jimbussell

I believe the antichrist, which is the most popular title of the most famous tool of Satan, as he is referred to in the the first and second epistles of John, is possibly alive today. If the Profane and Wicked Prince of Israel (Ezekiel 21:25-27) is a natural born human being, he would have to be alive and ready at a moments notice, to perform the role that has been mentioned throughout the bible of the coming world leader*1 outlined for us in the scriptures. I possibly picture the Man of Sin (II Thessalonians 2:13), or as he is referred to in Latin, the ‘Vicar of Christ‘*2 (which opens up a whole new can of worms), as a type of ‘sleeper agent’ ready to activate at a moment’s notice because the scriptures say Christ will return ‘as a thief in the night’ to those who are unprepared for his coming as we are told in I Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. (KJV). It might be a weak link, but I John seems to support this in chapter 2:18-19 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would [no doubt] have continued with us: but [they went out], that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. (KJV) where he mentions plural antichrists.

Satan doesn’t know what the interval is between the harpazo and the beginning of the seventieth week is, so Satan has to have his man ready and waiting in the wings to strike at anytime. For that to happen the Son of Perdition (II Thessalonians 2:13) has to be alive now. This means that Satan has needed to have his Man of the Earth (Psalms 10:18) ready to act when the time comes. Or does he?

As I was writing this another possibility came to mind. I think there is another scenario that we need to consider. There is a possibility that the man of lawlessness will be one of the stars that fell (fallen angels) as we are told in Revelation 12:4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. (KJV) and he will just ‘appear’ on the scene. It says a third of the stars (which is a typical idiom for angels) go with Satan. All throughout the bible there have been visitations by angels that spoke, visited and dined with people mentioned in Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (KJV). Why should these visitations be limited to only the ‘good’ angels. This may be a thought that could be worth cultivating to see if it stands up to scriptural scrutiny.

Is the antichrist a Jew? I could research and bring forth viable arguments both and cite Revelations where it speaks of the Advesary (Lametations 4:11-12) enforcing the covenant with Israel, I could cite Daniel 11:37 that states he will reject the Gos of his fathers, There are those that put forth articles saying this is a bunch of anti-semetic rantings, but lets allow Christ to settle the argument. Christ says in John 5:42-44 about the Jews in the end times that they will receive the Violent Man (Psalms 140:1), But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.  I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.   How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that [cometh] from God only? (KJV) I believe that Christ is saying the Jews will receive this Idol Shepard (Zechariah 11:16-17) as a false messiah as prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:15-22 The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;   According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.  And the LORD said unto me, They have well [spoken that] which they have spoken.   I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.   And it shall come to pass, [that] whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require [it] of him. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.   And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?   When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that [is] the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, [but] the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. (KJV) and I will defer to his authority on this one (and all the rest, also).

God Bless, Jim

*1 http://www.khouse.org/articles/1995/80/ , 9th paragraph

*2 http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/666.htm

I don’t recall reading the book of Ester before, not from beginning to end anyway. Reading this jewel as a stand-alone piece is extremely enjoyable and entertaining in itself. Paying attention to the fact that the scripture is an integrated message system gives me a different perspective when I read the book, because I am paying more attention to detail. The book of Ester revolves around three main players which are: Ester, Haman and Mordechai,

To give a synopsis of the book, The Jews are under the rule of the Persians when Xerxes I starts his hunt for a new queen. Mordechai, a Jew and the uncle of Ester talks her into applying for the job. She does and becomes Xerxes I’s new queen. Power hungry, and resident madman Haman, Xerxes right hand man, gets insulted by Mordechai and decides to punish him by wiping out all of the Jews under Persian rule. Shrewd Ester with the assistance and coaching of Mordechai, sets Haman up big time and saves the day. Other than a cool story the this little gem of a book that, on the surface, seems almost like a sidebar to the rest of the Tanach, is very, very important prophetically to the survival and continuance of the Jewish race. I elaborate more on this when I cover the Feast of Purim.

I am grateful to the research of Chuck Missler in his commentaries, for he points out Mordechai was on the scene to assist and coach his cousin Ester, because of the grace of King David, a man after the Lord’s own heart when he spared Modechai’s ancestor Shemei for cursing him. We also know that Haman, the bad guy of the story, was on the scene because of King Saul’s failure to carry God’s orders to kill Agag, a failure that sealed Saul’s decline and doom. We can infer this because of the inclusion by the Holy Spirit of the genealogy of these two characters at the beginning of the book. I also believe that Ester, being a cousin to Mordechai, was also a product of this grace assuming her mother or father were siblings to Modechai’s father.

