Bible Study Seattle

“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
Where your fathers tried Me by testing Me,
And saw My works for forty years.
“Therefore I was angry with this generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they did not know My ways’;
As I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’” Hebrews 3:7-11

This is referring to the faithless generation of Israelites of whom God swore would not enter the promised land. Some might see these chapters in Hebrews and conclude that some people won’t be resurrected. They will equate God’s rest with the Sabbath Millennium. But other scriptures make abundantly clear that, “there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” Acts 24:15

So how do we solve this conundrum? With the Jubilee. God structured the Jubilee to partly overlap the Sabbath. The Jubilee starts on the day of Atonement, the tenth day of the seventh month, slightly past half way through the Sabbath year. Everyone will be resurrected in the ‘evening’ of the Sabbath Millennium. But there will be a rebellion such that God will have to supernaturally intervene. This is the battle of Armegeddon and the deaths may run into the billions. So much blood will be spilled that, “They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.” Revelation 14:20

This will be second death for many of those, and they will truly not enter into God’s rest in the later part of the Sabbath and first part of the Jubilee. Some of the dead may be their first death, in which case they will be resurrected in the Jubilee. They still may be snared by the trouble at the end of the Sabbath when Satan is loosed for a little while. (This part I’m not sure about).

Some Christians are under the thinking that Christ has washed away their sins and therefore judgment has passed.  Not so:

“But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  For it is written:

So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.  Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.”  Romans 14:10-12

Paul is saying this to Christians!  Paul himself knew that he himself would be subject to judgment.  But this is not some kind of Mafia-finger-breaking condemnation in a dark room.  That is Satan’s version of judgment.  Rather God’s judgment is like this:

““Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”  Isaiah 42:1-4

The Lord Gives Dominion to the King.

A Psalm of David.

“The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Your youth are to You as the dew.
The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
He will judge among the nations,
He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
He will drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will lift up His head.”  Psalm 110

How can the Lord say to my Lord?  Are there two Lords?  Yes.  Father and Son.  Jesus is at the Father’s right hand.

“and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Acts 7:56

His enemies will become His footstool:

“In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.”. Zechariah 14:4

“In holy array, from the womb of the dawn.”  Psalm 110:3

Isn’t that an interesting expression?  This is a hint that the battle will be with resurrected ones (womb) at the dawning of the new Day (half way through the thousand year Sabbath).  The last part of this Psalm tells of the mighty destruction Jesus will bring:

“Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.”  And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.  And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.  And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”  Revelation 19:17-21

“The sons of Jeconiah, the prisoner, were Shealtiel his son, and Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah.  The sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel…”   1 Chronicles 3:17-19

“Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel…”  Ezra 3:2

Which was it?  Pedaiah or Shealtiel?

“Now these are the priests and the Levites who came up with Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel,”. Nehemiah 12:1

“Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak,”. Haggai 1:12

“After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.”. Matthew 1:12

Most scriptures have Shealtiel as Zerubbabel’s father, but this shows that the scriptures are not 100% accurate.  However, they are accurate enough that we can have confidence.  The fact that we can check scripture against scripture increases our confidence.

“As I live,” declares the Lord, “even though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off; and I will give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans.”  Jeremiah 22:24-25

“Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.’”  Jeremiah 22:30

Jehoiachin (or Coniah) was taken captive to Babylon.  He also shows up in Matthew:

“After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.  Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob.  Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.”  Matthew 1:12-16

This is one reason the Jews reject Jesus as Messiah.  Any descendant of Jehoiachin could not rule on David’s throne.  There’s a couple problems with this.  First, Jesus was not the son of Joseph (and Jehoiachin) because of his virgin birth.  Second, Jehoiachin did have a grandson who prospered almost on David’s throne: Zerubbabel.  Of his it was prophecied:

“Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep.  He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?”  So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”  Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.  ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”  Zechariah 4:1-7

Wow!  This shows Zerubbabel’s part in the second coming.  Whereas Jehoiachin was cursed, his grandson was blessed.

Many people are enamored with signs & wonders.  It’s easy to see the Euphrates river drying up or stars falling from the sky in dramatic fashion and think The End Is Near.  But signs are a confirming indicator and we need more scriptural proof to confirm.  Think of the Magi.  If they only saw His star in the East and made the trek to Jerusalem, they could have easily been wrong.  Instead, they had the prophecy of Daniel, which said that 483 years from the decree to rebuild the temple would Messiah come.  Then they had to know when he would begin to rule.  They correctly surmised thirty years old.  The bible is clear that only on the testimony of two or three witnesses can a matter be settled.

