The Time of the Gentiles

Judgment on Gentile Nations

Book of Jeremiah 25

Without a doubt, as the Bride of Christ we should be anxiously watching and waiting for the return of the Lord.

We must also understand that "All" nations are accountable to God!

They are not watching nor waiting for the return of Christ because they will His wrath!

Mat 25:31  When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Mat 25:32  And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

Mat 25:33  And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Mat 25:34  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

There is a great difference between the voice of love and the voice of death!

Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, but He is also the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

There is no place to hide from the wrath of God!

There is no security outside the will of God!

Every person and every nation have a choice to drink of the cup of submission to the will of the Lord or the cup of His wrath!

The cup of God's wrath is the consequences of sin!

Jesus Christ is in the future of every human being that has ever lived whether good or bad, we will all face Him!

Year after year Jeremiah preached these things to Judah and many of his words had reached into other nations and many hated Jeremiah for the words he was preaching.

The Judgment of God is not a pleasant thing to think about!

Why is this so true? They will be held accountable for the way they have treated God's People. "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord".

This includes the Church but also the nation of Israel.

Listen as Jeremiah preached to Judah:

*****Jer 25:11  And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

True history agrees with the Word of God.

Babylon is the first of four kingdoms that Daniel said by the Holy Spirit that would conquer the known world of that day to form a great empire.

Daniel and Ezekiel were both taken captive in the time of Jeremiah who God had chosen to remain in Judah at this time.

Nebuchadnezzar had captured Judah in 605 BC. His army had also defeated the powers of Egypt and the powers of Assyria.

Some believe that this period of time began the fulfillment of Luke 21:24.

Luk 21:24  And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

The time of the Gentiles is not yet complete and will not be complete until the Church has been removed and the Lord sits on the throne of David.

We should understand that God knows the ending at the same time of the beginning and He has a Master plan in place. We can see God work in the generation that we live in and Jeremiah would see God work in his own generation.

In that 70 years most all those non-believers would die off and those that were born would live in a land of idol worshippers and learn the truth of God.

The thing we also see is that the nation of Babylon as powerful as they were would only last for 70 years.

*****Jer 25:12  And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.

We know that God uses some human as a servant to fulfill His will and Nebuchadnezzar was used of God at this time.

The greatest lesson we can learn of these times is that we need to pay attention to what God says! We must certainly never reject the Word of God.

When these things went according to the plan of God, He then brought "Judgment" upon Babylon because of its cruelty not only to God's people but also to all the people in that Empire.

Isa 13:19  And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Isa 13:20  It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

God keeps His eyes on each and every generation!

Jeremiah prophesied against all nations and that includes the nations of today.

*****Jer 25:13  And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.

We must understand that the people of Judah hated the words that Jeremiah spoke, and many sought to kill him.

We also see that Jeremiah spoke of the seventy years of Babylon's existence and many of them would take it out on the Jews as we read in the Book of Esther along with the other prophets of that day.

God would next use Persia, then Greece and then Rome as said by Daniel.

Dan 9:1  In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

Dan 9:2  In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

And Daniel would then relate all these things to the Birth of Christ!

Dan 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.

God does never forget His people no matter where they are.

*****Jer 25:14  For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.

God warns us that we must not close our ears to the "Gospel". We must never refuse to hear the Word of God!

Joh 5:39  Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Joh 5:40  And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Joh 5:41  I receive not honour from men.

Joh 5:42  But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.

We would think if we got to see a portion of the wrath of God before it actually came, it would change the way we think but those in the time of Jeremiah only got madder at God

*****Jer 25:15  For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.

Jer 25:16  And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

Jeremiah was allowed to see the wrath of God in a vision so when he preached of the wrath of God, he could teach the complete story.

It was not just Judah who would see the wrath of God it was every nation of that day as one empire was taken down another one would begin all seeking world domination.

This was the message of Jeremiah to all people of that day including Judah. Only Judah was told that their captivity would only last 70 years.

Babylon was to be the agent for God's "judgment" not only for Judah but also for all the nations of that day!

