An audio lesson.
This shows how the historical wanderings of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai, typify both our everyday Christian lives, and also our ultimate Exodus out of this world to go to what we often call “heaven,” and which Scripture often refers to as a new universe, i.e. a new heavens and a new earth!
Listen to this audio lesson here, or click on the Audio Player to download as an MP3 file.
Without realizing it, we as men may read into what God says what is really human desires and objectives. We can do this in prophecy and also in many other things.
God speaking by the mouth of Paul has said,
“for
the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but
righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Rom 14:17
Still some may think, it is about how you eat, and what you eat. That is part of what righteousness is all about, and blithely ignore passages like,
“But
food will not commend us to God. For neither, if we don’t
eat, are we the worse; nor, if we eat, are we the better.”
1Cor
8.8
So much for God telling us plainly.
Now you may like big band music, or rock music, or whatever, and that is your prerogative. But does that mean that God also likes what you like, and you should introduce it into worship? Really? This listen to what God says by the mouth of Isaiah.
“8
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways
my ways, says Yahweh. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than
your thoughts.”
Isa 55:8-9
It is foolish to introduce worldly entertainment into worship, confident of God’s acceptance. So how would we know how to correctly worship God? He would have to tell us.
“For
who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the
man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God,
except God’s Spirit.”
1Cor 2:11
And it very simple things which God’s commands.
“What
is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the
understanding also. I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with
the understanding also.”
1Cor 14:15
There is more to say, but that is the gist of it.
We have already seen that it is NOT about food and drink, Rom 14:17. But further even from that, we can see clearly that it is not really even about this world at all. Not ultimately! For when we see Jesus was on trial for His life before the Roman governor Pontus Pilate. Pilate asked Him, “What have you done?”
“Jesus
answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my
kingdom were of this world, then my servants would
fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my
kingdom is not from here.””
Jn 18:36
No, it is about a new heavens and a new earth after this present universe is burned up, 2Pe 3:10-13.
The premillenialists have it all wrong. They are confusing verses about heaven, with verses about this present world.
Once again, so much for God telling us plainly.
Scriptures
are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of
the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
The world is full of naive assumptions about God and what He might do, or say, or speak, or like.
For instance, some “assume” that all prophecy is strictly linear. That God always talks first about what will happen first. Second He will talk about what will happen second, and so. So they claim, if a passage has a dual subject, then God must first finish talking about Subject A, before He talks about Subject B. Oh?
There are clearly two subjects in Matthew 24, which was first spoken by Jesus around 30 AD. The first is the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. So Jesus speaks of the stones on which the Jewish temple was built, and says,
“… “Don’t you
see all of these things? Most assuredly I tell you, there will not be
left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.””
Mtt
24:2
That literally happened in 70 AD, and almost all acknowledge that Matthew 24 does talk about the war that drew to its conclusion in 70 AD!
But also Matthew 24 clearly talks about the end of this present universe. So Jesus says,
“and then
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the
tribes of the earth will mourn, and they
will see the Son of Man coming
on the clouds of the sky with
power and great glory.”
Mtt
24:30
The issue for most is, where does the first subject stop, and the second subject begin?
We may say, well Bobby is really good at math. Yes, but Billy is really good at sports. That is true but also Bobby is good drama. Yes, and Billy is good at history and geography. And so on. So may go on talking for hours about Bobby and Billy, in a perfectly normal discussion of two normal little boys, or say two perfectly normal politicians running for office, going back and forth between two subjects! Such is not strange in human discussions.
I think it is that the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD is symbolic of the end of our present universe, and Jesus is in Matthew 24 talking back and forth about both subjects. This is in fact a common device used in Bible prophecy. So to see what might apply to 70 AD, we might read the Jewish historian Josephus. And learn more about the end of this universe, we might consider how 70 AD happened.
God can talk to us back and forth about more than one subject at a time if He wants to. It is for us to listen carefully and follow the conversation.
The best way to avoid naive assumptions is first study fulfilled prophecies and see how they work, and then trying to derive our principles from what we see working in fulfilled prophecy. This is done in some detail in my first book, Prophecy Principles.
Scriptures
are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of
the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
Sometimes we miss big and important messages because we are,
The Pharisees made fatal mistakes here on several levels. A big one was their rejection of the gentiles as inferior, unclean, to be despised and rejected.
In fact, the ancient Canaanites were so wicked that they were to be wiped out.
