Re-Post Friday

How should we handle those who claim to be followers of Christ but are not acting in fitting manner? Find out HERE!

Stand Together

Last week we discussed that the only way we will be able to find rest is through Jesus Christ. We need to accept His sacrifice, be redeemed on His works alone, and when we struggle we need to allow Him to lead us through this life. Today, I want to expand upon this topic but in a slightly different context. And that is the importance of having support in our walk with Jesus Christ.

Oftentimes, the Old Testament seems to be overlooked. We focus so much on the words of Jesus Christ, a very important thing, that we almost forget that there is so much more we can learn from God and about God in the Old Testament. For example, in Exodus 17 we are given a very applicable example of the importance of having support from those around us, while allowing God to lead us where He wants us to be.

“Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim. 9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” 10 Joshua did just as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. 11 So it came about, when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed; but when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed. 12 And Moses’ hands were heavy. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. So his hands were steady until the sun set. 13 And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” 15 And Moses built an altar and named it The Lord is My Banner; 16 and he said, “Because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war against Amalek from generation to generation.”

Exodus 17:8-16

God has already provided for the Israelites a means of escape from Egypt, He has fed them, He has provided water, and now we see that He is providing them protection. Amalek sought the Israelites out and attacked them, but the Israelites knew that they had God on their side and so they were able to face the challenge. Moses, the leader of the Israelites and their representative to God, went forward with the staff of God and with it raised’ changed the tides of the battle. However, the weight of it began to take its toll, and so two others stepped forward to help. First is Aaron who would become the priestly line for the Israelites, second is Hur. Not much is known about this man other than he was held in good standing and became a leader when Moses went up to Mount Sinai, Exodus 24:14. It was thanks to the support of these two people that Moses was able to hold up his arms long enough for Joshua to defeat the enemy.

Today, we can look at this and see that without the support of a church (Aaron) and those who are also following God’s will (Hur) we will not be able to be as successful in following God’s path for us. God could have easily allowed the Israelites to defeat Amalek without any assistance from Him. Instead, God used the opportunity to provide another example of how we must be first dependent upon Him, and second must surround ourselves with those who will hold us up when we become unsteady in our walk with God.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Eschatology Part Twelve

Last week I told you we would discuss how the church age comes to an end and how this evil man talked about in Daniel chapter 9 is brought forth.

As controversial as it might sound, the Christian world has fallen victim to not reading God’s Word. In some cases, they have even taken the added step of creating additional writings instead of staying true to the sixty-six books. Because of this, there are some who claim that what we are going to be discussing is nonsense. Recently, I actually heard a pastor of a church who had been pastoring for over 20 years claim, from an authoritative stance, that the Church age would not end the way scripture claimed but rather in a different way. This is troubling, and I understand there might be some who will not like or rather even be angry with what I am going to say. Nevertheless, today we start a small series in our larger eschatology series on the Bible defined as the rapture of the Church.

Today we are going to tackle one fact and one criticism of the rapture. At the end of the mini series we will discuss if we can establish a law or only a theory in regards to the rapture of the Church.

First, I want to start with the fact. There are many references in the Bible regarding principles of the rapture and even moments of the event discussed, however none is so obvious than Jesus Christ’s own words in John 14.

John 14:1-3  “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”

Jesus is soon leaving to be with the Father in Heaven, He is preparing a place for us. Thus, He must be coming back. Simple really, however some claim this is the second coming of Christ and not the rapture. Even so, this argument of second coming is ruled out in the title itself. Jesus in the Second Coming is coming to earth. Ironically, He has some people with Him, these people are everyone that went through the rapture.

The Second Coming is described as below.

Revelation 19:11-16 “Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.”

Sounds very different than Jesus telling the disciples He was preparing a place for us?

The challenge we will tackle today, is the argument that the word “rapture” is not found in the Bible. Ironically, they only need to read the Bible in Latin and the word would be found. Nevertheless, the rapture is used as a term to describe an event. Trinity and Bible are not found in the scriptures, and yet we understand they are very much present.

Next week, we will discuss more regarding the rapture of the Church and how this must happen for the church age to come to an end, and it must happen for the man discussed in Daniel to come about.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A snapshot into the book of Numbers. Read it HERE!

How to Find Rest

Have you ever experienced a hard day of work? Maybe it is a physically laborious job or one that is mentally draining, by the end of the day you are wondering how could you possible go back and do it all over again. Have you ever felt this about your religious walk? That there are so many rules and ordinances that must be followed in order to have a close relationship, or a relationship at all with the Father? Now what if I told you that it did not need to be this way?

