God Will Judge All Transgressions

Judgment for Saul's Transgressions

Book of 1 Samuel Chapter 31, Book of 2 Samuel Chapter 1, Book of 1 Chronicles Chapter 10

In the end we see that King Saul's life was a tragedy and his death as the closing scene of the life of a man who refused to be obedient to the Lord.

In this study of the First Book of Samuel we can see that there is nothing more certain in this life than the Word of God!

Whatever God has said is the truth and will take place!

Heaven and Earth will certainly pass away, but the Word of God will never pass away.

So it is with the "judgment of God"!

When God says judgment is coming, then judgment is certainly coming!

Because God is a holy God, He must judge all that is unholy, or He would no longer be holy Himself!

Judgment is a necessary expression of God's character; however God's judgment is always fair!

Rom 2:2  But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 

Some of that judgment will come during this Church Age as there has been some of God's judgment in every age.

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 

Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

However this is not the final judgment begins with the return of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is Our Lord Jesus who will render God's judgment, when He returns!

Joh 5:26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 

Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

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. 

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 

Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation. 

So let us look at the judgment of God against Saul.

*****1Sa 31:1  Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. 

1Sa 31:2  And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons. 

We should remember that Jonathan was David's best friend and Jonathan would have helped David to be the next king if he could have.

Much of Israel would have insisted that Jonathan or one of his brothers be the next king and there would have been division in the people of Israel.

We see the evidence of what happens, as today America is more divided than we have ever been because of sinful politics and wicked politicians and corruption.

Yes, the swamp does actually exist

The very people who are saying that conservative thinking people will destroy democracy are the ones who are using every effort to destroy democracy and make America a one-party system and remain in power for ever.

How could anyone believe that as individuals we have the freedom to kill innocent children in the womb.

We should never have the freedom to murder any innocent human being!

We should also be very clear that there is nothing more certain than the Word of God and God loves all of His children!

Saul's troops stood no chance against the massive army of the Philistines, but this would have been irrelevant had Saul been obedient to the Lord God Jehovah.

As Saul watched from safety, he saw his army being slaughtered by the Philistines.

Then he witnessed the slaughter of his own sons, there were three that died this day.

David and his men had been sent back to Ziklag and they were not present to witness these things, as David would have surely tried to help his dear friend Johnathan.

When God pronounces judgment, that judgment will certainly take place!

God will not allow His children to witness His judgment!

The Church will be saved from the coming wrath of God!

The Lord had warned Saul of his disobedience and his wicked life.

In fact, God has warned us all of His judgment against disobedience!

All those who oppose God and reject the Word of God, will also see a similar judgment as did Saul.

We can also see that our actions can cause harm to our own children, even if some of our children trust in God as did Jonathan.

Part of the judgment on King Saul was the fact that he had to witness the death of his sons before he met his own death.

God will take away many of the righteous before the evil that is to come, as I believe He is doing now with so many good Christians going on home to be with the Lord.

This means that those who are the strongest will witness more of the evilness that will come before the Rapture of the Church.

Isa 57:1  The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come. 

King Saul knew his own end was very near, and he chose to take his own life rather than allow the Philistines to abuse him before his death.

This thing also teaches us just how wicked the Philistines were as are many of the Palestinians today.

It is hatred that drives them today, just as it did in the early days of Israel.

*****1Sa 31:3  And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. 

1Sa 31:4  Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. 

1Sa 31:5  And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. 

1Sa 31:6  So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.

As the Philistines turned their attention to King Saul, he was struck with an arrow which may have been enough to cause his death, but not a quick death.

Saul became afraid that he would still be alive when the Philistines caught up with him.

This also shows us that there is no amount of armor that will protect us from the judgment of God.

Saul's life had been a tragedy since he had forsaken the Lord and his death came just as Samuel had told him.

Saul's last enemy was the enemy that we should all fear the most, our own wicked selves.

Saul was his own worst enemy and it led to his suicide!

There is no punishment for suicide and it is said by many to be a coward's way out of this world.

Today suicide is considered to be a symptom of some form of insanity, but this is not very true.

It is more a sign of hopelessness!

This places a lot of blame on our government and its policies and a lack of truth and it's corruption.

Suicide comes to those who have lost all hope or are in desperation.

Suicide is actually the murder of your own self!

I am not sure that it is insanity at all, but is more of a picture of those who have no hope in the things of this world.

Suicides are one of the leading causes of death in the America we love.

In 2021, 48,183 Americans died by suicide.

Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S.

Every day, approximately 132 Americans die by suicide.

There is one suicide death in the US every 10.9 minutes.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24-year-old Americans.

The highest suicide rates (per 100,000) in the US are among white males (26.4), followed by American Indian/Alaska Native males (25), and Black males (14.1).

**There is one suicide death for every estimated twenty-five suicide attempts.

There are approximately 1,204,575 annual attempts in the U.S. (using 25:1 ratio) or one attempt every 26.2 seconds.

This event brought a sad ending to the first King of Israel.

We should not have pity on King Saul because these things were his own doing and because he was disobedient to Jehovah.

The judgment of God will come on all those who are disobedient to the Word of God and this is what God says not me.

This was the sad end to Saul's Kingdom.

Saul had not reigned very long before he began to separate himself from the people he was supposed to care for.

This is what the government is most guilty of, they separate themselves from the people they were elected to care for!

Government begins to tell us they know more about how to take care of us than we do ourselves, especially our children.

It is a fact that every unruly government has tried this tactic throughout the ages. 

They start by brainwashing the children and just allowing the old folks to die off.

Saul was soon separated from Samuel who was God's representative.

He was soon separated from David who tried his best to help Saul and to do only God's will.

Saul executed God's priests.

We see that Church persecution is always higher when governments go against the Word of God!

We should ask, what are they afraid of? They are afraid of things they say they do not believe in!

Saul asked in vain for God's help, but that help did not come because he would not repent.

Without repentance there is no forgiveness!

The homosexual world should understand this!

The transsexual world should understand this.

All sinners should understand this and we are all sinners!

Saul called in vain for Samuel's help through witchcraft when it was impossible to talk to Samuel.

Saul died an early death because he had forsaken the Lord!

It appeared that Saul had taken the sword of his armor bearer or some sword other than his own and used it to kill himself, so it would not look like a suicide.

He was still trying to protect his legacy.

The armor bearer then thought if he escaped his own death, he would be accused of killing King Saul and therefore took his own life.

This is the "circle of deception" when we try to live in this manner!

