The Introduction to the Final False Prophet (Rev. 12:11-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/30/2015 7:05 AM

My Worship Time                                            Focus:  Introduction to the Final False Prophet

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Revelation 12:11-18

            Message of the verses:  “11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. 13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. 14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.”

            In the verses above we see John writing about the coming false prophet, even he is not named in this section we see clearly that this is who John is writing about.  The Bible has much to say about false prophets and in our introduction to this last of the false prophets we will look at some verses in the Scriptures that speak of false prophets.  We must remember that Satan, the father of lies, is behind all false prophets, and the last false prophet will be the one who helps Satan deceive the world.  Deception is how Satan works as he causes people to believe his lies.  Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:14 “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”  This verse speaks of deception.  MacArthur writes “From his first appearance on earth in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:2-6) until his final appearance at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:7-8), Satan is a liar and a deceiver.  He constantly seeks to confuse people, ‘blind[ing] the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see ‘the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God’ (2 Cor. 4:4).”

            Let us look at a section from the book of Deuteronomy where Moses writes about false prophets as he warns Israel that they would come to lead them astray.  “1 "If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ’Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 “You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5 "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.”

            I am not going to quote the verses that Jeremiah spoke about false prophet, but when we were studying the book of Jeremiah we stated that Jeremiah had many problems with the false prophets of his day and that they even were taken into captivity into Babylon to test the people there.  The following are some sections from Jeremiah that speak of false prophets:  (Jer. 23:16; 23:21-22; 23:25-32; 27:14-16; 29:8-9).  Now we will move into the New Testament to see what it has to say about false prophets and we first look at a familiar passage that we have looked at before in conjunction with our study of Revelation and that is Matthew 24 where Jesus speaks of the fact that Mt 24:24  For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”  Jesus also spoke of this in Matthew 7:15 where he says “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”  Peter writes “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Pet. 2:1).  John writes in 1 John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

            In his commentary on this section John MacArthur quotes John Phillips as he speculates on this final false prophet:  “The dynamic appeal of the false prophet will lie in his skill in combining political expediency with religious passion…His arguments will be subtle, convincing, and appealing.  His oratory will be hypnotic, for he will be able to move the masses to tears or whip them into a frenzy.  He will control the communication media of the world and will skillfully organize mass publicity to promote his ends.  He will manage the truth with guile beyond words, bending it, twisting it, and distorting it…He will mold world through and shape human opinion like so much potter’s clay.”

            As we look at the last false prophet we need to understand that in this Tribulation period there will be an unholy trinity as Satan represents God the Father, while the Antichrist represents the Lord Jesus Christ, and this false prophet represents the Holy Spirit.  We will see how the Antichrist through the aid of the false prophet will ride the “religion” into power and then will get rid of the religion and say that he is god.  So what we are looking at is the combination of the political and the religion during those last three and a half years of the Tribulation period.  We will look more at this when we get to chapter seventeen, but we need to realize that the false prophet will be a big part of confusing the people of his day to believe the lie that Satan is promoting during the Tribulation Period and that lie is the same lie he has used since he spoke it to Eve in the garden:  “1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, ’You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?" 2  The woman said to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3  but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ’You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’" 4 The serpent said to the woman, "You surely will not die! 5  "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."”

            We will be looking at three key elements of the false prophet in our next few Spiritual diaries; his person, power, and program.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I first became a believer I read and listened to Hal Lindsey and one of his books is called “Satan is Alive and Well on Planet Earth.”  As I study the book of Revelation and look at the current events I have to say that Satan is alive and well in the United States of America as he has his people spewing out his lies and people are believing those lies just as Eve believed them.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To trust the Lord to bring glory to His name through the events that are happening in our country.  To remember that I am on the winning side, and to be a bright and shining light in this world that is getting darker by the moment.

 Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “He would lighten the load Solomon had placed on them” (1 Kings 12:3-4).