Other than the obvious, I see a parallel type here in the story of this great woman I want to throw out.

I see also a ‘type’ on display here that commentators I have read don’t mention. Haman was a power hungry arrogant person who developed a hatred toward Mordechai and all he represented, which in my opinion was the will of the Jews to remain separate and faithful to their God rather that bow to the will of this pagan Gentile. For this, Haman sought to exterminate the Jews until Ester was able to assist and thwart the plans, thus saving her people from destruction because of the will of a mad man.

Fast forward twenty five hundred years and we find Hitler. Hitler had a personal vendetta against the Jews and was able to cause laws to be created that allowed the attempted extermination of the Jews until the allied forces, with the major player being the United States thwarted their plans and ended up saving the Jews from extermination. In this way I see Haman as type for Hitler and I see Mordechai and Ester as types for the allied forces and the United States.

As a sidebar: There is an example of Assyria destroying the Northern Kingdom of Israel by forcing assimilation of the Jews in that area that they captured into their culture therefore destroying they identity through dispersal rather than wholesale slaughter. This is a different method than the example I attempted to outline above. As far as I know these examples, Haman and Hitler were the only two attempts so far, to exterminate the Jewish race through violence.

God Bless

Jim

4-29-11

This is topic builds upon my topic titled: My Take on Ester

Some background and history: The story of Ester takes place during the time that the Jews were still under the domination and control of the Persian Empire. As you may recall, God became fed up with the continued disobedience of His chosen people, their lack of respect for Him and his Word and their failure to properly represent Him as the Holy Spirit made pretty clear through the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 20.

Ezekiel 20:21-23“Notwithstanding, the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, and were not careful to observe My judgments, ‘which, [if] a man does, he shall live by them’; but they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the wilderness. “Nevertheless I withdrew My hand and acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the Gentiles, in whose sight I had brought them out. “Also I raised My hand in an oath to those in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the Gentiles and disperse them throughout the countries,… (NKJV)

He sent prophet after prophet to warn them to no avail, for the most part. The Jews became corrupt from the leadership down which was the major cause of the kingdom splitting into two parts after Solomon’s death. The Northern kingdom became more corrupt and more prosperous at the same time and was conquered by the Assyrians in 751 BC. The Assyrians, as a national policy toward captured provinces and nations, forced the population to become disbursed throughout their kingdom, thus destroying their national identity, which became the end of the kingdom of Israel. Assyria attempted to destroy the southern kingdom also around 720 BC, but The Lord intervened and after sending an angel to kill 185,000 Assyrians that had the city of Jerusalem under siege, the Assyrians withdrew, licking their wounds. The Lord allows his people to be punished through different means, as we learn throughout history, but will never allow his people to be destroyed. The books of the prophets, for the most part, record the attempt of The Lord to teach and warn these stubborn, unresponsive peoples of their impending trip to the woodshed called captivity and control by the gentile nations. In 605 BC, the Babylonians took control over the southern kingdom of Judea and the Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people began. After the Persians defeated Babylon in 539 BC, the Jews found themselves living under Persian rule. Throughout this whole time that the Jews were in captivity, The Lord, throughout history, has allowed captivity and punishment of His people, but has always kept a firm control over the condition and treatment of them. Under Cyrus, they were allowed to return to Jerusalem in 635 BC to begin to rebuild the temple which was destroyed in the third siege of Jerusalem by Babylon in 597 BC.*1 The book of Ezra records the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem during the reign of Darius the Great after 521 BC. The problem during this effort was that even though they had received funding and permission to rebuild the temple, they weren’t allowed to rebuild the city walls for protection against attacks. Ezra chapter 7 gives us the Decree of Artaxerxes in 445 BC which allowed them to fund their treasuries and rebuild the city wall, thus ensuring protection from invaders and attacks by unfriendly elements.

This is the historical background building up to the book of Ester which takes place during the time preceding Ezra chapter 7.

