Christmas

PRE-CHRISTMAS CONTEMPLATIONS- PART 4-THE DEDICATION

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About forty days after the birth of Christ, Joseph and Mary took Him (Jesus) to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord and to offer sacrifice. This was according to Jewish law, and as man’s substitute, Christ must conform to the law in every particular. He had already been subjected to the rite of circumcision as a pledge of His obedience to the law.

As an offering for the mother, the law required a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. But the law provided that if the parents were too poor to bring a lamb, a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons, one for a burnt offering, the other for a sin offering, might be accepted.

The offerings presented to the Lord were to be without blemish. These offerings represented Christ, and from this, it is evident that Jesus Himself was free from physical deformity. He was the
“lamb without blemish and without spot.”
1 Peter 1:19.

Desire of Ages, p. 50

His physical structure was not marred by any defect; His body was strong and healthy. And throughout His lifetime, He lived in conformity to nature’s laws. Physically as well as spiritually, He was an example of what God designed all humanity to be through obedience to His laws.

The dedication of the firstborn had its origin in the earliest times. God had promised to give the Firstborn of heaven to save the sinner. This gift was to be acknowledged in every household by the consecration of the firstborn son. He was to be devoted to the priesthood as a representative of Christ among men.

In the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, the dedication of the firstborn was again commanded. While the children of Israel were in bondage to the Egyptians, the Lord directed Moses to go to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and say, “

Thus saith the Lord, Israel is My son, even My first-born: and I say unto thee, Let My son go, that he may serve Me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born.”

Exodus 4:22, 23.

Moses delivered his message, but the proud king’s answer was,

“Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.”

Exodus 5:2.

The Lord worked for His people by signs and wonders, sending terrible judgments upon Pharaoh. At length, the destroying angel was bidden to slay the firstborn of man and beast among the Egyptians. That the Israelites might be spared, they were directed to place upon their doorposts the blood of a slain lamb. Every house was to be marked so that when the angel came on his mission of death, he might pass over the homes of the Israelites.

After sending this judgment upon Egypt, the Lord said to Moses,

“Sanctify unto Me all the first-born, . . . both of man and of the beast: it is Mine;” “for on the day that I smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto Me all the first-born in Israel, both man and beast: Mine shall they be: I am the Lord.”

Exodus 13:2; Numbers 3:13.

After the Tabernacle service was established, the Lord chose the tribe of Levi in the place of the firstborn of all Israel to minister in the sanctuary. But the firstborn were still to be regarded as the Lord’s and were to be bought back by a ransom.

Thus the law for the presentation of the firstborn was made particularly significant. While it was a memorial of the Lord’s wonderful deliverance of the children of Israel, it prefigured a greater deliverance to be wrought out by the only-begotten Son of God. As the blood sprinkled on the doorposts had saved the firstborn of Israel, so the blood of Christ has the power to save the world. 

What meaning then was attached to Christ’s presentation! But the priest did not see through the veil or read the mystery beyond. The presentation of infants was a common scene. Day after day, the priest received the redemption money as the babes were presented to the Lord. Day after day, he went through the routine of his work, giving little heed to the parents or children unless he saw some indication of the wealth or high rank of the parents. Joseph and Mary were poor, and when they came with their child, the priests saw only a man and woman dressed as Galileans and in the humblest garments. There was nothing in their appearance to attract attention, and they presented only the offerings made by the poorer classes.

The priest went through the ceremony of his official work. He took the child in his arms and held it up before the altar. After handing it back to its mother, he inscribed the name “Jesus” on the roll of the firstborn. Little did he think, as the babe lay in his arms, that it was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory. The priest did not think that this babe was the One of whom Moses had written, “

A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you.”

Acts 3:22.

He did not think that this babe was He whose glory Moses had asked to see. But One greater than Moses lay in the priest’s arms, and when he enrolled the child’s name, he was enrolling the name of One who was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. That name was to be its death warrant, for the system of sacrifices and offerings was waxing old; the type had almost reached its antitype, the shadow of its substance.

The Shekinah had departed from the sanctuary, but in the Child of Bethlehem was veiled the glory before which angels bow. This unconscious babe was the promised seed to whom the first altar at the gate of Eden pointed. This was Shiloh, the peace giver. It was He who declared Himself to Moses as the I AM. It was He who, in the pillar of cloud and fire, had guided Israel. This was He whom seers had long foretold. He was the Desire of all nations, the Root and the Offspring of David, and the Bright and Morning Star. The name of that helpless little babe, inscribed in the roll of Israel, declaring Him our brother, was the hope of fallen humanity. The child for whom the redemption money had been paid was He who was to pay the ransom for the sins of the whole world. He was the true…

“…high priest over the house of God,” the head of “an unchangeable priesthood,” the intercessor at “the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 10:21; 7:24; 1:3.

Desire of Ages, Pages 50-52

Christmas

PRE-CHRISTMAS CONTEMPLATIONS-PART-3-“UNTO YOU A SAVIOR…”

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 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2: 10-11

The King of Glory stooped low to take humanity. Rude and forbidding were His earthly surroundings. His glory was veiled so that the majesty of His outward form might not become an object of attraction. He shunned all outward display. Riches, worldly honor, and human greatness can never save a soul from death;

Jesus purposed that no attraction of an earthly nature should call men to His side. Only the beauty of heavenly truth must draw those who would follow Him. The character of the Messiah had long been foretold in prophecy, and He desired men to accept Him upon the testimony of the word of God.

Desire of Ages, p. 44

The angels had wondered at the glorious plan of redemption. They watched to see how the people of God would receive His Son, clothed in the garb of humanity. Angels came to the land of the chosen people. Other nations were dealing in fables and worshiping false gods. To the land where the glory of God had been revealed, and the light of prophecy had shone, the angels came. 

With amazement, the heavenly messengers beheld the indifference of the people whom God had called to communicate to the world the light of sacred truth. The Jewish nation had been preserved as a witness that Christ was to be born of the seed of Abraham and David’s line, yet they knew not that His coming was now at hand. In the temple, the morning and the evening sacrifice daily pointed to the Lamb of God, yet even here was no preparation to receive Him. The priests and teachers of the nation knew not that the greatest event of the ages was about to take place. They rehearsed their meaningless prayers and performed the rites of worship to be seen by men, but in their strife for riches and worldly honor, they were not prepared for the revelation of the Messiah. 

Desire of Ages, p. 44

Angels attend Joseph and Mary as they journey from their home in Nazareth to the city of David. The decree of imperial Rome for the enrollment of the peoples of her vast dominion has extended to the dwellers among the hills of Galilee. As in old times, Cyrus was called to the throne of the world’s empire so that he might set free the captives of the Lord, so Caesar Augustus was made the agent for the fulfillment of God’s purpose in bringing the mother of Jesus to Bethlehem. She is of David’s lineage, and the son of David must be born in David’s city. Out of Bethlehem, said the prophet,

“shall He come forth . . . that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from the days of eternity.”

Micah 5:2, margin

Weary and homeless, they traverse the entire length of the narrow street, from the city’s gate to the eastern extremity of the town, vainly seeking a resting place for the night. There is no room for them at the crowded inn. In a rude building where the beasts are sheltered, they at last find refuge, and here, the Redeemer of the world is born.

Above the hills of Bethlehem, an innumerable throng of angels are gathered. They wait for the signal to declare the glad news to the world. Had the leaders in Israel been true to their trust, they might have shared the joy of heralding the birth of Jesus. But now they are passed by.

God declares,

“I will pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground.” Isaiah 44:3;

“Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.”

Psalm 112:4.

To those seeking light and who accept it with gladness, the bright rays from the throne of God will shine.