Today’s Bible question:  “What were the disciples in Antioch called?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/30/2015 8:08 AM

Antichrist's Admireres PT-2 (Rev. 13:8-10)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/29/2015 8:46 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Antichrist’s Admirers PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Revelation 13:8-10

            Message of the verses:  “8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

            As we look back on what we back on what we learned in our last SD I want to continue on that theme for a moment longer because of the importance of remembering or perhaps just learning the fact that once God chose us in eternity past that we are secure in the salvation that He has given to us through Jesus Christ as He paid the price for our sins on the cross.  John MacArthur writes “Believers are doubly secure, because the ‘book of life’ belongs to ‘the Lamb who has been slain.’  Not only the decree of election, but also the atoning work of Christ seals the redemption of the elect forever.  Believers ‘were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold…but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ’ (1 Peter 1:18-19).  The Father will not undo the work of Christ in redemption (cf. Rom 4:25; Heb. 1:3) by allowing any of the elect to be lost.  Jesus Christ is ‘to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation’ (Heb. 5:9), and it is not within the power of Antichrist, Satan, or all the forces of hell to alter that glorious reality.  The very saints that Antichrist massacres during his persecution of God’s people are later seen triumphant and victorious in heaven:  ‘2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. 3  And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! 4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy; For ALL THE NATIONS WILL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE YOU, FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUS ACTS HAVE BEEN REVEALED."  Antichrist may take their lives, but he cannot destroy their faith.”

            Early in our study of Revelation when we were looking at the seven churches we saw a phrase at the end of each letter to each of the churches and it was “If anyone has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”  This phrase, that is without the last part about the churches is used sixteen times in the New Testament, and it emphasizes a particularly important truth when it is used.  Now as far as when it is used in chapters 2-3 or Revelation it is a warning for the church to understand what it is that Christ is saying to them, but in our text today there is no mention of the church which could mean that because the church is now in heaven at the Rapture that is why that phrase is omitted.  We can compare Revelation 3:10 to make this point “’Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.”

            This phrase here, introduces a proverb to us “If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”  If you were alive at this time when Antichrist is persecuting believers then this proverb would be of help as it contains some important practical truth.  What they are to do is depend upon the providence of God and so they will not take matters into their own hands, but trust in the Lord who controls all things and as Romans 8:28 promises “we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  We can see from this proverb that those believers who are destined to die for their faith will do so, and those destined to go into captivity will also do so that is imprisonment.  Those who are destined to be killed for their faith will have this happen to them also, but it is in the hands of the Sovereign God.  MacArthur writes “God’s people must not retaliate against their persecutors; there is no place now, and there will be no place then, for militant, aggressive, violent believers terrorizing their persecutors.  ‘Those also who suffer according to the will of God,’ wrote Peter, ‘shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right’ (1 Peter 4:19).”

            Believers are not to act violently but to remember that they must exemplify “the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”  Remember what Peter wrote about how our Lord acted “while being reviled…did not revile in return; while suffering righteously” (1 Peter 2:23).  We believers follow the example we can be sure “that those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame (1 Peter 3:16).”  Peter goes on to say in 1 Peter 4:14 “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.”

            MacArthur concludes “The message of this passage is clear.  Let the monstrous beast from the abyss do his worst.  Let Satan and his demon hosts have their hour.  God controls the future and believers belong to Him ‘In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us’ (Rom. 8:37), and we will triumph on the glorious day when ‘The kingdom of the world [becomes] the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever’ (Rev. 11:15).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God’s timing is always perfect and in light of what is going on in our country this message was certainly needed to remind me that even though Satan is behind what is going on in our country that God is in control and this is comforting for me to know, for God has a plan for me and for all of those who name the name of Christ and in the end believers will be in heaven and Satan and all that he has used to bring about what is going on in our country if they do not repent will be in hell with him.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Praise the Lord who is in control of all things, and to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord so that others can see.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Faith, hope, charity (love)” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Today’s Bible question:  “Under what condition would Jeroboam and all Israel serve Rehoboam?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/29/2015 9:46 AM

 

           

 

           

Sowing and Reaping from Hosea 8:7

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/28/2015 9:35 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Sowing and Reaping

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Hosea 8:7

            Message of the verse:  “7 For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads; It yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.”  “7 “They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up (NIV).”