Psa 75:7  But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.

Psa 75:8  For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.

This is the lesson we learned down at the Potter's House.

*****Jer 25:17  Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:

Again we see Jeremiah did not question the Lord even after he had seen this terrible vision. Jeremiah was "faithful" to make sure God's message was shared with every nation that they would be devoured by Babylon, but Babylon would only rule them for 70 years.

These nations would get this opportunity to see the truth of God and to make a choice to believe or not believe.

Those who were wicked would be like staggering drunks trying to defend themselves.

God would prove to the world that it was He who held all the power.

Judah would learn that Jehovah was not exclusive to the Jews.

We already know the Lord is no respecter of persons and it is easy to see that He is no respecter of nations, so He would begin with Judah.

Rev 14:10  The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Rev 14:11  And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

When we do not worship the Lord then by default, we worship Satan!

None of us have the means to defend ourselves against the Sword of the Lord!

*****Jer 25:26  And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

Jer 25:27  Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.

The world would not understand how Babylon an impenetrable fortress could be overrun.

The truth of the "Judgment" of God is that it will be a complete and irreversible and unstoppable!

The truth of the "Judgment" of is that God will begin with His own people!

Just as sure as in this day of Jeremiah were God began with Judah, it will be the same for the Church.

1Pe 4:17  For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

1Pe 4:18  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

1Pe 4:19  Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

God will always "Judge" His people first, so that that this world will see that it cannot go unpunished!

To drink of the "cup" of God is to submit to the will of God. To reject this cup is to have this cup poured out first on your head then the rest of your body. It is the same for the human being as it will be for all the nations that reject the Lord Jesus Christ!

All the wicked of this earth will be helpless as a drunk trying to defend itself.

In fact this was a prophesy of Babylon who felt so confident of her power that when the enemy came they would have a drunken party.

This is the way Cyrus found them when he occupied Babylon.

*****Jer 25:28  And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.

Jer 25:29  For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.

We should clearly understand that if God is willing to destroy His own people and the city where He had placed His name to rid this world of evil and its sin, then He certainly would have no problem in destroying all this world.

Remember God has already said there will be a New World and a New Jerusalem.

Rev 21:1  And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

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

Rev 21:5  And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

We must understand that God never threatens anyone, God just simply tells us what is going to happen.

God does these things not as a Prophet would do it but as the true God, our Creator would do it!

This entire world will certainly drink the Cup of the wrath of God because this world refuses to repent of its wicked ways!

There is no one who rebels against the Father or His Son or His Holy Spirit who will go unpunished for rejecting the truth of the "Gospel"!

*****Jer 25:30  Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.

We would be foolish to believe that these things were just written for the days of Jeremiah!

Even when the Lord "roars from Heaven", He is seeking repentance for this will be the last opportunity before He sends the sword of His wrath which is eternal death.

Joe 2:11  And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Joe 2:12  Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

Joe 2:13  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Joe 3:16  The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

These were not idle words spoken by Jeremiah, these were the words of truth!

Rev 14:18  And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

Rev 14:19  And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

Rev 14:20  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

In the days of Jeremiah the grapes were trodden down by men who when they saw all the fruit of the vine had been gathered would shout the victory.

This shout of victory would turn into the battle-cry of the Lord! The Lord would roar as He had now to perform the things He had said He would do.

The Lord is never happy when He must deliver His wrath to those who have rebelled!

*****Jer 25:31  A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.

Notice that the wrath of God is only for the "wicked".

We should see this as a prelude to the White Throne Judgment.

1) There would be the Judge but there would be no jury.

2) There would be an indictment but there would be no defense.

3) There would be a sentence but there would be no appeal.

Where as to those who love the Lord, He will be our Defense!

God will have given all people plenty of opportunity to change their evil ways, admit their guilt and to repent.

For those who refuse it will be too late.

There will be no more rumors of war this world will be in all-out war with itself!

*****Jer 25:32  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

What did Jesus say?

