Bible Study Seattle

2012 has seen major elections in the U.S., Russia, France, Mexico, South Korea, Iceland, Slovenia, Turkey, Taiwan, Finland, and several others.  What many Christians fail to consider is that they are also running in an election.

But not an election of majority, an election by one vote.  God’s.

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters,  make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble.”  1 Peter 2:10

“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.”  1 Thessalonians 1:3-4

“What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election [elect] hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.”  Romans 11:7

The ultimate Christian election is to that of Jesus’ bride.  The penultimate is Jesus’ maids or servants in heaven.  Some Christians are in the habit of asking if a person knows for sure if they’re going to heaven.  But God has the only say.  Let us not get too cocky and remain humble, for many Christians will be found to be lacking and will find themselves back on earth.

Isaiah 19 deals with Egypt.  Apparently in the future.

“Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. “So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, City against city and kingdom against kingdom. “Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; And I will confound their strategy, So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead and to mediums and spiritists. “Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master, And a mighty king will rule over them,” declares the Lord God of hosts.

In that day the Egyptians will become like women, and they will tremble and be in dread because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which He is going to wave over them.The land of Judah will become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom it is mentioned will be in dread of it, because of the purpose of the Lord of hosts which He is purposing against them.

In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will be speaking the language of Canaan and swearing allegiance to the Lord of hosts; one will be called the City of Destruction.

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord near its border. It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior and a Champion, and He will deliver them.Thus the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the Lord and perform it. The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and will heal them.”  Isaiah 19

This sounds bad.  Apparently Egypt will descend into anarchy followed by a cruel dictator.  But the Lord will be there savior.  They will be brought to utter ruin to show them how superior the Lord is.  Then they will worship him.

Did Jesus memorize the Bible?  There’s this scene when he was young:

“And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.  And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it.  But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.  And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.  And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.  And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.”  Luke 2:42-47

Later, he said about this incident that he must be about his Father’s business.  He may have thought that his public ministry would start at his Bar Mitzvah.  But he must have studied the scriptures and understood them thoroughly to impress the doctors of the law.  Perhaps these passages describe his attitude:

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”  Psalm 119:11

“Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.”  Psalm 119:148

Suppose George makes a $100 loan to Mary and she agrees to pay him back $105 one year later.  Is that usury?

Look up the definition, and you usually find something about ‘excessive’ interest.  What is excessive interest?  5%?  15%?  70%?

Let’s ask a different question.  How much drinking makes you an alcoholic?  One beer a day?  Five beers per day?  Fifteen beers per day?

Wrong question.  Why the emphasis on excessive interest?  Somehow 15% is evil, but 5% is not??  This makes no sense, and gets us focused on the wrong thing.  Could it be that certain people want it this way?  To confuse us?

Even in the bible, the word usury is often translated excessive interest.  But there is nothing wrong with a voluntary agreement to pay someone $105 one year later on a $100 loan.

We get a hint, in that the bible condemns unjust gain.  The word unjust is key.  The New International Version does not have the word Usury in it; the King James Version has it 17 times!  Why?

Why would anyone ever take a loan?  Either they are desperate, in which case earning a profit on their plight is wrong, or they are greedy, in which case they take their chances.

Usury includes interest, but interest isn’t always usury.  Confused?  Suppose there is a goldsmith that has a vault.  He gives people receipts for gold storage.  After a while people trade gold receipts and never check on their gold.  It dawns on the goldsmith that he can now loan out the gold with the owners none the wiser.  As long as no one asks for their gold back, he can make profits on the same gold twice.  It’s called fraud!  Or lying.  Or stealing.  This is unjust gain.  It’s the origin of our modern leveraged banking system.  Leverage is a fancy word for multiple claims on single assets, whether they be gold, treasury bills, collateralized debt obligations, or whatever.  When there are runs on banks, governments usually bail out the banks so the fraud can continue.

Usury is merely financial theft!  It is the same as printing money.  If you or I print money, it’s called counterfeiting, and we go to jail.  If the Federal Reserve prints money, it’s called Quantitative Easing, and politicians and media cheer.  Think of the power of printing money.

Would you print yourself one dollar or a trillion?  Buy a few politicians?  Companies?  Whole countries?  Take the presidential race.  Each candidate will spend maybe $100 million+.  Could you print some money to favor a particular candidate?  Have the media slant their coverage?

Or take Amazon.com.  Could banks create a few $billion to float along a new company until it reaches size to challenge Walmart?  Since all transactions on Amazon are with credit cards, they create monitorable buying profiles of each customer.  Could some power mad people desire this?

Ultimately, usury will combine and coalesce into a world cashless banking monster, described in Revelation as 666.  This will be used by Satan to bring war on Israel, but the Lord will rise up to save his people.  About 666:

https://biblestudyseattle.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/666-11/

The bible speaks in many places about one who is fiercely opposed to God.  He makes his first appearance in Genesis:

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.”  Genesis 3:1

No doubt Satan used the serpent to influence Adam & Eve.  About Satan:

“You were the seal of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
¹³ You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
topaz, onyx and jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mountings were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.
¹⁴ You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
¹⁵ You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
¹⁶ Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
¹⁷ Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.
¹⁸ By your many sins and dishonest trade
you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
¹⁹ All the nations who knew you
are appalled at you;
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more.’”  Ezekiel 28:12-19

Evidently fire will come out of Satan, and consume himself!

“How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!  You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”  But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

Today, I had the fortune of attending a memorial service.  It’s always interesting to see what people say about someone.  Sometimes people are overflowing with gratitude, other times it’s hard to find much positive to say.  But what a testimony to people’s lives.  Often, even in a church service little is said about faith.  But God will be the judge.  And we have to remember that death is only ‘sleep’, for everyone gets a second chance by Jesus’ sacrifice.  Attending a memorial service helps to remind us what’s really important.

What is the narrow way?

“Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”  Matthew 7:13-14

“Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.  Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’  But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’”  Luke 13:22-25

Many read these passages and assume that only a few saints will be saved, and the rest burn in hell.  That is not what Jesus means.  The Narrow Way here referred too is the high calling.

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”  Philemon 3:14

“Wherefore, brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus.”  Hebrews 3:1

The Narrow Way will be found by relatively few who God finds worthy to marry his Son.  The rest will be sorry when they realize they did not ‘win the prize’ – they were too consumed with worldly matters.  Interestingly, both Solomon and Ezekiel’s temples have many narrow features:

“He made narrow windows high up in the temple walls.”  1 Kings 6:4  Solomon’s Temple.

“The alcoves and the projecting walls inside the gateway were surmounted by narrow parapet openings all around, as was the portico;”  Ezekiel 40:16

“The gateway and its portico had narrow openings all around, like the openings of the others.”  Ezekiel 40:25

“as well as the thresholds and the narrow windows and galleries around the three of them;”  Ezekiel 41:16

“On the sidewalls of the portico were narrow windows with palm trees carved on each side.”  Ezekiel 41:26

“Now the upper rooms were narrower, for the galleries took more space from them than from the rooms on the lower and middle floors of the building.”  Ezekiel 42:5

Perhaps these are illustrating how certain ways into the Millennial Temple are narrow?  Even in our day, the road to the truth is often narrow.  Think of the internet.  The truth is there, but there’s also a lot of junk, probably more junk than truth.  But if someone persists, and crosschecks and crosschecks, the truth can be found.  Thus it is with the Kingdom.  God’s truth is hidden in the bible, but we must seek and search, search, search.  He didn’t lay it out plain.  He wants to see who’s reeeeeaaaallly interested.

“Keep asking, and it will be given to you.  Keep searching, and you will find.   Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”  Matthew 7:7

Family is very important to God.  Many believe that during the resurrection, family members will come back in close time proximity.  We will come back from the grave looking the same as when we went in.  The story of Lazarus illustrates this:

“Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”  Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day [thousand year day].””  John 11:23-24

“Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb.  It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance.  “Take away the stone,” he said.  “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”  Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”  So they took away the stone.  Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”  When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”  The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.  Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”  John 11:38-44

Families will have resurrection parties in place of funeral services.  As time progresses, wounds will need to be healed.  Forgiveness and repentance will be the order of the day.  And many family mysteries will be solved.  People will see how the sins of one affected the kids or even grandkids.  It will be as if sins are not only individually dealt with, but also the healing will take place simultaneously among the entire human family.  This intergenerational restoration is hinted at in a few scriptures:

“And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.  Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”  Exodus 34:6-7

Isaiah 11 is absolutely spectacular.

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,     the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.  He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.  He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

In that day [thousand year day] the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. In that day the Lord will reach out his hand a second time to reclaim the surviving remnant of his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from Elam, from Babylonia,from Hamath and from the islands of the Mediterranean.  He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; he will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four quarters of the earth.  Ephraim’s jealousy will vanish, and Judah’s enemies will be destroyed; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, nor Judah hostile toward Ephraim.  They will swoop down on the slopes of Philistia to the west; together they will plunder the people to the east. They will subdue Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them.  The Lord will dry up the gulf of the Egyptian sea; with a scorching wind he will sweep his hand over the Euphrates River. He will break it up into seven streams so that anyone can cross over in sandals.  There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.”  Isaiah 11

Wow.  Very little of this was fulfilled at the first coming.  Certainly, the Euphrates hasn’t yet broken up into seven smaller streams and the gulf of the Egyptian sea is not yet dried up.  There are some geologic changes in store!  The remnant has not yet returned (from the grave).  And the earth is not yet filled with the knowledge of the Lord. This righteous Branch is from the seed of Jesse, of which both David and Jesus count.  When this is fulfilled, people will be amazed!