            Let us begin with looking at a number of verses that speak of sowing and reaping:  “Job 4:8 "According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity And those who sow trouble harvest it.”  Proverbs 22:8 “He who sows iniquity will reap vanity, And the rod of his fury will perish.”  Jeremiah 12:13 “"They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns, They have strained themselves to no profit. But be ashamed of your harvest Because of the fierce anger of the LORD."”  Galatians 6:7-8 “7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”  Hosea 10:12-13 “12  Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you. 13 You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, You have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors,”

            What can we say that the Israelites were doing to bring about this charge from the Lord?  Well we can see at least two things that they were doing, the first is that they were making wrong political alliances and the second thing they were doing was worshiping idols.  I remember that Warren Wiersbe has said in a few of his Bible commentaries that the worst thing that the Lord can do for a person or a people is to alloy the to reap the consequences of what they are sowing, for sin has a way of being paid for.  For instance if a man gets drunk and then breaks his arm because of his drunkenness that is what he can expect. If you look at the first chapter of Romans and verses 18-32 you will see this spoken of.  Israel though they were doing the right thing, but because it was against what God had written about in His Law and what the prophets had told them they would have to reap the consequences of their bad choices.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The harvest would be more powerful than the seed!”

            Another thing that they would have happen to them is a fulfillment of what is in the Law for them and that is that their crops would fail them.  Now because they worshiped Baal they believed that he would provide good crops for them because that was the kind god he was.  They were wrong on this point too and would not receive good crops. 

6/28/2015 9:56 PM  

Antichrist's Admirers PT-1 (Rev. 13:8-10)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/28/2015 7:12 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus: Antichrist’s Admirers PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Revelation 13:8-10

            Message of the verses:  “8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”

            Let us look at Rev. 13:4 to give us a reminder to who the admirers of Antichrist are:  “4 they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"”  We couple this with the highlighted portion of verse eight and we see that all who dwell on the earth will worship him with the exception of those who are true believers that is those who have been “written from the foundation of the world in the book of the life of the Lamb.”  We have no idea of how many believers there will be on the earth when the Antichrist begins to persecute them along with the Jews, but it has to be a fairly large number, and will probably be a part of the largest number of people who will be saved that ever was saved in that amount of time, that is the three and a half years.  Now I want to go back to the highlighted portion of verse four and say that when we see the words “all who dwell on the earth” it speaks to unbelievers for it has been seen also in verse 12, 14; 3:10; 6:10; 8:13; 11:10; 17:2, and verse 8 of chapter seventeen.  John even goes on to write about those whose name have been written in the Lamb’s book of life so show the difference between those who dwell on the earth.  Why is it that those who dwell on the earth are not saved? Because and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved (2 Thess. 2:10).”   Just because salvation is a free gift of God does not mean all will receive that gift, for many will reject the gift even though they know that it is true that if you accept it you will be saved.  John MacArthur writes “Scripture also teaches that the faithless will be judged because they ‘did not believe the truth, but too pleasure in wickedness (2 Thess. 2:12).  While the eternally elect are saved through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16; 5:24; Acts 13:39; 16:31; Rom. 3:22-30; 4:5; 10:9-10; Gal. 3:22-26; Eph. 2:8-9), the non-elect are lost because they refuse to believe the gospel (John 3:36; Rom. 1:18-32; 2:8; 2 Thess. 1:8-9; 1 Pet. 2:8; 4:17).  Unbelief and rejection always indicate those persons whose names are not ‘written…in the book of life.’”  These truths that MacArthur writes here are true, but at times difficult to understand, however salvation is a gift accepted by faith, faith that we are given by the Lord yet nonetheless faith and so there are many things in the Word of God that we must take by faith.

            MacArthur goes on and we will conclude this SD with this paragraph:  “Seven times in the New Testament, believers are identified as those whose names are written in the book of life (cf. 3:5; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27; Phil. 4:3).  The book of life belonging to the Lamb, the Lord Jesus, is the registry in which God inscribed the names of those chosen for salvation before the ‘foundation of the world.’  (This phrase is used as a synonym for eternity past in 17:8; Matt. 13:35; 25:34; Luke 11:50; Eph 1:4; Heb. 9:26; 1 Pet. 1:20; cf. 2 Thess. 2:13; and 2 Tim. 1:9.)  Unlike unbelievers, the elect will not be deceived by Antichrist (Matt. 24:24), nor will they worship him 20:4).  Antichrist will not be able to destroy believers’ saving faith, for the Lord Jesus Christ promised, ‘He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels’ (Rev. 3:5; cf 1 John 5:4).  Believers have been in the keeping power of God since before creation, and they will be there after the destruction of this order and the establishment of the new heaven and new earth (21:1ff.).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the truth of salvation that I have been reminded of here in a very deliberate way from the pen of John MacArthur and mostly from the Author of the Word of God.  I know that there is no way I deserve the salvation that Christ paid for while on the cross, but I am so very thankful for it and pray that I will walk worthy of what He has done for me.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Herod” (Acts 12:20-23).