Luk 21:10  Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

Luk 21:11  And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Luk 21:25  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Luk 21:26  Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

We must not be confused by false Preachers and teachers!

We are witnesses now as evil is going forth from nation to nation enforced by the governments of this world.

That great whirlwind is already beginning to turn and when it reaches its full rotation, you will be glad you were a Christian and missed out on the wrath of God.

*****Jer 25:33  And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

For the Jews, to not have a proper burial was a disgrace! This was treating a human being as common rubbish, but this is exactly the way the bodies those who are wicked will be treated in the day of the Lord.

There would be no one to mourn them.

There would be no one to bury them.

There is no place in Heaven for those who hate the Lord!

There is not one piece of dust in all of Heaven.

When Judah was overrun by Babylon it was just a prelude to the final judgment where we know things will at least be 7 times in multiples worse.

Mat 16:27  For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Mat 16:28  Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Take Lord at His Word and just believe what He says!

Amen

Let's Pray!

The Good the Bad and Those in Between

Judah Deported

Book of Jeremiah Chapter 24

To understand this lesson, we need to understand the sacrifice of the "first fruits".

These first fruits were to be the choicest of the first harvest of the crops.

The nation of Israel was known as God's "first fruits".

Jer 2:3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.

Here "holiness" means a people dedicated to God.

All those of Israel who were offended by the ways of God would be punished. It is the same today!

Today "first fruits can be used as all those who are first saved in a new area and led to the Lord.

Rom 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

So, we see that Israel were to be the first fruits of In God's increase!

Let’s see as the Lord shows Jeremiah a new vision so he also could understand what God was doing.

*****Jer 24:1 The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

Jer 24:2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

We know that figs are small sweet pear-shaped fruits and they grow on small trees.

We should remember that Adam and Eve made the very first camouflage clothing line from the leaves of the fig tree when they knew they had sinned and were trying to hide from God.

Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

So, we know there were many fig trees around from day 1 and not some cross bred tree like so many are today.

This lesson was intended for Jeremiah, but it is also intended for us here today!

There are only two groups of people in the world. Those who follow in the will of God and those who are not in the will of God!

One of the biggest problems we face in this world today is that people do not want to hear the truth, especially when it affects their lifestyle!

1Ti 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

***1Ti 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

In our lesson today, the good figs will represent the Jews who were carried away into captivity, the bad figs were those left behind who would reject the Word of God given to the prophet Jeremiah.

This is the great hope of all those who have come to know the Lord in a personal relationship and one day soon the Lord will carry us away to be with Him while those who reject the Word of God will be left behind!

The bad figs represent all those who are left behind in Judah at this time and all those who have rejected the Lord when He returns.

Just so we know for more than 200 years God had sent His prophets to warn Israel of sin.

During the time of Jeremiah, God had intensified His warnings.

During the time of Jeremiah, God had reached a point where He would no longer forgive His people of their sin. Not because God became unforgiving but because He knew that this generation of Jews simply would not repent.

We know that God never changes so it is very true that the Holy Spirit will not always strive with individuals even in our time.

It is also in the time of Jeremiah that God would deal with the wrongs of His people and execute justice upon them!

Today we have been given the truth by the Apostles of Jesus Christ:

Eph 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, "as unto Christ";

Eph 6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, "doing the will of God from the heart";

Eph 6:7 With good will "doing service, as to the Lord", and not to men:

Eph 6:8 "Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord", whether he be bond or free.

If we cannot understand these things, then we need to take the time to get it right.

God can see into the heart, and He knows if we are the real thing or not!

God knew these same things about Judah!

You want to begin to destroy a nation, remove all the people of knowledge and skills who can build a nation but most important remove all those who love the Lord.

It is this time when Daniel and his three friends, and Ezekiel and many others such as Mordecai and Esther would be in this group, with Nehemiah and Ezra.

We can see that these were certainly the good figs who would keep the Word of God on trac to reach the day of Jesus Christ!

Those that were left behind who had rejected the law of God were indeed the bad figs.