Saul and most of his house died together because Saul was what the Bible calls a reprobate.

We are ruled in America today by a bunch of reprobates!

Saul was rejected because of his worthlessness to the plan of God.

The Lord expects us to take a look at ourselves to see if we are reprobates!

2Co 13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 

Saul was a man in a hurry to cause his own doom!

This is the trait of most all those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

They are all in a hurry to get to Hell when the Lord Jesus provides a perfect path to avoid Hell!

God has given these over to believe a lie and God will not force anyone to obey Him.

To forsake God is to be lost! God will forsake all those who forsake Him!

God offered Saul room to repent, but Saul had rejected all the Word of God and refused to repent.

Once we are rejected of God, there is no more opportunity to obtain salvation!

*****2Sa 1:23  Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. 

2Sa 1:24  Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. 

2Sa 1:25  How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. 

2Sa 1:26  I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. 

2Sa 1:27  How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished! 

David had just returned to Ziklag with all his family and all that was stolen by the Amalekites.

On his third day back to the place he was living, another Amalekite showed up with news of the battle between the Philistines and Israel.

Saul and Jonathan and much of Israel were now dead.

This man said he was from the camp of King Saul which was the first clue that the things he said were not true.

After Samuel had pointed out the sins of Saul in his battle with the Amalekites, it would be hard to believe that Saul had an Amalekite in his camp unless he was a prisoner and the Lord had said to not make them prisoners but to execute them for their atrocities against other humans.

David knew these things so he had asked how he knew Saul and Jonathan were dead.

He said that Saul had attempted to kill himself with a spear and faced a long slow death and King Saul had asked this Amalekite to finish the job for him and he did, and brought some of Saul's personal items and gave them to David.

We already know that Saul had fallen on the sword of his armor barer or some other sword and had succeeded in his death.

His armor barer seeing the death of his king then took his own life.

David then killed this Amalekite knowing his version of the story was filled with lies or he would have tried to save King Saul.

David and his men grieved over the news from the battlefield.

David the musician authored a poem (the word "elegy" means poem) for Saul and Jonathan which is part of our lesson today.

God expects us to have a personal relationship with Him and He also expects us to be friendly with those we love and those who are our enemies.

There are some people we get especially close to and are influenced by them.

This love and respect are different from the love of a spouse and a spouse should always have our heart second only to the Lord our Savior and then our children!

I can tell you from experience that many a soldier can get this close to those around him, and it is not some immoral thing but comrades in arms dependent upon one another for survival.

Saul and Jonathan may have disagreed on many things, especially about David, but Jonathan remained dedicated to Israel and to his father.

Jonathan remained close to Jehovah even though his father had forsaken Jehovah.

What Jonathan had not been was a friend to his father. He had become David's faithful friend and had remained that way.

This is the theme of these words of David.

David reveals his heart to us by showing his grief for Saul and Jonathan.

David had lived like a fugitive, but he still had respect for those who were anointed of God.

His wives and his family had to suffer through the same hardships as he did.

Saul had hunted David down for seven years and David had every reason to rejoice at the death of Saul, yet it brought sorrow and grief.

We do not read in any of the Scripture where David showed disrespect or dishonored God's anointed ruler in any way.

Our lesson is, when a leader commits corruption and wickedness, or makes the wrong decisions, he is to be corrected.

We are not to condone such a ruler!

We are still to honor that position of leadership!

God used Saul to keep the Philistines from causing harm to God's people and he had done a fair job and would have done a much better job had remained close to Jehovah.

When we read of the love of Johnathan for David, we should be reminded of the love of our Lord Jesus that He has for each of His children.

This is not some feeble love!

This is not some immoral love! The soul of our Lord Jesus is so closely knit in us that nothing can

separate us from the love of Jesus Christ!

The Lord Jesus shows an unselfish love for each believer!

Jonathan could not expect to gain some advantage from his friendship and neither does our Lord.

Johnathan said to David: 1Sa 20:4  Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. 

Is this not what the Lord Jesus has said to each of us?

Our Lord says, you have not because you ask not because we ask for the wrong reasons. (not the exact words)

The Lord Jesus took off His royalty and took upon Himself the ways of a shepherd, just so He could save us even when we were His enemies at that time.

It is we who are enriched by the love of Christ!

We keep forgetting that love is an action word and not about lust.

The Lord Jesus proved His love for us by His actions on Mount Calvary!

It was not nails and rope that kept the Lord Jesus upon that cross, it was His great love for us!

Where are our actions for Him? Where is our great love for the Lord Jesus?

Why did King Saul die?

*****1Ch 10:13  So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; 

1Ch 10:14  And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse. 

Saul died because of his disobedience.

Saul died because he did not keep the Word of God.

Saul died because he went to someone described as having a familiar spirit and did not trust the Word of God for the answers he needed.

Samuel was dead and Saul could not call upon the old prophet for God's word. It was impossible!

Familiar spirits are sorcerers or necromancers who say they can call up the dead to answer questions. They can only call up an evil spirit who can impersonate a believer. They cannot call up God's children. There is a great unpassable gulf between Heaven and Hell and between Hell and Paradise at that time.

Deu 18:11  Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

Isa 8:19  And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

Lev 20:6  And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people. 

Lev 20:7  Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God. 

Lev 20:8  And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the LORD which sanctify you. 

We already know that all those that died in the Old Testament went to a place called Paradise or that place called Hell both of them in the same general location at this time and no one could pass from one side or the other.

Luk 16:26  And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. 

The Lord Jesus Christ took all the saints in Paradise on to Heaven when He returned to Heaven and Hell expanded itself.

Luk_23:43  And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

Eph 4:8  Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

Eph 4:9  (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 

Eph 4:10  He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 

Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Mat 27:51  And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 

Mat 27:52  And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 

Mat 27:53  And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

These are the ones the Lord took with Him on to Heaven.

Isa 5:14  Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

Now Hell is large enough to keep all those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and Hell continues to grow because there is no end to sin in the Church Age.

The Lord will return to get all the saints that have died and those who are still alive at the end of the Church Age. This is called the Rapture of the Church not the progressive Church because there is no such thing.

1Th 4:16  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 

1Th 4:17  Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 

Amen. 

God's Judgment the Immorality of Sodomites

 Judgment Upon Evil Cities

Book of Genesis Chapters 18 through 20

Today we will see that lightening is not the true fire of God, but the true fire of God is seen in the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah!

We must know that our personal choices bring consequences and some of those consequences can be very severe.