Today’s Bible question:  “What are three great Christian virtues?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/28/2015 7:47 AM

Antichrist's Activity (Rev. 13:7)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/27/2015 6:53 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Antichrist’s Activity

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Revelation 13:7

            Message of the verse:  “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”  “7 And the beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation (NLT).”

            We see from this passage that the Antichrist was allowed to wage war, for although he is a very powerful dictator he still can only do what the Lord allows him to do.  You might say that he has a collar on attached with a leash and the Lord has the other end of it so he can only go so far. 

            We read that Antichrist will make war with the saints and that he will overcome them.  Now remember that we are now looking at the events of the Tribulation Period from the perspective of the Antichrist and in earlier chapters we have seen that there will be many people who are believers killed by his authority.  “9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also (Rev. 6:9-11).”  Now let us look at more of verse seven:  “and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him.”  Antichrist will see a threat to his authority from those who are true believers and this is one of the reasons he will deal with them by killing all that he can. 

            Daniel 7:25, a verse we have looked at in earlier SD’s says “’He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.”  Now we must remember that this type of thing will begin to happen in the middle of the Tribulation Period when the Antichrist will break his covenant with Israel as seen in Daniel 9:27 “"And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."”  Jesus also spoke of this in His Olivet Discourse “"Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand) (Matthew 24:15).”  Paul spoke of this in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 “3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4  who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

            Let us look at something that Jesus said in Matthew 10:28 “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”  The Antichrist will kill many true believers, but he will not destroy the faith that they have, for this faith was given to them when the Lord saved them.  John MacArthur writes “Genuine saving faith cannot be destroyed, because ‘neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Rom. 8:38-39).  Nor will the Lord Jesus Christ, who is infinitely more powerful than Antichrist or Satan, permit any true child of His to suffer the loss of eternal life (Rev. 3:5; Job 13:15; John 10:27-29).  But Antichrist will slaughter God’s people on an unprecedented scale as he expresses his world dominance.” 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  We can learn from what we have been studying in the book of Revelation that God is totally in charge.  God is the Supreme Being, and I think that one day those judges who voted to make marriage legal between people of the same sex will realize this one day, they will realize that they are not the Supreme Court and will be judged for their actions which is not only against God’s laws, but against the Laws of the United States of America.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Things are surely going downhill in our country but the Lord is on His Throne and nothing will happen in our country that is out of His control.  Roans 8:28 says “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jerusalem” (Acts 8:27).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who died after being eaten by worms?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/27/2015 7:28 AM

           

God's Prounces the Sentence PT-1 (Hosea 8:1-6)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/26/2015 10:48 PM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  God Pronounces the Sentence PT-1

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hosea 8:1-6

            Message of the verses:  “1 Put the trumpet to your lips! Like an eagle the enemy comes against the house of the LORD, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled against My law. 2 They cry out to Me, "My God, we of Israel know You!" 3 Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him. 4 They have set up kings, but not by Me; They have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves, That they might be cut off. 5 He has rejected your calf, O Samaria, saying, "My anger burns against them!" How long will they be incapable of innocence? 6 For from Israel is even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God; Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.”

            We begin the third main point from the outline of Dr. Warren Wiersbe and this entire section will cover chapters 8:1-10:15 which is the entire tenth chapter, so we will be looking at three chapters as we move through this third main point.