In the fields where the boy David had led his flock, shepherds still kept watch by night. Through the silent hours, they talked together of the promised Saviour and prayed for the coming of the King to David’s throne. “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2: 10-11

At these words, visions of glory fill the minds of the listening shepherds. The Deliverer has come to Israel! Power, exaltation, and triumph are associated with His coming. But the angel must prepare them to recognize their Saviour in poverty and humiliation. “This shall be a sign unto you,” he says; “Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

Desire of Ages, p. 48

Oh, that today, the human family could recognize that song! The declaration then made, the note then struck, will swell to the close of time and resound to the ends of the earth. When the Sun of Righteousness shall arise, with healing in His wings, that song will be re-echoed by the voice of a great multitude, as the voice of many waters, saying,

“Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.”

Revelation 19:6.

The story of Bethlehem is an exhaustless theme. In it is hidden “the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.” Romans 11:33. We marvel at the Saviour’s sacrifice in exchanging the throne of heaven for the manger and the companionship of adoring angels for the beasts of the stall. Human pride and self-sufficiency stand rebuked in His presence. Yet this was but the beginning of His wonderful condescension. It would have been an almost infinite humiliation for the Son of God to take man’s nature, even when Adam stood in his innocence in Eden. But Jesus accepted humanity when the race had been weakened by four thousand years of sin. Like every child of Adam, He accepted the results of the working of the great law of heredity. What these results were is shown in the history of His earthly ancestors. He came with such a heredity to share our sorrows and temptations and to give us the example of a sinless life.

The heart of the human father yearns over his son. He looks into the face of his little child and trembles at the thought of life’s peril. He longs to shield his dear one from Satan’s power, to hold him back from temptation and conflict. To meet a bitterer conflict and a more fearful risk, God gave His only-begotten Son so that the path of life might be made sure for our little ones.

“Herein is love.” Wonder, O heavens! and be astonished, O earth!”

Romans 11:33

Desire of Ages, P. 43-49 in part

Christmas

PRE-CHRISTMAS CONTEMPLATIONS-PART 2 (CONDITIONS AT THE TIME OF HIS BIRTH)

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Part 2 of a 10-part series ending on Christmas Eve

The fullness of time had come…Humanity, becoming more degraded through ages of transgression, called for the coming of the Redeemer.

Satan was seeking to shut out from men a knowledge of God, to turn their attention from the temple of God, and to establish his own kingdom. His moves for supremacy had seemed to be almost wholly successful.

Through heathenism, Satan had, for ages, turned men away from God, but he won his great triumph in perverting the faith of Israel. The principle that man can save himself by his own works lay at the foundation of every heathen religion.

The people whom God had called to be the pillar and ground of the truth had become representatives of Satan. The deception of sin had reached its height. All the agencies for depraving the souls of men had been put into operation.

The Son of God, looking upon the world, beheld suffering and misery. With pity, He saw how men had become victims of satanic cruelty. He looked, with compassion, upon those who were being corrupted, murdered and lost.

Sin had become a science. And vice was consecrated as a part of religion. It was demonstrated before the universe that, apart from God, humanity could not be lifted. A new element of life and power must be imparted by Him, who made the world…through every age, through every hour, the love of God had been exercised toward the fallen race.

None but Christ can fashion anew the character that has been ruined by sin. He came to expel the demons that had controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory.

Desire of Ages. Pages 34-38 in part

The world is in a similar situation today, only worse…“as it was in the days of Noah.” “Their thoughts were only evil continually. “ While the compassion and love of God is great, his justice will be demonstrated in these last days. Come aboard the ark of Jesus and be spared the coming destruction. God wants to save you and your family today through the sacrifice of that baby in the manager, whose purpose was to live then die for the sins of the world. He was called Immanuel (God with us).

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20…the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.“ John 6:37

Give in to the Spirit of God, who brings conviction to your heart. Give in and surrender to the one who is faithful to do all He has promised. Please write me and let me know your decision.

I will pray for you as a child of the King. You can do the same! Eddie

Christmas

PRE-CHRISTMAS CONTEMPLATIONS-PART 1

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The Fullness of Time

“When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His son…to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Galatians 4:4-5

The Saviour’s coming was foretold in Eden…From the days of Enoch, the promise was repeated through patriarchs and prophets, keeping alive the hope of His appearing, and yet He came not. The prophecy of Daniel revealed the time of His advent, but not all rightly interpreted the message.

Century after century passed away; the voices of the prophets ceased. The hand of the oppressor was heavy upon Israel, and many were ready to exclaim, “The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth.” Ezekiel 12:22.

So in heaven’s council, the hour for the coming of Christ had been determined. When the great clock of time pointed to that hour, Jesus was born in Bethlehem…

The nations were united under one government. One language was widely spoken and was recognized everywhere as the language of literature…

For hundreds of years, the Scriptures had been translated into Greek, then widely spoken throughout the Roman Empire. The Jews were scattered everywhere, and their expectation of the Messiah’s coming was, to some extent, shared by the Gentiles.

At this time, the systems of heathenism were losing their hold upon the people. Men were weary of pageants and fables. They longed for a religion that could satisfy the heart.

Among those whom the Jews styled heathen were men who had a better understanding of the Scripture prophecies concerning the Messiah than the teachers in Israel.

God had spoken to the world through nature, through types and symbols, through patriarchs and prophets. Lessons must be given to humanity in the language of humanity. The Messenger of the covenant must speak.

While few understood the nature of Christ’s mission, there was a widespread expectation of a mighty prince who should establish his kingdom in Israel and who should come as a deliverer to the nations.

The fullness of the time had come. Humanity, becoming more degraded through ages of transgression, called for the coming of the Redeemer.

Desire of Ages, pages 31-34 in part.

Enemies of Israel, Faith

The Enemies of Israel-Part 5-God or a King

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Now, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (warning) upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our history.” EGW

We Want A King!

The children of Israel had settled in the promised land.  All seemed good. But they soon began to complain to Samuel for a king.  They wanted to be like other nations and be ruled by someone they could see but still keep God—two masters, as it were.   No longer satisfied with a theocracy governed by God through judges and priests, they desired an earthly monarchy.  They felt a king would make them acceptable and powerful like other nations.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 1 Samuel 8:4-5

Samuel was not pleased with their request despite the sound reasoning that Samuel’s sons would soon be their judges, but they were not like Samuel.  They were corrupt:

But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 1 Samuel 8: 3

Samuel understood that establishing a king was a giant step in the wrong direction for the people of Promise. As the old proverb goes, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”  Like their forefathers who wandered in the desert for 40 years, the people had not come to trust God and put Him first.

Thought question:  Do we make God our sole source of direction, or do we put our trust in a person or persons?  The children of Israel would start down a path that would lead them further away from God by substituting God with a king.

We must balance this thought with the fact that God works through people whom He educates and gives power to do his will through truth and goodness.  But the enemy also works through people to harm and divide.

Rejection of God’s Rule

Samuel did not know what to do nor how to respond to their logical reasoning about his sons and the eventual rule by corrupt judges.  He did what every believer must do when faced with a challenging situation.  He prayed to seek God’s wisdom.

So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 1 Samuel 6-7

Samuel must have been surprised by the response from God.  Let them have what they want!  Don’t feel bad, Samuel.  They have not rejected you.  They have rejected me and don’t want Me to rule over them.

Thought question:  Do we do the same thing when we trust in priests, pastors, and strong personalities rather than God our Father?  How can we know which are good and which have a different agenda than God?

After all that God had done for them by delivering them from the rule of Egypt and a powerful pharaoh, they sought to be placed under the sovereign whims of an earthly king.  God told Samuel to remind them what God had done for them.  Then, He warned them about what to expect.  Samuel obeyed God and laid it all out in 1 Samuel 8: 10-18.

Consequences:

A king would take advantage of them. He would build up an army.  They didn’t need an army under the protection of God.  God had protected them from the pursuing army of Egypt. 

A king would take their daughters and put them to work for him.  He would bring the best of their agriculture and a tenth of produce and livestock.  The people of God would become servants to the king. At some point, they would cry out to God, but He would not listen to them.

And you will cry out that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you that day.” 1 Samuel 8:18

Consequences-The Theme Going Forward

They would have to bear the consequences of not trusting God.  That is the central theme of the people of God’s mistakes, which Paul warns us in our opening passage.  It is what Paul wants us to hear, see, and understand so that we don’t do the same. 

