back to the Book
of Zechariah: V11
“As for you, because
of the blood of my covenant
with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.” The Blood
of the Covenant is with the Jews – the keepers of the Holy
Places. But we should be aware that
Jesus Christ made a new Covenant (Luke 22:20) to include His followers, the
Church, for generations to come, which was enacted on the night of the Passover, immediately before
His death. All those who emulate the
Jews and remain faithful and obedient to God are included in the Blood of the Covenant. So who is being addressed with the words “As for you”? It’s speaking of Ephraim – those who
observe the Blood of the Covenant, that is, the Churches of God – and the defenders of the Holy City
Jerusalem, the faithful Jews. All these will be freed from the waterless
pit. V12 “Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now
I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.” The great rescue will be underway! Any nation that resists handing over these
particular prisoners will be pounded to death and left a ruin. This destruction will be particularly
applicable to all the nations that surround the Back to the Book of
Zechariah: V14
“Then the
LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The
Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south, 15
and the LORD Almighty will shield them (those of the Blood of the Covenant). They will destroy
and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they
will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar. 16
The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people.
They will sparkle in HIS
LAND like jewels in a crown.”
The reference to ‘overcoming with slingstones’ is a
reference to David, when he destroyed the giant Goliath with a slingstone. Goliath mistakenly believed David to be a
defenseless young man! How
wrong he was! This will
prove to be quite prophetic when the House
of David begins to make their mark in the region. And just one point about the last verse
here; did you notice whose Land it is? It’s God’s Land! So all those fake Christians
who think the Psa 118:28 You are my God, and I will
give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. It will be a time of widespread rejoicing in God’s Land when His
people overcome their enemies. The
enemy will be bristling with sophisticated weapons, which will prove useless
against God’s shield, and
then they’ll see the evidence of what hand-held weapons can do. These weapons of God will be in the hands
of His servants. We heard of the power
of these when Psa 118:29 Give thanks to the LORD, for
he is good; his love endures forever. God’s love for His people
will endure forever. When God redeems
the remnant of the House of Israel, they’ll have learned a severe lesson, and
they will be thankful for the opportunity to live in God’s Land! The
Land He gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob forevermore! PSALM 119 This is the beginning of a very long Psalm, with each section of
verses starting with a Hebrew alphabetic letter; the first being Aleph. All 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet are
used. Special
note: The NIV version has an irritating habit of translating ‘Commandments’ as ‘commands’ – especially in this Psalm. And they are not even consistent with
it. Sometimes it’s one, another time
it’s the other. So, all instances in
this Psalm have been corrected to ‘Commandments’. It may be that in an English translation,
the translators believe that ‘commands’
and ‘commandments’ mean the same
thing – which they do, but Commandments is
referencing God’s Ten Commandments,
and this distinction should be made! IN view of all we’ve been
reading, it should come as no surprise that this entire Psalm is about obedience
to God and His Law. Throughout the whole 176 verses we are
reminded again and again of the importance
of obedience to God. Aleph Psa 119:1 Blessed are they whose ways are
blameless, who walk
according to the law of the LORD.
Anyone who walks
in the way of the LORD by keeping
His Law will be found blameless. And this sets the theme for this whole
Psalm! It naturally follows that those
who refuse to walk
according to God’s Law will not be blameless, and they
are destined to find this out the hard way. Psa 119:2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes and
seek him with all their heart.
God has no
interest in half-hearted people. What
is more, neither is He interested in the mere lip-service of the Christians
today. Anyone who is not wholehearted
in complete obedience to God in everything they do is hardly in a position to
consider themselves His servant. God
Himself sets the standards of worship, and we will all be judged according to what we do. Psa 119:3 They do nothing wrong; they walk in his ways.
Everything we do
must be in accordance with God’s ways.
Anything short of this is unacceptable. God’s servants do walk in God’s ways and
faithfully obey His Laws. Psa 119:4 You have laid down precepts that are
to be fully obeyed. Well this says it all,
doesn’t it? It’s not up to us to
decide what we will obey or not. All
of God’s Precepts, Statutes and Laws must be fully obeyed. Psa 119:5 Oh, that my ways were
steadfast in obeying your decrees! If Christianity were to develop this type of steadfastness in obeying
God, they would find some big improvements in their lives. Everything they do in their lives is
meaningless if they refuse to obey their Creator God. Psa 119:6 Then I would not
be put to shame when I consider all your commandments. There will be plenty of shame to go around in the Day of Reckoning for those who refuse to consider God’s
Commandments. For Ephraim and the Churches
of God who reside there, their
sins are presently being stock-piled as the Prophet Hosea says in Hos 13:12-15
“The
guilt of Ephraim is stored up, his sins are kept on record.
13 Pains as of a woman in childbirth come to him, but he is a
child without wisdom; when the time arrives, he does not come to the opening
of the womb. 14 "I will ransom them from the power of the
grave; I will redeem them from death.
Where, O DEATH, are
your plagues? Where, O
GRAVE, is your destruction? "I will have no compassion, 15
even though he thrives among his brothers.
An east wind from the LORD will come, blowing in from the desert; his
spring will fail and his well dry up. His storehouse will be plundered of
all its treasures.” We
were talking about the shame that comes from disobedience to God’s
Commandments, and although Ephraim has survived for centuries in their
disobedience, all the while their sins were being stored up – until the DAY OF RECKONING comes. Death
and Grave are two powerful
demon rulers who are mentioned by name in Rev 6:7-8. These two are specifically given power of the sword (war),
and the power of famines and
plagues (same verse). It should be noted that Grave’s name is translated as
‘Hades’
in the New Testament. As for the Day of Reckoning, it’s also
the Prophet Hosea that mentions this: Hos 5:9 “Ephraim will be laid waste on
the DAY OF RECKONING. Among the tribes of Psa 119:7 I will praise you with an upright
heart as I learn your
righteous laws. It’s never too late to
learn God’s righteous Laws and to turn to Him in obedience. Mind you, if you only do it as a last
resort, then this would not be the sort of mindset that God favours. He seeks the wholeheartedness of an upright heart. Psa 119:8 I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. If you don’t obey God’s instructions then He will forsake you in the
most perilous time of your life. Beth Psa 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. Young men do have problems today – especially in matters of sexual
purity. This relates to the type of
sexual promiscuity that has developed in the Western nations. Even worse, homosexuality has become
rampant and efforts are underway to teach homosexual techniques in our
schools. Half the population seems to
believe there is nothing wrong with it.
It’s enough to make your flesh crawl to see men marrying men, while
trying not to visualize their disgusting behaviour in the bedroom. Psa 119:10 I seek you with all my heart;
do
not let me stray from your commandments. It’s one thing to stray from God’s Commandments, but another entirely
to refuse to obey them. From time to
time, anyone might stray temporarily in a moment of weakness or distraction,
and in such cases God is willing to forgive, subject to a repentant
attitude. In the troubled world in
which we live, perfection is allusive, but it’s to the degree that we strive
for it that is all important. Psa 119:11 I have hidden your word in my
heart that I might not sin against you. Sin is the transgression
of God’s Law (1John
3:4). Any disobedience to
God’s Law is sin! Psa 119:12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. This is the great equalizer.
Those who are willing to learn
God’s ways are on the path to righteousness. Psa 119:13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. Psa 119:14 I rejoice in following your statutes as
one rejoices in great riches.
This would be
unusual indeed for most people, but the servants of God hold to this view. Psa 119:15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. Psa 119:16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. Yes, well neglecting God’s Word is becoming commonplace today. Most of God’s Word is sneered at today –
especially the Old Testament. This is
a little odd when one considers that these were the Scriptures that Jesus and
all His disciples used. They were the only
Scriptures that existed at
that time. Gimel Psa 119:17 Do good to your servant, and
I will live; I will obey your word. Those who want to live
must
obey God’s Word. The Law and the Prophets is God’s
Word. Convincing Christianity of this
today is a losing battle, and this is why God has reserved special treatment
for them. He doesn’t promise they will
live through it, but He does promise they will live again if
they obey Him. Psa 119:18 Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. There are many wonderful things in God’s Law! For instance, would you like to see the 6th
Commandment repealed, so that everyone can go around murdering others at
will? Well those who have treated
God’s Law with contempt are about to see this type of lawlessness
proliferate! Those who refused to live
by God’s Law will soon be living in a world where there is no law. This is the time Hosea spoke of, called the
Day of Reckoning. The Prophet Isaiah
also spoke of it: Isa 10:3-4 “What will
you do on the DAY OF RECKONING,
when
disaster comes from afar? To
whom will you run for help? Where will
you leave your riches? 4 Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives or
fall among the slain.” Psa 119:19 I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commandments from me.
Well those who
obey God’s Law are strangers to the ways of the world – a point that is made
in the Book of Hebrews: Heb 11:13-16 “All
these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive
the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.
And they admitted that they were aliens and STRANGERS ON EARTH. 14
People who say such things show
that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If
they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had
opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore
God is not ashamed to be called
their God, for he has prepared
a city for them.” Preparing a City for the Saints
is God’s primary goal in these last days.
Naturally enough, that City is Psa 119:20 My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times. The upside to this is that those who long for God’s Laws always, can
expect God’s deliverance. Those who
obey God’s Law see evidence all the time of God’s helping hand in their
lives. Psa 119:21 You rebuke the
arrogant, who are cursed and who stray
from your commandments. This is the other side of the coin!
Generally speaking, those who don’t obey God’s Law find themselves
stumbling through life constantly facing adversity and problems. It’s the curse of disobedience!
And then there is the arrogant!
In total defiance of God, these insist that they have no obligation to
obey God. Some of them stand in the
pulpit and arrogantly
proclaim this, and in so doing, bring a curse
on the whole congregation. Then they
have the arrogance and the
gall to offer them ‘counseling’! Psa 119:22 Remove from me scorn and
contempt, for I keep your statutes.
It can be quite amazing at times to see
this. Frequently, those who exhibit
scorn and contempt for the Saints of God find themselves with insurmountable
problems of their own. And even
death! There are times when
contemptuous people should learn to shut their mouths! Psa 119:23 Though rulers sit together
and slander me, your servant will meditate
on your decrees. It’s a sign of the times
that our rulers are now becoming anti-Christian. Psa 119:24 Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors. If you want to learn the ways of our Creator God, then the Scriptures
are the place to go. Understandably,
if we don’t learn from the Law and
the Prophets, then we would fail every time. The whole Plan of God is hidden in the Law
and the Prophets, and only the obedient are capable of understanding it. Daleth Psa 119:25 I am laid low in the dust;
preserve my life according to your word. Psa 119:26 I recounted (recanted) my ways
and you answered me; teach me your decrees. So there is hope for those who
recant their own ways in favour of God’s ways. Psa 119:27 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts;
then I will meditate on your wonders. Psa 119:28 My soul is weary with sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word. Psa 119:29 Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to
me through your law. Deceitful ways! Now here’s an
apt yardstick for describing our present civilization. The big ticket-item today is the myth of ‘man-made global warming’, which is now
called ‘climate change’ when it
became evident that the earth is in a period of cold climatic
temperatures. The underlying
philosophy is steeped in mythology about honouring ‘Gaia’, the Greek goddess of the earth. The underlying tenet is that we must
appease this ‘goddess’ or she will
get angry with us. In Psa 119:30 I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my
heart on your laws. The way of Truth is
exemplified in God’s Law. Without obedience to one you will not find
the other! I know this is not the
thinking of most Christians today, but they are destined to learn the hard
way. Psa 119:31 I hold fast to your statutes, O LORD; do not
let me be put to shame. Generally speaking, those
who hold fast to God’s Statutes and Laws will not be put to
shame. These days, such people are in
the minority. Psa 119:32 I run in the path of your commandments, for you have set my heart
free. If you want to be free, then obey
God’s Commandments! Otherwise, expect to lose your freedom and
become prisoners – and not “prisoners of hope”! “Prisoners of hope” are a
different category altogether. These
will be set free. He Psa 119:33 Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I
will keep them to THE END. We’ve been speaking a lot about the
end. In fact, there is a
specific mention of the end,
which we should all be familiar with, in 1Cor 15:24-25 “Then
THE END will
come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after
he
has destroyed all dominion,
authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.” This is the end we’ve spoken about so much. We’ve also spoken about those who follow God’s Decrees right
to THE END. The
Lord Christ will reign
while He is putting all His enemies under His feet. All these He will destroy! Psa 119:34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it
with all my heart. The truth is that God gives
understanding to all those who obey His Law.
It should be evident to most people that those who don’t obey God’s
Law have very little understanding of anything. You just have to listen to television ‘evangelists’ to understand the truth
of this. Psa 119:35 Direct me in the path of your commandments, for
there I find delight. You may not find delight
if you are reluctant to do it though! Psa 119:36 Turn my heart toward your statutes and not
toward selfish gain. Selfish gain is something that will quickly diminish in the days ahead
when mere survival will be the order of the day! Psa 119:37 Turn my eyes away from
worthless things; preserve my life
according
to your word. God set before the House
of Israel the choice between life and death, and He counseled them to choose
life. Deut 30:19-20 “This
day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death,
blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and
your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD
your God, listen to his voice,
and
hold fast to him. For
the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he
swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Psa 119:38 Fulfill your promise to your
servant, so that you may be feared. Fearing God is not something one might generally learn from the
pulpit or from television evangelists.