Certainly, there were also some others left behind that knew the Lord because God always has His remnant. These would probably be those who were the poorest in the nation who all the politicians had forgotten from both sides and considered useless.

Remember this is a vision that only Jeremiah sees at this time.

*****Jer 24:3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

The very good figs represented the true believers among the Jews that were carried off into captivity.

We will see that no one can out think the Lord. It would be captivity that would protect the true believers while those who worship idols would die off leaving a people of believers.

God would use captivity to save His children.

We should know by now that the Lord has many ways to deal with nations, but He does this by dealing with the individuals in any nation.

Many times, the true villains will remain unknown until it is time for God to expose them.

Immorality will ruin any nation but crimes against those who do live a moral life will also ruin a nation.

The Lord is the giver of life and when He departs, a body soon decays into nothingness and vanity!

Jeremiah would not only see many of these things with his own eyes, the Lord would also show him in visions things that would become the truth.

In fact the greatest Prophet of them all is Jehovah God, The Lord of all the Ages!

We may not see the visions that Jeremiah saw but we can certainly see our own nation fall into the trap of immorality.

Even history proves these things will cripple any nation that partakes in such things.

Who are God's heroes? Those that know the Word of God and take a stand on its truths!

The kingdom of Satan is just as active as the Kingdom of Christ if not more so today, to the shame of those who profess to be Christians.

The differences in the good figs and the bad figs are the differences between Heaven and Hell!

What did Jesus say?

Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

*****Jer 24:4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Jer 24:5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

When we see how the Lord deals with His children, it should teach us that the actions of love in our own heart cannot come close to the action of love from the Lord.

We must understand that sometimes that hard and distressing position, is the best for us.

God will humble us sometimes just, so He can make us to be stronger and more useful.

How could we have the wonderful words of the Holy Spirit through Daniel and Ezekiel if the Jews had remained in Judah?

Their removal to Babylon saved them from the awful things that faced those who were left behind!

It is no wonder that Jeremiah was treated so badly when he preached these things to the people of Judah.

We may not always understand the ways of God but then, this is why we must have "faith"!

God's plan goes far beyond our own imaginations!

2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

The truth is when are made to see how the enemy lives, most everyone of us will agree that the truth of God is where we need to be!

God had told these people that in order to be saved they must surrender to the enemy.

It may have been to Nebuchadnezzar this time, but this is the main theme of our salvation.

To be saved we must surrender to the truth of God!

There is another principle of salvation that plays out in our next Scripture.

*****Jer 24:6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

Paul wrote: Rom_11:26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

This is the same thing God told Jeremiah and we know that this time is still in the future.

The Church will already be the Lord when this takes place!

The Lord has already said He will set His eyes upon them for good and this is part of the good God was talking about!

Job 34:21 For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings.

2Ch 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.

Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Jehovah God, The Lord Jesus Christ just loves to save but He also requires obedience!

Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

All these things require a "new heart"!

*****Jer 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

The truth of this new heart is that we will all know our Savior!

All those with a heart to know our Savior will know Him because the Holy Spirit moves in to illuminate our minds to know our Savior.

1Co_2:16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

We must not just know the Lord.

We must have that personal knowledge within ourselves, our entire being.

We must speak to Him while He reads the intent of our new heart!

To know the Lord is to love the Lord!

Some say Jerusalem is the center of the universe.

Some same the Sun is the center of the universe.

Some say our galaxy is the center of the universe.

Some say other things are the center of the universe.

The truth is, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is the center of our universe, spiritually and in reality!

When we truly love the Lord then we cannot stand idols or false gods!

When we truly love the Lord then our "Faith" will be set in the right place!

Psa 9:10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

What would God do for the exiles? God would build them up and make them secure!

The truth is the Lord will always sustain His children and give us His assurance that things are much better when our "faith" is real and our love for Him is true!

Pro 3:24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.

Sometimes things just look so bad around us that we do not know what to believe!

When we remember that things are just like the Lord told us, we will realize that our Lord always tells us the truth!

Our relationship with the Lord will be at its best when we commit to the Word of God and apply it to our lives!