Historically, the book Ester falls within the time period between Ezra and Nehemiah, and now I know why. It was the events of the book of Ester, the attempt by Haman, which held a very powerful position in the government of Artaxerxes I Longimanus (or Xerxes I)*2 that ruled from 465 BC to 424 BC, to eradicate the Jews because of his beef with Mordechai, cousin of the orphaned Ester, queen of the Persian Empire that caused the events within the pages of Nehemiah to take place. Because Haman was such a power hungry mad man, he turned a personal vendetta against a single Jewish male into an attempt to wipe out his rival’s whole race, in my opinion, probably because of his racial hatred toward the Jews which had tromped his grandfather Agag’s forces many years earlier under the hands of King Saul after which Samuel, prophet of God, did what Saul wouldn’t do and killed and mutilated Agag. Modechai had warned Ester to not reveal that she was Jewish and I previously assumed it was possibly because of the reaction of the king which would have killed her chances to become queen. Now, I don’t think that is it. I think if she had revealed herself as a Jew and became queen, Haman wouldn’t have dared to confront his rival Mordechai and therefore the decree to exterminate the Jewish race never would have been put into place because Haman may have been twisted but he wasn’t stupid. The Lord therefore had Mordechai warn Ester to not reveal herself to allow Haman to play into His hand, therefore establishing the basis for Daniel’s seventy week prophecy we find in Daniel chapter 9.

Daniel 9: 24-27Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (KJV)

The Feast of Purim is the celebration of the decree of Artaxerxes that allowed the Jews to rebuild their holy city and protect the completion of the temple. The Jews consider it the deliverance of the Jewish people from their enemies and during the celebrations, feasts and parades, the scroll of Ester is read.*3 Apparently that is as far as they take it and therein lies the tragedy.

For me this topic has exponentially raised my opinion of the importance of the book of Ester and also the Feast of Purim (which I had never heard of before). The book of Ester is the recording of the events that started the clock ticking on the seventy week prophecy. It is the beginning herald of the tragic condemnation of Israel by Christ in Matthew. Israel, true to form, apparently paid attention to the events in Ester enough to create a feast around it while ignoring the prophecy in Daniel that predicted the event and the period following. That’s like turning on a TV to watch the start of a race, and then switching it off because you don’t care about the race or the outcome.

Matthew 23:37“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under [her] wings, but you were not willing! (NKJV)

The Hebrew name for Ester was Hadassah which means flowering myrtle. Ester is a Persian name meaning star. I have to say that, in my opinion, the story of Ester bloomed and flowered into one of the more important events in Jewish history, for the actions of Ester insured the continued survival of the nation of Israel and even more important, the line of David and the birth of the Savior of mankind was preserved. This makes her a star in the story of the survival of the Nation of Israel.

God Bless, Jim

4-30-11

*1 http://www.ccg.org/english/s/p250B.html

*2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxerxes_I_of_Persia

*3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purim

I think all of the prophecies relating to the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ are extremely impressive, but to choose individual ones, there are a couple that come to mind.

First, the Book of Psalms, chapter 22 verses 1-18 describes the details behind and during the crucifixion of Christ very vividly. This Psalm reads almost like David was there experiencing the horrors of the pain and suffering of the crucifixion himself.

Psalm 22:1-18 To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. MY God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent. But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in You; They trusted, and You delivered them. They cried to You, and were delivered; They trusted in You, and were not ashamed. But I am a worm, and no man; A reproach of men, and despised by the people. All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” But You are He who took Me out of the womb; You made Me trust while on My mother’s breasts. I was cast upon You from birth. From My mother’s womb You have been My God Be not far from Me, For trouble is near; For there is none to help. Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. (NKJV)

Wow! This extremely powerful and graphic portrayal of crucifixion upon a cross written seven centuries before Mary gave birth to our Christ and two centuries before crucifixion became a form of capital punishment*1, gives me the shivers every time I read it. Christ himself told his disciples what was to happen to him and that he would be crucified to fulfill prophecy in John chapter 3. John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (NKJV). Here he was talking about fulfilling prophecy by comparing himself to the serpent on a staff that was recorded in Numbers 21 where Moses raised a serpent upon a staff to heal those that looked upon it.

Numbers 21:6-9 And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (NKJV)

Another prophecy that blows me away is the specific time-line that Gabriel gave Daniel concerning Jesus, our Messiah’s,’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem in Daniel 9:25 Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. (KJV) The prophecy of these 173,880 days*2 was given five centuries before the birth of our Lord *3. This gave the Israelites plenty of time to prepare for the Messiah’s arrival.

Christ was very well aware of this specific time-line for his disciples tried to get him to go to Jerusalem on several occasions, as in this example when they attempted to get him to go for the Feast of Tabernacles but Christ refused their requests as we are told in Johnchapter7 verses 6Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. (KJV), and also again in verse 8Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. (KJV). We are also told that he expected the chosen children of God to have read and remembered Gabriel’s prophecy because Luke 19 tells us so in verses 41–44And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. (KJV).