Modern-day preachers seem to believe that God is obligated to give
everyone rewards in the afterlife. They
might learn differently if they did some boning-up on the Scriptures – especially those
which Jesus and the Apostles always quoted from. Psa 119:39 Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. Disgrace is something that all
television evangelists and fake Christians are going to have to get used
to. Yet they can be consoled to some
extent that the Jews have suffered disgrace
already
– even though they obeyed God’s Laws. In the
period of rewards and punishment, the Jews are going to fare very much better
than disobedient Christians. Remember
how Jesus said that “salvation is of the Jews”? They’ll be called to God’s service in order
that Christians will be saved. Christians will be
pleased to learn that Jews are not as unforgiving as they are!
Because of their understanding of God’s Law, they will show mercy for
you, even in spite of your ungodly persecution of them. There are none so blind as those who won’t
see! Christianity should know that the
Mighty Hand of God has protected the fledgling Christianity has chosen
to hate God’s Laws and to persecute those who keep them. An impartial judge would be quick to
deliver condemnation against them. And
this will be the end result. Psa 119:40 How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your
righteousness. In the dark days ahead,
you will either long for God’s
precepts or lose your life forever!
The Apostles and Prophets have spoken of the perilous times ahead, and
they’ve made it very clear that it will be a dog-eat-dog world. When it comes to a question of survival,
the conduct of people can become very disgusting. They’ll be quick to betray everyone else to
ensure their survival. Waw Psa 119:41 May your unfailing love come
to me, O LORD, your salvation
according to your promise; Psa 119:42 then I will answer the one
who taunts me, for I trust in your
word. Salvation comes as a result of God’s
promises, and not through the imaginings
of lying pastors and teachers. These
lying lunatics teach a form of ‘salvation’
that is totally different from that described in the Law and the Prophets. The reader may not be
aware of this, but there was a prophet around 4BC that was filled with God’s Holy Spirit
(Luke 1:67)
and prophesied about his son John.
This man was also a Levite Priest and served at the Altar of God. His name was Zechariah. This is what he prophesied about his son
John and the meaning of salvation:
Luke 1:67-80
“His
father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 "Praise be to the Lord, the God of So what was John’s role again
as prophesied by his father Zechariah?
V76
“And you,
my
child, will be called a
prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the KNOWLEDGE
OF SALVATION through the forgiveness of their sins, 78
because of the tender mercy of our God, by
which the RISING SUN WILL COME TO US FROM HEAVEN 79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of
peace." 80 And the child grew and became strong
in spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Did John fulfill
everything that was prophesied about him through the Holy Spirit? No! John died prematurely and never
rescued his people from the hand of
the enemy. The same thing
happened to the Lord Christ! He also
died prematurely and
didn’t fulfill it either! It
was clearly a prophecy for a future time, when the RISING SUN will come to us from heaven again. The Book
of the Messenger (Book of Malachi) speaks of Him as
the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS: Mal 4:1-5
“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a
furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day
that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not
a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who
revere my name, the SUN OF
RIGHTEOUSNESS will rise with healing in its wings.
And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3
Then you will trample down the
wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I
do these things," says the LORD Almighty. 4
"Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him
at Horeb for all We should all know what
planet earth’s star is. It’s
the SUN – our bright morning STAR which
heralds in the dawning of a new day. As a matter of fact, Jesus Christ’s final
words to the Churches was
this: Rev
22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to
give you this testimony for the
churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the BRIGHT MORNING STAR." Unfortunately, the Churches have not been
paying attention to our Lord Jesus Christ!
Just to put this in some sort of perspective, Satan was once the Light-Bringer and was called Lucifer. The Lord Jesus is now qualified to replace
Satan or Lucifer and
become the new Light-Bringer. Hence He is called the SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS which will bring in the new
Dawn – which the Apostle
Peter spoke of: 2Pet 1:19-21 “And we
have the word of the prophets made
more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to
it, as to a light shining in a dark place, UNTIL THE DAY DAWNS and the MORNING STAR rises in your hearts. 20
Above all, you must
understand that no prophecy
of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21
For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were
carried along by the Holy Spirit.” You can always tell when someone is not
carried along by the Holy Spirit,
because they make it up as they go along.
Their fanciful interpretations of prophecy are always wrong! In fact, delusional! Psa 119:43 Do not snatch the word of truth from my mouth,
for I have put my hope in your laws. If you want the Truth, then obey God’s Law! God gives His Holy Spirit only
to
those who obey Him! Acts 5:32 “We are witnesses of these things, and
so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey
him." This may come as a shock to some people,
but if they don’t obey God’s
Law, then they don’t have, and have never
had, God’s Holy Spirit! They may have a false spirit,
but they don’t have God’s
Holy Spirit. You can see
plenty of this type of lunacy on Youtube at some of these “charismatic” revivals, where the
participants fall flat on their backs while foaming at the mouth, and in some
cases, barking like dogs. These people
think they’re conjuring up God’s Holy Spirit, but instead, they are activating
demons! For the past 18 years this has
been going on under what is called the Kondalini Awakening or Charismatic
Movement. To see examples of these
demon swarms and the actions of lunatics, click on this link. There’s also part 2 and 3 of this
youtube production. All are equally
shocking. This is the sort of thing
you can expect when you get involved with seducing spirits or demons. At least the author of this youtube production
tells it like it is, though he admits to once being involved in it all. Psa 119:44 I will always obey your law, for ever and ever. Shouldn’t we be listening to a man after God’s own heart – David? As we just learned from Jesus Christ’s own words,
He is both the Root
and Offspring of David (Rev 22:16).
You’ll notice that in the ‘charismatic’
movement, they speak a lot about “the
spirit” but never a word about obeying God! The Kondalini movement has its origins in Hindu paganism, and so those
who obey God’s
Law would immediately be warned away from it by the 2nd
Commandment. Psa 119:45 I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts. In order to understand what God requires of us, we must seek out His
precepts. It’s God who makes the rules
for living standards and behaviour. We
all remember the parable of the prodigal son, don’t we? He took his share of his father’s wealth
and went off to squander it with riotous living and prostitutes. When he was broke and desperate, he sought
to return to his father, hoping his father would allow him back as a common
servant: Luke
15:17-32 “When he came to his senses, he
said, `How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am
starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and
say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I
am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'
20 So he got up and went to his father. "But
while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled
with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and
kissed him.” This younger son
was deeply remorseful having suffered so much adversity, but his father’s
love was undiminished and while he
was still a long way off, his father saw him. V28 “The older brother became angry and
refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29
But he answered his father, `Look! All these years I've been slaving for you
and never disobeyed
your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could
celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has
squandered your property with prostitutes
comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 31 "`My
son,' the father said, `you
are always with me, and everything I have is yours.
32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this
brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was LOST and is found.'" This is a parable, and it has a deeper
meaning. The younger brother who was lost and is now found is Ephraim, the principal Tribe
of “the LOST sheep
of Psa 119:46 I will speak of your statutes before kings and
will not be put to shame, Psa 119:47 for I delight in your commandments because
I love them. Psa 119:48 I lift up my hands to your commandments, which
I love, and I meditate
on your decrees. I think we can see from
these three verses why David is a man after God’s own heart: Acts 13:22
“After removing Saul, he made David their king. He
testified concerning him: `I have
found DAVID son of Jesse A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART; he
will do everything I want him to do.'” Zayin Psa 119:49 Remember your word to your servant, for
you have given me hope. To be a servant of God you
must obey Him,
and
if you do, you will have hope! Psa 119:50 My comfort in my suffering is
this: Your promise preserves my life. This promise is the
one spoken about by Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. He says that God confirmed this
promise to Abraham with an oath. It concerns all Abraham’s offspring through
Isaac and Jacob, and the 12 sons of Psa 119:51 The arrogant mock me without
restraint, but I do not
turn from your law. This is the big
test! We must obey God’s Law in all
circumstances – even in the face of death! This example was set by Jesus Christ
Himself, and His disciples must follow His example! Psa 119:52 I remember your ancient
laws, O LORD, and I find
comfort in them. God’s Laws were already ancient
when David wrote this! They had been
delivered by Moses some four and a half centuries before. What is more, they are not only ancient
but eternal! Psa 119:53 Indignation grips me because of the wicked, who have forsaken your law. This especially applies when one has to listen to the carping and
griping of the wicked, who have forsaken
God’s Law. Indignation would be the kind
response, which falls way short of what they deserve! God has said, “Vengeance is mine – I will
repay!” We find these words
in Heb 10:29-30 “How much more
severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son
of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that
sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30
For we know him who said, "It
is mine to avenge; I will
repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." 31
It is a dreadful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God.” The Book of Hebrews is quoting from the Song of Moses in Deut 32:35 “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their
day of disaster is near and their
doom rushes upon them." More clarity is added to this in the Song of Moses and we also
learn a bit about the meaning of atonement:
V43 “Rejoice, O nations,
with his people, for he will avenge
the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.” You’ll recall
that the Song of Moses will
be sung by the Saints in the last days (Rev 15:3). Psa 119:54 Your decrees are the theme
of my song wherever I lodge. This verse shows that
God’s decrees are His ancient
Law. You don’t often see Christians singing
about God’s Decrees and Laws these days, do you? It they are truly blessed when the new day dawns, they
will be singing the Song of Moses. Psa 119:55 In the night I remember your name, O LORD, and I will keep your law. In just a few verses, we’ll be speaking about the night and the horrors it will hold. Psa 119:56 This has been my practice: I obey your precepts. God’s precepts are everything He has taught us. If we practice these things then we will be
called sons of God. Heth Psa 119:57 You are my portion, O LORD; I
have promised to obey your words. Obeying God’s Words are not high on the agenda of most Christians
today. Some seem to believe it’s
ungodly to obey God. Well, if they
won’t listen to David, of
whom Jesus Christ is the Root and Offspring, they probably won’t
listen to God’s servants either. Psa 119:58 I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious
to me according to your promise. The promise that God made to Abraham on oath has not yet been
fulfilled, but this is the hope of the nations even though they don’t know it
yet! Psa 119:59 I have considered my ways
and have turned my steps to your
statutes. This is a good first
step! Considering our ways leads to repentance towards God. It’s a vital step for anyone who wants to
gain God’s favour. Psa 119:60 I will hasten and not
delay to obey your commandments. In fact, the longer one delays the tougher it will become! It’s a non-negotiable requirement of God. Psa 119:61 Though the wicked bind me with ropes, I will not
forget your law. As we just read in V53, these wicked
are those who have forsaken God’s
Law. In fact they don’t
obey any law.
And anyone who does will be considered
fair game for them. This is when the
long, dark night begins and terror will be everywhere. Psa 119:62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws. This is the midnight
that Jesus spoke of - virtually the last call. Jesus told about it in a parable, generally
called the Parable of the Ten
Virgins. Who then are these
“virgins”? First of all, let’s make it
clear who they are not! Jesus Christ addressed seven Churches
of God in the Book of Revelation – not ten Churches who obey God’s Commandments. So the seven Churches are not the ten
Virgins! The seven Churches are a
scattered group, but still obedient to God.
As we said before, their job is to enlighten the ‘LOST sheep of So who then
is the “Woman” who actually surrounds
the man while he is finding his way along the road signs and guideposts
on the way to the Promised Land? Well
this “Woman” is the House
of David, who gave birth to the man-child Jesus. Jesus is the Son of David; in fact, He is both
the Root and Offspring of David. And now just briefly harkening back to what
Zechariah said about his son John in Luke
1:67 “His father
Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied: 68
"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has
redeemed his people. 69 He
has raised up a horn of salvation
for us in the HOUSE OF HIS SERVANT DAVID…” This horn
or
fighting force will be
raised up in the House of God’s
servant David – in the last days.
And this will be done by the last Elijah. And now back to the
identity of this “Woman”. Rev 12:13-14-15
“When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the
earth, he pursued the WOMAN
who
had GIVEN BIRTH TO THE MALE CHILD. 14 The WOMAN was given the two wings of a
great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the
desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a
time, out of the serpent's reach.” This “Woman”
also has offspring which she will visit at the midnight hour. This is the description of her offspring: V15 “Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a
river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16
But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river
that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the
woman and went off to make
war against the rest of her offspring--those who obey God's commandments and hold
to the testimony of
Jesus.” So this is the
“Woman” which will surround the man Ephraim,
ensuring safe conduct to resettle in their ancient inheritance. And the Churches of God are the Woman’s
offspring. Of course, not all As we’ve already read,
Satan will go after the Saints to make war with them, and he’ll ensure they
are hated by everyone. Didn’t Jesus
say that if they hated Him they will hate His disciples also? This is the nature of Satan and his demon
realm. These hate humans in general,
but particularly those who serve and obey God. Thus far, the Churches of
God have no knowledge of Bible Prophecy.