For many individuals right now, there is a belief that they need to follow certain dietary restrictions, give up certain everyday vices during a time of year, or behave in a certain type of way in order to make themselves worthy for God. This post is not meant to get into how God feels regarding our religious works, look at Isaiah 64:6 for this answer. Neither are we talking about staying in sin, for those who are acting in sin they need to repent and turn towards the Lord. Instead, I want to address those who are physically tired in their attempt to be righteous and those who are tired in their walk with Jesus Christ.

The first group are those who follow all the religious “rules” that are placed upon them either through upbringing or through the church they attend. It can be almost stifling trying to keep up and succeed in these rules in order to be seen as righteous to those around. The second group are those who are born again believers in Jesus Christ who are struggling to make Jesus fit within their own wishes for their life. These are the individuals who are trying to direct God in the direction they want their life to go instead of allowing God to lead them where He wants them to go.

Unsurprisingly, the answer to both groups weariness is the same. “28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30. Here we find Jesus calling to all who are weary and burdened down with life and the religious rules placed upon them. It is tiring trying to succeed in these rules because all they do is point out how drastically we fail to measure up to what God wants us to be. This is why we need Jesus Christ, only by giving it all to Him can we find rest. When we remove the yoke of the world from our shoulders and place on the yoke of Jesus Christ, we begin to learn from Him and see that to follow Jesus Christ is not about rules but a real relationship with the God who cares for us!

For those who have already experienced the rest of Jesus Christ but find themselves struggling to follow. I ask these born again believers if they are truly allowing God to lead their lives. Have they exchanged the yoke of the world for the yoke of God? Or are you trying to make the Almighty and Righteous God fit into ideals presented by a wicked in unholy world? If this sounds like you, then the answer is still the same. Come to Him! Allow God to lead you and you will see how quickly He provides your rest!

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Eschatology Part Eleven

When you tell people that you are studying eschatology, they might tilt their head to the side and give you a strange look of confusion. Most people do not know the technical term for the study. However, if you say, “I am studying the end times” they might immediately think you are studying the antichrist. For us, this post today is regarding the evil man, however it is not a full biography of him. Today we are evaluating his most significant actions in relation to the nation of Israel as related to the Law of Accomplishment.

Daniel 9:27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

If you were to just read this verse on its own without any context from our previous study, you would be scratching your head in confusion. However, we know from our previous studying that when we see the words, “and he” we know we are talking about a certain time and a certain man. Both have already been identified.

  The time was identified in Daniel 9:24, “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.” This is 490 years, also known as seventy weeks. Sixty-two weeks are completed yet there is still one week to go. This is not a study over the exact number of the days, but I would encourage you to review Dr. Chuck Missler’s work on the subject.  

The “him” was identified in Daniel 9:26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.” The group that destroyed the temple in 70AD will have a lineage that will be identified in the last days which will bring forth a man who will be the antichrist.

So the big question many ask is, who destroyed the temple? The short answer, Rome. However, to get down into the details there were four legions. V Macedonica, XII Fulminata, XV Apollinaris, and X Fretensis. The ethnic background all point back towards the Roman Empire.  

Thus, when we examine verse 27 we can see that there will be a man who will make a treaty with Israel, “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week.” Halfway through this treaty or at three and a half years he will break this treaty, “but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering.” We see that there is the temple again being mentioned! “Stop a sacrifice and grain offering” The temple is being implied ans operational before this, as of the time of this writing this has not happened. The Jews need to build their temple again, for that they must have Jerusalem and for that they must be in the land. This is why May 14th, 1947 is so amazing for the student of eschatology. The clock is getting primed to start ticking again. The 490 years are getting prepped to start.

Often I hear people stop here, they start to speculate on who is the antichrist or race off to another verse of the Bible instead of finishing this verse and the thought process of what is being said. We will not do that here. Let us continue with the rest of verse 27, “and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

This is talking about what will happen after the three and a half years. “And on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction one that is decreed.”

(Author note: To the reader, there are moments I try to keep to a standard of Bible translations that are closer to the word for word. However, there are moments this can be a disservice to the reader and for this reason I use the NLT for the final thought process of studying verse 27).

Daniel 9:27 “And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

Some say this has already happened with Antiochus the IV, but they forget to realize that Jesus Himself mentions this in the future. Jesus lived and performed His ministry after Antiochus performed his atrocities. Nevertheless, what we do get out of this is another hint to the circular pattern and foreshadowing of prophecy in the Bible.

Daniel 9:27 ends heroically and in a great way, “until the fate decreed for this défiler is finally poured out on him.” This moment is finally described in Jesus’ revelation to John in Revelation chapter 19. Here John testifies of when Jesus comes back as the “Ben David” the King, the Lion of Judah. This time when Jesus comes, it will be terrifying for those who do not belong to Him. Revelation 19:20-21 “And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast--miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.”