            As in Hosea 5:8 we see from verse one of chapter eight that at trumpet is about to blow and the blowing of trumpets in Israel meant something.  In the 10^th chapter of the book of Numbers we read that the Jews used trumpets to announce special occasions or to sound alarms, they also used them to gather the people for their assemblies, and to proclaim war.  However as we begin to look at this trumpet sounding we see that it is a trumpet of alarm and the reason was because the enemies were coming upon Israel.  God is giving His people one more chance to repent.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Hosea again used a number of familiar images to show the people what God would do to them because of their sin.”  We will take our time in looking at six of these familiar images that Hosea gives and the first one is entitled “The eagle” and it comes from our verses above, Hosea 8:1-6.

            We see the reference of the eagle in verse one and Hosea is saying that like an eagle Israel’s enemies are coming against the house of the Lord, and the reason for this is because they have transgressed the covenant that God has given them and they also have rebelled against the Law of the Lord.  Dr. Wiersbe points out that “’The house of the Lord’ refers to the nation of Israel, for the people were God’s dwelling place (9:15; Ex. 15:17; Num. 12:7).”  The eagle that Hosea refers to here is the Assyrian army who is about to swoop down and destroy the house of the Lord, the people of Israel. 

            The people of Israel had set up kings without referring or asking the Lord, and we have mentioned that every king that reigned over Israel after the nation split, which happened after Solomon died, was a bad king in the eyes of the Lord.  After the nation split the first king of Israel, Jeroboam decided to make a religion of his own and it involved a calf so the reference to the calf in Hosea in verse five is speaking of this religion.  Jeroboam was afraid that the people of the now Northern Kingdom would go to Jerusalem to worship so that is why he set up this religion.  The Lord was not pleased with this and eventually He would bring the Assyrian army against Israel, which He did in 722 BC. 

            I have to say that this is a very difficult day in the history of the United States of America and I don’t think that the average person understands what this decision that the so called Supreme Court means, for in the eyes of God marriage is between a man and a woman as He first did this in the Garden of Eden.  This is just another step down for our country, and people don’t have the sense to look at the history of other nations who have taken this path for if they did they too would be upset.  My comment on the Supreme Court is that one day they will meet who it is who really is “THE SUPREME COURT”  really is and on that day they will know that what they did was wrong, but then it will be too late for them.

6/26/2015 11:17 PM

           

Antichrist's Arrogance (Rev. 13:5-6)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/26/2015 8:44 AM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus:  Antichrist’s Arrogance

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Rev. 13:5-6

            Message of the verses:  “5 There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.”

            I want to quote a paragraph from my Spiritual Diary from August 18, 2005, and this quote is not totally about all of these two verses but it does bring up a point as to perhaps when the timing would be when Satan is kicked out of heaven, something we have written about in an earlier SD.  “Again it is good to be reminded that all of these things will happen in the second half of the tribulation, or the “Great Tribulation,” and also after Satan is expelled from heaven.  I would like to go back to a statement that Dr. Wiersbe made concerning the possibility of Satan being in heaven when the “Judgment Seat of Christ” was going on, as he would be accusing the brethren at that event.  If you couple that with a phrase in verse six, “Blaspheme…those who dwell in heaven,” this all begins to make more sense, for if Satan was at the Judgment Seat of Christ accusing the brethren and was then kicked out of heaven after that event then it would make sense that he would be blaspheming those who were at that event because his accusations did no good.”  We will not move on to the arrogance of the Antichrist.

            Let us begin with a quote from John MacArthur:  “Like his master, Satan, Antichrist will be an arrogant blasphemer.  Blasphemy will not be incidental but central to his operations.  The phrase ‘there was given to him’ refers to God’s sovereign control of events (6:4, 8; 7:2; 9:5; cf. Dan. 4:17, 25, 32).  God will allow Antichrist to blaspheme to give full expression to the satanic wickedness that will cover the earth at that time.  He will exhibit a total disregard for the true God by continually ‘speaking arrogant words and blasphemies.’  Antichrist’s blasphemy will not be subtle, but open, outrageous, and monstrous—even to the point that he ‘takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God’ (2 Thess. 2:4).  This is reminiscent of Satan’s original desire when he fell from heaven and holiness.  He said in his heart ‘I will make myself like the Most High’ (Isa. 14:14).”