They’re still trying to recover from their years of believing false prophecy. As a result, they still don’t understand
the Testimony of Jesus. Soon they will, but it will be too late to
join with the House of David, who will be gone to train for the many wars
they must fight as the Horn of
Salvation, as John’s father Zechariah puts it. Life is all about choices, and some choose
not to act wisely, which will adversely affect the progress of five of the
Ten Virgins. It will be a steep
learning curve for the Churches of God in that day, and their faith in God
will be severely tested. Their job
will be to prove to the Ten Virgins
that they are prepared to die rather than to disobey God. Isn’t this a part of the Testimony of Jesus? Isn’t this what He did? Do you think you’re better than the
Master? In that day, you must be
prepared to lay down your lives for God; but not only this! You must also be willing to lay down your
life for your friends. There is no
more perfect love than this! John 15:13
“Greater
love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
14 You are my friends if
you do what I command.” The Churches of God must become famous for
this in order to inspire the remnant of the House of Israel. This is their duty – and they must obey our
Lord Christ! And now we
come to the midnight call which we began to discuss earlier. It begins with the remnant of
the House of Israel, namely Virgin Israel. This
is the account: Matt 25:1-12 “At
that time the kingdom
of heaven will be like ten
virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2
Five of them were foolish
and five were wise. 3
The foolish ones took their
lamps but did not take any oil
with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their
lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all
became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 "AT MIDNIGHT the cry rang out: `Here's the bridegroom! Come
out to meet him!' 7 "Then all the virgins woke up and
trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, `Give us
some of your oil; our lamps
are going out.' 9 "`No,' they replied, `there may not be
enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for
yourselves.' 10 "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.
The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11
"Later the others also came,`Sir! Sir!' they said. `Open the door for
us!' 12 "But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don't know you.' 13
"Therefore keep watch,
because
you do not know the day or the hour.” Oil is a
symbol of God’s Holy Spirit, and even this remnant will be divided between
those who have plenty to light their path and those who don’t. This is what it will be like when the It was Jesus
Himself who raised the point of buying oil, which is probably rather curious to a lot of
people. The reason is that many people
are prepared to worship God as long as it doesn’t cost them
anything. Whether you
believe it or not, it is impossible to return
to God if you continue to rob Him. This is what
He has to say: Mal 3:6-9 “I the LORD
do not
change. So you, O
descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of
your forefathers you have turned away
from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the
LORD Almighty. "But you ask, `How are we to return?' 8
"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, `How do we rob you?' "In
tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse--the
WHOLE NATION of you--because
you are robbing me.
10 Bring the whole tithe
into the storehouse, that there may be food in MY HOUSE (this is the all-important HOUSE OF DAVID). Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty,
"and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out
so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Five of the Ten Virgins made the mistake of
delaying
the
buying of oil until
it was too late. This has
ramifications for the WHOLE NATION,
which is Ephraim – the
Just to offset any
suggestion of a mercenary appeal for money, consider what Jesus Christ
likened the Psa 119:63 I am a friend to
all who fear you, to
all who follow your precepts. Just a word of advice for
the Churches of God! The example you
set for Virgin Israel will
be more productive among Republicans!
In that day you won’t find many friends among the
Democrats! If you are unsure which is
which, just ask if they favour same-sex marriages. If they do, then they’re Democrats. If this is the case, shake the dust off
your feet and leave, and have nothing to do with them! Psa 119:64 The earth is filled with your love, O LORD; teach me your decrees. The earth really will be filled with God’s Love once the Teth Psa 119:65 Do good to your servant
according to your word, O LORD. Psa 119:66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe
in your commandments. Those who are not teachers of the Law don’t believe in God’s Commandments. Consequently, their knowledge is sparse and their judgment is appalling!
Soon they will understand this clearly! Psa 119:67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now
I obey your word. It’s a fact of life that some people always have to learn the hard
way, and this is what David is telling us here. Those who go astray will be afflicted! It’s the power of the penalty for disobedience!
You never get away with it, you only think you do. This penalty
stands until you repent,
and then it’s lifted – but not before you repent! The accumulation of these penalties becomes
a curse to many people and even to whole nations. No amount of foreign aid to these nations
can lift this curse. We’ve all
observed this. We see people living in
filth and squalor and they’re all sitting around doing nothing. They can even get up and clean up their own
mess! Psa 119:68 You are good, and
what you do is good; teach
me your decrees. It’s beyond belief that
some believe that God’s Laws are not good.
God’s decrees to us are perfect!
Just consider the alternative if you happen to disagree. Man’s law fails in time of war and anarchy,
and lawlessness abounds. But God’s Law
never fails because it’s eternal! It
will be in effect forever, so now is the time to get used to it. With obedience to it comes blessings, while
disobedience brings curses. This is a
prime lesson for all time! Psa 119:69 Though the arrogant have
smeared me with lies, I keep your
precepts with all my heart. It’s always the arrogant,
who think they have a corner on God’s favour, yet they lie their heads off to
justify themselves. To them, the real
villains are those who obey God. Psa 119:70 Their hearts are callous and
unfeeling, but I delight in your
law. Psa 119:71 It was good for me to be
afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. Sometimes this is what it takes!
A bit of affliction does wonders for the rational processes of our
minds. It either sets us on the right
path – or it doesn’t! Those who are
wise learn their lesson quickly. Psa 119:72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. This confirms the comments we made earlier about robbing God. It’s a matter of priorities and about what
is most highly valued. Obedience to
God’s Law is a matter of life or death, and if it’s the latter, then no amount
of money will save you. You have spent
your life in vain! Yodh Psa 119:73 Your hands made me and formed
me; give me understanding to learn
your commandments. Human beings are the
product of God’s hands, and He is the Creator. The Apostle Paul spoke about this, when he
referred to the Potter and the clay. The point he was making was whether the
clay has the right to dictate to the Potter how it’s made. Rom 9:19-21 “One of
you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists
his will?" 20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?
"Shall what is formed say to
him who formed it, `Why did you make me like this?'
" 21 Does not the
potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for
noble purposes and some for common use?” The question of
the Potter and the clay is
widely reported throughout the Scriptures, and it’s very appropriate for us
today. Especially since people no
longer believe God to be their Creator.
At the forefront of nations who deny God as the Creator is the House
of Israel. It was the House of Israel
that spawned the radical ‘theory of evolution’. Not the House of Judah mind, but the House of Israel! So surely they should expect some redress
from God! Jer 18:5-10 “Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6
"O house of Psa 119:74 May those who fear you
rejoice
when they see me, for I
have put my hope in your word.
I guess there
will be plenty of fear to go around when their nation is uprooted, torn down and destroyed, but those who heed the
warning will know that it’s God who
is to be feared. The Potter
has delivered the warning, and those who insolently denied Him as the Creator
God will suffer! Then those who fear God will be happy to see the teachers of the Law. Psa 119:75 I know, O LORD, that your laws are righteous, and
in faithfulness you have afflicted
me. It’s God’s faithfulness that afflicts us
when we disobey His Law. God is
faithful to His Law and the penalty is always there. We should always be quick to acknowledge
our sins to God. Psa 119:76 May your unfailing love be my
comfort, according to your promise to your servant. The point is that all of God’s servants enjoy a certain amount of
comfort from God because they’ve believed
Him! Remember how Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness? James 2:20-24 “You
foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is
useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he
offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were
working together, and his
faith was made complete
by
what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that
says, "Abraham believed God,
and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend.
24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.” God made an ironclad promise to Abraham
with an oath, and the servants of God believe this promise and live by it. Psa 119:77 Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. God certainly has compassion
on the obedient! The arrogant and the
disobedient are destined to miss out.
This will particularly apply to those who persecute the Saints who
obey God. Delivering justice is God’s
specialty! Psa 119:78 May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging
me without cause; but I
will meditate on your precepts.
The arrogant are venomous vipers
that can never resist attacking those who obey God. They go completely out of their minds at
any suggestion that God’s Law must be obeyed. Psa 119:79 May those who fear
you turn to me, those who understand your statutes. The day is fast approaching when those who fear God will be looking for answers, and they will find
these answers if they turn to the Saints.
The Saints will be right there among the ‘lost’ Ten Tribes of
Israel. This is the appointed role of
the Churches of God. The Israelites
will know who the saints are by their stalwart obedience to God even in the
face of death. Psa 119:80 May my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may
not be put to shame. If the Saints falter in
their duty, then they will also be put to shame. They’ll be under the gun to ensure they
don’t! It’s a question of standing firm and holding their ground! Remember what the Apostle Paul said
regarding ‘standing firm’? Eph 6:10-15 “Finally, BE STRONG in the Lord and in
his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can TAKE YOUR STAND against the
devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against
the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of
God, so that when the day of evil comes, YOU
MAY BE ABLE TO STAND YOUR GROUND, and after you have done everything,
TO STAND. 14 STAND FIRM THEN, with the belt
of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in
place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes
from the gospel of peace.”
Satan and his demon hordes will be coming after the Saints, and they
will need to stand firm. We all know only too well
how Satan and his demons swarmed in a mob-rule situation to kill the Lord
Jesus. Following this, over the next
couple of centuries, this was enacted again and again among the disciples of
Jesus. Christians everywhere were
rounded up and slaughtered. And it was
all done under the auspices of Satan and his demons. The Saints will need to keep this in
mind. They won’t be dealing with
humans (although humans are Satan’s ‘useful idiot’ agents), instead
they will be dealing with demon swarms, which results in demon-possession of
their human agents. If you clicked on
that link earlier, you will see the classic example of demons swarming among
human beings, and how these people come under their power. This is what Paul was warning against, when
he advised to stand firm! The Saints
must not cower to these evil forces! Paul is describing it as a spiritual
battle, and the Saints must be victorious! Kaph Psa 119:81 My soul faints with longing
for your salvation, but I have put my hope in your word. It’s not going to be easy for the Saints and they must endure to the
end. From the very beginning, Jesus
Christ warned it would be tough. The
Saints who overcome to the end will be greatly rewarded. This is what Jesus said: Rev 2:26-29
“To him
who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations-- 27
`He will rule them with an iron
scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery' -- just
as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will
also give him the morning star.
29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (plural
– that
is the Seven Churches).” What
Jesus was saying is that the Saints must overcome now, and later be given
authority over many nations and to pound them into shape with an iron
bar. If you think this is a bit
extreme, just wait until you see what these nations do to the ‘lost Ten
Tribes’ in the interim! The key to
everything is justice! In God’s Kingdom, the Saints will be
well-positioned to understand the meaning of God’s justice and to execute it! Psa 119:82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise; I say,
"When will you comfort me?" It will be a time for
great endurance, and time seems to slow down under suffering, so there will
be very anxious moments. Psa 119:83 Though I am like a wineskin in
the smoke, I do not forget
your decrees. Wineskins shrivel up when
subjected to smoke, and this is the analogy the writer uses. In the tribulation of these times, there
will be plenty of smoke as whole cities burn and crops and forests are
torched. Life becomes very cheap in
such circumstances, and it will be every man for himself. It won’t be easy being a Saint in those
days! Psa 119:84 How long must your servant
wait? When will you punish my persecutors? The Saints will have to endure, but their persecutors will definitely be punished. As it is with God’s justice, the penalty
will fit the crime! Psa 119:85 The arrogant dig pitfalls for me, contrary to your law.
The arrogant are
those who act contrary to God’s Law.
You see plenty of these today mouthing off from the pulpit! The hate God’s Law, but like to feign love
– and the foolish tend to believe them.
They sound so ‘spiritual’,
don’t they? But it’s not God’s Holy
Spirit that motivates them! These arrogant creatures are
well-practiced deceivers, and they are constantly at work trying to persecute
the Saints of God. This will become
endemic in the final days. Psa 119:86 All your commandments are trustworthy;
help me, for men persecute me without cause. Arrogant deceivers follow a well-established satanic pattern of
identifying an enemy, any enemy, and it doesn’t matter who the enemy is as
long as it takes the heat off them.
Hitler and Stalin identified the Jews as the enemy and pulled the
masses along to their way of thinking.
Suddenly, the Jews were the arch-enemy of everyone! And it was completely without cause! Well, the Jews have
completed their hard service (Isa 40:1-2), and now its Christianity’s
turn. In some ways there is quite of
bit of justice in all this. The
Christian nations were more concerned for their own well-being to be worried
about what was happening to their brother-Jews. And this is the irony of it all! God has chosen the Jews to be the ones to
deliver salvation to the Christian nations – the House of Israel in
particular! This is God’s way that
those who were hated without cause
will arise as the victors, and those who hated them will be forced to acknowledge that they did it without
cause! Psa 119:87 They almost wiped me from the
earth, but I have not forsaken your precepts.
The real Saints
will be all but wiped from the earth by the murderous conduct of the
arrogant, who will endeavour to identify them as the enemy. What these evil creatures don’t know is
what their fate will be for this outrage.