“2
and when Yahweh your God shall deliver them up before you, and you
shall strike them; then you shall utterly destroy them: you
shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them;
3 neither shall you make marriages with them; …”
Deut 7:2-3
“10
When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then
proclaim peace to it. 11 It shall be, if it make you answer of
peace, and open to you, then it shall be, that all the people who are
found therein shall become tributary to you, and shall serve
you.”
Deut 20:10-11
There is more to the instructions here, but the core is that the sanctions on the Canaanites did NOT apply to all nations.
“Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if you shall listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, …”
Deut 28:13 WEB
But this did NOT mean that the Gentiles were all to be considered unclean, and not to be associated with.
“The
stranger who lives as a foreigner with you shall be to
you as the native-born among you, and you shall love him as
yourself; for you lived as foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am
Yahweh your God. ”
Lev 19:34
“Therefore
love the foreigner; for you were foreigners in the land of
Egypt.”
Deut 10:19
So when their Christ came, who clearly preached love and compassion to ALL … including the gentiles … they rejected their own Christ!
They failed to see the big picture of love and mercy to all … and thus sealed their own doom, because He was the one whom,
“… whoever
will not listen to my words which he shall speak in my name, I will
require it of him.”
Deut 18:19 WEB
And so it stands, even to this day, for as Jesus said,
“I
said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you
believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”
Jn 8:24 WEB
Those are the words of the one and only Christ of God.
Scriptures
are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of
the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
There are many ways to get sidetracked in life, and in studying the Bible, and in studying Bible prophecy. Some of these pitfalls, stumbling-blocks the Scriptures often calls them, overlap, and are well worth looking at.
Scripture is not a pick and choose buffet. Unfortunately we as men often tend to try to use the Bible in such ways. Sometimes it is because we simply like certain parts of the Scripture more than others, which is natural, and some part for sure are more important than others. And last but not least it can come from our just being too lazy to do our homework! However:
Moses said it first.
“You
shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you
diminish from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your
God which I command you.”
Deut 4:2 WEB
He reemphasized it again later.
“Whatever
thing I command you, that shall you observe to do: you shall not add
thereto, nor diminish from it.”
Deut 12:32 WEB
In other words, use the whole thing. Now Moses did emphasize that whatever the Messiah commanded, everyone had to do.
“It
shall happen, that whoever will not listen to my words which he shall
speak in my name, I will require it of him.”
Deut 18:19 WEB
“ALL
scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”
2Tim
3:16 KJV (emphasis added)
We are not under the law of Moses, which has been nailed to the cross, Col 2:14. Instead we are under the “law of Christ,” 1Cor 9:21. So we don’t offer animal sacrifices, we have the sacrifice of Christ. And we observe the Lord’s Day (the first day of the week, Acts 20:7 Rev 1:10), not the seventh day, the Sabbath. Even so, the law of Moses is still profitable for “doctrine” (which is really just teaching, didaskalos is the Greek word). An example would be Paul in 1Corinthians 9 using an regulation from Moses law about an ox (Deut 25:3), to prove that ministers of the gospel should be paid. Paul says,
“9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.” Is it for the oxen that God cares, 10 or does he say it assuredly for our sake? Yes, it was written for our sake,”
1Cor 9:9-10 WEB
and our understanding of many things, including prophecy. If you really want to distort your understanding of Revelation or Isaiah, do what the liberal seminaries consistently try to do: study those books in isolation from the rest of Scripture. They use fine phrases like, “seeing how a book stands on its own,” but it is can be fatal to real understanding.
KJV is the King James Version, 1611.
WEB
is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the
original ASV American Standard Version 1901
There were several encounters recorded in Jeremiah. He finally approached Jeremiah privately in Jeremiah 38 while Jerusalem was under siege from the Babylonians. He wanted to hear what he had to say. Jeremiah told him what God said would happen.
“Then
said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the
God of Israel: If you will go forth to the king of Babylon’s
princes, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned
with fire; and you shall live, and your house..”
Jer 38:17
He was willing to think it might be right, but still had reservations about counsel of the Lord, and expressed these reservations.
“… I
am afraid of the Jews who are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they
deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.”
Jer 38:19
Jeremiah assured him these fears were without foundation.
“ … They
shall not deliver you. Obey, I beg you, the voice of Yahweh,
in that which I speak to you: so it shall be well with you, and
your soul shall live.”