Thought question: How well is your trust in God?  Can you trust Him, no matter the circumstance?  Have you had to bear the consequences of making someone or something else king in your life?

Despite the gloomy prophecy, the people went ahead with their desire to have a man rule over them.

Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”  1 Samuel 8: 19-20

When the people of God desire to compromise and become like “all the nations,” they lose the power of God.  They would become ineffective for Him and the truth that would save the lost.  They would become poor witnesses to the only true God.

Our failure to trust in Him leaves us vulnerable.  Instead of letting God fight our battles, we seek the government or some other entity to fight them for us.  This is an unholy alliance and not in the will of God.  In the book of Revelation, a corrupt church (Babylon) and the State will unite to enforce the church’s ungodly dogma through the government.  The people of God should never seek to have the government force people to believe as they do.  Our God does not work by force or through any government edicts. 

Moral laws, as described in the last six commandments, are acceptable legislation to produce for a safe society, but the first four commandments of God relate to Him alone.  These, in particular, are never to be legislated.  They are about the worship of the only Creator.  The beast of Revelation 13 creates laws about worship because the enemy seeks to replace God and how people worship Him.

As we will see as we move along in understanding the enemies of Israel, their captors want to eliminate the true God of the Israelites.  The hate is not just about a people, but the only true God.  Herein is the primary goal of the enemy.

The First King-Saul

And Samuel heard all the people’s words and repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. So the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel told the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”

1 Samuel 8: 21-22

Samuel broke up the crowd of unsatisfied grumblers and sent them home.   Then Samuel went about the task of finding a good king. He desired a candidate who would be obedient and submissive to the guidance of God. His journey would lead to a Benjamite man named Kish, who was powerful and wealthy.  Kish’s son Saul, a very tall and handsome man, was his choice.  On the outside, he looked like a king who could influence the nations around Israel.

Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.1 Samuel 9: 2 NIV

The meeting between Samuel and Saul is very interesting.  Saul’s journey to look for his father’s lost donkeys is recorded in 1 Samuel 9.  I won’t take much time here, but I want to point out a couple of passages.

Saul is Born-Again

When Saul and Samuel’s paths cross, as directed by the Lord (See 1 Samuel 9: 16), the exchange of their first words is important:

Samuel said, As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?” 1 Samuel 9: 20b

Saul came looking for a prophet (Samuel) to help him find the lost donkeys.  Instead, he is greeted by the prophet in a very respectful and unusual way.  Then Saul reveals his character with these words:

Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?”

1 Samuel 9: 21

God does not use the biggest, strongest, and most famous to initiate His will and leadership.  It is the small and humble He seeks. 

Something else demonstrates that God has prepared Saul for his journey as a king.  He gave him a new heart.

So it was, when he had turned his back to go on Samuel, God gave him another heart, and all those signs came to pass that day. When they arrived there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 1 Samuel 9: 9-10

God directed the meeting of Saul and Samuel.  At least at this point, Saul was a humble young man born again (another heart), and the Spirit of God was upon him.  Saul started well with a new heart and the direction of God’s Spirit.

However, as the story goes, this same Saul, after many years as king of the united kingdom of Israel, would change and lose his way.  The people would also become different people. 

Among the people were rebels who did not accept Saul as their king. This is important because, ultimately, there would be a clear division of the people of God’s kingdoms of the North and the South.

Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.

1 Samuel 10: 26-27

Saul’s mentor, Samuel, had died. There came a point when Saul lost his way and did not rely on God.  He grew impatient with God because of the clear and present danger of the Philistines.      

In desperation, instead of waiting on the Lord, he sought wisdom from a medium.  God forbade this for His people (Lev. 19:31), but Saul went to the medium of En Dor disguised in other clothes and at night.  He hoped to have Samuel brought up from the grave to give him advice.  Saul should have humbled himself and trusted God, but Saul had rejected God, and God rejected him.

When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, by Urim, or by the prophets…. So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a séance for me and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.” 1 Samuel 28: 5-6, 8

In the beginning, God had selected Saul and gave him what was needed to rule over His people, but now Saul was under this medium’s bewitching power and deception.  She brought up a spirit that Saul “assumed” was Samuel (1 Samuel 28: 14) .  This spirit made a prediction that would come true.

The spirit of God had departed from Saul and became his enemy. God had torn the kingdom from Saul and given it to David.  Why? Because Saul did not obey the voice of the Lord nor attack the enemy with the wrath of God as God had instructed (1 Samuel 28:18).

As a result, Israel would be given over to the Philistines on the very next day.  Further, Saul and his sons would die in battle. For the full story, see 1 Samuel 28 and 1 Samuel 31

After Saul came David, a good ruler. Then Solomon, who would take Israel to great heights.  These three were the only three kings that would rule a united kingdom.  Then, God’s promised land would be divided into the northern kingdom of Judah and Israel in the south.

As predicted by Samuel, the kings that the people cried for would become their enemies, oppressing and dividing them.  Most of the future kings would lead them into sin and evil.

In the chart below, you can see that only a few were faithful to God.  The 20 kings of the northern tribes of Israel were ALL disobedient to God.  The southern kingdom had only 6 out of 20 (30%) who were obedient to their Maker!  What a terrible record of these kings!

Without a doubt, the choice to have kings rule them was a very bad one.  But God allowed them to have what they wanted.

Thought question: Is getting what we want better than what God has in mind for us?

The story of Saul and the following kings was recorded to show how turning our backs on God in favor of a king only leads to misery and failure.  In the final events of Earth’s history, individuals will decide like the Israelites.  Will God be our ruler, or will someone else steal our worship and devotion?  Those who we think will be our savior will become our enemy…just as the kings of Judah and Israel became the enemies of God’s people.  May we learn to lean on and trust the only faithful Savior of the world…. Jesus is the Messiah and the soon-coming King of Kings.

May their story of poor choices and lack of trust in God give us wisdom so we do not make the same mistakes.

Final thought question. Does the church have a religious king in modern society? Who is it?

Now, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (warning) upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

Kings of Israel
NameReign (BC)Ref. in 1& 2 KingsDeeds
Jeroboam I931-9101 Kings 12: 25-14:20Evil
Nadab910-9091 Kings 15: 25-32Evil
Baasha909-8861 Kings 15: 33-16:7Evil
Elah886-8851 Kings 16: 8-14Evil
Zimri8851 Kings 16: 15-20Evil
Tibni885-8801 Kings 16: 21-22Evil
Omri885-8741 Kings 16: 21-28Evil
Ahab874-8531 Kings 16: 29 – 22:40Evil
Ahaziah853-8521Kings 22:51 – 2 Kings 1:18Evil
Jehoram (Joram)852-8412 Kings 3:1 – 9:26Evil
Jehu841-8142 Kings 9:1 – 10:36Right and Evil
Jehoahaz814-7982 Kings 13: 1-9Evil
Jehoash (Joash)798-7822 Kings 13:10 – 14:16Evil
Jeroboam II793-7532 Kings 14: 23-29Evil
Zechariah753-7522 Kings 15: 8-12Evil
Shallum7522 Kings 15: 13-16Evil
Menahem752-7422 Kings 15: 17-22Evil
Pekahiah742-7402 Kings 15: 23-26Evil
Pekah752-7322 Kings 15: 27-31Evil
Hoshea732-7222 Kings 17: 1-6Evil
Kings of Judah
NameReign (BC)Ref. in 1&2 KingsRef. in 2 ChroniclesDeeds
Rehoboam931-9131 Kin. 12: 1-24, 14: 21-312 Chr. 10:1 – 12:16Evil
Abijam (Abijah)913-9111 Kin. 15: 1-82 Chr. 13: 1-22Evil
Asa911-8701 Kin. 15: 9-242 Chr. 14:1 – 16:14Right
Jehoshaphat872-8481 Kin. 22: 41-502 Chr. 17-1 – 20:37Right
Jehoram853-8412 Kin. 8: 16-242 Chr. 21: 1-20Evil
Ahaziah8412 Kin. 8:25-29 – 9: 21-292 Chr. 22: 1-9Evil
Athaliah (queen)841-8352 Kin. 11: 1-202 Chr. 22:10 – 23:21Evil
Joash (Jehoash)835-7962 Kin. 12: 1-212 Chr. 24: 1-27Right & Evil
Amaziah796-7672 Kin. 14: 1-222 Chr. 25: 1-28Right & Evil
Azariah (Uzziah)792-7402 Kin. 15: 1-72 Chr. 26: 1-23Right & Evil
Jotham750-7322 Kin. 15: 32-382 Chr. 27: 1-9Right & Evil
Ahaz735-7162 Kin. 16: 1-202 Chr. 28: 1-27Evil
Hezekiah716-6872 Kin. 18:1 – 20:212 Chr. 29:1 – 32:33Right
Manasseh697-6432 Kin. 21: 1-182 Chr. 31: 1-20Evil
Amon643-6412 Kin. 21: 19-262 Chr. 33: 21-25Evil
Josiah641-6092 Kin. 22:1 – 23:302 Chr. 34: 1 – 35:27Right
Jehoahaz6092 Kin. 23: 31-342 Chr. 36: 1-4Evil
Jehoiakim609-5982 Kin. 22:34 – 24:72 Chr. 36: 5-8Evil
Jehoiachin598-5972 Kin. 24:8-16, 25: 27-302 Chr. 36: 9-10Evil
Zedekiah597-5862 Kin. 24:17 – 25:212 Chr. 36: 11-21Evil
Death and Resurrection, Truth About the Deceased, What is God Like?

WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM!

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There she was, lying in a hospital bed with crisp white sheets and monitors beeping all around.   Just a few weeks ago, she was up and doing her normal routine.  Today, she was lying on her back with an oxygen mask forcing her to breathe.  Icema Pappas, my Greek Mom, never liked anything over her face.  Like me, she was claustrophobic.

Mom was an attractive woman.  Some said she looked like Elizabeth Taylor when she was younger.  But what made her special was her kind, quiet spirit.  Everyone who ever met her liked her immediately because she liked people.  She was a praying woman like her mother before her. Even though I was in my Godless decade, having shaken my fist at God, telling Him to go away, I could feel His Spirit coming through her. I had not prayed in 10 years, but I felt moved to comfort her in some way through the God she loved.

My beautiful mom had been fervently praying for me for the last ten years, but I could not find a prayer within me.

They had done everything they could.  She was dying before my eyes.  My heart was breaking for her.  The air seemed to be leaving the room. I asked the doctors and nurses to make her comfortable.  She settled down as the morphine took over.

One by one, the family was called in to say their goodbyes.  She was only 73 years old. 

My parents divorced when I was six and my brother was two.  She had to return to work as the switchboard operator at a trucking company. My Mom, Ronnie, and I lived with my grandmother in a small one-bedroom apartment in a section of the house.  Two very loving women of God raised me.  Both were good Baptists but followers of Christ first. 

When I became a follower of Jesus some twenty-eight years earlier, after studying the Bible to prove my newly baptized Christian wife wrong about the whole religious thing, I shared some of the things I had learned from the Bible with my sweet mom and grandmother.  The passages on the state of the dead, the second coming, and the resurrection were fresh and new to them. 

They listened closely and asked questions.  They found comfort in the return of Jesus, the comparison of sleep with death, and the resurrection, just as Paul instructed in 1 Thess 4: 18 (Comfort one another with these words). They, indeed, found comfort in God’s word.      With a hopeful voice, I described going to sleep in death, but, in a flash, our next view would be of Jesus coming in the clouds; then we would rise above the earth with all the others who loved Him to meet Him there before going to where He promised to take us.

It was my turn to say goodbye to my beautiful, sweet mom, whose brown eyes glowed when she talked to me.  That is what I remember about her.  Her eyes.  Sometimes, it was like Jesus conversed with me…even joking around and laughing with me through those eyes! They were closed now.

I was not sure she could hear me because of the morphine.  She was quiet and not moving as I listened to the heart monitor, beginning to slow.

I took her hand like the young people shake hands by wrapping my fingers around her thumb.  I felt the soft flesh of her hands, which had brushed the hair back from my eyes and wiped the tears away from my face when I was young.    I leaned in to make sure she heard the last words she would hear from me.  “Mom, I love you.  I will see you resurrection morning.”  Suddenly, I felt those sweet fingers squeeze three times.  She had heard me!  Her spirit was saying playfully…”  “You better be there!”

As the heart monitor went silent, so did those in the room.  I looked out to watch the beautiful sun setting in the west.

I had made a promise to her to be there on resurrection morning.  The only way I could keep it is for God to have mercy on His prodigal son.  I was dead in sin.  But, praise God, I was resurrected a few weeks later. 

It is a spiritual truth that we can’t feel our sinfulness until we ask God to take over.  We are like a dead person that feels nothing.  When the Spirit of God convicts us at the request of sweet moms, dads, grandmothers, grandfathers, friends, or strangers. We come alive to our situation, our fate of eternal death; then we die to ourselves, pleading for God’s forgiveness.  Then Jesus comes into our hearts and mind, and the Spirit gives us a new birth, a new way of thinking and feeling.  We are changed miraculously.   

As Mary said in the series The Chosen, “I was one way…now I am completely different, and the thing that happened in between was Him.”

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Even though my mother and grandmother were Baptist, They believed what I am about to bring you from God’s word.

The resurrection from the dead is the most important promised event in our spiritual lives! Without the resurrection of Jesus, you and I have no resurrection, and our faith is worthless.  I didn’t say it, Paul did.

1 Corinthians 15:14, 18-19

And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty… And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Let’s consider the event that turns us from mortal to immortal, from death to life.

I’ve heard many accounts of heaven, but what will we look like? What will our bodies be like?  Will we be just a wispy spirit floating on a cloud and plucking a harp? Will we be an angel?    

We Will Be Like Him

“…we know that when He is revealed, WE WILL BE LIKE HIM, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:2

What was He like physically?

The disciples, who were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ post-resurrected body.  They tell us their account of a real Jesus, not a spirit.  When the disciples thought Jesus was a ghost, He said,

“Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a SPIRIT DOES NOT HAVE FLESH AND BONES as you see I have.”  Luke 24:39

Will we have flesh and bones? Yes! A real person! Then he asked for something to eat!

“But while they still did not believe for joy and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. And He took it and ate in their presence. Luke 24: 41-43

Will we eat in our glorified bodies?  We will have an appetite!

Jesus had flesh and bones (unlike a spirit), and He ate fish and honey in His glorified body (post-resurrection).  We, too, will have a glorified body with flesh, bones, and an appetite.  We will get a signal from our body that it is time to eat.

The third time Jesus appeared to the disciples (after His resurrection), he returned the favor and cooked them fish and bread!

“Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught…This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.”  John 21: 9-10, 14

Movement by Thought

Our bodies will be like His… Our mode of travel will be walking because we will have legs, but we will be able to think our bodies somewhere, as did Jesus in a room behind locked doors. This is the spiritual side of us.

Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” Luke 24:36

Even though we will have real bodies, it will be fashioned after Jesus, not Adam.

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.  1 Corinthians 15: 47-49

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When Do We Get Real Bodies?

We will get real bodies, but when does this happen?

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

We are changed at the last trumpet, which is the second coming of Christ. Continuing with Paul’s description of the second coming, he says,

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O Death, where is your sting?

O Hades, where is your victory?” 1 Corinthians 15: 51-55

Where I am!

 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so,  I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14: 1-3

So when He comes, he takes us to where He is now!  The City of Heaven, the mansions,-The New Jerusalem.  Streets of God, the river that flows from God., and the Tree of Life on both sides of the River.

But we don’t stay there forever after 1,000 years.  The redeemed of all ages return to this earth.  We will get to watch God recreate this earth. (See 1,000 years for more detail.)