The Magi still were not 100%.  So they asked Herod where the Messiah was to be born.  The scribes knew that it was Bethlehem.  Furthermore, Mary and Joseph had both been told by angels that their son would be the Messiah.  There were so many confirming indicators that the Magi knew they were correct.  Then to top it all off, they were warned by angels to depart by a different way to foil Herod.

So where are we today.  We see that Daniel’s prophecy of increased travel and knowledge has come true over the last 200 years.  But that is not specific enough.  We see the Euphrates drying.  But what if the Euphrates regains water?  We need more.  When people say the end is soon, what are they basing it on?  Did the Jews think the end was near in 1944 Germany?  Just because the world may plunge into depression, does that mean the end is near?  This author thinks the End is not near, but that Armegeddon is about 370+ years away.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’   But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,  that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.   For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?   And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?   Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  Matthew 5:43-48

Why pray for enemies?  Most Christians gloss over this.  Sure it has to do with not letting evil get the better of us.  It’s hard to nurse grudges when praying for someone’s wellbeing.  But it’s more than that.  We will face them in the future!  And God wants everyone to come to a knowledge of the truth.  He wants everyone to be saved.  That doesn’t mean they will, but God wants the best for everyone.

We are to motivate everyone to repentance and good works.  We have to model that.  But it doesn’t mean we act stupid.  Common sense isn’t out the window just because we’re praying for everyone.  That’s why Jesus said wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

“…in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:  eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For there is no partiality with God.”  Romans 2:5-11

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”  Romans 3:28

Which is it: faith or works?  The answer is… both.  The reason for the confusion is the assumption by most Christians that salvation is based on the first life alone.  They forget about heaven, the second life, as if it’s only the state of perfection.  Thus they are trapped in an all or nothing proposition – heaven or hell.  They ignore second death by spiritualizing it as they do God’s warning: in the day you eat of it, you will surely die.  But such spiritualizing falls apart on closer inspection.  There can be no spiritual death without physical death. Take away the spirit, and all you have is a corpse.  God emphasized this by saying that in the day they eat of it, they will return to the dust of the earth – physical death.

The solution is the day.  In the bible, not all days are 24 hours.  Some are 1,000 years or even 7,000.  Moses understood this.  (Psalm 90).  Salvation is by faith alone, but we are judged by works.  The truth is salvation isn’t entirely the same as resurrection.  First comes resurrection.  This is God’s work alone.  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:8

Both the just and the unjust are resurrected.  Acts 24:15  But not all enter into eternal, age lasting life.  This is the second death.  “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift [resurrection], and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come [the millennium], if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”  Hebrews 6:4-6

The final battle is with Satan.  “And when the thousand years may be finished, the Adversary shall be loosed out of his prison,and he shall go forth to lead the nations astray, that are in the four corners of the earth — Gog and Magog — to gather them together to war, of whom the number [is] as the sand of the sea; and they did go up over the breadth of the land, and did surround the camp of the saints, and the beloved city, and there came down fire from God out of the heaven, and devoured them; and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night — to the ages of the ages.”  Revelation 20:7-10  The word translated tormented is open to question, but that is another post.

“Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words.”  Genesis 11:1

“From these the coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language.”  Genesis 10:5

“These are the sons of Ham, according to their families, according to their languages,”  Genesis 10:20

“These are the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages,”  Genesis 10:31

It may appear that chapter eleven’s unity of language is contradicted by chapter ten, but these two accounts are not necessarily sequential.  It’s likely that the first part of chapter eleven should fit sequentially in the middle of the description of Ham, Japheth, and Shem’s descendants.  In fact there is a strong hint when the Tower of Babel incident took place:

“Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided;”. Genesis 10:25

If the Earth was divided (by language and geography) in Peleg’s day, that was from 101 to 340 years after the flood.  Interestingly, this was not long before the Great Pyramid of Egypt was built.

According to some Jewish sources, Jews do not believe we are born in sin.  They say that it is unscriptural for someone to die because of the sin of another (Adam).  They also state that death is completely natural; this is why God had to supply the tree of life for Adam & Eve.

“The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity;”. Ezekiel 18:20

True enough, Life (the potentially eternal kind) is won individually.  However, death was brought to all by Adam.  How can we be born pure when David says:

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
And in sin my mother conceived me.”  Psalm 51:5

Sounds like David knew he was born sinful, not that Bathsheba was his first sin.  Also, this author does not buy the argument that death is natural.  Death can be no more natural than life.  To believe so is to believe life can arise without God!  No!  Life is not natural, and neither is death.  God sustains or ends all life.  “For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”  Acts 17:28