It is here that we come to a close regarding the Law of Accomplishment. Gabriel, who is decreeing this to Daniel, has explained to him how the 490 years will end. It will end with the worst person to ever come at the Jewish people being utterly destroyed. That destruction would not be detailed until John in the book of Revelation.

So what does this mean for you and I? It means as we study eschatology, we need to be mindful of what we are studying and take into account the laws vs theories and even hypothesis that are laid before us. Instead of assuming, we should dig deeper into God’s word. Next week we will discuss how the age of the Church comes to an end, and how does this evil man talked about in Daniel chapter 9 is brought forth.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

How should you handle when someone sins against you? Find out HERE!

Unveiled Glory

Have you ever wondered how the outside world views those who are born-again Christians? Sure we seem to be the butt of so many jokes, but have you ever wondered if the rest of the world sees those who are actively following Christ in a different light? Or have you ever looked at your own behavior and considered if it is showing the world God’s grace or if you are following right along with the world? Paul writes a passage in 2 Corinthians that directly relates to these ideas.

“3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? 2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all people, 3 revealing yourselves, that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

4 Such is the confidence we have toward God through Christ. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

7 But if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came with glory so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness excel in glory. 10 For indeed what had glory in this case has no glory, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.

12 Therefore, having such a hope, we use great boldness in ourspeech, 13 and we are not like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the sons of Israel would not stare at the end of what was fading away. 14 But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ. 15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts; 16 but whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”

We see that Paul starts this passage pointing out an issue that Christians still have today, and that is to praise themselves or to seek praise from others regarding actions they have done. This issue Paul is quick to point out that we are letters of Christ to the world, our actions show our faith in the living God. “revealing yourselves, that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such is the confidence we have toward God through Christ. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves so as to consider anything as having come from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,” 2 Corinthians 3:3-5.

It is the fact that our behavior is not to seek praise from others, but to bring glory to God that Paul then continues to show that we have become servants or enactors of a new covenant. One not of rules and regulations, but of grace. The old law was always designed to show how impossible it if for mankind to meet God’s standard; it is why on our own we are not adequate to complete it, only Christ is. However, the old law was still given by God and was designed to show God’s glory in the need for a savior. Paul then wishes to show the reader that this new covenant will have even more glory because it is not an act of condemnation but of accepting that Jesus Christ is righteous and we can only be righteous through His actions. “6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 But if the ministry of death, engraved in letters on stones, came with glory so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness excel in glory. 10 For indeed what had glory in this case has no glory, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory.” 2 Corinthians 3:6-11.

So how should a Christian act? It is with boldness, not in our works but in the works of Jesus Christ! Paul reminds the Jewish readers at the time that Moses hid his face after seeing God because God’s glory remained on him. It was to much for the others to bear. Moses hid, we should not. We should walk about boldly showing the world God’s grace. There may be those who do not wish to see God’s glory, but those who turn to the Lord will be able to see Him through our actions and be able to understand more of God.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Eschatology 101 Part Ten

Hello reader! I have to admit, this series feels like a total loss at times! There is so much to talk about and so little time. However, this series is called “Eschatology 101” for a reason. We are looking for the foundational supports that make up the rest of the building. Today though, I need to warn you. We are going deep and this is a long post! There is no way to cut it in two or even three and we will be jumping from verse to verse. I would implore you to be a vigilant saint, act like a barean, and check my own work for yourself.

Today we continue with Daniel chapter 9, and examine verse 26 and the uniqueness that many people miss.

Daniel 9:26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”

We are lucky because part of this verse is accomplished, thus we can examine and evaluate the coming prophetic information. Let us break it down.

“Then after the sixty-two weeks” this has been accomplished, look at our post last week.

“the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing” We know this was accomplished, look at our post last week and examine how God came to die for us, on the exact date He declared hundreds of years before.

However, we now come to our next part and we need to be careful to recognize something many so-called Bible scholars and theologians mistake. The lesson we must not forget, is scripture should not be interpreted alone. This means scripture will be supported by other scripture verses. If you read Daniel 9 :26 by itself, you might very well think something that is not accurate. Nevertheless and thankfully for us, we have a God’s totality of word wrapped up in 66 books of the Bible. So with that said, let us examine what many Bible scholars and theologians miss.

“And the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.”

Some will read this and say this is talking about 70AD with the destruction of the temple by the Romans. This would be accurate, but not precise. See the difference? Accurate means it is not incorrect, but precise means it is perfect.