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:2

New Heavens and a New Earth

Isaiah, Peter, and John describe the abode of the redeemed. 

…we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13

After Jesus makes a new earth, the meek will finally inherit the earth.  We will have active lives and live forever!  We will continue to have worship services!

They shall build houses and inhabit them;

They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit …And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

They shall not labor in vain, Isaiah 66: 21-23

After working for six days, we will attend worship, not as different denominations, but as those who belong to Christ.

“For as the new heavens and the new earth

Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord,…And it shall come to pass, that from one New Moon to another,

And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.”  Isaiah 66: 22: 23

Can you see it?  Time will still be measured in 7 days.  On the 7th (Sabbath), people will come to the throne of God in the city, and our hearts will be filled with joy to sing and worship the one who made all this possible!

Brothers and sisters, we will be like Him but retain our different personalities and features.  We will have real bodies with flesh and bones; We will enjoy eating and drinking the wine Jesus said he would not drink again until we see Him in the Kingdom (Matthew 26:29).  We will have a city home (Mansions) and a country home (Earth), where we will work and enjoy the work of our hands.  Once a month and weekly, we will travel worldwide by thought and attend worship services as one body of believers.

Yes! Eternity is real! But even all that is disclosed in scripture it is just the beginning of what God has prepared!

“The eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

I want to be there!  Don’t you?

Do you love Him? 

HE Loves you!  He doesn’t want any to perish but all to come to repentance. This is the whole gospel in three words.  God is love!

To say “God is love” is to say the whole truth all at once. Everything after that is exposition. Everything contrary to that is heresy. Ty Gibson

It is because of His love that he comes back for us.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

1 Thess 4: 16-18

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Yes, one day, I will keep my promise to my Mom at resurrection morning, but I can’t do it myself.  I must trust Him alone!  Not my work, not anything I have done or will do.  I will meet my Mom and Dad in the air as the power of Christ draws us to Him.  The redeemed of all ages will gather together and go to where Jesus is simultaneously.  What a day that will be! What a family reunion!

Will you be there too?  How can you know for sure?

First, you must acknowledge that only He can get you there!

if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  Romans 10:9

 While you were yet a sinner, he came running after you.  You can’t get there by your parents’ experience with Christ; You must have your own experience.  You can’t get there by church membership, not your education, or anything but Christ.  It is only through Jesus.  Jesus does not save groups or denominations; He saves people as individuals.

There is no other name among men whereby we are saved.

Jesus tells us we must be born again.  Reborn of the Spirit.  Have you been reborn?  You will know by your love for others and the peace of knowing Jesus personally.

Salvation in Christ is about letting go to the pull (drawing) and convicting power of the Spirit to acknowledge your sins and shortcomings and let Him be your all and all.  It is about asking Him to take over your life.  It is about trusting Him every day.

The enemy will try to make you selfish and unbelieving, but stay close to Him, and no man can pluck you out of His Hand.

Won’t you talk to God today and receive eternal life?  Will you be like Him?

And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me! Job 19: 26-27

Israel in Bible Prophecy

THE ENEMIES OF ISRAEL-PART 4-Egypt

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Saul was a Jew by birth and by training, Righteous by the law, a Pharisee, and a blameless member of the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3: 4-6).  But he gave all that up after his conversion to Christ.  He surrendered his religiosity to the Savior.  His mind and heart had been changed by an encounter with Jesus on a lonely road to Damascus.  His intent before Jesus appeared was to take prisoner the followers of Christ. Instead, he became a preacher of Jesus as the Son of God (Acts 9:20). 

Concerned about the Jewish people and new believers in Christ, he warned the Corinth church of the failures of Israel in the desert.  He tells of those “things” that were written down so they could be forewarned of God’s promised people’s mistakes.  He directed their attention to the evil things they did after they were freed from their enemy and captors:  Egypt.  That warning message applies to modern-day followers of Jesus, too…if not more.

Now, these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters, as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 

Now, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (1 Corinthians 10: 9-11)

After spending 430 years in Egypt, the promised people of Abraham had been changed.  As the old saying goes, You can take the boy out of the country, but you can take the country out of the boy.  Their Egyptian habits went with them.  They looked, talked, and walked like Egyptians.  But God remembered his promise to Abraham.  He loved His people.   

Are we not the same as modern society?  Has there ever been a time when these sins have not been part of all world nations? Even more concerning is that the people of God may be indulging in the same sins as ancient Israel:

  • Lust for evil things
  • Idolaters
  • Sexual immoral
  • Tempting (disrespecting) their maker and God
  • Complaining and never happy

Enemy #1-Egypt

Since the stories of Israel’s journeys and missteps were written down for us, it would be wise to take heed lest (we) fall as they did, e.g., 23,000 fell, destroyed by serpents, destroyed by the destroyer. 

Yes. It is possible to be a promised child of God and fall.  This is the mystery of iniquity.  We are privileged to watch from our comfortable homes the 40 years of the Jews’ wanderings in the desert.  The big question for us is how can we learn to trust God by observing their failures?. Complete faith and trust in God,, regardless of the circumstances, was what they lacked.

How did the promised people land in Egypt?  It all started with the favoritism of Joseph, one of the sons of Israel (Genesis 37:3).  The entire story of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the transition of the family from Cannan to Egypt starts in Genesis 11:27.. It continues through the end of the book of Genesis Chapter 50 and on into Numbers.  This written account is almost 80% of the Bible’s first book!  It is an example for us, something we should consider that will help us to avoid the same mistakes and thereby avoid failure and destruction. More importantly, their journeys should show us the patience, sacrifice, and love of God for His people.

Joseph’s brothers despised Joseph due to his dream of their eventual servitude to Joseph.  They became very angry and decided to kill him, but the oldest brother (Reuben) intervened. Judah recommended that Joseph be sold and spared his life by selling him to a caravan of travelers as a slave.  Joseph is resold to Potiphar in Egypt (Genesis 37: 21, 28, 36). 

The story continues with the success of Joseph in Egypt, drought and famine, and the eventual move of Israel and his 70-member family to Egypt.  A series of events started with hatred within the family and ended with dependence on a nation that would eventually turn the promised people into slaves.

In the family of God, favoritism can lead to jealousy, which can lead to hatred and the selling of an innocent soul to the slavery of Egypt.  A practice of disrespect for others in the family will destroy independence from the world’s influence and disrupt the purpose of God unless God leads the offender to repentance.  Jesus asks us to love, not hate.  This is the identifying—trait of the followers of Jesus.  Anything else disqualifies us from the family of God.

By this, all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

Escape from Egypt?

The children of Israel lived in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40).  Generation after generation, molded by the conveniences of city life, had turned God’s people into Egyptians even though they were in bondage.  Their uniqueness as God’s people was being wiped clean by their enemy.

But God heard their cries for independence.  He “remembered” His promise to give them Cannan.  God sent a reluctant Moses to free the Israelites. God had instructed Moses to go directly to Pharaoh; instead, he went to the children of Israel, a seemingly easier task.  They rejected the prophet and deliverer. This gave Moses an excuse, a way out as he argued with God (Exodus 6: 1-13). Moses doubted God’s power and his own abilities.  God, again, told Moses to go to Pharoah (Exodus 6:- 28-30).

Moses and Aaron went before the Pharaoh to tell him to let God’s people go free, but he was equally non-compliant, as were God’s people.  God sent ten plagues on Egypt to help change the Pharoah’s heart, but He protected His people through the last seven plagues (Exodus 8: 22-23).(Exodus 9:4) (Exodus 9:26) (Exodus 11:7). 