We must know that every person who ends up in Hell made a deliberate choice to be there, when they rejected the Word of God which states the consequences of sin plainly and earnestly.

God's hatred for sin is universal but God's love for people is also universal!

I had this thought yesterday. I just wonder just how many pages in the Lamb's Book of Life will be empty because of those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

I know for certain that there will be none because we have an All-Knowing God, but If I had prepared that Book, I would have had enough pages to accommodate most of the world because I would never have thought so many would be foolish enough to reject the Lord Jesus Christ as the truth of salvation.

Knowing what I know now, my book would be full of empty pages, spaces where your name could have been written in.

There is no sin that the Blood of Jesus cannot take away and a full pardon granted!

We must clearly understand that because God is Holy, He must "judge" all that is unholy!

If God did not do this, then He would no longer be Holy Himself!

"Judgment" is the necessary expression of the "Righteous Character of God"!

All these things being true, God will be fair in His "Judgment"!

Rom 2:2  But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 

God has pronounced "Judgment" in every Age!

Rom 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 

Rom 1:19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

This being true, it still is not the "Final Judgment"!

The "Final Judgment" begins at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is still in our future!

Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. 

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Let us begin.

*****Gen 18:20  And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; 

Gen 18:21  I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.   

From this one Scripture, we can see that there was much turmoil in Sodom and the few that remained who rejected the gay lifestyle were making their voices heard and God was listening.

No doubt they had been martyred, because it is the blood that cries out to God after a murder.

Sodom was not a good place to live and there were no children living there. 

We know this because young children are innocent, and the Lord did not find any that were innocent in Sodom, except for Lot when He destroyed that wicked city.

All around Sodom the blessings of God could be seen but this would soon change.

All the grazing land and beautiful gardens would soon be a desert wilderness.

Wickedness and sin will ruin even nature and we see this all around the world today.

We can easily see that the Lord values those who are righteous!

If as many as 10 righteous people had been in Sodom that wicked city would have been spared, which also shows us the power of 10 righteous people in any wicked city to make things better.

But there was only one righteous man Lot and his two virgin daughters were saved even though the minds of those two girls had been corrupted.

God did not have to come down from Heaven because He is all-knowing.

God came down to show the Christian that He will always take a firsthand look before He will cause such destruction.

It would take at least 2 righteous witnesses so God the Heavenly Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit count as 3 witnesses.

It was the Triune God who came to be sure no righteous person would be harmed.

We must understand that God is willing to show mercy right up to the time He causes destruction!

*****Gen 18:22  And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD. 

We know the Bible says that there were three men who appeared to Abraham.

Gen 18:2  And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 

One of them had to be the Lord Jesus Christ before He was known as Jesus. We call this a "theophany".

Gen 18:10  And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. 

Gen 18:13  And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? 

So, it was only 2 angels that appeared as humans who went onward to Sodom.

Abraham went to talk to the Lord who stayed behind a little longer to assure Abraham.

*****Gen 18:23  And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? 

Those who read these Scriptures may say this was only a man or an angel, but Abraham knew exactly who He was speaking to.

No angel has the power to do destruction upon this earth unless that command comes for the Almighty God!

Abraham loved the Lord but just like Job, he did not really know all the heart of God and our merciful God took the time to assure His child of the truth.

The truth is our God hates sin and says it over and over, but he has no hatred for the sinner.

God will never destroy a righteous soul but all those who reject the truth of God and cling to their sin will one day find themselves without a Savior!

Lot was wrong to have allowed himself and his family to be drawn into the wickedness of Sodom, but Lot had not been a part of that sin and clung to his righteousness.

Once we are "justified" by the Lord that means we will never be "judged" again by the Lord!

It is "Grace" that keeps us saved, but we must still repent of our sin daily and pray for forgiveness to show the Lord we love Him!

Luke 18:1  And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 

There is no reason upon this earth that we should ever stop praying!

Prayer is talking to the Lord just like Abraham is talking to the Lord in this passage of Scripture.

The closer we draw near to the Lord the better those prayers will be!

Abraham was being an "intercessor" and we can learn many lessons in this passage about the work of the intercessor.

Abraham was aware that Lot was a righteous man even though he was wrong in placing his family in such a situation.

It maybe that Abraham could not believe that all the others in Sodom were unrighteous, but they were.

As Christians we had that same thought in our recent elections! 

We could not believe there were so many corrupt politicians who had so many people willing to vote for them.

I still cannot fathom this thing as a reality. I live in a much-divided nation, many who have been brainwashed in our schools of higher learning.

I pray reality will set in, when they see their politicians were all liars and socialist mixed with communist with specific agendas.

God will never destroy the righteous with the wicked.

*****Gen 18:25  That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? 

Gen 18:26  And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes. 

Notice Abraham is not asking for "Grace".

Abraham wanted to be sure that the "judgment" of God matched His Divine Righteousness.

God could not be "righteous" and destroy the righteous along with the wicked!

Jehovah was not unrighteous then, to do such a thing and He has never changed His position.

How could we ever trust such a God, who would do such a thing?

This is the whole purpose of the "Rapture" of the Church, for God to remove the "righteous" before He destroys the wicked!

As humans we do not see what God sees, and again, we cannot imagine that an entire city could be corrupt, but I am afraid this last election burst that bubble.

Even our capitol city Washington may be the most corrupt of them all.

Right can never prevail if our God does not allow it!

You see the innocent will never be consumed with the overthrow of those who do evil.

There is no doubt that the "Judge of the entire world" is the Lord Jesus Christ because all power of our Heavenly Father has been given to Him.

Mat_28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Isa 11:3  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 

Isa 11:4  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 

Isa 11:5  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 

It is Jehovah who has supreme authority over this created world.

Not Satan

Not Allah

Not any other false god.

Deu 32:4  He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. 

Then the Lord of "mercy" listens to the words of Abraham, already knowing what He will do.

To Abraham this was answered prayer!

*****Gen 19:1  And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; 

We see that Lot had forsook looking for the Promised Land and settled for a city with the bright lights of wickedness.

Lot gave up his tent which made him a pilgrim and settled for what the world had to offer.

Lot had not lost his salvation, but he had forsook seeking a personal relationship with the Lord.

Lot knew how wicked it was in the city of Sodom.

Lot had also witnessed the immorality in this wicked city.

We now see that those two men who traveled with the Lord were actually angels.