They sought to take the heat off themselves by targeting the Saints –
all of which is commendable in Satan’s eyes, but not in God’s eyes! God intends to see
justice done, and this is how it will unfold: Rev 14:9-12 “A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice:
"If anyone worships the beast
and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, 10
he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured
full strength into the cup of his wrath. He
will be tormented with burning sulfur
in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And
the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and
his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name." 12
THIS CALLS FOR PATIENT ENDURANCE ON
THE PART OF THE SAINTS WHO OBEY GOD'S COMMANDMENTS AND REMAIN FAITHFUL TO
JESUS.” So from this
passage, we can see when the greatest
persecution of the Saints begins.
While everyone else is caving in to the demands of the Beast, the
Saints will be holding their ground – and this will enrage everyone. Once all the lying
deceivers accept the mark of the Beast, this Beast will go after the
Saints. Daniel prophesied of this in Dan 7:21-22
“As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and defeating them,
22 until the Ancient of
Days came and pronounced
judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and
the time came when they possessed the kingdom.” It’s worth noting that the Saints alone are those who
possess God’s Holy Spirit, and all those who have God’s Holy
Spirit have their names entered into the Book
of Life. If the Saints fail
in their duty towards God,
then their names will be removed from the Book of Life. So there is a lot at stake for the Saints
during this perilous time. The time will come when
all the Saints will be resurrected from the dead, and some will face
judgment, depending on whether their names are still registered in the Book
of Life. Jesus made this very clear: Matt 12:36
“But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for
every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be
acquitted, and by your
words you will be condemned." The only people who will
ever be resurrected are those who have or once had God’s Holy Spirit. Without God’s Holy Spirit, none of the dead
will arise. Rom 8:11 “And
if
the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from
the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead
will also give
life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” This Spirit of
God retains a pattern of the Saint so that when he is resurrected the Spirit
reproduces the pattern of the individual and his mind. Without the Spirit of God you would be dead
forever! God gives His Spirit only
to those who OBEY Him! Acts 5:32 “We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who OBEY
him." In the
resurrection of the Saints, books will be opened. These are the charge sheets detailing
all that they’ve done. Another
book is opened, and this is the Book of Life: Rev
20:12-14 “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which
is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as
recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead
that were in it, and death and
Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14
Then death and Hades were
thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the
second death. 15 If anyone's name was not
found written in the book of life,
he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Incidentally,
these verses are the key to understanding the ‘Parable of Lazarus and the
Rich Man’.) Death and Hades are the two spirit rulers mentioned by name in Rev 6:8. This is when they are captured (Rev 19:20) and thrown alive into the In the lead-up to this,
and in the most dangerous time of
distress that has ever been seen on earth all the nations will
be in turmoil: Rev 11:18 “The nations were angry;
and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and
those who reverence your name, both small and great-- and for destroying those who destroy the earth." There is a funny side to
that last phrase! Today we have
satanic creatures like Al Gore and his minions raving on about destroying the earth. These mental retards believe that mankind
is destroying the earth because of Carbon dioxide. When people finally come to their senses
and have to face the real destruction that’s coming, they’ll probably want to
string-up Al Gore like they did Mussolini!
After putting up with so much propaganda for so many years, frustrated
people do desperate things. The true Saints don’t
suffer from Al Gore’s mental disease, because they are not susceptible to
being deceived by any human devised lies and propaganda. This very point was made by our Lord Jesus:
Matt 24:24
“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and
miracles to deceive even
the elect--IF THAT WERE
POSSIBLE. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.” Sure it’s
speaking of Messiah figures and false prophets, and we’ve seen plenty of this
today. But whenever we open our minds
to deception of any kind, we are opening our minds to satanic
suggestion. It should be impossible to deceive
a Saint with this type of
childish propaganda. Just to give
another example, Christians know very well that Jesus Christ went through a
very horrible death out of obedience to God.
At any time He could have backed out and called on God for ten legions
of angels to come to His rescue, and God would have responded at once: Matt 26:53-54 “Do
you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve
legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be
fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" This is the sort of obedience Jesus had for His Father! So what does deceived
Christianity have to say about this type of obedience? Well they believe that Jesus did it all for
them, and so they don’t have to obey the Father. Who conjured up this wild idea? Well, it came from false prophets and
teachers who’ve been listening to their father the devil – the great deceiver
himself! Trusting in
God and obeying Him is not all that hard, especially when one considers the
alternative. If the Saints are to be judged for what they’ve done,
then where does this leave those who have never done anything in service to
God? Almighty God has appointed for us
a lifespan of three score years and ten – or 70 years. These years can be very fleeting, and after
a lifetime of disobedience, it’s not easy to develop a lifestyle acceptable
to God. Conversion at the last
possible moment is a fantasy that should be dismissed. Death-bed confessions will not help anyone;
you either serve God in this life and prove yourself faithful and obedient or
you go the way of all men. For such
people there is nothing beyond the grave! Psa 119:88 Preserve my life according to
your love, and I will obey the
statutes of your mouth. Those who are not
Saints could not possibly
begin to imagine the benefits of obedience to God’s Laws and Statutes. These are literally the basics of
life. Without obedience to them, there
is no afterlife for anyone. For such
people, their reward has been in this life: Psa 17:13-14 “Rise up, O LORD, confront them, bring them down; rescue me from the wicked by
your sword. 14 O LORD, by your hand save me from such
men, from men of this world
WHOSE REWARD IS IN THIS LIFE. You still the hunger for those you cherish;
their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children.” Lamedh Psa 119:89 Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in
the heavens. There’s a lot of Christians who believe the
Law and the Prophets have been done away, abandoned and unnecessary. God says they’re eternal, yet in their minds, God was obviously wrong. If you abandon God’s Word, then you are
literally abandoning Jesus Christ who is the personification of God’s Word! (John 1:1). Psa 119:90 Your faithfulness continues
through all generations; you established
the earth, and it endures. How odd! This is not
what the crazies are saying, is it?
They seem to believe that the earth cannot endure any more because of
carbon dioxide. CO2 is an
essential plant food. Plants ingest CO2
and strip the carbon atom from it to enhance their growth, leaving just the
oxygen – which is essential to human beings and all mammals. It goes to show just how dangerous these ‘free-thinking’ lunatics are! What they’re proposing would seriously
jeopardize the balance of nature as we know it. The more Carbon dioxide we have in the air
the more the plants thrive and the more oxygen is produced. God Himself set these systems in place so
that the earth and its inhabitants would
endure. Obviously, these
crackpots believe God is wrong! Psa 119:91 Your laws endure to this day, for all things serve you. We speak of the Laws of God which He gave to His servants, but there
are many other laws besides. The laws
of the universe obey God, as does our solar system. Everything is well-ordered and functions as
it always has done since man has walked the earth. All the creatures of the earth are provided
for, and each does what he has been programmed to do for survival. Seasons and climate are ordained by God and
they come and go according to God’s defined laws of the universe. We can’t regulate any of these things,
because this is God’s providence and His great power commands it all. So whenever anyone tries
to present themselves as the saviours of the planet with their wild and wacky
ideas, just treat them with contempt!
Whatever reward they hope to receive for their lying propaganda will
be spent in this live only! Psa 119:92 If your law had not been my delight, I
would have perished in my affliction. You couldn’t begin to imagine just how good this advice is! Those who don’t delight in God’s Law are going
to know all about affliction! Psa 119:93 I will never forget
your precepts, for
by them you have preserved my life.
If you want to
live, then remember God’s precepts because the day is coming when you will
favour death over life as a quick way to end your misery. Psa 119:94 Save me, for I am yours; I
have sought out your precepts. Seeking out God’s precepts for life
and living is the smart thing to do.
It’s just a shame that most feel they can do this at the last
minute. Especially when the enemy is
already at the gate! Psa 119:95 The wicked are waiting to
destroy me, but I will
ponder your statutes. There are no guarantees
at this late stage, but what other options are there after a lifetime of sin
and disobedience. When death is near,
it’s said that people tend to ponder their lives and their mistakes – with regret! The place to start is to ponder God’s
Statutes, and to repent of violating them.
It’s likely to be too late, but what else are you going to do? You certainly won’t achieve perfection in
your last hour. Yet if we take the
example of the thief on the cross, there may be hope, but bear in mind that
these were very special circumstances for that one day only! Psa 119:96 To all perfection I see a limit;
but your commandments are boundless. Perfection is limited in this crazy world because of the constant call
of sin, and from time to time we must suffer because of others. On the broader scheme of things, half the
people of some nations are going to suffer defeat and captivity because of
the other half. At least limited
perfection is better than no
perfection. It’s those who strive to
be perfect who will be rewarded, and you must try to achieve this regardless
of the circumstances. God didn’t give
us His Laws to punish us, but to enable us to reach perfection. Mem Psa 119:97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long. No one is suggesting that we sit around chanting God’s Law all day
long. What David is saying is that we
should use God’s laws as the yardstick for everything we say and do. It means to constantly guard our mouths
from telling lies or from disadvantaging others or coveting the possessions
of others. It means don’t be looking
at others with lust or scheming to do things that shouldn’t be done. The Law of God should be constantly
regulating our behaviour. The Fourth
Commandment should be on your mind during the Sabbath otherwise you might
forget and start repairing the toaster.
Those who are led by God’s Holy Spirit remain vigilant and guard
against all these things. Psa 119:98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for they
are ever with me. This is a bit of an
oxymoron. The enemies of God’s servants are generally like wood-ducks
who understand nothing. You don’t have
to be too wise to be wiser than them.
So what David says is entirely true, because God’s Commandments make
one wiser than their enemies. Psa 119:99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.
If only teachers
would confine themselves to teaching reading, writing and arithmetic, and leave
out their philosophy. Who wants to
listen to lunatics who can’t see merit in the teachings of the Creator
God. Why is it that philosophers and
teachers seem to believe they’re so smart?
Most of them just seem to like the sound of their own voices. God’s servant James made
a comment about teachers and teaching, and it’s worth
repeating: James
3:1-2 “Not many of you should presume
to be teachers, my
brothers, because you know that we
who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all
stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a
perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” It’s true that we
do all stumble from time to time, in what we teach, write or say. None of us are perfect and none of us are the
perfect wordsmiths who get everything perfect. Yet those whom God has appointed to teach are judged more strictly and are subject to punishment if it
were deliberate carelessness or worse.
God’s Word is very important to God and there are no excuses for
getting it wrong – especially if it involves teaching others. James wrote something else that is also
very important relating to learning and teaching: James 1:22-26 “Do not
merely
listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23
Anyone who listens to the word but
does not do what it says
is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and,
after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he
looks like.” (I know
it’s a bit off-topic, but we see television evangelists appear on stage after
spending an hour putting on stage makeup with a trowel and thinking
themselves to be glorious – until they remove the makeup afterwards – and are
quickly brought back to reality.) V25 “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that
gives freedom, and continues to do this, not
forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he
will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone
considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself
and his religion is worthless.
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:
to look after orphans and widows in
their distress and to keep
oneself from being polluted by the world.” You notice this is not speaking of
polluting the world but being polluted
BY the world. The ‘world’
being the people that live in it! Psa 119:100 I have more understanding than the
elders, for I obey your
precepts. The elders of our
respective nations are those who hold the reins of government. Even uncommitted Christians are having
severe misgivings for voting for them.
They’re rapidly turning everything upside down. These days they don’t represent their
constituents – only the minorities.
The majority don’t want same-sex marriages – too bad! A minority does, and these might
hold the balance of power at the elections.
In Psa 119:101 I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. There are paths that lead
to destruction, evil paths that will destroy your life. Jesus Christ spoke of a narrow path which
leads to life; in short it’s a narrow path used only by those dedicated to
His Law. The lawless don’t travel by
this road at all. Matt 7:13-14 “Enter through
the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the
road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14
But small is the gate and narrow
the road that leads to life, AND
ONLY A FEW FIND IT.” How often do Christians read this without
understanding the implications of the phrase “and
only a few find it”? Is it reasonable to suggest that this
Psalm, which stresses obedience to God’s Law throughout it’s entire 176
verses, might be leading us to the right path – narrow though it might
be? If you don’t trust both David and
Jesus in this, there is little hope for you. Psa 119:102 I have not departed from your laws, for
you yourself have taught me.
We’re still on
the theme about teachers,
which began with V99 above.
Jesus spoke of sending prophets
and teachers in Matt 23:34.
He also spoke of those who would be taught by God, and who are in fact, prophets and teachers.
How quickly people forget what He said in this regard and from what
part of the Scriptures He was quoting.
This is what He said: John 6:45 “It
is written in the Prophets: `They
will all be TAUGHT BY GOD.' Everyone who listens to THE FATHER and LEARNS FROM HIM comes to me.” It’s written in the Book of
the Prophet Isaiah: Isa 54:13-17 “All your sons
will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children's peace.” Whose sons are these? The
previous two verses tell us that these are the Sons of Jerusalem: V11-12 “O afflicted city, lashed by
storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your
foundations with sapphires. 12 I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious
stones. All your sons will be taught the LORD.” God planned all these things long ago, and
in the lead-up to this, He will appoint prophets
and teachers as custodians of His City. Psa 119:103 How sweet are your words to my taste, SWEETER THAN HONEY TO MY MOUTH! There was a time when God the Father handed Jesus Christ a scroll (Rev 1:1-2). Only Jesus Christ could open that Scroll (Rev 5:1-5). There is another scroll recorded in the Bible,
which is handed to two of God’s Prophets; the first being the Prophet Ezekiel, and the
second being the Prophet John. And in both cases, the scroll was as
sweet as honey in their mouths.