The final plague was the death of the firstborn among the Egyptians, even their animals (Exodus 11: 4-5).  For the children of Israel, it would require them to do something.  They were to put the blood of the unblemished sacrificial lamb over the doorposts so the destroying angel would “pass over” their home. God directed other requirements of the “Passover.” This night would begin the cycle of months beginning on the 10th day (Exodus 12: 1-11) and continuing to the 14th day.  This time would be a celebration and instruction on the plan of salvation throughout their generations.  Jesus would be pronounced hundreds of years later as the “Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29)

Disaster in the Desert

Finally, after a multitude of generations bound by their captors, the children of Israel left their captors with their livestock,  wealth from the Egyptians, and the bones of Joseph (Exodus 12: 31-36) (Exodus 13: 17-22)

Israel would take 40 years of travel to realize the promised land of Cannan.  It could have been shorter, perhaps only 30 days, had they trusted God at His word and believed the good report of the spies.  God desired their love and trust in Him alone.  Something they would fail to do for many generations to come. 

The generation that left Egypt would never see the promised land.  Only two men who trusted God at his word and those under 20 years old would receive the promise (Numbers 14: 26-32).  The others would wander in the desert for four decades lusting for evil things; they were sexually immoral, they tempted Christ, complained, and were unhappy.

Do we love and trust God?  Are we complainers sexually immoral and test Christ?  Will we fail to enter the promised land through Christ because of these things? 

 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  Romans 11: 21-23

May God have mercy on us.

Eventually, the people of God would settle in the promised land and build a temple to the Lord despite their backsliding from God.  But it would not last forever; that magnificent tribute to the only true God built by the very wealthy King Solomon would be destroyed, and the people would be taken captive again (for 70 years) by their next enemy, Babylon.

Israel in Bible Prophecy

The Enemies of Israel-Part 3-Two Ancestors

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The Seed of Covetousness and Hate

As we progress through the story of Israel and its enemies, the Bible has revealed the origin of covetousness and hate—the key elements for the creation of enemies and war.   The seed was planted in the heart of an angel (in heaven) who desired to be like God and to take His throne (Isaiah 14: 12-14).  He fought in such a way that he and his entourage (One-third of his angels) were cast to the Earth (Revelation 12: 4, 9).  Then the seed began to sprout in the Garden of Eden with the first couple; it began to take off as it moved to their offspring, Cain and Abel (Genesis 3: 4-6). 

In Lucifer’s encounter in the garden with an apparent victory over Adam and Eve, God gave the prince of darkness a dire and deadly prophecy-the deadly crushing of his head.  But the Creator also foretold a Deliverer who would receive a strike from the snake on His heel.  The final victory would be given to the woman’s offspring through the power of Christ.  In a few words, we see the battle between good and evil—a war between the Deliverer (Christ) and Satan. This war would travel through the seed of Abraham.

And I will put enmity (strife/hatred).

Between you (Satan) and the woman (God’s followers),

And between your seed (the offspring of Satan) and her Seed (the offspring of God’s People);

He (Jesus) shall bruise your (Satan’s) head,

And you (Satan) all bruise His (Jesus) heel.” Genesis 3:15

This first recorded prophecy is a picture of the ongoing battle between Satan and His followers with Christ and His followers. The end of Satan is guaranteed along with the cross (a temporary victory, a sacrificial death, followed by the resurrection of the woman’s seed, Jesus). The following article is about how the heritage from the garden progressed to the nations of Islam and the nation of Israel in the modern world.  Part 4 will wrap up with the connection between Israel and the followers of Christ.

The Eden Covenant

This Edenic Covenant was the first unconditional promise to a world soon to be emersed in sin. 

Adam and Eve witnessed the beginnings of the war between good and evil with the first death.  An innocent animal was slain and its skin taken so that they might not be naked and shameful any longer.  It provided warmth as they moved from their Eden to the cold world of sin—a descriptive metaphor for the life and death of Jesus.

Indeed, as Satan had said, their eyes were open, and they began to know good and evil.  But, the first lie to humanity was a direct contradiction of God’s word, “You will not surely die.”  This lie would later open the door to spiritualism and the false possibility of communication with the dead.  Today, these spiritualistic stories raise their heads with popular books about dying and coming back to life, complete with the stories of what they saw—contradicting the truths of the Bible about death.  Those most vulnerable are members of Christ’s church.    God knew such a lie could lead to even further deception.  God would caution His people about spirit mediums, etc. Instead of listening to demonic spirits using this type of deception, they could find truth in seeking God in His word.

And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living?  Isaiah 1:18

A Second Death

But another death would follow, closer to the heart of the first parents.  The horrific murder of Abel by his brother Cain-the first death (murder) of a human.  The motivation?  Jealousy turned to hate.   It started when God respected Abel and his offering but did not do the same for Cain.  Cain became angry and ignored the council of the Lord to rule over his anger.  God both encouraged and warned Cain to do well and that he, too, would be accepted.  If not, sin would grow, which it did Genesis 4: 1-7).

As the population grew, so did sin and violence.   Both reign to this day.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Romans 5:12

Two Ancestors

Cain had gone out from the presence of the Lord.  We might say he left God.  He then had a son named Enoch.  From there, the ancestral tree took root from the seed of murder and violence (Genesis 4: 16-17), a direct result of Cain’s decision to leave God and maintain his stubbornness regarding repentance.

But Adam and Eve had another son, Seith, when Adam was 120 years old (Genesis 5:3).  From Seth’s seed (beginning with Enos), the descendants would begin to call upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26).  Seth’s offspring would lead up to Noah (Genesis 5: 6, 32).

The two ancestors (Cain and Seth) went their separate ways.  They created nations that carried different experiences with God. Cain left God and stayed away.  His descendants would fall into more sin, resulting in violence that would cover the Earth.  Seth’s seed would take the opposite route and stay with God.

Before the destruction of the Earth by the flood, the seed of Godlessness made planet Earth a violent place to live.

The Earth also was corrupt before God, and the Earth was filled with violence. Genesis 6:11

This is the first time in the Bible where the word “violence” appears.  The Hebrew word for violence is Hamas: two different ancestors, two different experiences with God.  The Edenic covenant would soon transition into the Abrahamic Covenant.

From Cain’s ancestors, sin and violence would cover the Earth.  From Enos and Seth would come Shem (the son of Noah).  Shem would become the father of Abraham, the father of Israel, to carry on the promised seed.

“Blessed be the Lord,

The God of Shem,

And may Canaan be his servant.

May God enlarge Japheth,

And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;

And may Canaan be his servant.”  Genesis 9: 26-27

The Abrahamic Covenant

God would again make an unconditional covenant.  This time, with Abraham. His heirship and the creation of a nation of God’s people would come through the son Issac.  The son of Promise, even while Abraham and Sarah were in their old age.  Conversely, the son of their own works are marked by attempting to help God out in the birth of a son through Abraham’s bondswoman at the encouragement of Sarah to produce Esau through Hagar (Genesis 16: 1-4).  The women began to despise each other.

Soon, Sarah would encourage Abraham again, but this time it was to cast away Hagar and Esau. Abraham didn’t like the idea, but it was God’s will. This was the beginning of two nations that would fight to this day:

Therefore, she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son.

But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice, for in Isaac, your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman because he is your seed.”  Genesis 19: 10-13

Two different seeds with two different destinies and nations.  Through one, Issac, the promised seed as spoken by God in the Edenic covenant, would bring the Deliverer, Jesus Christ.

Today, both Islamic and Jewish religions claim roots in Abraham.  Therefore, they are called Abrahamic religions. Islam has approximately 1. 7 billion followers based on the teachings of one man, Mohammed.  The Jewish religion worships Jehovah or Yahweh and is much smaller at approximately 15.2 million people.  The Jews have been the most hated and persecuted ethnicity in the world.  The Christians joined them in this persecution via events in the 1st century and the Middle Ages.  Such persecution to the end of time is prophesized in God’s word.

The Jewish religion is based on the writings of some 35 authors in the book called the Tanakh.  This is the same as the Old Testament used by the Christians.  Christianity is the largest of these three religions (2.3 billion), but they have an affinity for the Jewish nation due to the same books of the Bible and the same God (Jehovah or Yahweh).  “God” in the Old Testament has many names that describe His many facets of character, but He is the only true God. There is no other.   (See Appendix, Names of God)

The major difference between Jews and Christians is Jesus. He is the promised Edenic seed that would crush the head of Satan.  Jesus fits all the hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah of the Jewish Tanakh. (See Will the Real God Please Stand Up-Part 4-Who Do You Think He is?)