As they approached Sodom, Lot saw them and knew that they were in danger if they came into Sodom especially late in the evening as it was.

Lot sitting at the gates of the city tells us he had become a leader in that city, he had not been a good witness, but he still had his inner goodness.

Most all city business was conducted at the gates of the city in those days.

Lot would have been considered a rich man in that city.

Lot stopped these two angels, not knowing they were angels, thinking they were only men.

*****Gen 19:2  And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. 

These two angels may have tested the hospitality of Lot and no doubt they would have been safe in the street but that was not part of the plan.

In many cities in that day, these two angels even as men would have been perfectly safe.

The Lord to be kind to the stranger.

The one thing Lot knew is no man was safe on the streets of Sodom and nighttime.

We are finding that our own streets in America are becoming unsafe at nighttime and even in the daytime, as wickedness has increased in our nation.

Look at Chicago where no one has been able to stop the murder and mayhem in that city.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and three other cities had already been set.

The only thing left to do was to get the righteous out of the city which was Lot, and he would have been allowed to take his family but the gay son in laws would not believe and their marriage was non-existent as those two daughters were still virgin as we will see.

The message of these two angels is the same message we should have for the lost today.

"You can only escape with your lives by Jesus Christ"

*****Gen 19:3  And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. 

Gen 19:4  But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: 

Gen 19:5  And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. 

Lot knew that the filth on the streets of Sodom could not be washed away like the dirt upon the feet of these two traveling men who were really angels come to remove the righteous.

As the meal ended and night came, the wicked immoral men of Sodom could sense the purity of God's angels and they came for them.

We can never understand how a righteous man could live in such filth, yet we see the compromising of the Word of God every day in our cites and in many churches.

We will see that these things took their toll on Lot and his family.

We can also see why Sodom had to be destroyed. It is because sin had become so grievous!

Today we see parents dictating to the child what sex they should be.

Encouraging them while just children to undergo surgeries in an attempt to transform their sexuality.

We see judges take children away from parents who try to stop their children from making these mistakes and making these decisions while they are too young to make these mistakes.

We see so-called counselors teaching children that they can decide their sex when their body says differently.

God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and He will destroy this world we live in just as He says!

Sin in this world has become grievous!

I know God would never have allowed these angels to give in to these wicked men, but we can also be sure that these men had no fear of God.

And to show us why the word Sodomy came about, Lot offered his two virgin daughters who were actually married to two men from Sodom, but they were rejected.

What do we know?

Rom 1:26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 

Rom 1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 

Rom 1:28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 

Rom 1:29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 

Rom 1:30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 

Rom 1:31  Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 

Rom 1:32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

These inhabitants of Canaan Land were the worst of the population of Canaan, but the rest were not much better, but God gave them until the time of Israel before they were destroyed but the land was saved.

The land of Sodom and Gomorrah and three other cities became wilderness and tar pits useless land.

Lot went out to talk with these men.

*****Gen 19:6  And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, 

Gen 19:7  And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. 

Again I ask myself, what was in Sodom that caused Lot to stay there with his family. He knew how wicked these men were.

The Apostle Peter put it like this.

2Pe 2:6  And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 

2Pe 2:7  And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 

2Pe 2:8  (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 

2Pe 2:9  The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are examples of the sin, that will cause God to destroy this world we live in today.

We see all these things today in America!

Lot was an example of how God will remove His righteous people, even those who have vexed their soul by living among such sin compromising the Word of God.

The soul of Lot was afflicted, while he suffered grief and distress, because Lot stayed because of his family.

His wife loved the bright lights and big city feel of Sodom.

His daughters had met men they for some reason married, but they were unable to change their ways, which is another type in the Word of God.

2Co 6:14  Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 

2Co 6:15  And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 

2Co 6:16  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

While being married these two young ladies had remained virgins and returned home to live with their parents.

The angels caused blindness to happen to these wicked men and the night was spent in quietness.

They pulled Lot back into the house before he was injured.

Lot went out to speak to his sons in law, but they just laughed at him in unbelief.

In the morning these two angels urged Lot to take his family and get out of Sodom.

In fact they had to take Lot and his family by the hand and lead them out of Sodom.

Lot still argued with them for a time until he saw the hand of God bring destruction.

*****Gen 19:24  Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 

Gen 19:25  And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. 

You want to see typology? This is an example of the coming destruction of this place we call Earth.

You want to see the true fire of God? It is not lightning though lightening is His creation.

There may be another reason we are experiencing Global Warming! It is not man-made!

God rained brimstone and fire down upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

The truth is sulfur is found in almost every region of this earth, and it is inflammable.

It is especially abundant near volcanoes and mineral wells.

Bitumen a substance that is mentioned as slime and other names, was used to make bricks, it coated the Ark of Noah and the Ark of Moses and it to, is flammable.

It hardens when exposed to air. When it is fluid it forms naphtha. It becomes oil as it thickens. The next stage is as asphalt.

The igniter of that day was sin. The igniter today is sin.

God rained brimstone down upon Sodom and Gomorrah and then ignited it and God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and three other cities of that plain.

There were no survivors!

It seems possible that God triggered an earthquake along that fault line in that day and what He used to trigger it can be used at any time and at anywhere else in this world or all over the entire world as He says in the Book of Revelation and even here in the Book of the beginnings it is said that God will destroy this world with fire and not use a flood again,

Job 1:16  While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 

Eze 38:22  And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 

Eze 38:23  Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the LORD. 

Psa 11:6  Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. 

Psa 11:7  For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright. 

Psa 18:12  At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire. 

Psa 18:13  The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire. 

Isa 29:6  Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. 

Isa 30:30  And the LORD shall cause his glorious voice to be heard, and shall shew the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger, and with the flame of a devouring fire, with scattering, and tempest, and hailstones. 

Say you do not believe what the Lord says, then trust in yourself and you will find these same things in Hell!

When this Scripture says God overthrew these cities that word "overthrow" gives us the idea of a people standing against the Lord, standing up in His face, cursing Him, standing up in their immorality, in their lawlessness, in their rebellion, daring God to do something about it.

We are fools to test God!

They were fools to ignore the truth of God!

Today this world is foolish to ignore the Word of God!

The day is coming and prophesied, when Jehovah will overthrow all the cities upon this Earth, when He "judges" the sin, and wickedness, and evilness, and the immorality and the corruption that exist today and getting worse.

I have been "judged" and "justified" and you can be too if you give your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ!

Do not wait until the "Fire of God" comes in "judgment"!