This is the reference to
Ezekiel: Eze 3:1-3
“And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is
before you, eat this scroll;
then
go and speak to the house
of And this is
the reference to John: Rev 10:9-11 “So I went to the angel
and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take
it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey." 10
I took the little scroll from the angel's hand and ate it. IT TASTED AS SWEET AS HONEY IN MY
MOUTH, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. 11
Then I was told, "You must
prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings." Now the
sequence of these two accounts is as follows.
Following the eating to the Scroll, Ezekiel was given this instruction: Eze 3:4-16 “He then
said to me: "Son of man, go now to the house of Now back to the account
of Ezekiel. Ezekiel was a slave in a
foreign land, so getting a passport to travel to the House of Israel far away, was not an option. Therefore God provided the means, just as He did for Elijah when
he was lifted up in the ‘fiery craft’
or ‘chariot’. V12 “Then the Spirit lifted me up, and
I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound--May the glory of the LORD be
praised in his dwelling place!-- 13 the sound of the wings of the living
creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside
them, a loud rumbling
sound. 14 The
Spirit then LIFTED ME UP and took me away, and I went in bitterness
and in the anger of my spirit, with
the strong hand of the LORD upon me. 15 I came to the
exiles who lived at Tel Abib near the Just to digress for a
moment…. In the 2nd World War back in the 40’s a UFO appeared in So we’ve read
the account of Ezekiel and the scroll he ate, which tasted as sweet as honey in his mouth. And we’ve also quoted the account about
John. The Scroll that John ate is the same
as that of Ezekiel, yet it’s enacted much later in the time of the Two Prophets or Witnesses. This is what John recorded in the follow-up
to his opening statement about it: Rev
11:1-6 “I was given
a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the At the end of
this 3½ year period, the Two Prophets are overpowered by Satan’s forces and
killed: Rev
11:7-11 “Now when
they have finished their testimony, the
beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them,
and overpower and kill them.
8 Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which is figuratively
called
Sodom and Egypt, where
also their Lord was crucified.”
Yes, this is a reference to the Holy City Jerusalem all right, but why
is it figuratively called Sodom and Egypt here?
That’s easy! Who is it that
gains the power over the region? It’s
the Beast power, and the majority of the constituents of the region will have
accepted the mark of the beast and they will go mad! And what do people do when they go
mad? Well they go sexually mad as the Sodomites did when they wanted
to sexually violate the two angels
who came to What we’re talking about
here is the period after the Beast drives through the entire It should come as no
surprise that Jesus Christ specifically mentions this event in Matt 24:15-24
“So when you see standing in the holy place `the abomination that causes
desolation,' spoken of
through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- 16
then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no
one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18
Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19 How dreadful
it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20
Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21
For then there will be great
distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again.
22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but
for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At
that time if anyone says to you, `Look, here is the Christ!' or,
`There he is!' do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great
signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible.
25 See, I have told you ahead of time.” Yes, way ahead of time actually, but it’s
good to know in advance what to expect. This Beast, which Daniel
wrote about, will possess all the powers of Satan the devil, and will marshal
all of Satan’s forces. These demon
forces number more than 50 million demons, who presently live on this
earth. So you can just imagine the
carnage that will ensue when they’re all marshaled in the Getting back to conclude
what John wrote, concerning the Two Prophets in Rev 11:9-11 “For three and a half days men from every people, tribe, language and nation will
gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will
gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these TWO PROPHETS had
tormented those who live on the earth.” Thanks to the forewarning of Jesus Christ,
these Two Prophets will know when the time has come to follow in the
footsteps of their Lord Christ and to die in What we’ve just briefly
touched on is the Battle of Armageddon, when the massive cull of Satan’s
hordes occurs. Even then, there is a
final act to this which occurs at the conclusion of the Millennial reign of
Jesus Christ. The reason is that, at
that time, Satan is going to be released from prison for a short time. And where do you suppose he’s
going to show up? Right among the regenerated
dragon-worshipper nations! It will be
the final act, and this is where Satan goes to his death. Unlike the New Ruler Jesus Christ, he will
not be resurrected. He’ll be gone
forever! Of course, none of these
things would be known to anyone if it were not for God’s Precepts. And only those who understand God’s
Precepts would know the meaning of it all. Psa 119:104 I gain understanding from your precepts;
therefore
I hate every wrong path. How many Christians today
hate every wrong path? Most of them wouldn’t know a wrong path if
they were beaten over the head with it.
They spend most of their time hacking on each other over petty issues,
yet ignoring the weightier matters such as the Laws of God. The only thing they really agree
on is disobedience to God’s Law. Incredibly, they can’t even agree on
whether homosexuality is sin or not.
Never mind what God’s
Precepts have to say – they want to decide for themselves! Typically, they disagree with God. Nun When the Scriptures speak
of the path we are to walk, God intends for us to understand that He is
referring to our conduct
which should be governed by His Law! Psa 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. We’ve just been
discussing these things in connection with the 10 Virgins, five of whom were
wise and the other five foolish. Based
on the national average, five are discarded forthwith and banned from God’s
Kingdom. The other five are granted
amnesty and invited into the Kingdom.
Even then, this occurs at midnight during the long, dark night. As we pointed out before, the path is narrow, and
few will find it. In fact,
just a remnant! Psa 119:106 I have taken an oath and
confirmed it, that I will follow
your righteous laws. I’m afraid that anything less
than this will not gain favour for anyone!
At this point in human history, only the fast learners will know the
means to survival. And even then they
will have to back up their oath
with suffering in order to test their resolve. Psa 119:107 I have suffered much;
preserve my life, O LORD, according to your word. We’re all well-aware of heroism today, where certain individuals stand
out from others as heroes, who are prepared to risk their lives for
others. Generally speaking, people
stand in awe of them for their bravery.
This is not something new; it extends back into antiquity, when brave
men took great risks. David was such a
man! The whole nation of the
Israelites feared to fight that monster Goliath – but not David! He volunteered and strode out on to the
battlefield and killed him, just as he said he would! Heroism also means to be
able to suffer adversity without falling apart. It means to be able to endure against the
odds and to continue to hope for a successful conclusion. But there is a grade above this type of
heroism we see today, and this is the heroism that comes from faith in God. This was the heroism that David exhibited
when he said, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that stands before the Armies
of the Living God?” (1Sam 17:26).
David was more zealous for God’s reputation that he was for his own! Psa 119:108 Accept, O
LORD, the willing praise
of my mouth, and teach me
your laws. If we continue to praise
God even in the midst of much suffering, then we are well on the way to
earning God’s favour. There is an
alternative mentality which the reader is probably aware of, and it’s found
in Isa 8:20-22
“TO THE
LAW AND TO THE TESTIMONY! If they do not speak
according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when
they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking
upward, will curse their king and their God. 22
Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they
will be thrust into utter darkness.” “Utter
darkness” is Bible-speak for death!
Here we see a situation where people had no interest in
the Law and the Testimony,
but when things go horribly wrong, they look skyward and curse their
God. When distress and gloom
and famine strike their
shores, such people will be ill-equipped to cope! Typically, they will blame God even though
they never served Him! Psa 119:109 Though I constantly take my life in my
hands, I will not forget your law. In times of distress
and gloom, this is how you
must conduct yourself. It’s a matter
of accepting that the whole nation is guilty of violating God’s Law and are
suffering the consequences, but you will not join them in their
national sins against the Creator God.
However, if you decide that survival is more important than obedience
to God, then utter darkness
will be your reward. Psa 119:110 The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not
strayed from your precepts. This is the typical act of the wicked!
They hate those who honour God’s Law!
They craft trick questions in order to deceive and seek to destroy
those who remain faithful and obedient to God. They won’t obey God themselves, instead
they want to kill those who do. Psa 119:111 Your statutes are my heritage
forever;
they are the joy of my heart. David’s heritage will live on forever,
therefore, it’s not surprising that the Lord Christ’s final words in the
Scriptures should speak of David’s
heritage (Rev 22:16). Psa 119:112 My heart is set on keeping your decrees TO THE VERY END. This is the sort of man David was!
I wonder how the Churches of God will fare in this? Jesus Christ gave some good advice in this regard
to the Churches: Rev 2:26-28 “To him
who overcomes and does my will TO THE END, I will give
authority over the nations-- 27 `He will rule them with an iron
scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery' -- just as I have received
authority from my Father. 28 I will also give him the
morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Apart from the Commandment-keeping Churches
of God, the rest of this world’s churches show no interest in DOING GOD’S WILL, neither now
nor even AT THE VERY END. Samekh Psa 119:113 I hate double-minded men, but I love your law. Duplicitous, lying, double-minded men are hard to tolerate at the best
of times, but when they really come into their own is with their farcical renditions
of why we must refuse to obey God’s Law.
From the pulpit, they holler about ‘love’ and ‘salvation’
and ‘give yo’ heart to the Lord’, but then turn into lunatics at
any suggestion that God might require obedience! Psa 119:114 You are my refuge and my
shield; I have put my hope in your
word. You’ll certainly find no hope in
double-minded men! These lying
deceivers will destroy you! Psa 119:115 AWAY FROM ME, YOU EVILDOERS, that I may keep the commandments of my God! Well, what do you know!
Jesus Christ confirmed these very
words of David! Matt 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the WILL OF MY FATHER
who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, `Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and
perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly,
`I
never knew you. AWAY
FROM ME, YOU EVILDOERS!'” Well, it
seems that all these well-rehearsed stage acts by self-appointed ‘evangelists’ are not going to cut
it! They may have deceived the people,
but they have failed to deceive God.
As long as they refuse to do the will
of the Father in heaven, Jesus will continue to plainly state
that He never knew them! Here they are, arrogantly parading on stage
and frequently invoking the Lord’s Name, yet the Lord will say He never knew them! What is more, He will restate, “AWAY FROM ME YOU EVILDOERS!” Psa 119:116 Sustain me according to your promise, and I will live;
do not
let
my hopes be dashed.
It’s God’s
promises that remain reliable, rather than the promises of pulpit vandals who
promise the world but deliver nothing.
The whole purpose of these ‘evangelists’
is to sustain themselves with a comfortable and lavish lifestyle through
promising false hopes. When the crunch
comes, you will find all your hopes dashed. God knows what He is doing and He
faithfully remembers all His promises.
He doesn’t need some insincere “EVILDOER”
making promises in His Name that they can’t deliver. Psa 119:117 Uphold me, and I will be delivered;
I will always have regard for your
decrees. Surely we know the
outcome for those who break the law in our society. They get arrested and charged! All decent people have a natural hostility
towards the lawless because we all know what would result in the absence of
restraints. Why then, would God have
any sort of affinity towards those who refuse to obey His Laws? God rejects those who reject
His decrees! Psa 119:118 You reject all who stray from your decrees,
for their deceitfulness is
in vain. As long as people want to deceive
themselves into believing that God loves lawlessness, they should expect an
appropriate response from Him. His
response, therefore, is to reject them! Psa 119:119 All the wicked of the earth
you discard like dross; therefore
I love your statutes. The wicked of the earth will certainly be discarded! There is
no place for them in God’s Kingdom! “All
the wicked” means “all the wicked” – of
the earth! It will be a
massive cull of most of humanity, and as the Prophet Isaiah wrote: Isa 24:6 “Therefore a
curse consumes the earth; its
people must bear their guilt.
Therefore earth's
inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left.” It will be a bit like the days of Noah,
when the same thing happened, only at that time is was a flood. This time, however, it will be heat and
fire and melting rocks, and the inhabitants
of the earth will have to bear their guilt. Drowning might have been a better option,
but in view of the coming horror leading up to this, a penalty of fire would
seem to be more fitting and just!
Anyway, God said He would never again destroy the inhabitants of the
earth with a flood ever again. So it’s
obvious that other means are called for.
Added to this, there are smarty-pants modernists today who don’t even
believe that the flood in Noah’s day occurred. In the final days, approaching the winding
up of all that is written, Noah’s God takes this view: The
House of Israel has failed Him miserably, but God remembers His promises to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and He intends to fulfill those promises. As for the rest of humanity, God has no
obligation to them at all because they all belong to Satan. God does harvest where He has not sowed to some extend (Matt 25:26),
and there are some Gentiles who have benefited. On the other hand, many of those from the
House of Israel have been at the forefront of denying God’s existence in
favour of one of their lunatic theories – the pathetic theory of evolution! If anyone is so irrational as to believe
such nonsense, then they won’t be welcome in God’s Kingdom. God gives us the choice of either believing
Him or suffering the consequences for failing to do so. This is a fair choice, and the choice is
yours! Psa 119:120 My flesh trembles in fear of
you; I stand in awe of
your laws. Those who do believe God,
believes what He says and fear to disobey Him. They know what the consequences are! Yet fear is not the overriding factor;
their love of Him is! They know that
justice must prevail on earth if the earth’s inhabitants are to live
according to God’s Law. God gives us a
description of His servants, who both fear and love Him, and this is found in
Mal 3:16-18
“Then those who FEARED the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD
listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who FEARED the LORD
and
HONORED HIS NAME. 17 "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in
the day when I make up my treasured
possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his
son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between
the righteous and the wicked,
between those who serve God and
those who do not.” And
how will this distinction
be made between the righteous
and the wicked? God explains in the continuing verses: Mal 4:1-4
“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every
EVILDOER will be stubble, and that day that is
coming will set them on fire,"
says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2
But for YOU WHO REVERE MY NAME,
the
sun of righteousness will
rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like
calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they
will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,"
says the LORD Almighty. 4 "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Ayin Psa 119:121 I have done what is righteous and just; do
not leave me to my oppressors.