Act 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;

And the rotten figs:

*****Jer 24:8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

Jer 24:9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

Judgment is real!

Zedekiah was left behind as a puppet king for Babylon along with those in charge of the government whose main goal was to gather taxes to pay to Babylon, yet they clung to their pride and refused to repent.

Zedekiah was named Mattaniah by his father King Josiah, but it was the king of Babylon who had changed his name to Zedekiah.

2Ki 24:17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah his father's brother king in his stead, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

2Ki 24:18 Zedekiah was twenty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

2Ki 24:19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

Zedekiah had no intention of being a puppet king to anyone but thought that as king he could do something himself.

God had already pronounced His judgment and unless there was repentance His judgment would stand.

Jeremiah was his councilor, but the Word of God was ignored, and he entered into an alliance with Hophra king of Egypt.

God had already informed him that even those who fled to Egypt would not miss out on His judgment!

The armies of Nebuchadnezzar would return and this time they would destroy Jerusalem.

What had been God's promise by the words of Moses?

Deu 28:37 And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee.

If we do not learn anything else, we need to learn that it is simply foolish to go against the Word of God anytime!

Even today in many nations the Jews are still an object of scorn and they will remain this way until they repent and return to the Lord!

In Jeremiah's time it was the Babylonian exile of 586 BC and after the Lord had returned to Heaven it was the Roman exile of 70 AD.

Israel was conquered and remained that way until May 14, 1948.

God used war as a means to execute judgment on these people and certain nations of today believe God is still against this people.

*****Jer 24:10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

The result of sin is still judgment, and this will not ever change!

As long as those who are represented by the evil figs still dwell in the land of Israel, there will be Jews living in disgrace in foreign lands.

2Ch_7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

We are fools to believe that the Lord ever forgets the things He says!

The difference between "Good Figs" and "Bad Figs" are morals.

Both of these tend to grow to the extreme.

The Good Figs were very good! The Bad Figs were very bad!

Those who are moral obey the Word of God.

Those who are immoral reject the Word of God.

It is the morals of every nation that stick out and show what that nation is made of!

The example in our lesson today is that the "Good Figs" seemed to have suffered to most and were taken from their homes.

The "Bad Figs" remained in their homes and seemed to escape the Judgment of God but that was not the end of the story for them!

Heb_12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

These words will also always be true!

We must also remember God's promise to the true Jews.

Zec 8:13 And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong.

Amen

Let's Pray

There is Coming a Day That God Will Regather Israel

The Regathering of Israel

Book of Jeremiah Chapter 23

Before we get started in our lesson we should see to whom the Lord is directing these words. We only have to back up one chapter to chapter 22 verse 29.

Jer 22:29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

We should know that all these things that went on in the time of Jeremiah took place during his lifetime, but these things have a great meaning for the nation of Israel today and further still in the future and we as Gentiles and the Body of Christ need to listen and learn from all these things.

If we had read these things we would realize that King Coniah or Jeconiah, both are the same. Coniah was of King David’s line through King Solomon and the rights to this throne was cut off by the Lord. Joseph the husband of Mary would be of this same line and God said the Messiah could come from the line of David which the Lord had just ended.

Had Jesus been born the natural way instead of the Super natural way, He would have no claim to the throne in the line of King David.

Had Joseph chosen someone besides Mary to be His wife, it would have broken the chain to the Messiah.

Since the plan of God cannot be altered, Mary was also of the line of David thorough his son Nathan who was the first born of David and Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, being conceived by the Holy Spirit holds the royal title to the throne of David, which He will possess when He returns.

Since the Lord cannot die then His throne is eternal!

Chapter 23 verse 1

*****Jer 23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith the LORD.

Things had gotten so bad that Jeremiah had decided to quit on God, but he found that he could not.

Jer 20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name but his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

God had rejected this generation and He would be their enemy!

Jer 21:5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.

Jer 21:10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

Jer 22:6 For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

Jer 22:9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.

It will never be good for those who have rejected the Lord God Jehovah!

*****Jer 23:2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

These shepherds included the spiritual leaders of this nation but also the political leaders of this nation!

We see right off that it is the job of the Pastor to feed his flock and that food was to be the Word of God!

The job of the Pastor has not changed today, they are to be shepherds to the flock that the Lord has given to them.

These had caused the people of God to be scattered rather than to be gathered together as one people.

**Do we not see this thing today as many so-called Christians have joined with the evils of our nation and the Church is scattered in its beliefs.

We are to gather in one accord with the truth of God!

We simply do not see righteousness and true justice in our society of today.

What had God promised? Peace, security, and prosperity if, God's people would obey Him.

Joh_8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

When those behind the pulpits of today fail to do their duty, the children of God will be confused. This confusion would go away if they would study the Word of God themselves and remove all those who teach lies rather than the truth of God!

What do we know? Those who scatter God's people are the same ones who increase their personal wealth, their positions, and sometimes even power, while they condemn God's people!

God says it is He who will repay them for the evil that they have done!

Psa 62:9 Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.

Psa 62:10 Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.

Psa 62:11 God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.

Psa 62:12 Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.

We should clearly understand God will eventually punish everyone who oppress God's people.

It is necessary at this time for these things to take place, so all humans can have an opportunity to repent.

How many will remain true to the Lord?

*****Jer 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

Some say this is what is going on now and it is but most of these today are not Christian. When the Lord gathers after or even during the Tribulation Period they will truly be His people.

God expects every government to take care of its people. In fact if the people at home are not cared for then our government should not provide our resources to other governments, especially to those that mistreat their people!

Jer 25:32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.

Jer 25:33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.

Jer 25:34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.

Those that believe that there is a power greater than the Lord are trusting in vanity!

And for all the naysayers, Israel will one day occupy all the land that was given to Abraham!

Even today with the leaders Israel has, the people of Israel are not very afraid of all those larger enemies that surround them, but must never let pride enter into their politics ever again!

What has God promised?

*****Jer 23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

What is the sign of the true Pastor? They are called of God!

God gives us all a job to do but God calls His Pastor in another way, so they can know they have been called. All others who claim to be a Pastor but are not called of God, are imposters!

The true Pastor will not fear what the government can do to him and he will instill this into the flock of God.

As Christians we must never fear what this world can do to us because at death we go to the glory land!

And a greater promise of them all, the Lord Jesus Christ will return and this time He will claim the throne of David!

There are many lessons and many prophesies of the Second coming of the Messiah and this is just one of them.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Jeremiah and Isaiah both knew these things were to be in the future then and still are today, but the time draws very near that the Lord will soon return.

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.

Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

He will have a name much grander than them all:

*****Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

To the Jews His name would be "Jehovah-Tsidkenu".

To each Christian, since we have no righteousness of our own, He is called The Lord Our Righteousness.

It is because Our Lord spent a sinless life upon this earth that He could take our place on the Cross on Mount Calvary!

2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

When we place our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, God applies the Righteousness of His Dear Son to us and it is because of this that we can become acceptable to Him.

So who is the Messiah? The Messiah is none other than the righteous Son of God, The Lord Jesus Christ!

The truth is we did not have the ability to become "righteous" on our own.

Isa_64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

In fact there has never lived one person upon the face of this earth that has lived a righteous life beside the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom_3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

Rom 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rom 3:24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

The days we live in now are the days of the Church but the soon coming Age will be the days of the restored nation of Israel.

*****Jer 23:7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

Jer 23:8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

This prophesy will not see it's fulfillment while the Church is still upon the face of this earth! The Church will already be in Heaven and then return with the Lord when He returns!

When the Lord sits upon the throne of David, then He will gather His people from all the countries of the world and lead them back to the Promised Land.

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Promised land of the Jews is not heaven, but it is a symbol of Heaven.

What we see going on in Israel today is just a partial filling of this prophesy of Jeremiah!

There is a big difference between the Prophet Jeremiah and the false prophets of his days.

*****Jer 23:9 Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.

What is the truth of those false prophets?