*****Gen 19:26  But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. 

When it comes time to be saved from the wrath of God, it is not time look keep that yearning to sin.

When with world becomes as the world of Noah full of sin and wickedness, God will destroy it again.

Before God begins His wrath upon the unrighteous, God will first place the righteous of Israel in a safe place all this according to Scripture.

Rev_12:14  And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

The Lord Jesus explains it like this:

Luk 17:26  And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 

Luk 17:27  They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 

Luk 17:28  Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 

Luk 17:29  But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 

Luk 17:30  Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. 

Luk 17:31  In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.

Then our Savior added these three words:

Luk 17:32  Remember Lot's wife. 

It will not be time to look back on what is left behind, it will be time for true Israel to escape with their lives.

Abraham awoke at peace with himself because he knew the Lord always does right!

*****Gen 19:27  And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD: 

Gen 19:28  And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain, and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace. 

Gen 19:29  And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which Lot dwelt. 

Abraham gave no thought to this thing because the Lord had promised that not one righteous person would be harmed.

Lot and his two daughters were saved because of the prayer of Abraham but the sin of Sodom was so engraved into their souls, that they could no longer think right.

Lot turned to alcohol and destroyed his own life even though his soul was saved.

Those two daughters were so messed up they did not understand the truth of God and sin just multiplied in their own lives.

In reality Lot was not a witness for the truth of God instead he damaged and shamed God's name.

He was a disgrace to others who trust the Lord.

He was a living hypocrite!

His only good was that he did not partake in this immorality himself.

Lot was a useless witness, and he began to realize it, but it never says that he repented.

Amen

The Wrath of God

The Thunder Judgments

Book of Revelation Chapter 10

As we have gotten to this point in the Book of Revelation, the earth has been devastated with destruction. At least half of the world's population has been destroyed. Those that remain are so full of pride and arrogance, that they refuse to repent of their evil ways and in fact still challenge the Lord.

Rev 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

Rev 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

These are the same actions that Satan has taken since his episode in the Garden of Eden, when he received the curse of God.

Satan knows he will eventually loose his battle with the Lord, but deep inside his being he still retains that one thought of victory and he has instilled that into his followers.

Satan would rather they all go to Hell than to give up and this is where they are on this day. Losers but still rebellious!

1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

You see Satan devours those that follow him, yet they are too blind to see what he is!

He is a murderer on the loose with all his weapons loaded!

The sixth trumpet has sounded, and it is time for the sounding of the seventh trumpet, but just as there was a break between the sixth and seventh seal, there is now a break between the sixth and seventh trumpet.

There will be a gradual transition for the sixth and seventh trumpet and we will see this transition in Chapters 10 and Chapter 11.

So let us get started.

*****Rev 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

When John last saw the Lord, He was as the Lamb of God and now John sees what he describes as a mighty angel, in fact he says another mighty angel.

John had seen the throngs of angels in Heaven and no doubt some appeared to be of higher rank than others, so who is this mighty angel?

This could very well be an angel and a mighty angel, but it could also be the Lord from what we already know.

In the Old Testament the Son of God was called the Angel of the Lord.

Exo 3:2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.

Then we find that this is the great I AM of the Bible.

Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

When God appears upon the earth, He is the Son of God or Jesus the Messiah.

Seven times in the Book of Revelation we see an angel clothed with a cloud and each time it is our Savior.

The cloud is a symbol of the Lord’s "Majesty"!

Exo 16:10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.

He had a rainbow upon His head which leads us to the throne room of God.

Rev 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

His face was as the sun.

These words take us back to Revelation 1, which we know to be the Lord Jesus.

Rev 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

His feet as pillars of fire also to Revelation.

Rev 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

In Chapter 11 we see a curious Scripture.

Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

They could only be witnesses if they proclaim the Word of God, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

As we go through the next two verses there should be little doubt that this must be the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is not an angel, because He is the Creator and the Creator of all the angels!

*****Rev 10:2 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,

Rev 10:3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

If this is indeed the Lord Jesus Christ, then He has two books.

Notice His right foot is upon the Sea and His left foot is upon the earth. This is a visible sign of "ownership"!

Psa 24:1 The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

He is the Angel of the Lord.

He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

He is the Mighty Angel.

He is set apart from all the angels in Heaven.

He is “the One” who speaks, and this world speaks to Him, and to Him only!

This time the "Seven Thunders" uttered their voice.

When the Lion of the Tribe of Judah roars "His" Created world responds!

We met these thunders in Chapter 8.

Rev 8:5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. 

Here again, these seven Thunders are in full agreement to the destruction that is about to happen, but they speak in words that we cannot understand.

John heard what they said, and he was about to write those things down, but the Lord stopped him.

*****Rev 10:4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

What was John told to do by the Lord?

Rev 1:19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

We do not know how much John heard from these seven Thunders, but we see he was told not to write these things down.

Are they secrets?

The Lord promised not to keep any secrets from the Church.

Luk_12:2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.

Amo_3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

We can only say that the words that John is not to reveal to us, these Seven Thunders will reveal themselves when that time comes.

These are things that cannot be understood at this time.

You know some things may just be too terrible for the Church to witness during the Great Tribulation.

Remember, if Jehovah had given Noah control of the door to the ark, Noah would have let those people who were drowning inside the ark because it was a terrible thing.

Some things will be much more terrible in the last days of the Great Tribulation and the Church does not need to see them!

*****Rev 10:5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,

Rev 10:6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:

We should clearly understand that this announcement is made toward the earth, as "time" has never existed in Heaven!

But this message also clearly states that "time has run out for the people of earth to repent"!

The One who made this decision is none other than the Creator and His decision is not to be questioned!

Our Lord Jesus Christ is announcing that He is taking possession of all His creation, all of this tiny spec of dirt in the middle of nowhere from a galactic view. This place He had first created as a Garden where mankind needed only to dress the Garden.

Gen 2:8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Gen 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

It was sin that drove man out of the Garden!

It was sin that cause man to have to work to provide for his family.

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

It was sin that destroyed the Garden.

It was sin that would have destroyed man then if not for "Grace".

It is sin that would have destroyed each of us without God’s “Grace” that comes by the Lord Jesus Christ!

Gen 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Gen 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Gen 6:7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

It was because of sin that God sent His Son, again to show His "Grace".

Rom_3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

1Jn_2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1Jn_4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Even this was not enough because much of mankind will always rebel against our Holy God no matter what He has done, because they have another father!

Joh 8:43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.

Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Joh 8:45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

Joh 8:46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?

Joh 8:47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

This time, at the announcement of this Mighty Angel an age-old question will be answered!

2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

2Pe 3:4 And saying, "Where is the promise of his coming?" for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

2Pe 3:5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

2Pe 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:

2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 

This time, there will be an answer from Heaven that is so terrible that our Holy Father decided His Church did not need to know about it.

The Seven Thunders exists, but we do not need to know about those judgments!

*****Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

There will be no more delay in the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth!

There will be no more delay in removing Satan, who has convinced these who are left that it is he who owns the earth.

There has never been a war between God and the Devil!

There has never been a war between good and evil!

There has just been a time that God has allowed His created beings an opportunity to spend eternity with Him and even though God knew what we all would choose, He has given us this time to choose for ourselves as we watch all others choose for themselves.

This is time, that is the time, that is over, as this Mighty Angel proclaims to those upon the earth.

God has given us all these revelations throughout the Prophet Scriptures, and they have been ignored by so many.

Some say there is no God, but most have chosen in their own minds a god that they would serve.

When you choose to ignore the Living God, you have said that you are better than God!

There has never been but one acceptable choice in Heaven!

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Joh 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

Joh 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Joh 14:4 And whither I go ye know, "and the way ye know".

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Joh 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

These that are left have been told the way and they chose to reject this truth and have chosen their own way.

*****Rev 10:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.

Rev 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. 

John was given his instructions.

Don’t get too caught up in where these voices are coming from and forget the Triune God, the Holy Trinity.

We must never forget we have always had just one duty given to us by the Lord!

Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Ecc 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

God's Plan has been flawless right up to the time that John receives this little book, and His plan will remain flawless right up till the time the Lord says that it is "done", near the end of this Book of Revelation.

All the Word of God is sweet, but when we read these judgments, we all wish it did not come to this.

When we are filled with the love of God the wonderful things we read about the Church, missing out on the wrath of God just make us aware of the benefits of giving our heart to the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are too many rewards for being Christian to ever complain that the Word of God is not sweet, because it is!

Col_3:24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

We must cling to the Lord Jesus all our days to be sure we do not lose rewards that we could have gotten.

2Jn_1:8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

We also know that the Jews, the Hebrew people, will one day give all their heart to the Lord and all those will join us in Heaven to complete the gathering of the Church.

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:

We should be saddened that they go through the Tribulation years, but they will repent, and they have caused their own problems.

Jehovah has always been the solution to those problems, but the solution came in the form of the Lord Jesus Christ!

If there is any bitterness to the taste of the Word of God, it is for those who refuse to repent!

Many of those will be some of our family members and even some friends.

We should never feel good about anyone going to Hell!

We should never feel good about anyone standing before God at the White Throne of Judgment!

Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

We should never feel good about these people, because in many cases they may be emblems of our own failure to tell them about Jesus!

We cannot force feed anyone the Word of God, but we should at the least do everything we can to spread the "lifesaving" Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ!

We cannot even be good Christians, unless we take the Word of God and ingest it and digest it, until it becomes a part of our everyday lives!

2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If we ever feel good about the death of any living soul, then we need to get on our knees and beg forgiveness!

It is a most terrible sin!

Our Heavenly Father hates the fact that there will be some who will always reject Him!

2Pe_3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The most bitter words in the entire Word of God are these:

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity".

Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

We should remember John had been sent to the Isle of Patmos to live out the remainder of his days.

John had already outlived all of the other Apostles.

In fact John had already lived longer than most all others in his day.

What did John learn from this encounter with this Mighty Angel, who I believe to be the Lord Jesus Christ, who is certainly no Angel but our Creator.

He learned his preaching days were not yet over!

*****Rev 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

Rev 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

There are many thoughts about this little book.

Some believe that it could be the book Daniel was told to seal up:

Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Dan 12:5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.

Dan 12:6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?

Dan 12:7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

Dan 12:8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

Dan 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

John would go on to write all these words of the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

John would go on to preach the Word of God with even more emphasis upon the end times.

We must understand that we have this same responsibility!

We may think things are terrible right now, but it is not the end times and it is not the Tribulation years.

We may be in that time of sorrows, but it is not time to quit on the Lord no matter our situation!

The Word of God is a "two-edged" sword and both sides of the Word of God must be understood and then taught!

Heb 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Heb 4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.

This "rest" for the Church, is the next thing on God's time clock.

Then this same "rest" for the Children of Israel.

Then the "unrest" for all those who have rejected the Lord, and this is part of the message we are to share.

The main message still being that Jesus Saves!

Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Let us all get busy about the work the Lord gave John to do and the work the Lord has given us to do.

That work has not changed!

Amen

Joel's Prophesy Of Judgment

Joel God's Prophet Of Judgment

Book of Joel Chapters 2 and 3


Joel was a prophet to Judah of the Southern Kingdom and was one of the earliest of the writing prophets.

The name Joel means "Jehovah is God".

Again nothing much is known about this prophet except that he lived in Jerusalem and his father's name was Pethuel. The name Pethuel means "mouth of God".

In other words Our Heavenly Father was also claimed by Joel, just as all those that know the Lord as our Heavenly Father.

Joel's message speaks much of the soon coming "Day of the Lord" and with that, God's judgment of all the nations that have rejected the Scriptures.

We know that the Book of Joel was recognized as the actual Word of God by the Apostle Peter when he quoted from the Book of Joel in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost just a few days after the Lord Jesus had returned to His throne in Heaven.

Peter said:

Act 2:16  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
Act 2:17  And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
Act 2:18  And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
Act 2:19  And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
Act 2:20  The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
Act 2:21  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Peter believed he was living in a part of fulfilled prophesy in that same day when 3000 people came to know the Lord Jesus as their personal Savior.

We are wrong if we do not have the same faith that Peter had!

The Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church that day and the New Testament Church had it's beginning.

That phrase "the Day of the Lord" can be found 31 times in the Scriptures and there are even more references to this soon coming day, because we are closer than we have ever been to the Day of the Lord!

It is on this day that all sinners will be destroyed!

Isa 13:9  Behold, "the day of the LORD cometh", cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

The Message of Joel:

*****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:

Up until this point in the Book of Joel, he has described a terrible plague of locusts that had come into Judah.

An invasion of locusts is one of the heaviest calamities that can befall any nation.

The Jews said these pests could not be numbered.

The Arabs said there were so many that they could darken the Sun and locusts do not fly at night.