When you add in
the equation of Satan’s brood, it’s always the innocent who get
targeted. Evil loves its own! Every act of oppressors against the
righteous will bring coals of fire on their heads and the end result is that
they will be torched. Psa 119:122 Ensure your servant's well-being; let
not the arrogant oppress me. As servants of God, they serve
at God’s pleasure, and whatever God requires of them, a true servant delivers. Remember how God tested Abraham to see if
he would offer the most precious thing he possessed – his son Isaac? Abraham obeyed, and in his own mind had
already made the sacrifice, but of course, God spared him, once He realized
that Abraham was fully resolved to obey Him.
To be sure, Abraham believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead
(Heb 11:19),
but he realized that he still had to commit this act in faith. In many ways, it’s a whole lot easier to
lay down our own lives than to sacrifice our most treasured possession – in
Abraham’s case, his only son Isaac! And
Isaac was Abraham’s only son! (Gen 22:2, 12, 16). Ishmael was not Abraham’s
son in God’s eyes. Nor were the sons
born to Abraham and Keturah (this was
after Sarah died – Gen 25:1-4).
Except for Isaac, all the other sons born to Abraham belonged to Satan. Those who serve God
faithfully are called His servants.
For their service they can expect rewards in accordance with God’s righteous promise: Psa 119:123 My eyes fail, looking for your salvation, looking for your righteous promise. This has to be said: Most Christians today believe they are already
saved! How they ever conjured up this
nonsense is beyond belief! The day
will come when their eyes will fail looking for salvation, but they won’t find it. In that day and at that time, they will
know they are not saved! They will know then that God’s salvation is
reserved for His servants
who serve Him – and obey Him! This is what a servant does! Psa 119:124 Deal with your servant
according to your love and teach me your decrees. God will have quite a body
of servants
in that day; those who have learned obedience to Him. These will have had their eyes opened to understand the meaning of salvation
and to faithfully hope for it. These
are the ones to whom Jesus Christ gave the Book of Revelation to, in the hope
that in the distant future, they might come to understand the meaning. Naturally enough, this body of servants are the Churches of God. Like Jesus Christ, their message is to the
‘lost sheep of Psa 119:125 I am your servant; give
me discernment that
I may understand your statutes.
It’s one thing to
obey God’s Commandments, but another entirely to really understand the
reasons why. It’s not a contest for
righteousness – which the Scribes and Pharisees amply demonstrated when they
began to add to the law all their picky variations to make themselves look
good. It’s all about obedience to
God! The Scribes and Pharisees added
burdensome additions to the Law for others, but refused to obey these picky
additions themselves. It’s God’s Law,
not man’s law, that must be obeyed above all else. Failure to do so brands you a child of
Satan. Satan hates God’s Law because
he would never obey it, and this is reflected in his offspring. Psa 119:126 It is time for you to act, O LORD; your law is being broken. Many in the Churches of God have known this for a very long time, yet they
still haven’t fully understood the penalties that will be enacted on the
earth for this disobedience. When God
acts, they’ll be taken aback by the fury of His actions. As we’ve said many times, He must rule with
a rod of iron until He puts all His enemies under His feet. As we all know, the Saints will also be
given similar rights to rule over the nations – provided they endure to the
end! Psa 119:127 Because I love your commandments
more than gold, more
than pure gold, Psa 119:128 and because I consider all
your precepts right, I hate
every wrong path. How many people love
God’s Commandments today
more
than pure gold? Outside of the true Saints, you would be
hard-pressed to find even one! In
fact, the reverse is true. Most people
love gold more than any form of obedience to Him. As we’ve just read, the Saints are calling for God to act (V126). Because of their faith in God, the Saints
are an enduring lot, but what they see with their own eyes will prompt their
plea to God. The Prophet Ezekiel
describes this very time: Eze 7:15-19 “Outside
is the sword, inside are plague and famine; those in the country will die by
the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague. 16
All who survive and escape will be in the mountains, moaning like doves of
the valleys, each because of his sins. 17 Every hand
will go limp, and every knee will become as weak as water. 18 They
will put on sackcloth and be clothed with terror. Their faces will be covered
with shame and their heads will be shaved. 19 They will throw their silver
into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing.
THEIR SILVER AND GOLD WILL NOT BE
ABLE TO SAVE THEM IN THE DAY OF THE LORD'S WRATH. They will not
satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it, for it has made them
stumble into sin.” The LORD’S wrath is not something to be
taken lightly, and it’s not something you’ll want to get caught up in! All the Prophets spoke of it as a time of
unprecedented carnage. Even the Book
of Lamentations makes reference to it: Lamentations
4:1-2 “How the gold has lost its luster,
the
fine gold become dull! The sacred gems are scattered at the
head of every street. 2 How the precious SONS OF Pe Psa 119:129 Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. God’s Laws and Statutes are not draconian! They’re wonderful! They really are! The side-benefits of obeying them is worth
far more than gold or silver, and unfortunately, many people will have to
learn this the hard way. Psa 119:130 The unfolding of your words
gives light; it gives understanding to the
simple. Hopefully, the unfolding of God’s Word in this study of the Psalms is now
giving some of our readers some light. Most people don’t realize that God’s
message has been deliberated hidden from understanding, so that only
those who seek with all their
hearts will find the message and understand it. Even today we have Christians who think
that Jesus spoke in parables to make the meaning clearer. Little do they know that Jesus spoke in
parables to hide the message. In this He spoke clearly: Matt 13:10-16
“The disciples came to him and asked, "Why
do you speak to the people in parables?" 11 He
replied, "THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE
SECRETS OF THE It was to be
in the last days that THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SECRETS OF THE
KINGDOM OF GOD would be revealed to all who would
hear it. And there are plenty of
secrets that have been withheld from those who are not clay in
God’s hands. That is, those who are
not capable of being shaped by the Master Potter Himself. As the reader will understand, the very
first prerequisite is obedience to Him. Most Christians today are too calloused to
understand this simple truth! And
until they do, they will not be healed of the serious disease that afflicts
their minds. Psa 119:131 I open my mouth and pant, longing
for your commandments. It goes without saying that things are going to be very grim for those
who refused to obey God, when they find themselves in a position of actual
slavery to their enemies. They’ll see
the good fortune of those whom God protects – and then they’ll
understand why He does! They’ll be left with just
one option, and that is to plead for mercy: Psa 119:132 Turn to me and have mercy on
me, as you always do to those who love your name.
We’ve spoken of
those who love and honour God’s
Name and whom He treats like sons (Mal 3:16-18). The option to join with God’s favoured ones
has been available for years, but most Christians, especially the Churches of
God, have chosen to tough it out with their jaded doctrine of beliefs. During the 20th century, all the
Churches of God really cared about was some mythical ‘place of safety’ – and even worse – they believed this place to
be the pagan city of There is no ‘place of safety’ for the Churches of
God. They must go through the Great
Tribulation and endure to the end – whenever their end comes. And they must be faithful to God to the
very end – without fail! Psa 119:133 Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin
rule over me. Psa 119:134 Redeem me from the OPPRESSION OF MEN, that I may obey your precepts. There will be a few that receive some special help and they will be redeemed, though it
must be said these will be the extreme minority. Others will just have to tough it out to
the end. These will be on notice to
provide a good example to the House of Israel – the ‘lost sheep’ of Psa 119:135 Make your face shine upon your servant and teach me your decrees. Serving God should be their priority, and they will learn how from God’s servants. Psa 119:136 Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed. As God said long ago, the House of Israel is a rebellious house, and
they’ve actually led the world in disobedience to God’s Law! Instead, they should have been a shining
light and an example for all mankind. Tsadhe Psa 119:137 Righteous are you, O LORD,
and your laws are right. Even in something as elementary as this, the House of Israel, which is
the largest Christian nation on earth, that is, Psa 119:138 The statutes you have laid down are righteous; they
are fully trustworthy. Not to Ephraim! And they’ve demonstrated this
again and again! Ephraim may trust in
their own laws, but they are soon to find that only God’s Laws are
fully trustworthy. Psa 119:139 My zeal wears me out, for my enemies ignore your words. Sometimes it’s like talking to a brick wall! The enemy refuses to listen because they
are not interested. Any form of
worship of God was never a priority in their lives, so they dismiss it and
try to act tough. God has a principle
that is always active, which says, “I will bless those who bless you and curse
those who curse you”. This has
applied to all His servants
down through the ages. Psa 119:140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them. Like God’s Statutes, all His promises
are trustworthy, including the one about blessings and
cursings. As for God’s promises being
thoroughly tested, God’s servants frequently observe the cursings of those
who oppose them. God is very vigilant
on behalf of His servants. There have
been many leaders of the Churches of God who’ve become aware of the teachings
of God’s servants in the last few years, but have chosen to dismiss them for
fear of losing their own privileged positions in their congregations. It was too much for them to admit their
errors of teaching in the past, so they set about to dismiss or reject the
message of the messenger. There are
quite a few of these leaders who are now dead! What is more, their congregations are now
confused about the signs they are now seeing in the world. None of which conforms to their former
beliefs! They now know that the
prophecies they believed have nothing in common with the reality they are
seeing today. Yet they’re still
convinced that they owe some form of allegiance to those who deceived them. Psa 119:141 Though I am lowly and
despised, I do not forget your
precepts. This is the measure of
God’s faithful servants! The Churches
of God should bear this in mind, because the day is fast approaching when
they will be tested. Never mind what
their lying teachers have told them, when the crunch comes, they must make
their own decisions to remember God’s precepts and obey them – or not! Psa 119:142 Your righteousness is
everlasting and your law is true. To the evil rebellious creatures of this world, these words are very
provocative. They absolutely hate
God’s Law and can see no reason to keep it.
To them, God’s Law is neither true nor Truth! Those who hate it hate the Truth! Psa 119:143 Trouble and distress have
come upon me, but your commandments
are
my delight. This is something the
individual has to experience for himself.
It’s the first step into the path of light. Psa 119:144 Your statutes are forever right; give me understanding
that I may live. Whether you live or die
will depend on how you respond to God’s everlasting Law. The Law and the Statutes are forever and will never pass
away! Qoph Psa 119:145 I call with all my heart; answer me, O
LORD, and I will obey your decrees.
This touches on something we referred to earlier,
where God has said: Jer 29:13-14 “You will
seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will
be found by you,"
declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity.
I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished
you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from
which I carried you into exile."
This just happens to be the situation the House of Israel is heading
for right now! But more to the point, half-hearted people don’t
attract God’s attention. There is nothing like a
catastrophe to bring people to their senses.
As well-meaning as some people may be, if they don’t obey God, then they have never found
Him! It’s hoped that once
the Israelites are in captivity, then like the Jews when they were led as
slaves into It will be immeasurably
harder to obey God’s Commandments in captivity, where death will be stalking
them every day. But this is the
challenge for all who would be God’s servants. In such perilous times, death may seem a
better option than life. The most
important thing is that if death must come, let it be to the glory of God –
to be killed for His sake – as a martyr, to go as a sheep to the slaughter. In such a case, your life in the hereafter
is assured. If God chooses to save
you from death, then you must continue to endure, and you must continue to
obey His Law and Statutes: Psa 119:146 I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes. We certainly don’t want to be trivializing these things, because it
will take a lot of courage, especially when you will be dealing with the
basest creatures on earth. You’ll have
to be mentally tough and have the strongest resolve to serve God under all
circumstances. Throughout history,
it’s never been pleasant to be on the losing side in a war. Yet throughout all of history’s wars, there
has never been anything like the disaster that is coming. In the next verse, the
prophet is advising to arise early to prepare yourselves. Naturally enough, this would involve petitioning
God through prayer to help you through another day. Remember Jesus’ advice: Matt 6:33-34
“But seek
first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be
given to you as well. 34 Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its
own.” Psa 119:147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have
put my hope in your word. The time to be praying to
God is before anything bad happens, and in that position of captivity, this
would be very early before the events of the day unfold. Psa 119:148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises. This is a reference to
the long, dark night before
the new dawn, which is Bible language for the Great Tribulation. Psa 119:149 Hear my voice in accordance
with your love; preserve my life,
O LORD, according to your laws. In truth, everything God says is based on His Law, and this is why we can
rely on the Word of God. Psa 119:150 Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
but
they are far from your law.