            More from the OT book of Daniel to show the arrogance of Antichrist as we look at Daniel 7:8 “"While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.”  A similar statement is repeated in Daniel 7:20 as Daniel explains his vision.  “"Then I kept looking because of the sound of the boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire (Daniel 7:11).”  Daniel speaks that Antichrist will speak against the Most High:  “’He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.”  Notice the time limit he has, which is the same as in Revel 13:5 but written in a different way.  “"Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done (Daniel 11:36).”

            Antichrist’s arrogance will be greater than any other human being that has ever lived, as he is empowered by Satan to which gives him this ability.  I remember Proverbs 16:18 which states “Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.”  “First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall (Message).”

            We see as we continue to look at our text for today that his blasphemies will be against God, His name and His tabernacle, and also those who dwell in heaven.  God’s name is representative of who He is, which is all of His attributes combined or the summation of His attributes, and the tabernacle is God’s home in heaven, and he even blasphemes those in heaven, perhaps those who have been raptured before the beginning of the Tribulation Period, and it might even include God’s holy angels of which Satan was once one of them.

            Again we look at the length of his activity and it is only for 42 months or three and a half years, or as Daniel says for 1260 days (Dan. 9:24).  MacArthur concludes “Antichrist and Satan will be allowed to operate only within the time limit set for them by the true Ruler of the universe.  But for a few years, they will dominate the world.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to go back to Ec. 3:1 “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-“  There is a time for evil to run rampant in the world, and then there is a time when the Lord will stop this evil when He returns as seen in Revelation 19.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To trust the Lord to give me a clear conscience.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Nicodemus” (John 3:9).

Today’s Bible question:  “Where had the Ethiopian eunuch gone to worship?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/26/2015 9:24 AM

 

 

           

Antichrist's Adoration (Rev. 13:4)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/25/2015 9:19 AM

My Worship Time                                                                            Focus:  Antichrist’s Adoration

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Revelation 13:4

            Message of the verse:  “they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"”

            I thought that it would be a good idea to give you the definition of the word “beast” as found in my Greek/English dictionary that I have on my Online Bible program:  “1) an animal 2) a wild animal, wild beast, beast 3) metaph. a brutal, bestial man, savage, ferocious.”  I think that the last definition fits the Antichrist.

            As the world around us gets smaller and smaller, that is because of the theology that seems to be growing by the day, and as global problems seem to also grow very rapidly, the world is ripe for a dictator, and Antichrist will be the one that will fulfill this role.  We see in verse four that the world’s fascination with Antichrist will quickly turn to the worship of him.  Verse four says that Satan is the one being worshiped but we know also that his Antichrist will also be worshiped in a similar way that Nebuchadnezzar was worshiped as seen in the third chapter of the book of Daniel when they made a great statute of him and all had to bow down and worship him.  Let us look at 2 Thessalonians 2:4 “who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”  This is what Paul wrote about the Antichrist and it is believed that this will happen during or just past the midpoint of the Tribulation Period.  Now just like in Nebuchadnezzar’s time with the statute if people did not bow down and worship him they would be killed, (now we know the rest of the story of those who did not worship him as seen in Daniel chapter three).  John MacArthur writes “Antichrist will seek adoration; not content with respect, he will require reverence; not content with being hailed and heralded, he will demand to be worshiped.  And those who ‘did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved’ (2 Thess. 2:10) will be deceived into worshiping him.  That deception will be fostered by the Antichrist’s associate, the false prophet, who ‘makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast [Antichrist], whose fatal wound was healed’ (Rev. 12:12).

            So we see the role of Antichrist changed from the time he first came on the scene.  Did it change on his own or because Satan caused it to change by having him possessed with a powerful demon.  Was he kind of like Judas whom Satan used to betray Jesus?  My guess is that he had aspirations of leading the world in his own mind and then when Satan has him possessed by the powerful demon he enjoys the power given to him.  When I think of Antichrist I sometimes think of a verse where Jesus states “"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26).”  This is exactly what will happen to Antichrist.

            As I stated the people of the earth will not only worship the Antichrist but they will also be worshiping Satan, now I don’t know if they will be doing this willingly or unwittingly, but they will be worshiping the devil one way or the other.  Satan worship is something that has grown over the years so it may be that they will know what they are doing, but perhaps some will not realize that is what they are doing.  Paul writes in 1 Corn. 10:20 “The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God.”  These people believed they were worshiping a god to whom they were sacrificing things to were actually worshiping demons.  So it will be with the unbelievers in the Tribulation period who are worshiping the Antichrist.