Jer 38:20
Then Jeremiah told him, again accurately, what would happen if he did not do what God told, Jer 38:23. King Zedekiah was not all powerful, but he did have important decisions to make. But he was not fully persuaded. So the terrible alternative came upon him.
“They
killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of
Zedekiah, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Babylon.”
2Kgs
25:7.
So the last sight Zedekiah saw was his sons being slaughtered before his eyes. And he went to Babylon as a blind man.
Ah! Human potential. But the greatest of this is in the Lord. As Jesus said,
“5
I am the vine. You are the branches. He who remains in me, and I
in him, the same bears much fruit, for apart from me you can
do nothing. 6 If a man doesn’t remain in me, he is thrown out
as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, throw them into
the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you remain in me, and my
words remain in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will
be done for you.”
Jn 15:5-7 WEB
even if we think it violates what we are “sure” is “right” or “safe.”
“5
Trust in Yahweh with all your heart,
And
don’t lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways
acknowledge him,
And he will direct your paths.
7
Don’t be wise in your own eyes.
Fear Yahweh, and
depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your body,
And
nourishment to your bones.”
Prov 3:5-8 WEB
“One
who trusts in himself is a fool;
But one who walks in wisdom, he
is kept safe. ”
Prov 28:26 WEB
Scriptures
are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of
the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
Jeremiah knows full well to weakness and insufficiency of man on his own. He comments on these things in various places.
“Yahweh,
I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man who
walks to direct his steps.”
Jer 10:23
Or again, from Proverbs.
“A
man’s steps are from Yahweh;
How then can man understand his
way?”
Prov 20:24
For those who do not, will not, call on His name, and ruin the righteous, Jeremiah knows they deserve to be punished and calls on God to do it,
“Pour
out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, and on the
families that don’t call on your name: for they have devoured
Jacob, yes, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid
waste his habitation.”
Jer 10:25
But also Jeremiah knows that we need much instruction and mercy to even survive. Jeremiah is an inspired prophet of God, following in faith, and tenaciously holding to the Lord even when none will follow him. Still he is aware of how vulnerable he is.
“Yahweh,
correct me, but in measure: not in your anger, lest you bring me to
nothing.”
Jer 10:24
“Come
now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow let’s go into this
city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit.””
Jas
4:13
He goes on to say that we do not even know what our very lives will be like tomorrow! If we have any insight, and foresight, it is not of ourselves but of God. James goes on to say that we are but vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes. He does NOT say we are LIKE a vapor! He says WE ARE A VAPOR! We need to listen to God.
“The
plans of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the
tongue is from Yahweh.”
Prov 16:1
So often we cannot always carry out what we “will.” We are often overcome in even our day to day intentions to do or to seek.
“There
are many plans in a man’s heart,
But Yahweh’s counsel will
prevail.”
Prov 19:21
“we
will both live, and do this or that.””
Jas 4:15
He is the One who is really in control. That is the sober truth of the matter. Though we may strut and swagger and boast, at the end of the day, Yahweh, He is God, and you and I are merely men. Men who very much need the support and advice and the foresight of the One and Only Living God, and who should never put our own understanding before that of God’s.
Scriptures
are from the World English Bible (WEB), a copyright free revision
of
the original ASV American Standard Version 1901
It is a simple statement, but one that many, even in the church, do not really believe.
“All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness:”
2Tim 3:16 KJV
That word doctrine is the Greek word didaskalia and means a teaching, and that is the way it is translated most of the time. This means that the Bible needs to be taken as a whole in order to get what we need, for “All scripture is … profitable for doctrine.” Yes, it is true that the law of Moses has been taken out of the way (Col 2:14), nailed to the cross, and we are under the law of Christ (1Cor 9:21). Still even Moses’ law is profitable for doctrine, for teaching, and we need it to be,
“ … complete,
thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2Tim 3:17 KJV
Sometimes what we really believe is a human narrative about Scripture, and not really Scripture itself. So what is a “narrative”?
“a
representation
of a particular situation or process in such a way as to
reflect or conform to an overarching set of aims or values:
the coalition’s carefully constructed narrative about its sensitivity
to recession victims.”
New
Oxford American Dictionary
Often the “narrative” we have believed is the words of some honored men of old, or pioneers in the faith. If we are doing this, and we read a Scripture which is in accord with the narrative, then we will believe it. On the other hand, if we read a Scripture which contradicts the narratives we have been taught, then we will often openly doubt the Scripture. Often without realizing it, our standard of doctrine is a human narrative, and not Scripture. But Jesus said,
“And
in vain do they worship me,
Teaching as doctrine rules made by
men.”