Many years ago, I had the privilege of learning something from a Messianic Jew (Jew who recognizes Jesus as their Messiah) named Zola Levitt. One of the things he helped walk me through, was that prophecy at times is not linier but circular. Meaning it will have a small accomplishment now, and later on it will have its ultimate accomplishment. This verse is the perfect example. The temple was not only a monument of Jewish culture and significance, but of Roman might! The Romans were in charge, and their signifiant role with government of the area brought glory to their empire. They had financed the renovations and even helped maintain the roads for Jewish pilgrims. The safety of the temple seemed secure because it brought glory to Rome, the Jews appeared to have nothing to worry about.

Luke 21:5 “And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts,”

Yet, we know from Daniel 9:26 that the temple was prophesied to be destroyed. We also know that it would be destroyed in 70AD. Even Jesus Himself recognizes the 70AD destruction.

Luke 21:6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”

We know that Daniel is told it will be destroyed; we know that Jesus adds more clearity and states that it will not only be destroyed, but there will not be a stone left on another.

Examine the historical account and you will see that this is indeed what happened.

So where is the future aspect? For this we need to go back to Daniel 9:26 and examine the importance of one simple phrase, the people” of someone who is coming ! Let us look, “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”

This means there is a coming prince, but what prince ? In popular terms he is known as the antichrist. Daniel is saying that the temple will be destroyed by the people of the prince who is coming. This means two things. First, that the temple would be destroyed by a group of people who can be identified as a group and their lineage can be identified. Second, this group can be identified later on in the future.

Yet, how does this mean we have another future temple destruction? We know this because the disciples asked Jesus and instead of going into the first destruction in 70AD, He gives insight into the second destruction prophesied about.

Luke 21:7-24 “7 They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not go after them. 9 “When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.” 10 Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12 “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. 13 “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. 14 “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. 16 “But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all because of My name. 18 “Yet not a hair of your head will perish. 19 “By your endurance you will gain your lives. 20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. 21 “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; 22 because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. 23 “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people; 24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

Many will claim this has happened, however there is no historical event that has even come close to this being fullfilled. Jesus thought it was so important that they understand this, that He even made sure to point out with unquestionably the most obvious signs we could imagine.

Luke 21:25-26 “There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

Simply put, the destruction of the temple in 70AD reflects the significance of just how perfect God’s prophecies are, but also reflects the reality that there needs to be another.

Now you might be wondering about the ending from last week and thinking to yourself, what did JL mean with:

“We are about to enter a time omitted in scripture by verbiage, but identified through deliberate omittance to reveal a plan of grace for you and I today!”

This is very important for you and I today!

We need to remember that God’s Word is perfect; so if it leaves something omitted, we should see if it has been done on purpose. Rabbi’s throughout the centuries have said God’s Word is even declared in the spacing between the letters and words. The same goes here.

Daniel 9:26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”

The “And” is an identifier for you and I to recognize that something has happened. We have the luxury of knowing that this “something” is so far two thousand years. This is the Church Age. A time of grace given by God for those who are not of His “fold” to be found and saved. Jesus own words state this, John 10:14-16 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.” There is an old saying that states; “Where there is no information, this states information” the same thing goes. Daniel chapter 9 does not go into details regarding the church age, and yet we can say that the Bible remarkable talks a lot about it.

What does this mean for you and I right now ? It means two things which must be identified. The church age is a specific aspect of time that is marked with a beginning and end which will come to fruition at its appointed time. In aspects of the The Law of Accomplishment, (God has given 490 special years for the nation of Israel and Jerusalem to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy), God has put a pause button on the years, there are seven to go, there is a future aspect of Daniel chapter 9 verse 26 “And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.” Next week we will dive deeper and see just what Daniel was told regarding this future event.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming;

JL

Re-Post Friday

A snapshot into the book of Exodus. Read it HERE!

All Together

Have you ever been reading through any of the books written by Paul and wonder how he could have been so harsh with the Jews? But then have you ever sat and realized that you are under the same correction that Paul is describing? There is an issue that seems prevalent in a lot of churches right now, and that is we tend to think that our sins are “less” or “don’t matter as much” simply because we go to church. Or we see an issue that a brother or sister in Christ is struggling with and think that is bigger than our own struggles, that we are “better Christians” because we don’t have the same issues. If you have experienced this, or even thought it yourself; I ask that you read Paul’s words in Romans 3:9-20.

“What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written: “There is no righteous person, not even one; 11 There is no one who understands, There is no one who seeks out God; 12 They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, There is not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The venom of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood, 16 Destruction and misery are in their paths, 17 And they have not known the way of peace.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because by the works of the Law none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes knowledge of sin.”

In today’s common speech it would sound something like this, “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that all are under sin.” And what I mean by this is that everyone is all under the bondage of sin, there is no man, woman, or child who has not committed some sin. It is why God sent His Son, because only the Son of God could live a perfect and untainted life. What separates individuals now is some have come to understand that they will never be “good” enough to not sin, they acknowledge that they need a Savior; and then there are those who have not come to this knowledge and continue to practice sin.