You would hardly
expect God’s enemies to be complying with any part of His Law. In fact brutality and murderous assault is
the norm for such creatures, so expect no mercy. We’ve been speaking of
trying to remain faithful to God and obeying His law in the harshest of
circumstances, when it becomes almost impossible. But the truth is that no-one wanted to obey
God while it was perfectly easy to do so, given the right frame of mind. Christianity has been in rebellion and
continues to be, even today. God knows
that the only ones He can rely on are those who remain obedient and live by
His Law. God’s Law is a light to our
path, to show us how to enact God’s Laws through mercy and kindness to others
with genuine compassion and feeling.
This comes with an ample measure of love and outgoing concern for
others. With the There’s
obviously a lot more to this parable of the sheep and goats than we’ll be
covering here, but it does emphasize the blamelessness that must be in all
those who would be a disciple of
Jesus Christ. Then there
are the goats! And this is what Jesus
said in regard to them: V41 “Then he will
say to those on his left, `Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the
devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me
nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43
I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did
not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 44
"They also will answer, `Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or
a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 45
"He will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did not
do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 46
"Then they will go away to
eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." It’s enough
said about the sheep and goats for the present, but the lesson here is that
you will be judged by the manner in which you treat the servants of God, and
the severest punishment will be handed out to all those who indulge in any
type of persecution. On the other
hand, those who show mercy and kindness will be greatly rewarded. When Jesus
Christ returns and makes His presence felt, there will be a lot of people
scrambling to show concern for His disciples.
Whether out of fear of retribution or genuine kindness, God alone will
decide. False Christians had better be
watching their step though! There’s no
evidence of repentance among them – yet! Psa 119:151 Yet you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true. How true this is, is yet to be demonstrated when the penalties for
disobedience are applied on a national scale.
The goats appear to be in the majority, and they even occupy the
Whitehouse. Psa 119:152 Long ago I learned from your statutes
that you established them to last
forever. There’s no point in
bemoaning now that you didn’t know God’s Laws and Statutes last forever. Only scoundrels claim ignorance of the Law
as an excuse! This Psalm has 176
verses, and the importance of Gods’ Law has been emphasized in every verse. Resh Psa 119:153 Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. This emphasizes the difference between Jesus disciples and those who
are not. The disciples of Jesus are
prepared to suffer willingly because He did Himself. They are followers of Jesus Christ and
happily accept the same fate. This is
what Godliness is! It’s not something
new; there are many others who have gone before us, and the Book of Hebrews
mentions some of them: Heb 11:35-39 “Women
received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused
to be released, so that they
might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37
They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they
were put to death by the sword.
They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and
mistreated-- 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains,
and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all
commended for their faith,
yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had
planned something better for us so
that only together with us would they be made perfect.” These are presently awaiting the first
resurrection! Death comes to all of
us, but the important thing is the resurrection. Some of the things mentioned here in the
Book of Hebrews, by the men of God who wrote it, may seem a little
frightening, but the average Bible student today would know that the end of
days is going to be a frightening conclusion to 6,000 years of Satan’s rule –
and he’s not going to go quietly! He’s
going to be full of fury and his primary objective to vent this will be
Christians and Jews. You’ve already
seen his satanic brood arise to carry this out, and they are guided by the satanic verses of the Koran. The last thing you would
be wanting to do is to fear Satan.
Satan is not the one to fear – God is! He is the One we must fear, and He’s the
One we must serve and obey – even in the face of death. This Brotherhood of believers has been
telling you what to expect for years now.
Our readers had the option to join us, but they couldn’t bring
themselves to believe. The cutoff time
is coming soon, and you will be on your own for 3½ years. This is going to be particularly hard on
the Churches of God on whom Satan will turn all his fury (Rev 12:17). Even now the Churches of God seem oblivious
to this! It’s something they should be
taking very, very seriously! The
operative word is ‘fury’, and in the hands of Satan
it will be something to behold! Satan
is not described as a fiery dragon for nothing. But it’s not only Satan; he also commands
more than 50 million demons who live on this earth. Leaving aside the matter
of choices, and it is your place to make your
choices, the Book of Hebrews goes on to mark
out the race you must run: Heb 12:1-8 “Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run
with perseverance THE
RACE MARKED OUT FOR US. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,
the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful
men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you
have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5
And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not
lose heart when he rebukes
you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he
accepts as a son." 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as
sons. For what son is not disciplined by his
father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and
everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not
true sons.” I’m sure that most people reading this
would believe they are not deserving of punishment
or discipline. As the reader would be
aware, the Book of Hebrews was written at a time of growing persecution of
Christians, which continued for centuries.
These Christians were routinely rounded up and put to death. They became very accustomed to hardship and
deprivation and became very disciplined in enduring it. This was the race that was marked out for them and they had to
complete it. This was the Church that
Christ built. It was appointed to them
to endure the scorn of wicked men – just as Jesus did – and to not
grow weary and lose heart. There’s been quite a departure from this
type of faith today. There would be
few Christians today prepared to die for their beliefs, and this is largely
because they don’t follow the example of the early Church – who
were prepared to suffer the same fate as their Lord Jesus Christ. What is more, they considered it a great
honour, and refused deliverance! So what about the
Churches of God today? Well all that
these Churches seem to think about is escaping to some ‘place of safety’ that
was never promised them. Apparently,
they believe they are exempt from any form of suffering, which belies Jesus’
words about enduring to the end! Most true Christians
must die in martyrdom at the hands of God’s enemies. They must set the example for the rest of
the House of Israel among whom they live.
This is their appointed role and they must accept it! And they must do it out of faithful
obedience to God – just as Jesus Christ did! If they do, then they’ll be redeemed from
death and receive eternal life – just
as God has promised. Psa 119:154 Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise. Psa 119:155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not
seek out your decrees. Well this describes the
wicked all right! These are
the ones who have no intention of ever obeying God. Psa 119:156 Your compassion is great, O
LORD; preserve my life according to your laws. When a Saint dies, the record of his life is preserved to await the
resurrection. For this to happen,
God’s Spirit within you must return to Him.
If God’s Holy Spirit is not in you when you die,
then you are dead forever. All these
things were written in the Laws of God and the Saints understand this. The Apostle Paul confirms it in: Rom 8:11
“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is
living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
THROUGH HIS SPIRIT, who
lives in you.” In regard to
God’s Law, God gives His Holy Spirit only to those who OBEY Him: Acts 5:32 “We
are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who OBEY him." Psa 119:157 Many are the foes who persecute me, but I
have not turned
from your statutes. This is the measure of a true
Saint! Regardless of the persecution, they are not
dissuaded from obedience to God. They
know and understand that obedience to God and His Laws means the difference
between life and death, and they stand with God under all circumstances. Psa 119:158 I look on the faithless with loathing, for
they do not obey
your word. Anyone who doesn’t stand
with God will not be well received by those who do. In fact, these faithless people will be
treated with loathing; in fact, as cowardly.
Few people would admire a coward!
God Himself looks on them with contempt. His Son Jesus Christ ranks among the
bravest men who have ever lived. Psa 119:159 See how I love your precepts; preserve my
life, O LORD, according to your
love. God loves those who love Him, and He wants
them to be just like His Son Jesus. He
wants them to embody the very Spirit of His Son Jesus. Psa 119:160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. God’s Laws are eternal, and so are all those who faithfully obey them
– they have the promise of eternal life through the Spirit of God
within them. It’s spoken
of as a ‘deposit’ or ‘down-payment’ of God’s
promise. Eph 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you
were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14
who is a DEPOSIT
guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are
God's possession--to the praise of his glory.” Without the Holy
Spirit you don’t belong to God! Sin and Shin Psa 119:161 Rulers persecute
me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word. Ambitious rulers and despots use intimidation as a weapon. Their only reason to do so is to seize
power. This type of ruler has a
well-kept secret which we’ve spoken of many times, and it’s found in Eph 6:12. It has to do with ‘the power behind the throne’! This power is not flesh and blood, but spirit
rulers of the dark world,
and the reason they are called ‘rulers’ is because they aspire to
these positions. These are mad
lunatics who destroy anyone who gets in their way. Like all Satan’s brood, these rulers have
an obsession with destroying Christians and Jews. In countries where these creatures rule,
Christians are routinely persecuted and killed. We see it happening all the time now, so no
Christian should feel immune regardless of where they live. You’ll notice that the Psalmist doesn’t say
he trembles at these rulers; rather he says he trembles at God’s Word!
In saying this, he knows the stakes are high, and all the ruler can do
is to kill him, but God could wipe him out forever! Those who live by God’s
Word can have the assurance that they have God’s Holy Spirit – which He gives
to those who obey Him. Therefore, all
these Saints have the assurance that they will live again, which accords with God’s Promise. Psa 119:162 I rejoice in your
promise like one who finds great spoil. Men will offer you all sorts of promises and inducements to win your
favour, yet we all know the perils of believing them. God’s promises, however, are like a
towering rock that never passes away, and God’s promises cannot fail. God is faithful in all that He has said. Psa 119:163 I hate and abhor falsehood
but I love your law. I don’t know about you, but I too, hate and abhore the falsehoods
displayed from the pulpits of churches today.
These preachers promise the world but deliver nothing. Everything they teach is false, and their
promises are worthless! And the
reasons for this are obvious – they don’t love God’s Law! Psa 119:164 Seven times a day I praise
you for your righteous laws. I don’t know how many times a day the average Saint would praise God for His Righteous Law, but a
Saint would find many occasions throughout the day to silently thank God for
His many mercies and kindnesses. Psa 119:165 Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can
make them stumble. The Saints who give
thanks to God have great peace of mind.
Since the Saints truly love
God’s Law, they can truly rely on all His Promises. Those who are committed to obedience to
God’s Law will never stumble, because their fear of God overrides their fear
of death. Psa 119:166 I wait for your salvation,
O LORD, and I follow your
commandments. There’s millions of
Christians today who wait for God’s salvation; oddly enough though, they don’t
follow His Commandments. They might call themselves Christians, but
they certainly are not Saints! Psa 119:167 I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly. What a contrast to Christianity today!
They hate God’s Statutes and Laws intensely! They expect God to accept them just as they
are. They’ve even developed their own
form of name-calling for all those who obey God. They refer to them as legalistic
anti-Christs. They actually believe
that obedience to God is a form of the anti-Christ. I wonder how they explain this: Matt 5:18-20
“I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter,
not
the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from
the Law until everything is
accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and
teaches others to do the same will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices
and teaches these commands will be called great in
the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of
the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” In summary, Jesus
stated that until heaven and earth
disappear – and this certainly hasn’t happened
– not
the smallest letter, not
the least stroke of the pen
will by any means (including
the false teachings of Christians) disappear
from the Law until everything is accomplished. He then goes on to say that anyone who BREAKS the least of these
Commandments, and teaches other to do so,
will be called least
in the Kingdom. Those designated as
the ‘least’ will be those not worthy of any
reward. However, those who practice these Laws and teach these Commandments to others
will be called great in
God’s Kingdom. How could there be any
misunderstanding about this? The Pharisees
and the teachers of the Law in Jesus’ day also kept the Commandments, but not
with the purity by which it was written.
Instead, they decided to add all sorts of variations, literally crazy
stuff that proved to be burdensome on others.
They, themselves didn’t keep all these additional variations of the
Law, but they used their authority to force everyone else to do so. All of which demeaned the purpose and the
love of God’s Law. There were silly
things like counting the steps one took on the Sabbath. Some people had to take big steps in order
to reach the synagogue or be guilty of breaking the Sabbath. All these things were formed in the minds
of lunatics, and Jesus labeled them hypocrites! For this reason, He told his disciples
their righteousness must surpass
that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. In other words, obey God – not the doctrine of men! Psa 119:168 I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to
you. God knows the ways of all
the Saints because they’re very precious to Him. The Saints can be relied on to teach others
because they faithfully obey all God’s precepts and Statutes. Their whole way of life exemplifies this,
and without the Saints to set this example, the whole House of Israel would
be doomed. Though the House of Israel
is predominantly Christian, there are very few Saints among them. It’s the Saints who will be called on to do
the hard yards in bringing them to repentance. This is the purpose of the Church which
Christ built. You’ll recall that Jesus
Christ came only to the ‘lost sheep of Taw So the Saints in the
Churches of God have a job to do and they must not fail! This will be the crowning glory of the
ages, the ushering in of the most momentous occasion in the realm of human
history. This is the day that the
Apostles and Prophets of old longed
to see, but never lived to see! (Luke 17:22).
To these great men, the end was more important than the means for
getting there. Courage and character
come in many forms. There are some who
speak boldly in the face of the enemy, and then there are others who take an
armed stand for the protection of those they love and are prepared to lay
down their lives in this cause. Both
exhibit the type of faith that finds favour with God. Personally speaking, I would fall into the
second category. There is no way on
earth that I would stand by and watch those I love slaughtered before my
eyes! Instead, it would be a fight to
the death! But let’s view these two
categories further. Taking the second
one first; what did Jesus have to say in this regard? When asked by Pilate if He was the King of
the Jews, Jesus replied: John 18:36 “Jesus
said, "My kingdom is not of this world
(Gr aion = age). If it were, MY SERVANTS WOULD FIGHT to
prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place [time]." The
Jews who arrested Him were the enemy, but a far greater number of Jews were His disciples. So let’s not be distorting things out of
proportion. The point is that when the
Kingdom of God is to be
established, God’s servants will fight! As a preview
to this future event, Jesus Christ partially fulfilled this among His
disciples when He told them to get some swords: Luke
22:36 “He said to
them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and
if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy
one. 37 It is WRITTEN: `And he was numbered with the
transgressors' ; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what
is written about me is reaching its fulfillment." 38 The
disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords."