Mtt 15:9 WEB
A rough estimate is that 30% of Scripture is prophecy. Some want to leave prophecy out of their teaching, and that’s what they do! But you cannot leave 30% of God’s word out of out preaching and still be teaching “the whole counsel of God.”
we disbelieve, and stand aside or oppose them.
“He
who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with
me, scatters.”
Mtt 12:30 WEB
“Behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
Rev 22:7 WEB
Who can keep these words, if they do not understand them?
“We have the more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well that you take heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the day star arises in your hearts:”
2Pe 1:19 WEB.
None of this is meant to imply that prophecy is ALL we need, but it is an important part of the whole.
KJV is the King James Version, 1611.
WEB
is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the
original ASV American Standard Version 1901
In Genesis 19 Lot had been told a prophecy that Sodom was to be destroyed. He was getting his family ready to leave, and it says,
“Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters, and said, “Get up! Get out of this place, for Yahweh will destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be joking.”
Gen 19:14 WEB
They could not see how this could be, so they did not believe Lot’s warnings, and so were destroyed with the city. We need to have an eternal focus if we are comprehend and believe what we need to in prophecy.
“looking
to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Heb 12:2 WEB
We need to absorb that eternal perspective which Jesus exemplified in his life here on earth. Often our worldly perspective comes from the world, which does even recognize God working in the world, so the things taught in prophecy seem so outlandish that we cannot conceive such a thing as happening, so we reject the correct answers out of hand.
“1 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. ”
Col 3:1-14 WEB
These things are necessary to “get it.”
If we do not learn the first principles, or even outright reject them, we will never get the right answers on more involved prophecies. Many do this on Bible prophecy, both inside and outside of the faith.
Whether we see what we need to see often depend on the angle at which we approach a subject. To whatever extent we have rejected the many basic premises of Scripture, to that extent we are less likely to see, or to understand what we need to see. Often even believers do these things with even realizing it. If we come from false perspectives we are less likely to see or understand, or if the answer is too foreign to our worldly view, we may simply say, how can that be? and reject what is said. That sadly is often the case. We understand what is siad and reject it as impossible to ever be!
It is important to be willing to be open to anything which God says, and to assume that God is right and that He indeed foresees what will actually happen.
WEB
is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the
original ASV American Standard Version 1901
Of course, if we outright do not believe there is no such thing as prophecy it will hurt our understanding. Actually many have such an outlook, even of those who consider themselves sincere Bible believers. Many have listened to so many opposing interpretations of the same prophecy that they do not consider it possible to understand what these things mean.
For some that is true of Scripture generally.
This often works. Even scholars often are so dazzled by the excess of interpretations, that even they often think that there is no for sure way to understand these things. That is a basic strategy that Satan uses in seminaries and in life, to disillusion us.
At times we may want to put the blame on Scripture, but the real blame may be with false perspectives which we have often unconsciously absorbed. Satan, and the mystery of lawlessness, and Mystery Babylon the Great try to continually seed us with false ideas (Mtt 13:24-30, 36-39). Intellectual mine fields and snares and traps lie all around us. Literally.
The Bible is rational and consistent, and also it IS inspired of God, and can give us the right answers, IF we will use it correctly. That takes some study and some practice. If we have absorbed some false ideas, and all of us have at times, we can sort them out by patiently and carefully using Scripture.
“But
if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he doesn’t yet know as he
ought to know.”
1Cor 8:2 WEB
Abraham was a faithful man of God. He definitely believed anything God said. So of course when he was commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah (later know as Mount Zion), then he proceeded to comply (Genesis 22). Of course, God was just testing him, and stopped Abraham before he went to kill the son though whom God had promised him rich and great promises. Scripture tells us that Abraham was,
“accounting
that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively
speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead.”
Heb 11:19
WEB
That is some insight into how true faith really works. Even if we are misunderstanding some things, faith always gives God the benefit of the doubt, always assumes God is right in what He says.
Peter was trying to talk Jesus out getting ready to die in Matthew 16.
“But
he turned, and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a
stumbling-block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the
things of God, but on the things of men.””
Mtt 16:23
Not setting our mind on the things of God will blind us to prophecy, and many other things.
WEB
is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the
original ASV American Standard Version 1901