The issue comes in when born-again believers forget that at one point they were seen just as guilty in the eyes of God as those who are practicing sin; this can create a mentality that we are better than those who have not come to know Christ. Which is why Paul then begins to pull verses from Psalm 14, to remind everyone that apart from Christ no matter race or social status you are under sin’s guilty verdict. None of us do good, our works on our own are as filthy rags to God. “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our wrongdoings, like the wind, take us away.” Isaiah 64:6. It doesn’t matter what our sins were, if they were “minor” or if they were “major” in the eyes of mankind, all sin is sin as a major offense to God! There is no small or big sins, they are all equal!

For the believers who are reading this who may have found themselves looking and comparing themselves to those around them. Remember, you were seen just as guilty as they are. Do not let pride seep in and convince you that you were in any way better then they. Then, go out and be like Christ! He sat with the worst of mankind and sought to rise them up, to bring them to a saving faith in God, and to serve them! He lived a perfect life but still washed the disciples feet! Be like Christ and serve!

For the non-believers, there is hope and that hope can be found in Romans 3:21-26.

“But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; 26 for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

We cannot receive eternal salvation on our own rights. We have all fallen short of God’s glory; we are all equal in that sense. But what separates the believer from the non-believer is the understanding that we cannot receive salvation based on our works. It comes only through the works of Jesus Christ! He is the author of our salvation, He is the one who lived the perfect life, who died and was resurrected, it is His actions and not ours that brings mankind to be rectified to God!

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Daily Time with the Teacher

I want to take a quick moment from our Eschatology series and encourage you to read a Proverbs a day. God wants us to be in His Word as a way to help us understand and support our decision making process throughout life.  

Proverbs 4:1-4 “Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father, And give attention that you may gain understanding, 2 For I give you sound teaching; Do not abandon my instruction. 3 When I was a son to my father, Tender and the only son in the sight of my mother, 4 Then he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; Keep my commandments and live;”

Reading the Bible is more than just for Eschatology, but for also the personal moments right now.

Proverbs 5:1-2 “My son, give attention to my wisdom, Incline your ear to my understanding; 2 That you may observe discretion And your lips may reserve knowledge.”

God is eager for us to be students, are you eager for Him to be a teacher in your own life? Take a moment, each and everyday and read the chapter related to Proverbs and see how quickly God interacts in your life. He will talk to you, I have seen it in my own life and I know He will do it in your life. So no matter what you are going through in your life, remember that the Bible is applicable right now.

Proverbs 6:23 “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life.”

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A reminder that our work is not done. Read it HERE!

Putting It All Together

Would you believe me if I told you that I am often surprised with the posts that God calls me to write? Take for example, the last four weeks. If you read the posts regarding Psalm 37, then you will remember that we discussed three separate topics. The first is that there are pledges from God in Psalm 37, as well as promises to the righteous and unrighteous, and the outcome of the righteous and unrighteous. When I first sat down to discuss Psalm 37, I believed that it was going to be a one and done post. However, I had to take a piece of my own advice and look at the section of scripture as a whole in order to see the full picture. Last week, we saw the importance of looking at the meaning of words. Evil and Wicked both seem to be the same word with the same meaning, however, if you look at the original Hebrew meaning of the words you find that their descriptions are regarding two types of people. What surprised me over the last four weeks, is that I did not realized that I was writing a mini series on how to go deeper into your Bible study.

Often when we listen to a pastor or do our personal Bible studies, we tend to look at a snippet of scripture and miss a deeper meaning then if we look at the whole. When we don’t look at the meaning behind the words the author chose, we miss another layer of study entirely. Today I hope to show you what happens when you take these two concepts and put them together through an example I recently had.

I am currently going through a study from a Biblical culturalist; and before we get into the topic today, I do want to make a note that this study does not replace my personal Bible study and I hope for you that you do not allow posts written here or other Bible studies to replace your time in the word of God. These books can be tools to help your study but should not and cannot replace spending time at the feet of God with the words that He has written.

With that point made, allow me to show you what I learned when it comes to placing the meaning of words and the context of the scripture together.

The Biblical culturalist that I am studying, is someone who has great depth of knowledge when it comes to Jewish customs and their language. In her study, she makes a point to bring up Malachi 4:2, “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and frolic like calves from the stall.” She then goes on to say that the Hebrew word for “wings” here is the word “kanaph” which means the wing of a bird or the edge of clothing. She likens this to the prayer shawls that are being worn even today that has knots along the edge to represent the commandments in the Torah. The corner of the prayer shawl is called “kanafayim” which is derived from “kanaph”.