The Two Seeds of Abraham-Conflict

Moses records in the 17th chapter of Genesis that God told 99-year-old Abraham that his equally-aged wife (90 years old), Sarah, would bear a child.  They didn’t believe it!  They laughed.  But God continued to tell the elderly couple that God’s covenant of a coming Deliverer and His people would be through the line of Isaac (Genesis 17: 15-22)

Consequently, two nations would arise, one through Issac and one through Ishmael.  The conflict between Islam and their nations and Israel can be traced back specifically to Abraham’s two sons and Grandsons.

Issac lineage:

The son of the promise, Issac, begat Jacob, whose name would later become (Israel, meaning God prevails).  The name given to Israel is prophetic in the battle of good and evil.  God will prevail, and a deadly wound by the Seed of the woman delivered to the head of Satan would come through Israel’s seed.

And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”  Genesis 32:28

Ishmael’s lineage:

Ishmael’s firstborn son would be Nebajoth (Hebrews for “heights”). The capital of Nebajoth’s descendants’ country would become Petra.

The descendants of Ishmael became known as Arabs (“nomads”). The descendants of Ishmael were a warlike people, as “they lived in hostility toward all the tribes related to them” (Genesis 25: 18). This fulfilled God’s earlier word that Ishmael would be “a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers” (Genesis 16:12).

The Seeds of Abraham’s Son Issac (Jacob and Essau)

Issac’s wife (Rebekka) would produce “battling twins.”  Conflict and hatred would continue their journey through time to today.

 And the Lord said to her:

“Two nations are in your womb,

Two peoples shall be separated from your body;

One people shall be stronger than the other,

And the older shall serve the younger.” Genesis 25: 23

So today, from the seed of Abraham, we have ongoing conflict between the two sons who produced two different religions and states. 

  1. Ishmael produced Islam; the major nations for the Muslim faith are Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Mauritania, and Yemen.
  2. Issac produced the religion of the only true God, Jehovah, through Jacob and his lineage.  The only state of Issac through Jacob is Israel.  However, approximately 50% of Jews live in the United States of America.

Although small, Israel has indeed blessed the Earth and has the God of the universe to protect them.  But they still struggle with the Messiahship of Jesus.

What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles (scripture) of God. For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.”  Romans 3: 1-4

The bond of Christians with the Jewish people is due to the common ground of worshipping the only true God (Jehovah or Yahweh) and the same Bible (Tanakh, aka the Old Testament by Christians).  Although Christians believe Jesus to be the promised seed that crushed the head of the snake at the cross and follow the teachings of His disciples as recorded in the New Testament, there is sympathy for their struggles.

Next time, we will trace the struggles and failures of Israel and, hopefully, learn from their stories.

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our [admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11

Then, we will conclude this series with the promise of the Lord to “break down the walls that separate” Jews and Gentiles and how we become one in Christ Jesus.  What does it mean that all Israel will be saved? Romans 11: 25-29.

For a deeper dive in the comparison of the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob with Allah and Muhammed, go to this 6-part series on “Will the True God Please Stand Up?”

APPENDIX-The Names of God

Is This True?, Israel in Bible Prophecy

The Fullness of The Gentiles

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What does this mean?

(Note: I am interrupting the articles on Israel’s enemies to address this question. I will continue with the other series soon.)

The phrase “time/fullness of the Gentiles” appears three times in the Bible.  In time order, they are : Ezekiel 30:3, Luke 21:24, and Romans 11:25.  The difference in these passages is the use of “time of the Gentiles” by Ezekiel and Luke vs “fulness of the Gentiles” by Paul.

The Hebrew word for time found in Ezekiel is a noun (ʿēṯ), which means the time of the event.  Luke uses a similar identification of time as a noun (Kairos), meaning a measure of time. Instead of the time of the Gentiles, Paul uses the word “fullness” (also a noun), meaning ” filled-up or fulfilled.

Paul uses the word “fullness” several times, e.g., “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,” Galatians 4:4.  This would indicate the fulfillment of a prophecy concerning the birth of Jesus (Isaiah 7:14)

Why is this important?

All three writers are pointing forward to a future event. A time allotted for the Gentiles.  But the most important questions are “What is this work?” and “How does it fit into prophecy?”

Reading these passages in their immediate context (the verses before, those after, and the beginning of each Chapter) is important.  From there, we can see the time applications as prophecy.   We can easily discern in all three passages that it was future to them (Ezekiel, Jesus, and Paul). But, Is it the same event?  What is the event?

Let’s start with Jesus’ discussion with his disciples.

Jesus-Luke 21

 in Luke 21:5 (and Matthew 24:1), we can feel the pride of the disciples in showing off the temple.  They wanted Jesus to be just as proud.  But Jesus surprises them and tells them of the utter destruction of the temple that is to come:

“These things which you see—the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.” Luke 22:6

Matthew records it this way:

And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Matthew 24: 2

With this context in mind, let’s read the passages regarding the time of the Gentiles as recorded in Luke 21 starting with verse 20:

20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles (ethnos-non-Jews-Gentiles) are fulfilled. Luke 21:20-24

Let’s list the key components of Jesus’ statement to His disciples to identify who the Gentiles are and their “time.”

  1. Armies will surround Jerusalem. Desolations are near
  2. A warning to “flee to the mountains”-depart. if you are away from the city (country), stay there!
  3. These days of vengeance, which are written (Ezekiel 30:3) are about to be fulfilled!
  4. There will be great distress for those in the city.
  5. The sword will kill those in the city. But some will be led captive to other cities.
  6. Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

This destruction and time of trouble for the Jewish people in Jerusalem would continue until the Gentiles fulfilled their work of destruction and trouble.

Jesus accurately predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and the disbursement of the Jews to all other nations.  This is well documented in history as it happened in 70 AD when the Roman soldiers surrounded and seized the city, destroyed it along with the second temple (the one rebuilt after the Babylonian captivity), and the people inside it. 

Jesus, prediction can be found in Ezekiel 30: 1-4s:

The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

“Wail, ‘Woe to the day!’

 For the day is near,

Even the day of the Lord is near;

It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.

The sword shall come upon Egypt,

And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia,

When the slain fall in Egypt,

And they take away her wealth,

And her foundations are broken down.

Although the destruction in Ezekiel references Egypt, it is applied to Jerusalem as well as He uses similar words and phrases of the prophecy.

LukeEzekiel
Great distressGreat anguish
Fall by the edge of the swordSlain fall
Led awayTake away
Stones not upon another (Matthew)Foundations broken down
Times of the Gentiles fulfilledTime of the Gentiles

So, we can see that the time of the Gentiles is a destructive time in these two cases.  Therefore, it is likely that Paul in Romans 11:25 is describing the same thing as Jesus and Ezekiel.  The difference is that Paul gets more theological as it relates to the state of the Jewish people and argues that their rejection is not final.  But it appears Paul is pointing to the same event as Ezekiel and Jesus, i.e., the destruction of Jerusalem, a destructive event that was future to all three. Again, let’s read in its context starting at verse 11:

11 I say then, have they (Jews) stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!

13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

Notice that Paul talks about how their “fall” led to salvation for the Gentiles.  Those not of the Jewish faith began to see the gospel that was once preached to them, and they accepted it!  

Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. Acts 13:46

Paul then speaks of provoking the Jews (those who are my flesh) to save “some of them.” This clears up the idea that all Jews will be ultimately saved.  That teaching is not consistent with this passage or the plan of salvation.

With this in mind, let’s read Romans 11:25 within the context of the verses before and after it:

2 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved (*sōzō-delivered) , as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,

And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

27 For this is My covenant with them,

When I take away their sins.” Romans 11: 24-27

(the Greek word sōzō is properly translated as “delivered. “It fits with the “Deliverer” coming out of Zion, which is Jesus.  So from what we know, those whom Jesus delivers out of the coming destruction of Jerusalem will be spared the destruction-all of them.  Those who ignored the warning of Jesus to flee will not be delivered.