In the time of Christ, very few Jewish household would have owned a copy of the Tanakh because every copy would have been handwritten mainly on one-sided scrolls. Most of the copies would have been at the Synagogues and with the Rabbis who would read to the population from the scriptures. In my opinion, this one of the major reasons that Christ and the Holy Spirit gave the instructions “everyone who has an ear, let him hear” to emphasis a point because most of the population learned the Word through hearing. I wonder what percentage of the common Jew understood the time-line of the prophecy that Gabriel gave Daniel. The leadership in Jerusalem may have been clueless or in denial to the prophecy but every Jew wasn’t and I suspect that many of the early followers of Christ sought him out because of the prophecy. After all, we are told in the gospels a multitude turned out for Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. Here is a couple of verses from John’s account.

John 12:12-12The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ The King of Israel!” (NKJV)

At this point I am going to digress. Even though the future of the Church has nothing to do with this subject, it does relate in a way because the religion of my youth teaches that the events of Luke 19 is the moment that the Jews shot their chance at the brass ring and that we are now the the ‘new Israelites’ and all references to the Jews after this, such as Romans 11:26 actually refers to us, the replacement Jews. Really? What does God have to say about this? Verse 42 of Luke 19 says that “they are hid from thine eyes”…it doesn’t say you had your chance, but you blew it, it says God is declaring judicial blindness upon the nation of his people. The last two-thirds of the book of Revelation is almost all about the nation of Israel in the future, so how can that be if they gave up their inheritance unless you allegorize the whole book? The bible is consistent in it’s references and idioms, and references such as verse 42 implies that there is a time period involved in this punishment for not paying attention to the prophecy of Gabriel. Therefore we need to look and see if we can find the other end of the string, so to speak. If we look at Romans 11:25, we find the other end of the string and there is a definite end to Israel’s punishment.

Romans 11:25For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. (KJV)

There are many, many more prophecies one could choose from but these two are great examples of prophecy, even though they just scrape the surface of proof and veracity of the accuracy and infallibility of the Holy Word of Our Lord.

God Bless, Jim

3-20-11

*1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion

*2 http://www.harvardhouse.com/prophetictech/new/linear.htm

*3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel

As I have read the books of Amos and Hosea and their scathing indictments against the Northern Kingdom of Israel, the parallels between this corrupt people of God and the United States seem to jump off the pages at me. Even though there are almost three thousand years of history between the Kingdom of Israel and today, the principles of morality, good and evil and right and wrong haven’t changed, therefore the lessons remain the same and God’s grief at the disobedience and evil that his children slap him in the face with, doesn’t fade with time.

If I want to find a description of the northern kingdom of Israel, the first place I look is in the book of Hosea. Hosea was a pretty unique guy. Here we have a man that, through the instructions of The Lord, married a hooker and they had some kids. From the beginning of the book it is clear that Hosea’s life is a parallel to the situation of The Lord and Israel, primarily the Northern Kingdom, as we see in Hosea 1:2-3 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, [departing] from the LORD So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son. (KJV) Almost from the moment they said “I do!” Hosea’s life started going downhill, especially with Gomer because she just couldn’t seem to get away from the old life even though she had a provider and a companion and children to look after. Hosea 2:5 For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has behaved shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, Who give [me] my bread and my water, My wool and my linen, My oil and my drink.’ (NKJV) gives us an indication that instead of being satisfied with what she had with her husband and children, she yearned for the quick rewards of finer things to the point of acting stupidly and putting everything she has at risk by turning her back on her companion and kids to go after the fleeting, short term rewards. It sounds suspiciously like our situation today, doesn’t it?

Where else in Hosea can we see some parallels between Hosea’s Israel and our America?

Hosea 4:1-2 Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD [brings] a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land. [By] swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed. (NKJV) Even though the United States Constitution was written and the new country formed with one of the primary goals of religious freedom, Satan has worked his magic and we as a country have taken it to the point where the country is now basically devoid of anything relating to God. It is a crime to post good logical moral lessons in public buildings because Satan’s minions have successfully convinced good people within our government that the Ten Commandments are somehow bad and against our public interest, while everyone that works for a living in America is forced, through their income tax, to fund organized infantile murder organizations called Planned Parenthood clinics. The ability to pray to the Living God at public events and schools has been squashed while enforced paganistic teaching called multiculturalism and scientific theory is wholly supported within our public institutes of education. The teaching of respect and morality based on biblical morals can result in the termination of our educators while our culture embraces immorality and lawlessness through our music and visual media and print.