            As we look at the end of verse four we read “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?"”  Let’s look at the first of the Ten Commandments “2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”  I suppose what we see with the unbelievers in the Tribulation Period is the blind leading the blind.  Now as far as the question in the last part of verse four we know who it is who will wage war against him and also defeat him, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.  However I don’t think that the people who are saying this are talking about the Lord defeating him but other political leaders who will be taken out if they try and defeat him.  The question is meant to be a rhetorical question.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is easy to get taken advantage of if you are not careful in this world.  Most every day I ask the Lord for wisdom and my prayer goes like this:  “Wisdom:  I Pray that the Lord will give our pastors, and myself wisdom in all of the decisions that we have to make today.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says “5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”   “I’m putting on the belt of truth.  I ask You to make it very clear to me what I am to accept into my life and what I am to reject.  Help me to see clearly the motives of others as they deal with me and converse with me.  Let me walk in Your truth, making decisions and choices according to Your plans and purposes for my life.”  The quote comes from a book I read written by Charles Stanley.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I am struggling with a problem that came up yesterday and I need wisdom from the Lord to care for it.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘How can these things be’?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/25/2015 10:03 AM

   

 

The Nation's True Condition PT-5)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/24/2015 10:55 PM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  The Nation’s True Condition PT-5

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Hosea 7:13-16

            Message of the verses:  “13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction is theirs, for they have rebelled against Me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against Me. 14 And they do not cry to Me from their heart When they wail on their beds; For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves, They turn away from Me. 15 Although I trained and strengthened their arms, Yet they devise evil against Me. 16 They turn, but not upward, They are like a deceitful bow; Their princes will fall by the sword Because of the insolence of their tongue. This will be their derision in the land of Egypt.”

            The highlighted portion of verse sixteen in our last simile which concludes the second main point in Dr. Wiersbe’s outline, so with this last simile we better understand the condition that Israel was in during the time Hosea wrote his prophecies in his book.

            God could not depend on Israel to be faith to him as seen in this last simile and we can also see this image in Psalm 78:57 “But turned back and acted treacherously like their fathers; They turned aside like a treacherous bow.  God was the One who called Israel and He also trained them so that they would be able to hit the target with their bows, but not that the bow is not straight they will not hit what they are aiming at.  Israel had strayed away from the Lord as we have mentioned in some of our previous Spiritual Diaries, and they did this by getting to close to the nations around them, and thus began to worship idols like the nations around them.  This goes all the way back to the last part of the book of Joshua when Israel conquered the land that God had given them, but after they did this the Lord told them to get rid of what was left of the nations they had destroyed, but Israel became content and lazy and did not remove them and so those nations began to effect Israel whereas Israel was suppose to effect them for the Lord.

            Dr. Wiersbe reviews these similes as he writes “As we review these images, we might take inventory of our own devotion to the Lord.  How lasting is it?  How deep is it? How strong is it?  How serious is it?  How dependable is it?”  With those questions we conclude this section and also conclude the 7^th chapter of Hosea.

6/24/2015 11:10 PM

Antichrist's Acclaim (Rev. 13:3)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/24/2015 8:38 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Antichrist’s Acclaim

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Rev. 13:3

            Message of the verse:  “3 I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast;”

            Now as I looked at this verse there was only one person that I have ever though that this verse is about and that person is the Antichrist.  We will come back to that in a moment as this SD will not be a very long one.

            In reading the commentary that John MacArthur has on this verse I learned some things that others thought about what it meant, things that I have never heard before.  I will briefly share some of these views that others though that this verse means.  There are actually some commentators that believe that what John is writing here is the revival of the Roman Empire, but there are many problems with that view.  For one thing John is speaking of a person and not an empire for the passage says “I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain.”  (Italics added).  Let’s look at Revelation 5:6 a verse that speaks of the Lord Jesus “And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.”  Notice the portion that I have highlighted. 