The Italians called them "the little horse".

God said the locusts have no king but they could move as being directed by a supreme leader.

Pro 30:27  The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

And Joel says when they die their decaying bodies caused a stench that could taint the air for miles.

Joe 2:20  But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.

The result of such a plague of locusts is total devastation to the land!

Deu 28:42  All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume.

And Joel says the on "the Day of the Lord" the circumstances will be the same. The land will be devastated and the armies that come against Israel will lay on the ground and their bodies will stench up the air.

Isa 66:23  And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
Isa 66:24  And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

Our verse says the only way to avoid this "Day of the Lord" is to repent!

The most important word in this verse is "turn"!

True repentance consists of the "immediate" turning away from the things of this world and then a complete "turn" toward the face of God!

We should always seek the face of the Lord before we ever seek the arm of the Lord!

This turning must include a "sincere" deep "sorrow" for sin and that sorrow must come from "within" the heart!

Fasting in this verse is abstaining from the things of this world and seeking the nourishment of God.

God has provided a complete nourishment in the completed Word of God!

Weeping in this verse is the inward conversion of the heart after reviewing the sins of the past and to hate and forsake them!

Mourning here is the confessing of our faults knowing, no one on this Earth can repair that feeling of loneliness!

That repair can only come from above!

And must include the heart:

*****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.

The Jews would rip their garments into pieces as a sign of remorse but God says it will take more than an outward show of remorse, it must be an inward thing.

Psa 51:17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

God will not accept anything less than these all things in true repentance!

True repentance of sin requires a deeper grief, because we must learn to hate sin while maintaining a love for the sinner!

These are the only things that will cause God to repent of the evil that is in store for each unrepentant sinner!

God hates to do evil but He must fulfill the Word of God as it is written!

Even Jonah knew this to be true of the Lord!

Jon 4:2  And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.

We must never forget the wages of sin are still "DEATH"!

True repentance of Sin, brings "LIFE" but only by Jesus Christ!

Rom 6:23  For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

*****Joe 2:14  Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

In this day of Joel, God had visited His people and had left behind the curse of the locusts but upon repentance when the Lord returns, God will leave behind a blessing!

Those locust had devastated the land. These Jews were required by the Laws of Moses to offer up a meat offering to the Lord but that was now impossible.

Lev 2:1  And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:

These Jews were to offer up a drink offering to the Lord which was also now impossible because of those same locusts.

Lev 23:37  These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:

In that day there was no forgiveness of sin unless these offerings were made and unless they repented of their sins only then would God change a curse into a blessing. They could never be forgiven without such an offering and they clearly understood the outcome of these things.

Every individual sinner must realize these same things!

God simply says "I tell you these things that you may know" the truth!

1Jn 5:11  And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1Jn 5:12  He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
1Jn 5:13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; "that ye may know" that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

It is true repentance that restores our relationship with the Lord!

*****Joe 2:18  Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.
Joe 2:19  Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:

What is he truth of Scripture?

Once God sees true repentance, then and only then, will God be jealous for His land and pity His people!

This is the change in God that repentance brings!

This is best described as "Mercy".

Mercy is best described as compassion for the miserable!

We are all miserable sinners, each and everyone!

In Christ Jesus "Mercy" and "Truth" come together in the only means of salvation for a lost and miserable people!

Jesus teaches us all to be compassionate and show mercy to all others as He has done to those that repent!

Mat 18:33  Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?

We need to clearly understand that God has deep and strong emotions for those that place their trust and their faith in Him!

God becomes a Father to all those that call on His name and He will provide all the things we need and most important, protect us from the coming destruction of this world!

Repentance may not bring healing from the pain of sin.

Repentance may not erase the sad memories of our past.

Repentance may not restore the things we lost in our sinful life.

Repentance "does" restore us to a position of peace with the only One who can do all these things if He so chooses!

And it is God Himself who will take vengeance on all our enemies!

All these things are true for all those that repent and call on the name of the Lord!

*****Joe 2:32  And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

This prophesy of Joel spans the years this prophesy and was revealed on through the Church Age and on through the Second Coming of the Lord when He will also save that remnant of the Jews!

Paul wrote:

Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

These words had not changed in the nearly 1000 years before Paul and these words will hold true until the return of Christ Jesus!

A call on the Messiah is a call on our Father in Heaven!

Deliverance is a release from captivity!

Deliverance is a release from the slavery to Satan!

Deliverance is a release from the oppression of a sinful life!

Deliverance is a release from the bondage of sin!

Jesus said of His first mission:

Luk 4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
Luk 4:19  To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

We can see that by the Holy Spirit, it can only be Jesus Christ who can fulfill the prophesy of Joel!

After explaining the means of salvation Joel then takes us to the judgment on the nations and the foolish people who reject the Word of God.

*****Joe 3:2  I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

The land promised to Abraham, from the Nile River to the Euphrates River has been "parted" by many nations in the more than 4000 years since Abraham.

In 1948 just part of this land was divided between Israel and Jordan by the United Nations.

In fact this passage could be read that God will judge those United Nations, who have done such a thing, all the way back to the Roman league of nations and on through those of Nebuchadnezzar.

All nations, each and everyone, that are united against the nation of Israel will be judged by the Lord!

The name Jehoshaphat means "whom Jehovah judges" and with this meaning this could simply mean the place of God's final judgment on all the foes of Israel!

Isaiah writes these things:

Isa 66:5  Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.
Isa 66:6  A voice of noise from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the LORD that rendereth recompence to his enemies.

God says He will just speak and it will happen, much like the first week of creation!

Zechariah writes these things:

Zec 14:1  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
Zec 14:2  For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
Zec 14:3  Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

And the Apostle John wrote these things:

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.
Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16  And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

These words are the truth as much as all the Word of God is true!

God will certainly judge all nations that have caused harm to Israel along with all those that reject the truth of the Word of God!

It is this battle that the Lord will end with the "Sword Of His Mouth" that will usher in the 1000 year Millennial Rule of the Lord.

Rev 20:3  And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Even King Jehoshaphat knew this truth:

2Ch 20:20  And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; "Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper".
2Ch 20:21  And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.

It should also be noted that this judgment is two-fold, those nations that have treated Israel poorly will see the wrath of God but those nations that have treated Israel good will earn God's blessing and be a part of the Millennial Kingdom!

*****Joe 3:11  Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
Joe 3:12  Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.

It should be very clear to this world that there is coming a judgment!