"That is enough," he replied.” And where is this WRITTEN? It’s written in Isaiah, chapter 53, which all Christians should be familiar with. This Chapter is a well-known prophecy of
the coming of the Lord Christ
and also the description of His death and His resurrection. But as we all know, there is a 2nd
Coming of our Lord Christ, and the outcome will be considerably
different. In that day, His servants will fight! As every logical Christian should know, the
Forget all
about negotiations, it doesn’t work with Islam or any of the children of the
devil. The only thing they understand
is brute force! But I suspect that
most rational people are rapidly coming to this conclusion today! Yet the question is, ‘Would they be prepared to act?’
Apparently not, because they’ve certainly missed a lot of
opportunities! The truth is that their
heads are still buried in the fetid swamp of political correctness so they’re
already morally defeated and corrupted.
You cannot be a friend of God while at the same time a friend to His
enemies! God has no interest in
double-minded people! And this
brings us to the first point of the two we posed, which relates to speaking boldly. You don’t see much of this today! Instead we see swamp-heads pontificating to
make themselves seem virtuous while they defend the indefensible. If anyone is not sickened by this type of
thing, then they are probably half-way there to being just like them. To the
Saints, Jesus Christ gave this very good advice: Luke
12:11-12 “When you are
brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12
for
the Holy Spirit will teach you
at that time what you should say." As an example of this bold speaking, we only have to
consider the defense offered by the martyr
Stephen. He launched a verbal attack
on his accusers and cut right to the bone!
The demons swarmed and they all went mad. The account of Stephen’s arrest and defense
begins in Acts
6:12. He begins by giving
his accusers a long discourse on their history, beginning with their father
Abraham, then Moses and down through the ages to that present day. Then he launched his attack on them in Acts 7:51-53
“You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts
and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy
Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did
not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the
Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-- 53 YOU WHO HAVE RECEIVED THE LAW that
was put into effect through angels BUT HAVE NOT OBEYED IT." Stephen was the first
martyr of that era following Jesus’ death and resurrection. His main accusation was they
had not obeyed
God’s Law! Instead, they
insisted that everyone obey their rendition of it, which was fraught with
picky variations and hardships that turned people away. These religious maniacs wanted authority
over everyone, and so they set themselves up as the authorities of the Law;
but more to the point, they set themselves up as the judiciary of the Law
with the power of penalties. Anyone
who offended them was falsely accused and put to death. For these mad creatures, Stephen was an
obvious target because he saw through their hypocrisy. Stephen was merely echoing Jesus words
about the hypocrisy He experienced with these hypocrites. How much worse is it that
so many professing Christians today don’t obey God’s Law, yet uphold themselves as the pinnacles of
virtue? Whose side do you suppose
these people would be on in the event that a true worshipper of God, who
obeys His Law, were to be arrested?
This would be especially true if the contest were between God’s Law
and Shariah law. Those who despise
God’s Law would be the first to wilt under pressure and favour Islamic Shariah
law rather than God’s Law. The days are coming, and
they are not far off, when you will be brought before the authorities to give
an account of yourself – if you happen to be a faithful and true Christian
who obeys God. Your defense will be along
the lines of what Stephen had to say in his defense. Nevertheless, you should not be worrying
about what you should say, because God’s Holy Spirit will be with you to give
you the right words. And this is what this
Psalm now begins to deal with: Psa 119:169 May my cry come before you, O
LORD; give me understanding
according
to your word. At that time, you will be given understanding
according
to God’s Word. This is a promise that you can rely on! Psa 119:170 May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your
promise. Deliverance doesn’t
necessarily come in this life, and this is certainly true of Stephen, who was
indeed delivered when his Spirit returned to the Father. Stephen will be raised in the first
resurrection, and so will you if you faithfully comply according to God’s Word and believe His promise. Psa 119:171 May my lips overflow with
praise, for you teach me your
decrees. God’s Decrees are
reliable; what God decrees comes to pass, and
you can be sure of this! Many of God’s
minor decrees are hidden from view and must be sought out by examples and
observations. We are soon to be
plunged into a situation of either life or death, and it’s as well to
understand what God has decreed right from the outset. Psa 119:172 May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commandments are righteous. The first stage of any sort of understanding involves obedience to
God’s Commandments. Without this type
of obedience you won’t even have God’s Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32). The Saints are those who
have God’s Holy Spirit, and like Jesus Christ, their mission is to the ‘lost
sheep of Psa 119:173 May your hand be ready to help
me, for I have chosen your precepts. God’s hand will be ready to help in the perilous days ahead, if you choose
to follow His precepts – even though it may be done belatedly, which is not ideal, but
better than nothing. It’s far better
to get started early rather than make it harder on yourself when you’re
desperate and in dire straits. Psa 119:174 I long for your salvation,
O LORD, and your law is my delight. At that time, people will know the meaning of salvation, because
they’ll be right among their enemies – and with a strong desire to be
somewhere else! Psa 119:175 Let me live that I may praise
you, and may your laws sustain me. God’s Laws are the only
thing that will sustain you
in those days. Disobedience to them
certainly won’t! Psa 119:176 I have strayed like a lost
sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not
forgotten your commandments.
‘Lost sheep’ is a reference to the ‘lost sheep of As for not
forgetting God’s Commandments,
just a year or two back there was a move by the looney side of politics to
remove the Ten Commandments from every court house and every public
place. It was the most public and
blatant attempt to discredit God’s Laws that had ever occurred in the Just before we leave this
Psalm, it’s as well to clarify a few things about the 144,000. It’s a very difficult concept to explain,
mainly because it concerns an ancient reference to them as “Jeshurun”,
which literally means ‘Jesus’ ones’ or as some
commentaries put it, ‘the upright ones’. God refers to them as the ‘chosen
ones’ in Isa 44:2.
The fact is that Jeshurun
comes to prominence in the end of days.
In his benediction to the Tribes of Israel immediately before his
death, Moses spoke of Jeshurun
at the time of the arrival of the Lord Christ with all his angels (12
legions of them) and all the Saints. This is the blessing he bestowed on the
Tribes of Israel to let them know what would happen in the last days: Deut 33:1-5
“This is the blessing that Moses the man of God
pronounced on the Israelites before his death. 2 He said:
"The LORD came from SINAI
and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from It’s
essential to God’s promise to the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that
God fulfills his specific promise concerning their offspring. To this end, God will ensure that the
specific numbers, that is 12,000 of each of the Tribes (Dan is excepted, and
the double portion goes to Joseph) are present when the Patriarchs are
resurrected to enter God’s Kingdom.
Naturally enough, no-one today could make the distinction of who
belongs to which Tribe and guessing is not an option. God knows however, and He will instruct His angels in the sealing
process (Rev 7:3). There is yet
one more distinction to be made concerning the ‘lost sheep of It would be
unthinkable that Bible Prophecy should fail to reference the mightiest power
on earth and the largest Christian nation in these last days. Well, as it happens, whole books are
devoted to prophecy concerning Ephraim, most notably the Book of Hosea. In these last centuries, Ephraim has again
become the dominant force among the ‘lost sheep of It’s a fact
of life that Ephraim is to face their tormentors first in the Day of Reckoning, and
they will be laid waste. Europe may
guardedly hate The fact is,
the European tribes of As a further point of
interest, Jeroboam the Ephramite worked for Solomon as an official, until he
decided to rebel, at which time, Solomon sought to kill him. It was in the reign of Solomon’s son that Ephraim (with Jeroboam as ruler)
became a major power after God gave
him Ten Tribes. It was at this
point that Ephraim became
the rightful owner of these Ten
Tribes. It was just a few
hundred years ago when he gathered them all together once more to become one nation – under God! Along with a Constitution that stipulates
the importance of this association! James adds this
postscript to his remarks about the Tribes of Israel: James 4:7-9 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to
you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter
to mourning and your joy to
gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before
the Lord, and he will lift you up.”
Mourning and gloom
serve as two very good remedial qualities to shake up a godless people, and
the Europeans are going to see plenty of this. It will be very illuminating to see the
reaction of the Europeans when Ephraim
is laid waste. Their smug joy
will soon disappear from their faces!
Just remember that James is addressing the 12 Tribes of Well, we’ve just trawled through
the longest chapter (by verse count) in the Bible, and what is very evident
through all 176 verses is the importance of keeping God’s Commandments,
Statutes and Decrees. Perhaps this is
why Christianity rarely ever quotes from this particular Psalm. Their agenda is decidedly different from
that of the Psalmist. PSALM 120 A song of
ascents. Psa 120:1 I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers
me. As we’ve just read, this is the type of
advice James gave to the 12 Tribes
of Psa 120:2 Save me, O LORD, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. When you think about it, this is how the ‘lost sheep of Even the most optimistic
observer of Russian strategy could not help but notice the spiteful trend
this is taking towards Psa 120:3 What will he do
to you, and what more besides, O deceitful tongue? God hates deceitful tongues, and the outcome of everything will be far
more than they bargained for. Psa 120:4 He will punish you with a warrior's
sharp arrows, with burning coals of the broom tree. (Poetic language for sweeping them clean with coals of fire). There will be raging conflagrations
everywhere, and this will be topped off with the ruthlessness of
invaders. As for the ‘Warrior’s sharp arrows’, these
are seen when the Mighty One Himself appears over them (Zech 9:14). Psa 120:5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, that I live among the
tents of Kedar! Who’d like to dwell in
Meshech? It’s obviously not
a good place to live! Who or what is
Meshech? Many Bible commentaries, for
example ‘The New International Dictionary of the Bible, rightly
identifies Meshech as the occupants of a vast land whose borders are
contiguous with Gog. In other words, Russia. There are three divisions of humanity, and
these were divided according to the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham
and Japheth. Shem is the white race, Ham
the black race, and Japheth the browns and yellows of the The Bible doesn’t have
much to say about the descendants of Japheth regarding Bible Prophecy, except
for one catastrophic event, which is called the Battle of Armageddon.
In this prophecy, Meshech and Tubal – the Russian hordes – will find
themselves in submission to Gog. Gog will be the dominant force in the whole
All this is
prophesied to happen at the time of the rising of the Beast and his conquest
of the Middle East, where he will set up his base in So the
killing of all the worthless human vermin on earth will be decisively carried
out in one place – in the Valley of
Armageddon. The real
rulers, who are not
flesh and blood, and who
rule these vast hordes to the north
and east, are presently biding their time. They realize that all they have to do is to
sit and wait for the opportune moment to rule the whole world. But they will miss the most important part
of their equation, and this is the Mighty
Prince of Peace. This Mighty
Warrior, the Son of God, knows how to make peace because He knows how to
make
war – and He knows how to win! He will choose the place for the kill when
He opens up a vast plain in the The odd thing about all
this is that there will be survivors among the Well, we’ve jumped way
ahead of things, and a lot of things must happen before the Psa 120:6 Too long have I lived among
those who hate peace. Psa 120:7 I am a man of peace;
but when I speak, they are for war. This may remind the reader of something David said in Psa 119:165
“Great
peace have they who love
your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” No matter how
enthusiastic we are to bring punishment on the heads of our enemies who
attack us, there is really no substitute for peace. We’d all like to live our lives in peace –
generally speaking! But when other
nations attack us, there is no alternative but to go to war. There are enemies on this earth that don’t
respond to diplomatic efforts because they hate peace,
and in the interests of all others who dwell on the earth, there is only one
rational approach, and this is to wipe them all out and restore peace. As things presently stand, the Western
nations have baulked at doing this, even though we’re reminded everyday of
the evidence of their relentless
aggression. In the minds of
these satanic hordes, the killing of Christians and Jews is a noble pursuit
and they are incapable of thinking differently. Sure the
Christian nations have taken a limited approach to solving the problem, but
they continue to believe the solution is to ‘win their hearts and minds’. As we’ve already seen, this is not
how the Lord Christ will solve the problem!
Jesus Christ will shatter the nations and beat them into submission
until there is no fight left in them – and few are left alive. It’s the only solution that works! As for
suitable candidates to tackle the problem, who better to take this role that
the United States of Today we have
half
the American people who would disagree with God about what is a righteous
war. We read of an example of what this is in Psa 110:5-6 “The
Lord is at your right hand; he will
crush kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He
will judge the nations, heaping
up the dead and crushing
the rulers of the whole earth.” Who then, has any right whatsoever to
decide that God’s enemies are worthy of life in this earth? Especially when this enemy is hell-bent on
killing all God’s people, the 12 Tribes of Israel! It seems that some lessons can only be
learned the hard way! All rights reserved |
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