            Some commentators have said that it is a person, and that that person is Judas Iscariot.  Now they do have reasons for this so let’s look at the Scriptures that they use “"While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled (John 17:12).”  Now we will look at 2 Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition (AV).”    

            Now some other commentators have stated that they believe that this is a person and that he is Nero.  Nero committed suicide in 68 AD and there was some that believed that he would be resurrected from the dead.  There is a problem when we look at Revelation 13:14 “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.”  We see that this verse is talking of the Antichrist and that he had been wounded by a sword, while Nero had committed suicide.

            There is only one person who John is writing about and that person is the future Antichrist.  Now the next problem we will address is whether or not he really died or did he fake his death.  Let’s look at Revelation 13:14, and then 2 Thess. 2:9 “And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.”  “That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders.”  I suppose the real question is whether or not Satan can raise someone from the dead.  That is a question that we may not know the answer to, but my views that if the Antichrist is actually raised from the dead that even if Satan does this it has to be that God allows it.  Satan tries to imitate God, and it was God who raised up the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and so I believe that this is something that Satan wants the world to believe that he can raise the Antichrist from the dead.  Whether or not this really happens or not, for it could be a fake resurrection, the world will believe that it is real and as we see at the end of this verse “the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can only say this that when the plain sense of Scripture makes sense seek no other sense.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to live in His love doing things that He would do if on the earth.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Macedonians, Achaians (1 Thessalonians 1:7).

Today’s Bible question:  “What song did the angels sing at the birth of Christ?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/24/2015 9:24 AM

 

 

The Nation's True Condition PT-4 (Hosea 7:11-12)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR6/23/2015 10:55 PM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  The Nation’s True Condition PT-4

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Hosea 7:11-12

            Message of the verses:  “11 Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding.12 My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them; For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, And they have played the harlot, departing from their God.”

            We are in the midst of looking at different simile’s that began in chapter six and verse four of Hosea.  We will be looking at the fifth simile in this SD entitled “In their policies, the Israelites were like a silly dove.” 

            God had sent many prophets to the children of Israel and if they would have listened to them they would not be in the fix that they find themselves in at the time Hosea was writing these words.  Israel was trusting in different nations like Egypt and Assyria for help, but the prophets had clearly told them that it would be Assyria who would conquer them. Hosea 10:5-6 states “5 The inhabitants of Samaria will fear For the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn for it, And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it, Over its glory, since it has departed from it. 6 The thing itself will be carried to Assyria As tribute to King Jareb; Ephraim will be seized with shame And Israel will be ashamed of its own counsel.  Isaiah 7:18-8:10 is another portion of Scripture that tells us the same thing:  “18 In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. 19 They will all come and settle on the steep ravines, on the ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes and on all the watering places. 20 In that day the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard. 21 Now in that day a man may keep alive a heifer and a pair of sheep; 22 and because of the abundance of the milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left within the land will eat curds and honey. 23 And it will come about in that day, that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns. 24 People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. 25 As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample.

    “1 Then the LORD said to me, "Take for yourself a large tablet and write on it in ordinary letters: Swift is the booty, speedy is the prey. 2 “And I will take to Myself faithful witnesses for testimony, Uriah the priest and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah." 3 So I approached the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry out ’My father’ or ’My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria." 5 Again the LORD spoke to me further, saying, 6 “Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; 7 “Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates, Even the king of Assyria and all his glory; And it will rise up over all its channels and go over all its banks. 8 “Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through, It will reach even to the neck; And the spread of its wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.  9 "Be broken, O peoples, and be shattered; And give ear, all remote places of the earth. Gird yourselves, yet be shattered; Gird yourselves, yet be shattered. 10 “Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us."”

            The warnings that God gave to Israel through the prophets have come to fruition and the Assyrian’s would not come to capture them because they worshiped idols and because they did not keep their covenant with the Lord. 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “According to the covenant God had with His people, the Jews could trade with other nations, but they were not to enter into political alliances that would compromise their obedience to the Lord.  ‘I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations’ (Num. 23:9, NIV).   ‘You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own (Lev. 20:26, NIV).’  Solomon used many wives to form alliances with other nations, and this was the beginning of the nations downfall (1 Kings 11:1ff).”

 6/23/2015 11:17 PM