Because God is holy, He must judge all that is unholy or He would no longer be holy!

Judgment is a necessary expression of God's character!

BUT, God's judgment will be fair and according to the truth of Scripture!

Rom 2:2  But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

Notice God will judge all the heathen!

We have already established that the heathen are all those that reject the Word of God!

At this time God will judge all the nations from all parts of the Earth and not just the nations that surround Israel!

Zec 12:9  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

Mal 4:1  For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Mal 4:3  And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

And though they hate His name, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who will cause this judgment to take place!

Joh 5:26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
Joh 5:27  And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.

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.

These things were not written to be a threat. These things are simply the truth of the Word of God and not some fable from some old book that is rejected by most of this world!

*****Joe 3:13  Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

When the judgment of God comes to this Earth it will be because wickedness has reached the point of it's maturity.

An example is given in the Book of Genesis:

Gen 15:14  And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
Gen 15:15  And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
Gen 15:16  But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

And the Amorites no longer exist!

It may surprise many to know but there have been at least 7 nations in the last 100 years that no longer exist as a nation!

We know from the Book of Revelation, that the world in the end times will be spiritually and physically as wicked Babylon!

Jeremiah prophesied of the end times:

Jer 51:33  For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.

And the Apostle John wrote of this day:

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.

God will have extended every opportunity for our world to change but the world will continue to hate the Lord and hate the the New Testament Church.

Joh 15:18  If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

*****Joe 3:14  Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

Sin will have caused the conversion all the instruments of peace into implements of war on this day and most of the world will defy our holy Living God!

All evil will present itself ready for destruction, because sin will have reached the limit that God had placed upon it!

To become a Christian, a decision must be made before the end of our lifetime and the sooner the better!

Many will say they are just not ready to make that decision.

In fact the sadness and the gloom of our world are mainly due to the indecision of it's people!

Abortion continues, because even though most of the world deplores this thing they remain silent and so it continues.

The gay lifestyle continues because even though most of the world deplores such immorality they remain silent and undecided, so it continues.

This is true for most every other immoral act that continues in our world today!

The world simply will not speak out against sin but remains tolerant to sin, saying people have rights to sin.

The Word of God says this is not true!

AND, On the "day of the Lord" no one will emerge until they have made a decision right or wrong!

There will be no indecision from anyone living that day!

As each branch of theology matures during the Church Age, which will end at the Rapture which will take place before the "Day of the Lord" we must come to a decision with regard to Jesus Christ and for those who cannot, they will see the "Day of the Lord" where all decisions are final!

1) It is Jesus Christ who revealed God to this world!

2) It is Jesus Christ who removed all barriers to the throne room of God!

3) It is Jesus Christ who provides the only means of salvation!

The world must accept these truths to find their way out of the valley of decision!

*****Joe 3:15  The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.

The biggest conversation in our world today has changed from global warming to climate change and nations are beginning to bring lawsuits against other nations who they deem responsible for these things.

Our own President says climate change is our greatest foe in the years to come.

This evil world will find that on and even nearer to the "Day of the Lord" all of nature and all the agencies of our universe will aid in the defeat of all immoral evil and wickedness and that day is closer than it has ever been!

Isa 13:9  Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
Isa 13:10  For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
Isa 13:11  And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

*****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.

Jesus Christ the innocent Lamb of God, will be the mighty Lion of the tribe of Judah and will defiantly roar on this day!

He will be heard far and near and He will strike fear and terror into the hearts of all His enemies!

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.

But those of the nation of Israel will not see terror but only hope!

Because God is a refuge to all those that trust in Him!

There are three things that a Christian has, that most of the world does not have.

1Co 13:13  And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Hope is an essential element of Christian life!

The little nation of Israel, on the "Day of the Lord" will realize this same hope that the Church has always had since the time of His resurrection!

Unbelievers live in a world of no hope and this is a very miserable place to be!

It is our hope that keeps us motivated to serve the Lord!

Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Rom 5:3  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Rom 5:4  And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

And where there is hope there is strength!

*****Joe 3:17  So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.

The truth is that when Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem, the glory of the Lord came down and filled that building.

Mount Zion, where Jerusalem was built, belongs to God and no one on this planet can claim ownership of this place because it is God's!

Psa 87:2  The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Psa 87:3  Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.

When the Temple was destroyed, the Scriptures have said that the Temple will be restored and God's glory will return.

Psa 69:35  For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.

The Nation of Israel has since been restored to that land in 1948 and in 1967 Jerusalem once again came back into the hands of God's people!

Today the people of Israel battle daily just to walk on the Temple Mount but there is no Temple at this time, instead a mosque to a false god sits on the Temple Mount.

God has promised to restore Zion and to dwell there this time in all His glory!

Isa 51:3  For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

As the Church we know this time as the reign of God during the Millennial Kingdom!

Isa 33:20  Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.
Isa 33:21  But there the glorious LORD will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

Jer 31:6  For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.

Mic 4:1  But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.

Zec 1:16  Therefore thus saith the LORD; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the LORD of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

Many claim these Scriptures refer to the physical city of Jerusalem.

Many claim these Scriptures refer to the spiritual city of New Jerusalem.

The fact is that is both!

The Lord will restore the physical city of Jerusalem and Mount Zion and the throne of David and rule in that place for 1000 years.

It is only after this 1000 years that the New Jerusalem will be occupied by all the children of God!

Jerusalem is called the Holy City many times in the Bible and the word Holy means that Jerusalem belongs to God!

Isa 4:3  And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:
Isa 4:4  When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

It is only after this time that things become Spiritual!

*****Joe 3:20  But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.

The lessons from the Book of Joel are these:

1) There will be a time of judgment for this world and it is best known as "The Day Of The Lord"!

The calls for repentance will be over, at least temporarily, and retribution will commence!

2) As Peter stated along with Joel, God is very patient with a disobedient world because His "Mercy Endureth Forever".

3) God's blessings of the Holy Spirit. These blessings are for all people, in all ages. God may have selected one nation as a peculiar people to bring forth His message but "Whosoever Calleth On The Name Of The Lord Shall Be Saved"!

4) God's people will have the final victory! "We Are On The Winning Side"!

It may seem that evil is going to triumph and Jerusalem is trodden down, but the promises of God are sure and a remnant of the Jews will eventually accept the Messiah for who He is!

Until that Day Of The Lord, it is the Church that is God's tool of salvation and we must not remain lax in the work God has given us to do!

Mat 28:19  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen

Questions?

Let's Pray!