Monthly Archives: April 2020

Coronavirus and Scripture, Part I of III

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I am afraid it is a fact of life that this world is under a curse.

It all began when our ancestors rejected the
Instructions of the Lord our God.

When that happened God told our ancestors directly that,

“… cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.”
Gen 3:17

Not all of the environmental problems we have are because of trash or plastic bags or oil on the ground or in the water. Our sins bring a curse on both our work and on our environment.

Now God can either help us or oppose us,
and He often does.

The prophet Jeremiah spoke of how God often deals with nations.

“7 At what instant I shall speak concerning A nation, and concerning A kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it; 8 if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do to them. 9 At what instant I shall speak concerning A nation, and concerning A kingdom, to build and to plant it; 10 if they do that which is evil in my sight, that they not obey my voice, then I will repent of the good, with which I said I would benefit them.”
Jer 18:7-10

God is the one who gives us prosperity or discipline. We may think our work gives us what is good, but God says,

“17 and lest you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth. 18 But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth; that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as at this day.”
Deut 8:17-18

He can send people to oppose us, or can give us peace with other men.

“When a man’s ways please Yahweh,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
Prov 16:7

God Himself disciplines the nations

Sometimes we may think God doesn’t even know what we are doing, but the Bible says something different in Psalm 94.

“8 Consider, you senseless among the people;
You fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who implanted the ear, won’t he hear?
He who formed the eye, won’t he see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, won’t he punish?
He who teaches man knows.
11 Yahweh knows the thoughts of man,
That they are futile.
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, Yah,
And teach out of your law;
13 That you may give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit is dug for the wicked.”
Psa 94:8-13

We live in a world in which things have gone wrong,
WE have gone wrong.

So now things can go wrong against us! Including things like viruses.

“From war’s alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase,
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.

“Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,
lead us from night, to never ending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory laud and praise be ever Thine.”

From our National Hymn, “God of Our Fathers.”

Romans 8 speaks of that principle of Physics
called “entropy,” or the Second Law
of Thermodynamics.

It calls it vanity, and our “bondage to decay,” and does say that one day,

“that the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of decay into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.”
Rom 8:21

It hasn’t happened yet, but it will ! Jesus offers it through His gospel. Despite Covid-19

Scriptures are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Keys to Prophecy: There is more than one Jerusalem

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David did say,

“For David said, Yahweh, the God of Israel, has given rest to his people; and he dwells in Jerusalem forever:”
1Chron 23:25 WEB

“Forever,” David says. That is in line with the prophecy in 2Samuel 7 about that special son of David who would build the temple of the Lord. Solomon does tell us by inspiration that he was the fulfillment of this prophecy.

“Yahweh has established his word that he spoke; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as Yahweh promised, and have built the house for the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel. ”
1Kgs 8:20 WEB

That indeed seems to fit 2Samuel 7, and there it is that it says,

“Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before you: your throne shall be established forever.”
2Sam 7:16 WEB

That would fit 1Chron 23:25 reviewed above. Still there are problems.

For Solomon’s throne only lasted until 586 BC.

For another 50 years few Jews lived in Jerusalem. Further, starting in the second century AD Jews were banned from living in Jerusalem for many centuries. None of which sounds like “forever”, and I am sure it caused many to wonder if these prophecies were false.

Nonetheless, are other factors at work here?

For starters, Heb 1:5 says that 2Samuel 7 refers to Jesus the Christ. That would have Solomon as a “type”/symbolic of Jesus. Of that fulfillment Isaiah seems to speak of a Mount Zion and Jerusalem beyond the moon and sun passing away!

“Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Yahweh of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem …”
Isa 24:23 WEB

Present Jerusalem, pictured above with the Mohammedan “Dome of the Rock” sitting where Solomon’s Temple used to sit, is symbolic of the New Jerusalem in the New Heaven and the New Earth.

Additionally Isaiah writes of a time of no more mourning or crying in Jerusalem. For instance,

“For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more; he will surely be gracious to you at the voice of your cry; when he shall hear, he will answer you.”
Isa 30:19 WEB

Further, Isaiah clearly speaks in more than one passage of this earth, and this universe being completely destroyed. For instance in Isaiah 13, and Isaiah 34. Isaiah writes well before the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. So what are the missing parts of the puzzle.

For Isaiah writes of a new
heavens and earth.

“17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. 18 But be you glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.”
Isa 65:17-18 WEB

And that is the context in the New Testament. When God makes everything new (Rev 21:5), He make a new Jerusalem.

“I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband.”
Rev 21:2 WEB

Some of those Old Testament passages are about the “new,” heavenly, Jerusalem. And that one, of that kingdom, indeed will be forever!

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Keys to Prophecy: There is more than one Mount Zion

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Both Mount Zion and Jerusalem are symbolic
of heavenly entities.

Also both the earthly Zion is spoken of in Scripture, and also the heavenly Zion. For instance you can see this in Psalm 11. In Psalm 11 David is being told that he had better run for his life, because the wicked are getting ready to shoot him in the dark, Psa 11:1-2. David then asks very mournfully, if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do, Psa 11:3? Indeed, David has already said that Yahweh lives on Mount Zion.

“Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion,
And declare among the people what he has done.”
Psa 9:11 WEB

But there is more to the story.

Despite this, David by inspiration also says in Psa 11:4, “Yahweh is in his holy temple.” There is more to point out even here. In English, and in many languages, there is a word for a temple, and word for a palace, and these are different concepts. In Hebrew however the word hekal does double duty as the word for both a king’s palace and a religious temple. In this sense then, the temple of God is really God’s palace to the Hebrew mind. The other term used in Hebrew is to call it “the house of God,” which is the ordinary term for in Hebrew for a “house,” byet, which even further enforces the idea that God lives there, and David did say Yahweh lives/dwells in Zion, Psa 9:11 above.

Solomon of course denies the literalness of God
living on earthly Mount Zion,

“But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house that I have built!”
1Kgs 8:27 WEB

But David says more that once more.

“Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth. ”
Psa 50:2 WEB

Or again, and of course Jerusalem is Jeru-salem, David speaks of the original tent of meeting.

“His tent is also in Salem;
His dwelling place in Zion.”
Psa 76:2 WEB

And God’s rule goes forth out of Zion (a double meaning do you think?)

“Yahweh will send forth the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
Psa 11:2 WEB

Or another time, but perhaps more mysteriously

“Yahweh is great in Zion.
He is high above all the peoples.”
Psa 99:2 WEB

All the same, David gives details in Psalm 11.

Yes, Yahweh is in His holy temple, Psa 11:4a, and then he tells us,

“Yahweh is on his throne in heaven,” Psa 11:4b

The palace of God, the real palace, is in heaven.

God’s rule is not threatened by the rule or
opposition of someone on earth.

The old earthly temple on Mount Zion in Jerusalem is only symbolic (a type) of the heavenly temple on the heavenly Mount Zion (the fulfillment).

“5 Yahweh examines the righteous,
But the wicked and him who loves violence his soul hates. Psa. 11:6 On the wicked he will rain blazing coals; Fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. ”
Psa 11:5-6 WEB

Earthly Zion is only symbolic, a type, of the true palace of God and His throne.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901