Hosea 4:12-13 My people ask counsel from their wooden [idols], And their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused [them] to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God. They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops, And burn incense on the hills, Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, Because their shade [is] good. Therefore your daughters commit harlotry, And your brides commit adultery. (NKJV) continues to paint a bleak picture of what happens culturally when a nation and a culture turns their back upon God.

It seems that America has to do things better. Israel was corrupt, well, we can’t let them better us therefore we have to become even more corrupt. We as a culture and a people can wear every indictment that was levied against Israel and more. Just look at Romans 1 starting with verse 18 to see if the shoe fits.

Romans 1:18-32 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown [it] to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible [attributes] are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify [Him] as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man–and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves. who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; [they are] whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (NKJV)

Does God suffer? Of course he does. The book of Hosea is an object lesson in suffering where The Lord has Hosea emulate the suffering of The Lord for his unfaithful bride Israel through his own life. The Lord has Hosea even through the pain and embarrassment and ridicule of having his wife leave. He has him buy her back and he has him forgive her. Hosea chapter 2 gives us another look at Israel in the end when she begs forgiveness from The Lord and he forgives her.

Hosea 2:14-23 “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, As in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. “And it shall be, in that day,” Says the LORD, “[That] you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’ For I will take from her mouth the names of the Baals, And they shall be remembered by their name no more. In that day I will make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, With the birds of the air, And [with] the creeping things of the ground. Bow and sword of battle I will shatter from the earth, To make them lie down safely. “I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me In righteousness and justice, In loving kindness and mercy; I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness, And you shall know the LORD. “It shall come to pass in that day [That] I will answer,” says the LORD; “I will answer the heavens, And they shall answer the earth. The earth shall answer With grain, With new wine, And with oil; They shall answer Jezreel. Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on [her who had] not obtained mercy; Then I will say to [those who were] not My people, ‘You [are] My people!’ And they shall say, ‘[You are] my God!’ “ (NKJV) To take it a bit further, we need to take a step back and look at the Father and the Son. God, The Father has a bride named Israel who was sassy and unfaithful and caused Him all kinds of grief, but he still loves her and tells us from Genesis to Revelation that his love is everlasting and will outlast her temper tantrums. In the end it will be special and Israel will finally return the love and respect The Lord deserves as is alluded to in Hosea 2:16 “And it shall be, in that day,” Says the LORD, “[That] you will call Me ‘My Husband,’ And no longer call Me ‘My Master,’ (NKJV) Looking at God The Son, he also has a recalcitrant bride called the church who he suffered for. Are we as the bride of Christ causing him to suffer? Absolutely! We are grieving Him everyday we lie and cheat and steal and deceive. We need to remember what The Lord said of his people in II Chronicles 7:14 “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (NKJV) This indictment isn’t against the pagans and satanists of the world, this indictment is against us! We don’t ever need to forget that.

It seems to be human nature to want to worship something and I always thought it was quaint growing up when I would read about the people worshiping static objects or farm animals. I guess I could see falling down before some massive celestial object that would sweep across the sky and cause all kinds of mayhem every hundred years or so, as some theories about the planet Mars suggests, but trees or farm animal? Come on. However, I found myself doing just that later on in my life when I became a member of and started embracing an American Indian culture, where I have some heritage. I found myself collecting trinkets and wearing amulets for protection from maladies and bad spirits. I started worshiping Mother Earth and Father Sky, I built medicine wheels and practiced the chants and rituals associated with the culture. I also practiced the mysticism that came with the package and all seemed well until it came crashing down when I played with the fire to the point I almost killed someone through…what?…will power? Whatever you call it, it scared me to the point that, thanks to the sweet Lord, that he cared enough about me to allow me to assess the situation and realize that it all boils down to this; there is only good and evil.

There is only The Lord’s way or Satan’s way and nothing else…there are no more choices to look for. We are compelled as humans to look up (or down) to attribute our existence to. Currently in America the worship of choice has morphed into self-worship, or humanism, where we have proven through our scientific experts that we ignore the obvious aspects of math and science and instead embrace the illogical theories that seem to comfortably skirt the fact that SOMETHING (or someone as the case is) created our universe. Not only are we like the northern kingdom of Israel, we have far surpassed them. It is easy to point at others and want to judge, but I find inevitably that I am passing judgment upon myself instead and that is ultimately disturbing. In the end I can just thank the grace and mercy lavished upon my undeserving bones by my extremely forgiving Lord. Thank you Father!

God Bless, Jim

5-7-11