If you are like me, you may be wondering where she was going with this dive into the meaning of the words in Malachi 4:2. In which case, the author of this study, brings us to Matthew 9:20-22. “Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.” The word “edge” in this passage also means fringe or tassel. The Biblical culturalist then makes the point that the description found in Malachi 4:2 allowed for the woman to know that Jesus was the Messiah, the woman in scripture states that she only needs to touch the edge of His robe, the “wing”, and she will be healed. Thus another way to prove that Jesus was and is the Son of God.

However, while this is interesting and I do believe that the Biblical culturalist is correct in this assumption, it does not take into account the study tool we learned from Psalm 37; and that is to study the context of the verse in its entirety. Please go back to Malachi, but this time look at the chapter in its entirety.

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of armies, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branches. 2 But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and frolic like calves from the stall. 3 And you will crush the wicked underfoot, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am preparing,” says the Lord of armies. 4 “Remember the Law of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. 5 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and strike the land with complete destruction.”

Malachi 4:1-5

Right off, we see that this chapter of scripture is depicting a day in the future, a day when every evildoer will be no more. A simple look at the news will show that this has not come to pass and will not until the events described in Revelation 20:11-15 take place. Verse two acts as a sign to recognize the Messiah as already discussed, but verse three also describes events that have not taken place yet. Verse four serves as a reminder for the Law of Moses which is designed to point us to our need of a savior, Jesus Christ. Which is then the point that verses five and six make.

I hope this allowed you to see, dear reader, the importance of not just looking at a snippet of scripture. When this occurs, so much more will be missed! We need to remember to look at the concept of the passage, as well as the meanings behind the words. When we do this, our studies will go deeper and so will our knowledge of God!

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Eschatology 101 Part Nine

Today we continue our series on Eschatology, if this is your first time joining us I would encourage you to read the previous posts to keep up with what we have been doing. Today we are reviewing only one verse in our Daniel chapter 9 review.

Daniel 9:25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.”

As a recap, last week we introduced the Law of Accomplishment which is our foundation for understanding God’s interaction with Israel from Daniel to the end. This is key if we are to understand God’s word accurately.

The Law of Accomplishment which states, “God has given 490 special years for the nation of Israel and Jerusalem to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy.”

How is this law to be utilized when studying any topic known to man? The Law of Accomplishment is designed by God Himself to create a measure for comparison of all human events and their interpretation of those events leading to the millennium reign of Christ Jesus in Jerusalem.

Verse 25 is a continuation of the prophetic timeline being issued. God is giving Daniel understanding that there is an exact date from the decree to when the Messiah will come and be presented as King of Israel. In fact, this day is so precise that many have come to think that it is added text after Jesus Christ’s triumphal entry. However, archeological evidence and scholarly research quickly refutes such claims.

I will not labor the point, but would point you to the works of Chuck Missler if you are interested in the date precision. However, in God’s Word we can see that Jesus comes on the exact date! God the Father refuses to allow them to recognize Jesus Christ as King until the proper day. That day is described in Daniel 9:25 and reported happening in the following verses.

Matthew 21:1-11 “When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. 3 “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: 5 “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, ‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’” 6 The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, 7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. 8 Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. 9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!” 10 When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

And

Mark 11:1-10 “As they approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, He sent two of His disciples, 2 and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 “If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ you say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he will send it back here.” 4 They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they untied it. 5 Some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They spoke to them just as Jesus had told them, and they gave them permission. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!”

And

Luke 19:28-44 “After He had said these things, He was going on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When He approached Bethphage and Bethany, near the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you; there, as you enter, you will find a colt tied on which no one yet has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 31 “If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of it.’” 32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. 37 As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting: “BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” 41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, 44 and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”

And

John 12:12-19 “On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.” 14 Jesus, finding a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written, 15 “FEAR NOT, DAUGHTER OF ZION; BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING, SEATED ON A DONKEY’S COLT.” 16 These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him. 17 So the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify about Him. 18 For this reason also the people went and met Him, because they heard that He had performed this sign. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are not doing any good; look, the world has gone after Him.”

In all four Gospels this moment is talked about. That means each of the authors believed their selected audience needed to know about this event, but expected them to understand the historical precedence predicted centuries before. They expected the believer to know their scripture and connect the dots. For Israel at that moment, this was their time to recognize the King! Messiah! God! Their visitation was at hand and they missed it. Daniel had been told that at a specific time the Temple would be rebuilt and the King would come, and we know it happened to the very day it was told!

Daniel 9:25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.”

Before anyone throws rocks at the Jews of the day, let us just look at our own lives and see how many times God has visited us and we ignored Him? How many times had God called to us and we just kept going through our day? We continuously scroll on the phone instead of examining His word. We instead focus on arguing with others about what is truth and fail to stay personally focused on the Truth who is Jesus Christ. We have turned Him into a “Hashtag”, “copilot” and other popular sayings instead of what truly matters. Simply put, we fail to see the King in our personal lives daily.