Dispensationalism and Replacement Theory

This passage in Romans 11: 25 has been used out of context to connect it to the final end-time events.  True, it was an end-time event for those remaining in Jerusalem.  However, It is often connected with the dispensationalism theory that separates the  Jewish Nation and the Christian church of believers.  Unlike the Replacement Theory and Dispensationalism.  Jesus breaks down the wall between the Jewish believer and the Gentile believer.  These two, together, are true Israel (yiśrā’ēl); God prevails!

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” Ephesians 2: 14-16

Paul further drives this point home with statements like this:

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

..there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. Colossians 3:11

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. Romans 2:28-29

The Dispensationalists believing in the pre-tribulation (the rapture of the church before the Great Tribulation) propose that the “time of the Gentiles” refers to that period when the temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt in Jerusalem at the site currently occupied by the Muslim Masque.  The enemies of Jerusalem will surround Jerusalem, and Jesus will come down and touch the Mount of Olives and deliver Israel from their enemies.  This story is fictionalized by writers like Hal Lindsey (The Late Great Planet Earth) and Tim Lehaye (Left Behind series).

According to this theory, this will occur during the 7-year tribulation.   However, the Bible gives no indication of the time of trouble lasting seven years in the Bible.  The seven years comes from a misinterpretation of the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9.  For a fairer and more Biblical interpretation of this prophecy, please click here:  7 Years of Tribulation-Biblical?

Conclusion:

The Fullness of the Gentiles or Time of the Gentiles within the context of the passages of the three writers, the prediction of Jesus, and the historical record refers to the seizure and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and has nothing to do with the dispensationalists attempt to force it to mean something else that would fit into the pre-tribulation or the unbiblical 7-year tribulation period. 

This period of destruction was a prophecy to the three writers, but it is history to us.  This happens often in scripture.  Daniel 2 is a good example of the rise and fall of Babylon, Medio-Persia, Greek, Roman, and the eventual ten divisions of Rome into modern Europe. Also, passages like Zachariah 12 and other OT prophets promise deliverance for Israel from enemies, but it is within the time period for which it was written and the enemy that controls them.  When reading the Old Testament prophets about rebuilding the temple or the city, it is always in the context of the second temple after Babylon had destroyed Solomon’s temple.  There is no mention of a third temple in the Bible.

On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David (second temple), which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old; Amos 9:11

Artaxerxes wrote the decree in 457 BC for the Jews to return and rebuild their city, including the second temple (See Ezra 7: 11-28), after Babylon had destroyed the first temple 70 years earlier.

Israel’s enemies are the Christian’s enemies.  It goes beyond nations and buildings to include spiritual wickedness.  Here is the real enemy, and the real Deliverer is Jesus the Christ for all, both Jewish and Gentile believers.  We are all one in Christ and not separate in His eyes.                                                                                                                            

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

Israel in Bible Prophecy

The Enemies of Israel-Part 2

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Also, the Glory of Israel will not lie nor change His mind; for He is not a man, that He would change His mind.” 1 Samuel 15:29

The Seeds of War, Hatred, and Covetousness

The object of most wars is land on earth, aka “land grab,” It is a desire to have something in someone else’s possession and take it by force (covetousness). But the fuel that most often drives it is selfishness and hatred. Enemies are created this way, wars erupt, and the death of the adversary is the goal.

But, the unexplainable beginning of covetousness begetting war started with the enemy of all mankind.

The Enemy of All Mankind

“You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity (immoral, wickedness) was found in you.” Ezekiel 28:15

“But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.” Isaiah 14:13 NASB

The mystery of iniquity bore a desire to take God’s throne, which created hatred. This iniquity led to the first war.  It was fought in heaven:

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So, the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12: 7-9 (NKJV)

Satan lost the war and was cast to this earth with one-third of the angels, but the hatred for God continued.  Anything belonging to God, particularly His people, became the object of Satan’s great wrath.  He knows his end.  He is like a roaring lion looking to mar the image of God in mankind.  Deception and lies are His most effective weapons to set his base scheme in motion.  John, in the book of Revelation, describes him as the one who deceives the whole world (Revelation. 12:9)

He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature because he is a liar and the father of lies.  John 8:44

This we will keep in mind as we move forward.

In the Beginning, Satan Gains A Victory on Earth

He used his weapon of deception and a lie that seemed to offer an improvement for Adam and Eve in an already blessed life.  The father of lies was able to plant a seed of mistrust for God by creating doubt and covetousness in God’s simple statement.  He told a lie followed by a truth.  This unholy mixture would become his most effective weapon.

Doubt by using a question: “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Genesis 3: 1b (NASB)

The woman met this doubt with the exact words of God.

“From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’”

Genesis 3:2-3 (NASB)

It was a simple restriction of God, preparing the first couple for the verbal attack of a serpent.  Satan contradicted God,

The Lie:  “You certainly will not die!

The Truth: For God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will become like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:4-5

God declares a condition: obey and live.  God would repeat this simple rule of life many times to the people of Israel and to all who claimed to be His followers (Deuteronomy 4: 1; 20:30; Jeremiah 38: 20). Break the condition, and death would follow. Satan says, no, you won’t.  God is keeping something back from you…. something better than your current environment. So, covetousness, believing a lie, and disobedience brought sin upon all mankind.  It will be this same deadly trio of sins that will bring an end to planet Earth as we know it. 

Indeed, the first couple began to experience a knowledge of both good and evil (Genesis 3:22).  A line that has been blurred in today’s society.  Evil is called good, and good is called evil (Isaiah 5:20). 

God Had A Plan Ahead of Time

God, in His grace and mercy, had a plan “from the foundation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:4). God could not change his words to fit the situation.  Death came upon them.  They would eventually die. 

The seed of doubt, covetousness, and disobedience had been planted and nurtured through the enemy of mankind to the whole world, resulting in an entire world of wars and rumors of wars.  Satan wanted to control God’s creation and to take it from the one who cast him to the earth.

But God initiated his plan of grace, mercy, and forgiveness on the very day mankind fell into sin.   First, He clothed Adam and Eve by slaying an innocent animal and making garments from its skin and fur (Genesis 3:21).  A simple metaphor for the plan of salvation is the slaying of a blameless animal to provide a covering for the shame and nakedness of the sinful couple. Then, God pronounced a curse upon the earth.  This curse would provide a safeguard against utter destruction and give daily purpose. 

Next, He tells them of the war that would begin and last to the end, with God being victorious over all the lies and evil.

And I will make enemies.

Of you (Satan) and the woman(Her offspring)

And of your offspring (Satan’s followers) and her Descendant (A Promised Redeemer-Messiah);

He (Descendant) shall bruise you (Satan) on the head (Deadly wound),

And you (Satan) shall bruise Him (Descendant) on the heel.” (Injury only) Genesis 3:15

In this first prophecy, the couple began looking for this “Descendant” who would engage the Serpent and restore the broken relationship between God and mankind. 

Through the offspring of the woman, a Messiah would come who would deliver a deadly wound to the head of the enemy after receiving a recoverable injury to the Descendant’s heal.  Israel is still looking for this Messiah.

The First of Many Conflicts For Mankind

The first war or enemy was between two brothers, Cain and Abel.  A Godless world sought their own desires and became so wicked that even their thoughts were wicked all the time.

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5

Only Noah and his family were loyal to God and escaped the destruction of the earth by water.

After the flood, and from a surviving son (Shem), God would raise up a people of promise through faithful Abram.  Abram (Abraham), enemies would begin to rise up, spurred on by covetousness, lies, and disobedience to the one true God.

Next time, we will explore the birth of the nation of Israel and her first enemy.  Many more would follow, often the result of Israel’s own failure to believe and trust their Creator.  But God’s mercy and patience would find a way…

"He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. Colossians 1:28