Jer 14:14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

This same thing is true of those false preachers of today in the Church.

Jeremiah had thoughts like many today. Just how could a loving God allow the destruction of His people.

First, we need to describe God's people.

Mat 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

If cannot fit yourself into these words of the Lord, then you are not God's people. It is just that simple!

These false prophets will cause many to go astray but only if they reject the truth of God!

It breaks the heart of God for these things to take place, but He can never go against His Word in any case!

What is one of our greatest problems? We cannot always realize the truth of today until it becomes our past.

It seems we always want more truth when we have the greatest of all truths in the Scriptures preserved for us in the Word of God!

We must know God well enough to know that He never does things because of anger. He does things because these are the things that He said he would do.

The Lord never does things because of a lack of love, He does these things because this is what He said he would do and He will never go against His Word.

It is because of the Holiness of His Words.

Holy words are those words that lead us to obey the will of God!

The Word of God is Holy! The Word of God is set apart as the complete truth in a world full of lies and deceit!

*****Jer 23:10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

Jer 23:11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.

We should know that most false worship in the adjacent nations involved sexual sin. Adultery here refers to sexual adultery and more important "Spiritual Adultery" which is idolatry.

The false prophets and the false ministers can commit no greater sin than immorality, sexual or Spiritual.

The Prophets of God are held to a higher standard just as those who preach the Word of God today are!

When a so-called prophet of God turns away from the Lord they have committed apostasy!

It is the same as running away from the Lord as did Jonah. Jonah returned but these had rejected the Lord and the Word of God refusing to repent.

These men had broken the heart of God and God was already bringing drought and famine.

The land was mourning and refused to provide for these people.

The land of Israel never regained the power to provide for Israel, until the children of Israel began to return as Israel was "Born Again" on May 14, 1948. Israel has since blossomed into a truly pleasant land.

This was a sign to them all, that they would certainly face the judgment of God!

The prophets and the priests had chosen wickedness for their model of right and wrong.

Sounds more and more like the America we live in today!

Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

How many today have forgotten this simple verse of Scripture?

This is just the opposite of what God has called us all to do!

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

It is for this reason their life would be made miserable.

*****Jer 23:12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.

We know that the persecution of Christians has increased many times over, but we can also be sure that those who preach a false message will be persecuted by God Himself, when the time is right.

It is a terrible thing to walk into a place we do not know when it is too dark to see. When we find that the walkway is also slippery it just adds to our fright.

These priests in the day of Jeremiah would walk in the daylight as if it was total darkness and stumble about until they fell for good.

They would be banished from ever serving God again!

Psa 35:1 Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

Psa 35:2 Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for mine help.

Psa 35:3 Draw out also the spear, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say unto my soul, I am thy salvation.

Psa 35:4 Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul: let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.

Psa 35:5 Let them be as chaff before the wind: and let the angel of the LORD chase them.

Psa 35:6 Let their way be dark and slippery: and let the angel of the LORD persecute them.

Psa 35:7 For without cause have they hid for me their net in a pit, which without cause they have digged for my soul.

Psa 35:8 Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall.

We sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that God will continue to allow these things to take place, but the Scriptures prove to us the God will cause these things to end and those that do these things to come to a wicked end themselves!

They had Blasphemed themselves as they had committed blasphemy in the Temple of Solomon!

As we live day by day as Christians we have the responsibility of keeping ourselves clean without even having the appearance of evil.

The message of the false prophets has not changed much from the time of Jeremiah till the day we live in!

In fact the world keeps telling us that things are better than they ever have been, which is just one of the lies of today!

Spiritual leaders are saying as long as you do things in moderation God will forgive, which is another lie. God may forgive but that forgiveness will not come without repentance. God does not change His ways!

When we reject the truth, we are believing a lie, it’s just that simple!

There is not one nation upon this earth that is immune to the truth of God!

God will gather all the Jews one day and I believe He has started now but most of that fulfillment comes after the Church is taken out of this world.

God always does what He says He will do!

Amen

Let’s Pray!