Unfortunately, you and I might not have been there two thousand years ago, but we are just as guilty. Luckily, Jesus Christ is faithful and just to forgive us of our trespasses. We just need to accept Him and that He is enough for us. We need to allow the King to be our King right now.

Now why is this important for us in Eschatology? It has already happened to the day! Exactly as God said it would. Thus, we can’t take the next week’s topic into consideration until we realize just how important it is.

We are about to enter a time omitted in scripture by verbiage, but identified through deliberate omittance to reveal a plan of grace for you and I today!

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

A look back into our Basics Course. Read it HERE!

Same Meaning?

Has it ever struck you how confusing the spoken and written word is? Our American readers might have a better understanding of this. After all, if I give you the word “date” you would be wondering if I mean a specific day, a way to show age, the agreed upon time and day for people to meet, or even the fruit. You would have to look at the context of the rest of the sentence in order to determine the meaning behind the word. Words can have multiple meanings; not only that, but two words that appear to have the same meaning can in fact mean two separate things.

Take this passage in Proverbs 12:12 for example,

“12 The wicked person desires the plunder of evil people, But the root of the righteous yields fruit.”

This verse comes from a section of scripture that compares the actions of the righteous to the actions of the wicked, so at first nothing seems out of the ordinary. But on closer inspection, there are two words here that you would believe are synonyms of the same definition. Wicked and Evil. For many, these two words would be used to describe something terribly bad, that is beyond repair or remorse. However, when you look back at the original meaning of these words, you will find that there is more to it.

The Hebrew word for Wicked (H7563) is defined as morally wrong, concretely an (actively) bad person, condemned, guilty, ungodly, wicked man that did wrong.

The Hebrew word for Evil (H7451) is defined as bad or evil, adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, displease.

With these two definitions in our minds, we can read Proverbs 12:12 as “The morally wrong, actively bad person desires the plunder of bad, displeased people, but the root of righteous yields fruit”. From this, we can see that those who are actively practicing unrighteousness as described in 1 John 3:7-8 are different from those who are on their own bad or displeased people. The difference is the wicked are those who understand that they are evil, but instead of turning to Christ and walking away from evil, instead continue to practice it. Those who are evil are those who have not come to know a saving faith in Jesus Christ and therefore cannot be apart of His righteousness.

Why is this important? When you take the time to look at the root of a word, especially words that would appear to have the same meaning, you grow more in the knowledge of the scriptures and of God. For those who wish to be able to do this on their own, I recommend getting a Strong’s Concordance. This book allows you to look at the words and be able to take them back to the original Hebrew or Greek. If you cannot find a physical copy, there is an app that you can download onto your phone or tablet.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex

Eschatology 101 Part Eight

When we last talked about Daniel, we discussed much of what he had accomplished in his life. Nevertheless, his greatest accomplishment was writing down what he was told. Daniel was a Perfect Prophet. Let’s quickly review what the label means.

  The term is defined as “A person identified, called, and used by Yahweh to reveal errorless information otherwise not known by the messenger and the targeted audience.” The world has many prophets, however only God has Perfect Prophets. Daniel being a Perfect Prophet brought to light many things, however it could be argued that his greatest documentation from the Lord God is chapter nine of the book of Daniel. In this book, we see the outline of God’s intended interaction with the people of Israel and the rescuing of mankind from their sins and from Satan himself.

Daniel 9:24-27  “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. 25 “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. 27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

This is the outline of human history up until Revelation 19:20-21 “And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

However, today we are only going to talk about the beginning aspect. “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city.”

You will find that there are many cults and false religious groups that have distorted and taken this out of context. Many groups claim to be the targeted audience, attempting to steal what God has given the Jewish people. Some claim this has been accomplished, not recognizing the details described here and the harmony brought fourth by other scripture declaring a proper interpretation of the verse.

The event takes place with Daniel in prayer and study. Daniel 9:20-22 “Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, 21 while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. 22 He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.”

Daniel is supposed to know what Israel is going to go through. Daniel is supposed to have understanding of what God intends to do with the chosen people. They have been given seventy weeks, which is 490 years. This means that there is 490 years that God has intended for something special. When God declares “for your people and your holy city” He means it. Thus all eschatology must be somehow intrinsically interwoven through the eyes of Israel. This is paramount for us to understand and is why we have our next law in eschatology.

The Law of Accomplishment which states, “God has given 490 special years for the nation of Israel and Jerusalem to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy.”

How is this law to be utilized when studying any topic known to man? The Law of Accomplishment is designed by God Himself to create a measure for comparison of all human events and their interpretation of those events leading to the millennium reign of Christ Jesus in Jerusalem.

This means that we now have a solid foundation for studying God’s Word when trying to decipher what He has declared openly and rather unapologetically to the world. Those who claim to be Biblical scholars and/or teachers who do not recognize this law are rather elementary in their understanding and should be avoided. You wouldn’t want a pilot who did not believe in the law of gravity flying your airplane would you? Of course not, so why do we want Bible teachers teaching us who do not understand the basic laws of eschatology? We don’t.

Next week we will continue to work through and progress forward in our understanding of what Gabriel revealed by the Lord God to Daniel. But for now, remember that eschatology is a reward for all men, written through the clarity that Israel is the correct prescription to see what God intends to do.

Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,

JL

Re-Post Friday

What doctor can bring the spirit to life? Find our HERE!

Promises to Believers Part Three

Over the last two weeks, we have been looking at Psalm 37. Oftentimes, the book of Psalms is split up by people who wish to pick and choose verses that suit their ideals. As with the rest of scripture, this is done to their detriment; and we have seen how when we look at the Psalms as a whole, we see more of God’s word. Our first look into Psalm 37, we saw that God has four pledges for the believers. Second, we saw promises to both the righteous and the wicked. This week will be the conclusion into Psalm 37 which shows the outcome for those who are righteous and for those who are wicked.

23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, And He delights in his way. 24 When he falls, he will not be hurled down, Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand. 25 I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging for bread. 26 All day long he is gracious and lends, And his descendants are a blessing. 27 Turn from evil and do good, So that you will dwell forever. 28 For the Lord loves justice And does not abandon His godly ones; They are protected forever, But the descendants of the wicked will be eliminated. 29 The righteous will inherit the land And dwell in it forever. 30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks justice. 31 The Law of his God is in his heart; His steps do not slip. 32 The wicked spies upon the righteous And seeks to kill him. 33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand Or let him be condemned when he is judged. 34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are eliminated, you will see it. 35 I have seen a wicked, violent person Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. 36 Then he passed away, and behold, he was no more; I searched for him, but he could not be found. 37 Observe the blameless person, and look at the upright; For the person of peace will have a future. 38 But wrongdoers will altogether be destroyed; The future of the wicked will be eliminated. 39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in time of trouble. 40 The Lord helps them and rescues them; He rescues them from the wicked and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him.

Psalm 37:23-40

The first section of verse that I want to look at are verses 23-26. In these verses we notice that God is in control of our steps (verse 23), when man those who follow Him fall they will not be lost (verse 24), and that the righteous will not be forsaken. All of these are further promises to the righteous, those who have recognized their need for Jesus Christ. As believers, we can take strength and encouragement from these verses because we see that God is always with us, when we fail to follow Him, He will not forsake us. We may get ourselves into troublesome situations, but God is always the answer out and is there to provide us a way to deal with our temptations.

In our next set of verses, we see that God is advising us to depart from evil (verse 27). When we abide in Christ, we do not abide or practice anything that is unrighteousness. We are continually seeking to do His will which is why born again believers will live on eternally. However, those who practice unrighteousness, who do not place themselves under the authority of Christ, will find themselves eternally cut off (verse 28). We also see in verse 28, the fact that those who follow Jesus Christ will inherit the land and their inheritance will be eternal. This is actually the third time in Psalm 37 that we see this. The first is in verse 9 “For evildoers will be eliminated, But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.” And the second time is in verse 18 “The Lord knows the days of the blameless, And their inheritance will be forever.” And we will see it again in verse 34, “34 Wait for the Lord and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are eliminated, you will see it.” This repeated concept is meant to encourage believers today and in the future who feel as if the wicked are getting away with their deeds. It is a constant reminder from God that He knows what is going on and our reward is coming and will be eternal. There is an eternal promise of land for all saints, Jews and Gentiles found in Revelation chapter 21-22.

Verses 33-40 are also a repeating concept found throughout Psalm 37. In these verses we see that the wicked spies on the righteous with a desire to kill them, but the answer to this concept is the same. The Lord will not leave us to be victims to the wicked. Our reward is eternal, it is why in verses 35-36 we see that the righteous spread’s themselves out in their native soil, this fallen world, but there is a day when they will all be cut off and no matter how hard you look you will not be able to find them. This is talking about the future reign of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21-22. The wicked has their time on this earth, but the righteous will have an eternal peace because we take refuge in Jesus Christ! We must be careful not to add the Church into the promises described to Israel, but we need to recognize that some promises are directed at not only the Jews but all those who are saved no matter the time. Psalm 37 has unique characteristics of God revealing promises that have a future plan for Israel, yet also us who are of the Church. God is so good, His word can encourage in a timeless manner for each age of human history, promising for the ultimate prize found only in Jesus Christ.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex