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Introduction

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Our world is in turmoil, our country divided by race and politics, and we are more and more burdened by depression and despair. Although Jesus prioritizes our oneness (John 17), many Christians seem more concerned about politics than the unity of the church. The way out of division is to look to Christ and seek him over all other allegiances. After all, we are aliens here, not citizens. The church cannot lead the way when we are embroiled in conflict over what is fading away instead of loving what is forever. To do that we seek God’s worldview.

It’s as if we are living in the Old Testament world. Despite the fact that the Jews of that era had the Scriptures and the temple, etc., their faith was superficial. In their hearts and lives they actually served idols, not God, and put their faith for peace in alliances with ungodly nations instead of trusting the Almighty.

But our great and gracious God is always reaching out to his people, even the disobedient and rebellious. In that day he sent prophets to warn them to return to him and live out their faith by loving others. The prophets speak for God about what doing right looks like.

When we try to understand and apply prophetic messages written to another group of people in a very different culture and time, we must jump into their world. I’ve provided background as we go through the study, but feel free to use commentaries and the notes in your Bible to help you understand what is happening and why. Remember that although God’s Word was not written directly to our generation, God’s character is eternal and what he values is transcultural. I hope that these messages will speak to your heart about our world today, shift our focus to God, and prioritize the unity we have in him over anything that divides us.

Keep in mind that the promises and warnings are specifically written to the Jewish people. But also remember that they are God’s people just as we in the church are. As God’s people, we are judged for our corporate sin although he forgives us as individuals. God doesn’t change. The things that he hates about sin and unfaithfulness to him remain the same. The ultimate promises of a time of complete restoration and peace will include all of God’s people. (There is more explanation in the Appendix section “Understanding the Prophets.”)

If you want to avoid misinterpretation, keep verses in the context of the original audience. Focus on what you learn about God’s character and what it means to image him to the world.

Kay Daigle

September 2018

1. Jonah: God’s Mercy to the Nations

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Words to Anchor your Soul

You are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment.

Jonah, speaking of God in Jonah 4:2b (NET)

How familiar are you with anchors? I grew up near the Texas Gulf coast and spent many hours there with my friends riding the waves in inner tubes or on floats. We generally paddled out past the breakers and floated back until we got caught in them; then, we pushed back out and started over. Eventually we found ourselves far from “home,” the area of beach where we began and where all our stuff was. I remember one scary day when a strong storm blew in, pushing us far out and way down the beach very quickly and violently.

The only way to prevent items from floating away with the current is to be attached to the ocean floor by an anchor.

Picture your soul anchored well so that you don’t drift away from God—either slowly by simply letting culture carry you away or quickly because of a brewing storm. Although God’s prophets wrote their messages thousands of years ago, they still speak to us today, warning us when we have drifted from God and calling us back home. Often we are unaware of how far from home we’ve gone.

I’ve personally floated away from God by drifting slowly as well as quickly in a violent personal storm. If God had not hung onto me by his Spirit and the truth of his Word, I would still be adrift today. Even now danger looms if I let go of the anchor and listen to other voices.

As you study the Old Testament, keep in mind that God is the same God he has always been. Although the original audience had a different culture, we can apply the message to today.

Part One Study: Background and Context

To understand the Bible, context is crucial. This section provides background to help you understand what you’ll be reading and journaling about. (If you aren’t familiar with journaling or if that sounds hard, read “Journaling 101” in the Appendix.)

ONE STORY

Let’s start by putting the prophetic books into the context of the entire Bible.

The Bible is one big story that connects many shorter stories and other writings. (If you have never studied God’s big story, you may want to download our journaling study The ONE Story at https://beyondordinarywomen.org/the-one-story/ which puts the whole Bible in context—a must to understand it.)

I grew up in a Christian home and a Bible-teaching church. I knew all the major Bible stories and understood that Jesus died for me and loves me. But somehow I never grasped the ONE story behind them that brings all the stories together. So to help those of you who have never really studied the big picture of the Bible, here is a quick summary of the parts of the One Story.

Before people rebelled against the God who made and loved them, creation was perfect. It was a time we call Paradise. The first people lived in harmony and unity without sin, disease, or death in perfect relationships with God and one another. But Paradise didn’t last because they rebelled against the God who made and loved them, marring all their descendants and even all creation. Ruin ensued and is characterized by the hatred, disease, and broken relationships we all experience because we align ourselves with other “gods” instead of the Creator, just as our ancestors did. Although creation has been marred, glimpses of what used to be remains because we are all still made in God’s image although it is now distorted.

Since the Ruin, God has been at work to heal broken lives and relationships by realigning people with himself and his great purposes. Although he constantly seeks the best for people, we go our own way instead of loving God—the core issue in the dysfunction of sin.

The meta-narrative (big story) of the Bible tells us that some time after the Ruin occurred, God reached out to Abraham and his descendants, known as the children of Israel and later called Jews. He designated them as his representatives to the world and the people through whom he would send his ultimate agent of restoration. God blessed the Jews with special revelation so that they could know and worship him and experience right relationships with one another. Despite this honor, God’s chosen people rebelled against him over and over, unwilling to worship him alone. But God’s love is persistent, and he continued reaching out to them through the Old Testament prophets. These people who spoke for God provided encouragement to persevere, warning of God’s judgment, and promises of the future King or Messiah.

Eventually the Promised One came to earth as the man Jesus, one with God the Father and the Spirit, and brought Reconciliation between God and mankind by his own death and resurrection. He heals those who follow him from their brokenness with God and gives them power to restore their relationships with one another. His death made the way for all people who align their lives with him to be restored to God’s original purpose. When Jesus left earth and returned to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to empower and lead the church, which is comprised of all who believe.

Although Reconciliation between humans and God has been made possible, the effects of the Ruin linger. Those who believe in who Jesus is and what he has done for us are now to exhibit a taste of what his kingdom is like to the world around us. This period of time is often called the Already but Not Yet because we enjoy many of the blessings of God’s kingdom, but not its fulness. His kingdom is our real home, and we are aliens in this world. Our loyalty to God alone brings unity among his people.

Thankfully, the story gets even better. Someday Jesus will return and institute a new and perfect world according to all the promises the prophets have spoken. God will fix all that is ruined by sin and recreate paradise. We call this Restoration.

The Minor Prophets

This study’s focus is the books called the Minor Prophets.1 They record the messages of people who spoke for God, known as prophets, as they preached to a world in Ruin in the centuries before Jesus came. Their writing brought God’s people hope of Messiah and a coming Restoration.

All of these prophets lived in the centuries after the Jewish nation was divided into two parts and before Jesus’s birth: Israel in the north (ten tribes) and Judah in the south (two tribes).

Although their messages were initially for a particular people at a specific time long ago, the underlying principles apply to the present time between Reconciliation and the final Restoration, the time of the Already but Not Yet.

We will move somewhat chronologically through the Minor Prophets. The dating comes from clues within the books or educated guesses by scholars. (See the chart “History of Old Testament Israel” in the Appendix section “Understanding the Prophets.”) After studying Jonah, we will work our way through three periods of prophetic messages: the time preceding the Assyrian Exile of the ten tribes called Israel, the period of Babylonian power and exile of the southern two tribes, and the era after the Jews returned from their Babylonian captivity.

With each book of prophecy, I’ve added an icon/image representing its message.

The Story of Jonah

Although its date isn’t precise. Jonah’s book is likely the earliest of those that we’ll study. He prophesied in the 8th Century B.C. during the reign of King Jeroboam II, who ruled from 793-753 B.C.2 Jonah is very different from the other Minor Prophets. Instead of recording Jonah’s message, it provides a biographical story of the prophet himself. It won’t take you long to figure out why I’ve chosen an image of a backpack for Jonah.

There has been much controversy about the book’s historicity. Many scholars insist that these events are impossible and interpret it as a parable or allegory. Others insist upon a literal meaning, partly in response to those who criticize it on the basis of human reason. Jonah’s literature is similar to the narratives about Elijah and Elisha in 1 Kings which are called “prophetic narrative.”

Dr. Robert B. Chisholm, Jr. of Dallas Seminary comments:

Unlike the exodus and the resurrection of Jesus, the historicity of the Book of Jonah is not foundational to redemptive history and the biblical faith. Unfortunately, the debate over the book’s historicity has often distracted interpreters from focusing on its theological message, which is not affected by how one understands the book’s literary genre. Whether the book is labeled historical narrative, legend, parable, or something akin to a historical novella, its themes seem apparent.3

In other words, don’t let your perspective of its historicity prevent you from believing its message. Jesus used stories to teach, and perhaps that is what Jonah did, but God is perfectly capable of bringing these events to pass literally.

Read more background in the Appendix section “Understanding the Prophets”.

*** Search in your Bible for introductory material to the prophets, or use commentaries or resources to discover more about the prophetic books or Jonah specifically.

Journal about this section’s reading, recording your questions or thoughts.

Part Two Study

Now that we have a sense of the historical context for the Minor Prophets and Jonah in particular, let’s dive in. Because it’s Jonah’s story rather than a message from God, it’s a lot easier to understand, and yet, it contains deep truths and timeless principles.

One more background detail that may help you with the story: Nineveh was the capital of Assyria, the nation that would eventually conquer Israel, the northern kingdom. At this time the Assyrians were still gaining power and were not yet a direct threat to God’s people.

Read Jonah 1-2, or since it’s a short story, you may want to read it all at once.

*** Read Hebrews 12:5-13 and journal about its relationship to Jonah’s story.

Journal your responses to these questions:

  • In what way do you identify with Jonah’s response to God’s instructing him to go to Nineveh?
  • How do you see God’s sovereignty (his rule) over all things in Jonah’s story so far?
  • What do you learn about God’s worldview that Jonah didn’t embrace?
  • What is God saying to you from this story?

Part Three Study

Begin by asking God to speak. Then review what you’ve already read of Jonah’s story.

Read Jonah 3-4.

*** Tim Keller says that Jonah’s story parallels that of the Prodigal Son in that Jonah is the prodigal in chapters 1 and 2 and the elder brother in 3 and 4.4 Journal your insights.

Journal your thoughts on these topics:

  • The Ninevites’ response to Jonah’s message.
  • Compare Jonah’s sources of anger and happiness in Chapter 4 and what they reveal about you.
  • Ask God to reveal if you have hardened your heart against showing mercy in any way—personally, nationally, or judicially to any people groups. (A few ideas: wealthy, poor, immigrant, uneducated, highly educated, intelligent, unintelligent, Democrat, Republican, Black, White, Asian, etc.) Confess that sin before God and your group.

Jan’s Story

Years ago while I was living in New York, my pastor called me into his office, along with his assistant pastor. He said that the Bible teacher at the Presbyterian Old People’s Home on Long Island was moving away and they needed someone to take her place. Both of them had prayed and God told them I was to be the new teacher. I said that was impossible because I was just learning the Bible, I didn’t have the gift of teaching, and I’d never been around old people as all of my grandparents had died while I was a baby. They told me to go home and pray about it for a week before giving them my answer. I went home and once again fell to my knees sobbing to God about this impossible situation and as I was praying, God changed my heart and gave me a desire to teach this class.

Our four children were all in grammar school, so I drove out there for my first class and told them that I felt like Moses when God told him to lead His people out of Egypt. I told them that I was just learning myself and would have to use the Living Bible. One of the women raised her hand and said that was fine with them. She said that I had a loud, clear voice and that’s what was most important to them. Every Friday, God kept my children healthy for the next three years while I taught. Then my husband was transferred to Houston and on my final day, they gave me a farewell party. Once again I cried all the way home because I would miss all of these grandparents whom God had given to me.


1 The prophets from Hosea through Malachi are called Minor Prophets, not because their messages were minor but because their books are shorter than those of the Major Prophets.

2 Robert B. Chisholm, Jr., Handbook on the Prophets (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 406.

3 Chisholm, 408.

4 Timothy Keller, The Prodigal Prophet: Jonah and the Mystery of God’s Mercy (New York: Viking, 2018), 18-21.

Related Topics: Prophets, Women's Articles

3. Hosea: The God of Unconditional Love

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Words to Anchor your Soul

I will commit myself to you forever; I will commit myself to you in righteousness and justice, in steadfast love and tender compassion. I will commit myself to you in faithfulness.

God to Israel in Hosea 2:19-20a (NET)

We all know couples whose marriages and sometimes even their very lives have been destroyed by adultery. Some of you are victims of your spouse’s infidelity, and others of you are guilty yourselves. From experience and/or observation we all know how damaging infidelity is to a relationship.

The Bible often uses the picture of marriage for the relationship between God and his people, and he does so in Hosea; thus, our image for the book is wedding rings. As an extension of that picture, the Bible often speaks of God’s unfaithful people as his “wife.” The Jews made covenant vows to be exclusively related to him as their God, just as we do in wedding vows, but they turned away and worshipped other gods, creating a gulf between themselves and the God who created and loved them. They failed to trust God and instead turned to idols to provide fertility for them and the land. They also trusted other countries to give them protection and peace rather than putting their faith in God to take care of them.

Sadly, we cannot study the entire book of Hosea because of its length, so we will focus on various sections each day.

Often, all we notice in the prophets is God’s judgment, but there is more there if we study carefully. As we saw in our first lesson, our relationships with God are broken, and he is broken-hearted about it. In Jonah’s story we saw God reaching out to a pagan nation. The story of the Bible tells us that God’s heart is to restore our relationship with him. His intention is that restoration spreads out to our relationships with others.

James Montgomery Boice refers to the book of Hosea as the “second greatest story in the Bible” after that of Jesus,1 so look for reasons for his comment as you read.

Part One Study

The prophetic ministry of Hosea is dated from information in the first verse of the book. While the reigns of the listed kings extended from 792 B.C. until 686 B.C., Hosea’s ministry probably began sometime after the first date and ended before the last king died. Hosea, like Amos, prophesied primarily to the kingdom of Israel, which he also calls Ephraim, the name of the largest of its ten northern tribes.2

Hosea has two distinct parts: In the first section “chapters 1 and 3 describe Hosea’s dealings with Gomer which serve as an object lesson of God’s love for Israel (chapter 2).”3 The second section (chapters 4-14) details ways that God’s people have been unfaithful to him.

I used to simply read Hosea and think little of the emotions involved in Hosea and Gomer’s story. As you read, don’t make the same mistake. Although we don’t know how they felt, put yourself in their situation and consider what you may have felt. Empathize with them. They were real people.

Read Hosea 1 in an easy to understand translation.4

Now that you’ve read it, you may be thinking, “What? Did God tell Hosea to marry a prostitute?”

There was purpose in God’s plan. Robert Chisholm points out that “The phrase ‘adulterous wife’ in verse 2, rather than describing Gomer’s status at the time of her marriage to Hosea, more likely anticipates what Gomer will become—an unfaithful wife. The symbolism seems to demand this understanding of the phrase. Gomer’s subsequent unfaithfulness to her husband Hosea became an object lesson of Israel’s lack of commitment to her ‘husband’ the Lord.”5

Various translations use different words for the term describing Gomer in Hosea 1:2: “harlotry” (NASB), “adulterous” (NIV), and “prostitute” (NET).

It’s possible that when Hosea married her, Gomer was either a prostitute in the temple of Baal or a common prostitute. Chisholm says this about the issue: “Gomer’s subsequent unfaithfulness, no matter what her status at the time of the marriage, was enough to satisfy the intended symbolism.”6

Dr. Boice comments on God’s leading Hosea into an adulterous marriage:

God does sometimes lead his children into situations that are parallel if not identical to this. We live in an age where everything good is interpreted in terms of happiness and success. So when we think of spiritual blessing we think of it in these terms. To be led of God and be blessed by God means that we will be ‘happy’ and ‘successful.’ . . . This is shallow thinking and shallow Christianity . . . . God sometimes leads his children to do things that afterward involve them in great distress. But because God does not think as we think or act as we act, it is often in these situations that he accomplishes his greatest victories and brings the greatest blessing to his name.7

The children’s names, of course, are significant as messages of judgment. I found myself reading the names and prophecies several times, and looking up further information.8 Your purpose is simply to grasp God’s main message to Israel, so don’t feel the need to do extra study.

*** Read a commentary or online notes about the children’s names and Gomer’s past.

Journal your responses:

  • Describe your reaction to God leading his prophet to marry a woman who either was or would become a prostitute. How does that align with your previous ideas about God?
  • What do you learn about God from Gomer’s children’s names? (Perhaps all were Hosea’s or only the first was.) And what do you learn about God in the contrasts in God’s messages in 1:6 and 1:7, and then in 1:9 and 1:10-11?
  • How would your attitude or life be changed if you truly believed what Dr. Boice says about the true good life in his quote on the previous page?

Part Two Study

Now we read the rest of the story of Hosea and Gomer. Keep in mind that it serves as a parable for God’s relationship with Israel. As mentioned in Part One, Hosea 1 and 3 tell Hosea and Gomer’s story and picture God’s relationship with Israel as outlined in Chapter 2. If needed, review Hosea 1.

Read Hosea chapters 2 and 3.

Hosea and Gomer have divorced by Chapter 3 because Hosea had to purchase her.9

Journal with these thoughts in mind:

  • In light of the charges God brings against Israel in Hosea 2, how have you and/or the church in general been unfaithful to God? I had a conversation yesterday where a friend described an idol as what we love more than God. But we often dismiss our own idolatry when we use that definition. Keeping the context of Hosea 2 in mind, ask God to show you where you really put your trust (who or what you depend on) for provision and protection (people, love, institutions, jobs, etc.). Since not all idolatry is based on love, to uncover it in my own heart, I ask myself, “What am I fearful of losing or unwilling to give up?” How would you answer that question?
  • What do you learn about the unconditional love of God from Chapters 2 and 3?
  • What are your thoughts about your own relationship with God in light of the end of Hosea and Gomer’s story in Chapter 3?

Do you know that God loves you enough to redeem you from the kingdom of darkness and make you his own? When we realize the depth of our sin, it can be difficult to believe that God can love us. The picture of Gomer ending up on the slave block because of her adultery is a picture of us in our natural state—helpless, guilty of rebelling against God by going our own way, and left in the filth of our dysfunction and the consequences of our sins. And yet God himself came to rescue us by becoming a man named Jesus who willingly allowed people to kill him in a horrible death on the cross, rectifying all we had done wrong and bringing us to himself in Reconciliation. On the third day he rose from the dead and lives now in heaven. Someday he will return and bring the time of Restoration to all things. (See Week One Study.)

God loves you that much! Turn to Jesus and follow him if you haven’t done so already. Talk to your small group leader or pastor if you need help in processing what faith in Jesus means.

*** Read the story of Jesus and the sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50 and journal your thoughts in light of Hosea’s story.

Part Three Study

Now we’ll read several sections from the rest of Hosea to get a taste of Hosea’s message. As you read, consider how the message applies to today’s church (your church, not just someone else’s church.) God’s indictments of Israel (also called Ephraim and referred to by the name of its capital Samaria in some verses) are not judgment of a pagan nation but of God’s people, which means that its principles apply to us as the New Testament church.

*** Read all of Hosea 4-14 instead of merely the assigned verses, keeping the bulleted questions in mind.

Read Hosea 4:1-6; 5:13-15; 6:1-6; 8:4, 7-10, 14; 10:12-14; 11:8-12:1; 13:4-8; 14:1-9, journaling about your reading as you go through them.

(This looks like a lot but it’s shorter than many chapters.)

  • What do these passages reveal about the heart of God—both what is dear to him and what he hates?
  • God condemns Israel for making alliances with other unbelieving nations, trusting them for protection and peace instead of him. How have you seen the church do that today? How do we do that as individuals?
  • What is God saying to you about your own life attitudes as well as your actions—or lack of them?

Nancy’s Story

The need to be loved has been a central theme in my life. When I went away to college, I began to wonder, “Who will love me here?” My family had loved me when I was with them, but I was in Virginia and they were back in Houston. That first year of college I met some nice girls who had very different standards from the ones my parents had taught me. For the first time, I felt challenged as I considered the choices I would make. I knew what my parents would tell me to do, but that was no longer good enough. I needed to decide for myself. That first year I sampled some of what the world had to offer and I was miserable.

One night while I was home on spring break, my younger sister Anne told me what a difference knowing Jesus Christ had made in her life. The difference was apparent too. She had calm confidence and strength of character that was attractive. Over the summer I read some literature she gave me. As I read, I began to feel that before I could come to God I needed to clean up my life. As I kept reading, I realized that the only way I could be clean enough was to let Him clean me up. I could never do a good enough job on my own. I went back to college the fall of my sophomore year, broke up with my boyfriend, and quit hanging out with those girls. One day I saw a notice on our dorm bulletin board about a weekly Bible study being held on campus. “Anne would go to that,” I thought to myself, feeling close to her, and I decided to go.

There I met Evelyn Saunders, who along with her husband had been a missionary in India for many years. The pages of her Bible were worn and the margins were full of her hand-written notes. That particular night we read from Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus said “Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden.” How that verse described me! I was worn out from searching for love and not finding it. He went on to say, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” That night I said “Yes” to Jesus’ invitation to come to Him.

That was many years ago, but this verse has become a picture of my life. Being yoked with Jesus. Walking with Him. He satisfied my search for love by giving me His unfailing love. He satisfied my need for guidance in life by giving me a manual, His word, so I would know how to make choices in life. When I try to take the leadership away from Him, as I often do, He reminds me that He knows the way and wants to lead me in it.


1 Boice, 13.

2 Chisholm, 336.

3 Chisholm, 336.

4 For example the NET Bible at lumina.bible.org

5 Chisholm, 337.

6 Chisholm, 337.

7 Boice, 16.

8 Dr. Tom Constable explains the history behind the first-born son’s name Jezreel (http://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/hosea/hosea.htm):

It was at Jezreel that King Jehu of Israel (841-814 B.C.) had massacred many enemies of Israel, including King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, King Jehoram of Israel, and many prophets of Baal, which was good (cf. 2 Kings 9:6-10, 24; 10:18-28, 30). But he also killed King Ahaziah of Judah and 42 of his relatives, which was bad (2 Kings 9:27-28; 10:12-14). Ahaziah and his relatives did not die in Jezreel, but their deaths were part of Jehu's wholesale slaughter at Jezreel. Jehu went too far and thereby demonstrated disrespect for the Lord's commands (cf. 2 Kings 10:29-31).

Because of Jehu's atrocities that overstepped his authority to judge Israel's enemies, God promised to punish his house (dynasty). The fulfillment came when Shallum assassinated King Zechariah, Jeroboam II's son and the fourth king of Jehu's dynasty, in 753-752 B.C. This death ended Jehu's kingdom (dynasty) forever (2 Kings 15:10).

9 Chisholm, 346.

Related Topics: Prophets, Women's Articles

4. Micah: The God of both Justice and Mercy

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Words to Anchor your Soul

With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:6-8 (NIV)

I love the verses above. When I proudly believe that God is pleased with me because of my giving, sacrifices, ministry, or worship, these verses remind me that my actions toward others show what’s really in my heart. Where is my concern for justice in the land? Where is my compassion that leads to mercy even when people are guilty? And how closely am I really walking with God?

God is just, and he expects us to treat people fairly and promote justice for others, particularly those lacking equal voice or opportunity. But our just God wants us to love mercy too. It seems to me that unless we walk humbly with God, that’s impossible because in our pride we lack compassion and unconditional love.

The Old Testament prophets speak a lot about justice and mercy, not because such qualities provide a relationship with God, but because, first, they show God’s love to others and, second, they indicate what’s truly in our hearts. I hate to confess it, but my prideful belief that people get what they deserve and can succeed if they work hard blinded me to the systemic injustice that prevents their success. Opportunity isn’t equal for all. Although I’m not condemned for my lack of compassion because of Christ, this attitude reveals a disconnect with God’s character. He isn’t pleased with my pride and disregard of others, and yet he continues to show me mercy and patience. As a mom, I understand: I experience the same feelings with my own children.

Sometimes in our haste to declare ourselves forgiven and in Christ (and we are if we believe in Jesus), we ignore his call to love others by the power of his Spirit (1 John 4:7-12). We are to continually confess and repent of our sins (1 John 1:8-10), which requires introspection and acceptance of hard truth. My favorite prayer of confession comes from The Book of Common Prayer: “Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.”1 God pierces my heart every time I say these words.

As we read Micah, let’s keep in mind that God is in the business of changing us; he loves us too much to leave us where we are. Let’s listen to his voice so we can become more and more like Jesus—brimming with justice and loving mercy.

How does God remain both just and merciful? You likely know the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8:1-11). It’s one that every non-Christian knows too. Jesus agreed with her accusers that the penalty under the Old Testament Law was to stone her, but he called on the one without sin to go first. One by one all left. Instead of the sinless Son of God condemning her, he gave her mercy, just as he gives us. Was justice done? Absolutely. Because God in Christ died for her sins and ours as well. Justice requires rectification for cheating on a spouse, and Jesus accomplished justice for her sin and all our sins through his own death on the cross. Justice isn’t abandoned to show mercy.

In light of this story, we’re using rocks to symbolize the book of Micah.

Part One Study

Micah 1:1 tells us that Micah spoke for God during the reigns of Jotham (750-731 B.C.), Ahaz (735-715 B.C.), and Hezekiah (715-686 B.C.), kings of the southern kingdom of Judah. He was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah and Hosea.2 Although his primary message focused on the northern kingdom’s destruction, he also warned Judah against following the sins of Israel. In 722 B.C. Micah’s words were fulfilled when Assyria destroyed Israel.

The book of Jeremiah written a hundred years later tells us that Micah’s prediction of the destruction of Israel made a difference. When Jeremiah relayed God’s warning about coming judgment on Jerusalem and the temple, his audience of priests, prophets, and others didn’t like the message and wanted to kill him. Thankfully some of the Judean elders disagreed, using Micah as an example:

Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah: “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Zion shall be plowed as a field; Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins, and the mountains of the house a wooded height.’”

Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and did not the LORD relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about to bring great disaster upon ourselves (Jeremiah 26:18-19, ESV).

Dr. Chisholm comments: “This demonstrates that Micah’s prophecy, though seemingly unconditional in tone, was implicitly conditional. Because of Hezekiah’s repentance, the prophesied judgment was postponed.”3

Sometimes I get lost in Micah because he uses various names for the two kingdoms. He often refers to the northern kingdom Israel by the name of its capital Samaria. Sometimes he uses the name Jerusalem for the capital of the southern kingdom Judah, but he also calls it Zion. At times he uses the broader term Jacob, who was the father of all the Jews, which ends up confusing me even more.

As you read Micah this week, pay attention to the predictions of judgment and promises of a better future. Judgment and mercy.

Read Micah 1:1-2:13 carefully, picturing yourself among the people who will be affected by what he prophesies, and journal with these questions in mind:

  • How do the images that Micah uses of God’s judgment (1:2-7) affect you? Consider Micah’s reaction in 1:8-9 to your own reaction.
  • For what kinds of sins is God punishing his people?
  • What do you learn about God’s ultimate mercy in 2:12-13?
  • What is God saying to you about responding to the ruin/desolation that happens to other people?

*** Read Revelation 19:11-21 and compare its images of the judgment at Christ’s return with those in Micah.

Part Two Study

This section’s reading begins with judgment, but it moves to images of eventual restoration. In its promises of the future you will read messianic predictions, so pay close attention. Remember that one prophecy often has multiple fulfillments or includes near (i.e. soon after the time of Micah’s writing) and distant fulfillments side by side. At other times it includes promises that are still future to us today, not to be fulfilled until Christ’s return in the end days. Often it’s hard to tell. Note that the term “the latter days” or “that day” often refers to the end times. Feel free to read the notes in your Bible or a commentary for help.

As you read, also notice the groups of leaders that God calls out and the highly poetic language used to describe their sins. (For example, they aren’t literally tearing the skin of the people, etc.)

Read Micah 3:1-5:15, noting both judgment and promise (mercy) as you journal.

  • What do you learn about God’s perspective of the actions of the governmental and spiritual leaders of Micah’s day (3:1-12)?
  • Meditate on and drink in the various promises of restoration. (Some of them predict the time after the exile while others point to the ultimate time of Restoration. Still others do both.) What do you learn about God through them? How are the pictures of the future meaningful to you?
  • Micah 5:1-5a predicts the coming Messiah. Write down your insights and any fulfillment you are aware of in Jesus.
  • In what way does God seem to be applying this passage to your own life and/or to the broader church and its leaders?

*** Reread Micah 5:1-6, and journal about what Jesus’s audience may have understood from his teaching in John 10:1-18 from their familiarity with this passage.

Part Three Study

In this last section of Micah, God indicts his people as a group and takes their actions very personally. FYI: Micah refers to Omri and Ahab who were northern kings well-known for their idolatry. Tragically, they influenced the southern kings to follow their counsel rather than seek God (Micah 6:16).

*** Read about King Omri of Israel in 1 Kings 16:25-28. Read about his son King Ahab’s negative influence over Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah who married Ahab’s daughter, in 2 Chronicles 18:1-19:3. Journal your insights.

Read Micah 6:1-7:20, and journal as you consider these questions:

  • What charges that God brings against his people throughout Chapters 6 and 7 resonate with you as you look at Christian culture today? Note how God planned to judge his people in Israel for such things.
  • What remedy does God suggest for the people (6:6-9)? (If you have time, compare James 2:14-26.)
  • What encouragement do you receive in Micah Chapter 7 from God’s promises and his character?

Kathy’s Story

Being married to a seminary professor has its marvelous benefits, as you can imagine: training godly students for Christian ministry, meeting Christians from all over the world and becoming involved with them and their ministries, being constantly stimulated and challenged by students, and visiting lecturers that we have the privilege of entertaining in our home. But along with all the wonderful things associated with being married to such a man, there is also the heavy side.

Some students can and do idolize various Christian ministers and when one of these people fail in a significant way, these students are devastated. They feel like they will never be able to make it in ministry because their hero has fallen. At times like this my husband and I have had the privilege of reminding them that we all are frail and that there is no substitute for a personal, intimate walk with the Lord, for accountability in our lives, and for committed prayer on our part for each Christian leader ministering to us and our family.

We have seen the Lord’s faithfulness through many of these situations, some after years of heartache, but through it all God has and is revealing Himself to His people in ways we did not expect. He alone is our perfect, Holy, righteous, loving, unfailing God. He wants us to take our eyes off men and place them on Him because He is GOD and there is none other!


1 Episcopal Book of Common Prayer: The Holy Eucharist Rite Two at https://www.bcponline.org accessed 9/11/18.

2 Chisholm, 416.

3 Chisholm, 421.

Related Topics: Prophets, Women's Articles

8. Haggai and Zechariah: God is King

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Words to Anchor your Soul

Rejoice, O people of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.

Zechariah 9:9 (NLT)

A mulligan! Sometimes golfers get to re-hit errant shots without being penalized when playing with gracious people. But life doesn’t afford us do-overs. How I long to be able to go into the past and fix my mistakes! Incredibly, God graciously makes provision for our mistakes. He totally forgives our sins and uses even the worst of life experiences for the good of his children (Romans 8:28-29) and his glory as King. Although he doesn’t generally erase the consequences in this life, he always redeems them.

Despite the grave sins of the Jews that resulted in their exile to foreign countries, God gave them hope and the chance to learn and begin again. He reminded them that his promises to David given long, long before would last forever because their fulfillment depended on God’s faithfulness rather than their own. He promised that one would come whom he had anointed to rule the house of David in glory, whom we now know is Jesus. He promised a future day when justice would prevail and all wrongs would be made right.

This week we will read sections of scripture from two prophets who prophesied in Jerusalem after the Judeans returned from exile: Haggai and Zechariah. Following King Cyrus of Persia’s decree for the Jews to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4), a group of Jews returned to their homeland in 538 B.C. The ministries of Haggai and Zechariah date to 520 B.C., a mere 18 years after that return.1 The initial group included Zerubbabel and Joshua, the priest. Zerubbabel “who was a grandson of King Jehoiachin and therefore the legitimate heir of the Davidic throne”2 became governor of the reclaimed land.

Part One Study

The first six chapters of the historical book of Ezra provide the background for both Haggai and Zechariah’s messages.

*** Read Ezra 1:1-7 and 3:1-4:23 for background about the situation when Haggai and Zechariah begin prophesying.

Ezra 4:1-16 tells us that the enemies of the Jews opposed their rebuilding the temple by using tactics of discouragement and accusation. As a result, the work stopped entirely in 535 B.C. Fifteen years later God spoke to his people in Jerusalem through his prophet Haggai.

The book of Haggai records five different messages given by Haggai. Four of them begin with a date and a note that the word of the LORD came to Haggai. The other address is in 1:13-15. All of these date to one single year, 520 B.C.

Read Haggai, journaling about these questions in context of the audience.

  • Why was God unhappy with the priorities of his people who had returned to their land from exile? And how has he been trying to get their attention?
  • How did God encourage them, and what encouragement is he giving you about a situation in your own life?
  • What does this book reveal about God that speaks to your heart today?

You may have noted that Haggai’s last message in 2:20-23 refers to the ultimate time of Restoration when God judges the nations and restores the Davidic kingdom, referring to it as “that day,” the Day of the Lord.

I chose a to-do list to represent Haggai’s message to prioritize God over all other things. After all, as Zechariah is about to tell us, God is the true King.

Part Two Study

Now we turn our attention to the prophecies of Zechariah, Haggai’s contemporary. According to Zechariah 1:1, God first spoke to the prophet two months after Haggai gave his initial prophecy. Ezra 5:1-2 tells us that it was the words of Haggai and Zechariah that resulted in the resumption of work on the temple. Neither prophet warned of judgment, but they did challenge the people.

The first major section of Zechariah includes chapters 1-8, which records three messages: 1:1-6 (1st message), 1:7-6:15 (2nd message); and 7:1-8:23 (3rd message). I’ve given you sections to read because of the length of the book, but it’s so worth reading the whole.

Dr. Eugene Merrill says this about Zechariah’s message:

The prophet is concerned to comfort his discouraged and pessimistic compatriots, who are in the process of rebuilding their Temple and restructuring their community but who view their efforts as making little difference in the present and offering no hope for the future. . . He challenges members of the restored remnant to go to work with the full understanding that what they do, feeble as it appears, will be crowned with success when YHWH, true to His covenant word, will bring to pass the fulfillment of His ancient promises to the fathers.3

We will skip most of Zechariah because of its length. Your optional study is to read and comment on it all.

*** Read all of Zechariah 1-8.

Read Zechariah 1:1-6 and 7:1-8:23 in light of the explanation below.

FYI: In Zechariah 7:2-3 the people ask the priests whether they should continue fasting during the fifth month. This yearly fast was a memorial for and lament over the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians on August 14, 586 B.C.4 The fast in the seventh month (7:5) “apparently refers to the anniversary of the assassination of Gedaliah, governor of Judah (Jeremiah 40:13-14; 41:1), in approximately 581 B.C.”5

Consider these questions as you journal:

  • What kinds of people does God expect his followers to be? (Note God’s complaints, comments, and descriptions about their actions and attitudes.)
  • How does God build faith in his fearful people in Jerusalem?
  • How is God calling to you today?

Part Three Study

The final four chapters of Zechariah contain two oracles found in chapters 9-11 and then in chapters 12-14. Your journaling is based on only the second oracle, but read it all if you can.

Highlights of this book include its promise of the coming King and descriptions of his kingdom. This section it makes clear that the promises are in large part unfulfilled. That will occur ultimately when Jesus returns as King (Revelation 19:11-22:5)—thus a crown represents this book.

*** Read the remainder of Zechariah, chapters 9-14, considering the questions below.

Read Zechariah 12-14, focusing on the Messiah, the coming King. Also note references to the Day of the Lord or “that day.” Journal about these questions:

  • What do Zechariah’s predictions about the Day of the Lord reveal about God?
  • What promises about the coming King or kingdom got your attention and why?
  • Compare this section of Zechariah with John 19:35-37; Revelation 1:7; 19:11-21; 21:1-8 and write down your thoughts about the coming King and the time of Restoration.
  • How is God speaking to you from Zechariah today?

You may have read verses in Zechariah that seem familiar. That’s probably because Zechariah is quoted and alluded to many times in the New Testament. “One estimate finds about 54 passages from Zechariah echoed in about 67 different places in the NT, with the lion’s share of these found in the book of Revelation.”6

In her story Dixie shares how she realized that God was not really her King. It’s a story all too familiar because when we let God speak into our lives, we begin to see areas where we sit on the throne instead.

Dixie’s Story

My favorite thing to do is nest. Fixing up my home and making it warm and inviting brings me great joy. In 26 years of marriage, we have lived in eight cities. Moving meant new decorating! Let the fun begin!

With each move, I would become consumed with getting the house “done.” I would wake up thinking about it, and after getting the kids off to school the car, seemed to go straight to the shops. Yes, I had quiet times, attended Bible study, and went to church on Wednesday nights and Sundays, but the thing that brought me the greatest satisfaction was decorating.

In 1990, we made a move from Nashville to Baltimore. This was one move I did not want to make, but God put it on my heart to trust Him and to move, looking for ways to serve Him in Baltimore.

Shortly after moving in, the phone rang. The wife of the president of my husband’s company explained that God had put it on her heart to gather a group of women together weekly in her home for prayer and study, and to seek the Lord about starting a city-wide Bible study class for women and their children in Baltimore. I said I’d come, but with hesitation. I had a house to fix up, kids to get settled, and new neighbors to meet.

About ten of us met for several months in prayer. The Lord raised up small group leaders, a teacher, and a church. No one was stepping up to be the Children’s Director. It was surely not to be me because I had three children, ages three, six and nine. I had things to do. But of course, God kept urging me, telling me this was my ministry to women. This was the way I was going to serve Him in this new town.

My three-year-old was in Mother’s Day Out on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the only time to run errands. Those times were spent, instead, preparing for the upcoming Bible study. The summer was then spent recruiting teachers and gathering supplies for the nursery and preschool children’s classes, putting together arts and crafts projects, and planning little teaching sessions for the older kids. I even attended a leaders’ retreat to learn my role as the children’s director, using my decorating money to pay for a baby sitter.

A great number of women and children signed up for the class, which started in September. In late August I was getting weary and selfish, tired of planning and preparing. One day I was driving from the host church, after having dropped off a carload of supplies, and I started complaining. “Lord, I don’t want to be doing this! Why did I sign up for this? Two days every week for the next nine months will be consumed with this. I will have to get there early and stay late! Poor, pitiful me!” And very clearly and silently, the Lord impressed on my heart, “My child, on what better thing could you be spending your time?”

And I knew then that I would choose God over things. I knew there was not one single thing that would be better than serving these little children, teaching them about Jesus, singing praise songs with them, presiding over their selfless teachers, serving them crackers and juice, and letting their mothers have precious needed time in Bible study and fellowship with other women.

The first year of this study God provided for every need. I don’t think I ever missed a day. If one of my own children got sick, I don’t remember. They must have been taken care of somehow. I made a multitude of new friends in the faith. I served on a leadership team of older, wiser women who impacted my life forever as I observed their Christ-centered lives. I soaked up truth as we met together. These were just some of the benefits to me from choosing God over things.

Young mothers got to be refreshed by being with other women and sharing God’s Word, which hopefully brought transformed lives. Perhaps these women who were served are serving others today. Perhaps these little children are now shining examples of Christ-centered youth. I will never know the full impact of making this one decision to put God before things, but I do know that God showed me that life is not about me. It’s about Him.

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.


1 Merrill, Eugene H., Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Exegetical Commentary (Biblical Studies Press, 2003), 9.

2 Merrill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 13.

3 Merrill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 82.

4 Note on Zechariah 7:2-3, ESV Study Bible, 1759.

5 Note #5 on Zechariah 7:5, NET Bible.

6 ESV Study Bible “Introduction to Zechariah,” 1750.

Related Topics: Prophets, Women's Articles

9. Malachi: Blind to Hypocrisy

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Words to Anchor your Soul

“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

“I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

Malachi 3:5-7 (NLT)

“A bunch of hypocrites” is a common criticism of the church, and rightly so. We often answer that charge by explaining that we are sinners, just forgiven. But I wonder how often we deserve the label because we aren’t confessing and repenting of our sins but defending ourselves instead. While we worship, we often miss the heart of worship, humility. We proudly believe our lives please God, but in reality we’re blind to the truth of our own hypocrisy. I know I’m guilty, especially of not loving God before all else or failing to love my neighbor as myself.

The Jews of Malachi’s day were very religious, but their actions didn’t fit their worship. Malachi reveals that their hearts were far from God through their responses to his accusations.

Dr. Boice says,

Perhaps more than any other Old Testament book, Malachi describes that modern attitude of mind that considers man superior to God and that has the audacity to attempt to bring God down to earth and measure him by the yardstick of human morality.

This attitude is a recurring theme in Malachi, and it is expressed by a recurring word. The word is “how,” as in “How have you loved us?” (1:2). This word appears seven times in this last of the Old Testament books, and in every case it expresses a state of mind that challenges God’s statements, demanding that he give an account of himself in human terms.1

G. Campbell Morgan describes the problem this way: “And when the prophet tells them what God thinks of them, they, with astonishment and impertinence, look into his face and say, ‘We don’t see this at all!’”2 That’s why I’ve chosen the image of a blindfolded woman for Malachi.

Part One Study

Dr. Boice says, “The book of Malachi is located at a point of transition, too. It comes at the end of the Old Testament, but it anticipates the New Testament.”3 Although it is difficult to date, Malachi likely prophesied between 480-470 B.C.4

Malachi’s message contains six disputations, meaning arguments or debates. Each one follows this pattern: 1. God speaks a truth; 2. The people dispute it (“but you say”) demanding proof usually with a “how question”; and 3. God or the prophet answers by pointing to their actions or God’s character and work.

I found it helpful to mark “but you say” and the “how,” “what,” and “why” words that begin the people’s denials. It helped me follow God’s answers more easily. You may want to try it. If you don’t like marking your Bible, print it from a Bible app or net.bible.org.

As you read the people’s “how” responses to God in 1:2, 6, 7; 2:17; 3:7, 8, 13, meditate on the blindness to themselves they exhibit and how we may be doing the same today.

Read Malachi 1:1-2:16, where you will find three disputations in 1:2-5 (with a “how” in 1:2); 1:6-9 (with “hows” in 1:6, 7); and 2:10-16 (this time a “why” question in 2:14).

FYI: When God says that he loved Jacob and hated Esau, the twin sons of Isaac, it isn’t about feelings but about a choice that God made to bless Jacob and make him the heir of his covenant with Abraham.

Journal as you consider the following:

  • Reread Dr. Boice’s comments about how the attitude of the church today parallels that of the Jews in Malachi’s day. Comment on his thoughts in light of the verses you read and what you see in today’s church.
  • What does this section of Malachi teach about God’s character and actions?
  • What is God saying about your priorities and the reality of your worship?

*** The #metoo and #churchtoo movements have uncovered sexual abuse that has gone on for years. Consider the abuse in the church in light of the empty religious works that Malachi condemns. Also consider all of Malachi 2:15-16. As Dr. Sandra Glahn points out, “Many people know the ‘I hate divorce’ line from Malachi 2:16, but far fewer know the rest of the sentence: ‘and him who covers himself and his garment with violence,’ says the LORD of Hosts.”5 Journal your thoughts about or experiences with sexual of physical abuse if you can, or read stories tagged with these movements.

Part Two Study

Read Malachi 2:17-4:6. Note the three disputations as you go: 2:17-3:5 (“how” and “where” in 2:17); 3:6-12 (“how” in 3:7 and 3:8); 3:13-4:3 (“how” in 3:13-14). The book ends with a summary (4:4-6).

Journal your insights as you consider these questions:

  • Which of these three disputations stands out to you and why?
  • What aspects of God’s character does Malachi emphasize in this part of the book, both disputations and hopeful promises?
  • What message of hope in this section speaks to you today and why?

The “Words to Anchor your Soul” this week confirm that whatever we’ve done, however we have tossed aside God’s Word and approved of what he disapproves, God is there when we return to him in repentance. (The context of these verses makes the need for repentance clear.)

*** Malachi prophesies of the Coming One and his forerunner in 3:1-5 and 4:1-6. Some of his words were fulfilled as the New Testament opens while others are still future. Read Matthew 3:1-17 and journal about its relationship to Malachi’s prophecy OR read about these prophecies in a commentary.6

Four hundred years of God’s silence followed Malachi’s message. Then one day Zechariah the priest received an angelic visitor with God’s message that Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth would have a son named John, often known as John the Baptist. (Luke 1:5-24). Perhaps you would like to read about Jesus as your next study. Beyond Ordinary Women’s study Who is This Jesus?7 on the gospel of John would be a great follow-up to the promises of the prophets.

Although the prophets’ messages warned his people, they always held out hope through God’s mercy and loyal love to bring a future Restoration. Never forget that God’s judgment is part of his love, just as a dad and mom loves their child enough to discipline and teach her.

Part Three will be a review, but before we get there, read Krista’s story in light of the message of Malachi.

Krista’s Story

I cannot speak for every survivor of sexual abuse within the church, but over the last year, the #MeToo #ChurchToo movement has left me, personally, drowning in emotion. As I have read story after story and response after response, I have remembered anew, and with precise clarity, details of my own abuse from years ago. I have felt the paralyzing fear of being exposed, mocked, or not believed, as I have seen and experienced how churches handle these exposures with horrific levels of denial and a lack of compassion for the brave souls willing to share their stories. With inflamed anger, I have sat horrified, as victims have been blamed because an entrusted minster assaulted their body, soul, and mind, leaving them isolated to deal with the aftermath alone.

My abuser was a senior level minister. He served forty years within the same congregation, until he recently retired to standing applause. He was in his thirties and married with children when my abuse began. I was around four years old. The abuse lasted until my family moved away when I was twelve years old. He sexually assaulted me in every way imaginable, both in his home and on church property, including raping me in the sanctuary itself. He not only defiled my body, but the church building and what it represented, as well as the position of a trusted minister of the Gospel.

As a survivor, I rest on passages of scripture found in Malachi, as he addresses those who have been given authority to guide God’s children and then abuse that authority (Malachi 2:1-2, 7-9, ESV):

“And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart . . . . For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”

I realize it is difficult for church members and their leadership to hear, believe, and comprehend the horrific details of abuse that took advantage not just of the victim, but also of the congregation. Most likely, the minister is/was a charismatic, beloved, and trusted member of the church community he served. But let’s be clear: what is difficult for man to reconcile is NOT difficult for God. God is clear. His expectations are clear, and so are the ways He defends the defenseless.

It is estimated that one out of every four to one out of every three individuals reading this study have been a victim of sexual abuse at some point in their lives. Therefore, the survivors coming forward are not liars intent on smearing a minister or the church's name. Rather they are women (or men) who have sat silently beside you for years, suffering alone.

I can personally attest to the lingering effects of sexual abuse that last years beyond the horrendous acts of abuse themselves. Abuse within church is uniquely difficult for survivors to process as they must differentiate between the evil that was perpetrated upon their body by a representative of God, in a place designed for worship, from God Himself. Because of this, the very places where healing can be found are also, at times, agony to enter—a church service, a Christian community, a mentoring relationship, reading the bible, or even prayer itself. The survivor cannot escape the painful memories of abuse when they enter these arenas, and even worse is the inevitable and inescapable thought that maybe God did not care or that the abuse was not actually sin because it was inflicted by one appointed to serve and reflect God’s nature.

But then, I continue reading and take heart (Malachi 3:1-2, 5, NLT):

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me,” says the Lord of hosts.

What a reminder. God is coming. He sees the evil done to you. He knows how they misused you and their position under the guise of His holy name. Oh, sweet survivor, HE WILL purify that which was not of Him and He will MAKE ALL THINGS RIGHT in the end.

If you have experienced any type of abuse (sexual or otherwise) and have never discussed your experience, OR are in need of continued care, consider the footnoted resources as a help.8

Thank you, Krista, for sharing your heart-breaking story. We grieve with you and all others who have experienced similar abuse.

Part Three Study

This is the last section of the final week of our study. Before we leave the prophets behind, spend time remembering how God has used the Minor Prophets in your life. It’s always encouraging to look back and see how God has been at work. Plan to share one thing from your journal with your small group this week as an encouragement to them as well.

Journal as you review this study:

  • Thumb through the study, remembering the icons/images and the messages they represent. Which prophet is most memorable to you and why?
  • Look over the memory verses for each week’s “Words to Anchor you Soul.” Which is your favorite passage and why?
  • How has God changed you through this study?

May God continue to bring our lives into alignment with his character so that we image him to a broken and hurting world where we serve as lights in the darkness.


1 Boice, James Montgomery. The Minor Prophets: Volume 2: An Expositional Commentary: Micah through Malachi, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002), 573-574.

2 Quoted in Boice, Micah through Malachi, 576.

3 Boice, Micah through Malachi, 579.

4 Merrill, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, 329.

5 Sandra Glahn, “Organizations and Abuse: What You Can Do,” Engage blog, 6/19/2018 at https://blogs.bible.org/organizations-and-abuse-what-you-can-do

6 For an online option, link to Constable, Notes on Malachi. http://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/malachi.pdf

7 https://beyondordinarywomen.org/who-is-this-jesus/

8 Helpful links:

If you are in danger or in need of immediate assistance - https://www.rainn.org or https://www.thehotline.org

Find a counselor within your local area to help - https://www.emdria.org or https://www.psychologytoday.com/us

Interview a potential counselor using these questions - 10 Questions to Ask When Looking For a Doctor – The Second Pilgrimage (thereseborchard.com)

Consider attending a Wounded Heart support group in your area. The Wounded Heart: Hope for Adult Victims of Childhood Sexual Abuse by Dan Allender

Find and connect with a local Celebrate Recovery community - https://www.celebraterecovery.com/crgroups

Related Topics: Prophets, Women's Articles

From the series: Creative Science

Other Creation Related Passages (Beyond Genesis)

  • Ex 20:11: God said He created everything in six days and rested on the seventh.
  • Nu 23:19: God is not a man and does not lie.
  • Dt 4:19: We are not to worship creation, not the sun or moon nor stars.
  • Dt 4:29-35: By great signs God shows He is not only the Creator, but He loves His creation and is jealous for the love of His creation.
  • Job 4:19: We are made of dust.
  • Job 9:7-9, 38:31: God stretched out the heavens and made the constellations.
  • Ps 8:3: God set the stars in place.
  • Ps 89:11: God created the heavens and earth.
  • Ps 90:2: God is eternal, the earth had a beginning.
  • Ps 94:9: God designed the eye and ear.
  • Ps 95:5: God made the sea and dry land.
  • Ps 147:4: God numbers and names the stars.
  • Ps 148:5: Creation came about by the command of God.
  • Pr 8: Wisdom was present throughout the creative process.
  • Eccl 3:11: God placed the hope of eternity in men’s souls but prevented him from knowing the details.
  • Eccl 12:1: Remember the Creator.
  • Is 40:12-31: God is the Creator. He is eternal and above human understanding. He is all powerful and all knowing. He will take care of those who trust Him.
  • Is 42:5: God stretched out the heavens.
  • Is 43:7: People were created for God’s glory.
  • Is 45:5-12: God formed the earth and created man on it, created fruit, stretched out the heavens, and created righteousness.
  • Is 45:18: The earth was created to be inhabited.
  • Is 50:11: Evolutionists are hell bound.
  • Is 65:17-18: God will create a new heavens and new earth.
  • Jer 1:5: God knows us before He even forms us in the womb.
  • Jer 33:2: God formed the earth.
  • Amos 4:13: God made the mountains and the wind
  • Amos 5:8: God made constellations and controls sunrise and water.
  • Zech 12:1: God made the earth and made man’s spirit.
From the series: Creative Science

Archaeology and the New Testament

Article contributed by Probe Ministries
Visit Probe's website

There is an ongoing debate among scholars regarding the historical accuracy of the Bible. Some feel that the Bible is a fictitious work and should be read as a work of literary fiction. Others feel it is an accurate historical work divinely inspired by God. Archaeology has played a major role in determining the trustworthiness of the Bible. In a previous article, we discussed archaeological confirmations of the Old Testament. In this one, we will look at the archaeological discoveries that have confirmed the historical accuracy of the New Testament. There is a great deal of evidence outside of the Bible that confirms the account of Jesus as written in the Gospels.

It is important to realize, however, that it is unrealistic to expect archaeology to back up every event and place in the New Testament. Our perspective is to look for what evidence exists and see whether or not it corresponds with the New Testament.

Historical Confirmation of Jesus

The first evidence comes from the four Gospels which, themselves, are proven to be accurate.1 Outside the biblical text are several witnesses as well. Jewish historian Josephus (37 A.D. - 100 A.D.) recorded the history of the Jewish people in Palestine from 70 A.D. to 100 A.D. In his work Antiquities, he states:

Now there was about this time, Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the gentiles. He was the Christ and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him. For he appeared alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct to this day.2

Although he mentions Jesus in a sarcastic way, Josephus confirms the facts that Jesus did do many great miracles, drew a following, was crucified, and was proclaimed alive on the third day.

Pliny the Younger, Emperor of Bythynia in northwestern Turkey, writing to Emperor Trajan in 112 A.D. writes:

They were in the habit of meeting on a certain fixed day before it was light, when they sang an anthem to Christ as God, and bound themselves by a solemn oath not to commit any wicked deed, but to abstain from all fraud, theft and adultery, never to break their word, or deny a trust when called upon to honor it; after which it was their custom to separate, and then meet again to partake of food, but ordinary and innocent kind.

One of the most important Romans historians is Tacitus. In 115 A.D. he recorded Nero's persecution of the Christians, in the process of which he wrote the following:

Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judea, . . . but even in Rome.3

There are over 39 extra-biblical sources that attest to over one hundred facts regarding the life and teachings of Jesus.

Accuracy of the Gospels

The accuracy of the Gospels has been supported by archaeology. The names of many of the Israelite cities, events, and people described in them have now been located. Here are a few examples.

The Gospels mention four neighboring and well-populated coastal cities along the Sea of Galilee: Capernaum, Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Tiberias. Jesus performed many miracles in the first three cities. Despite this testimony, these cities rejected Jesus and therefore were cursed by Him (Matt. 11:20-24; Luke 10:12-16). These cities eventually disappeared from history and their locations remained missing for centuries. Their demise fulfills the prophetic condemnation of Jesus.

Only recently has archaeology recovered their possible locations. Tell Hum is believed to be Capernaum. (A "tell" is a mound or elevated land that has arisen by repeated and long-term rebuilding of the same site. Layers of civilizations can be found at different strata). The locations of Bethsaida and Chorazin still remain unconfirmed, but the present site at a tell 1.5 miles north of the Galilean shoreline is believed to be Bethsaida, while Tell Khirbet Kerezah, 2.5 miles northwest of Capernaum, is thought to be Chorazin.

Matthew 2 states that Jesus was born during the reign of Herod. Upon hearing that a king had been born, the frightened Herod ordered all children under the age of two to be killed. His slaughter of innocents is consistent with the historical facts that describe his character. Herod was suspicious of anyone whom he thought may take his throne. His list of victims included one of his ten wives, who was his favorite, three of his own sons, a high priest, an ex-king, and two of his sister's husbands. Thus, his brutality portrayed in Matthew is consistent with his description in ancient history.

John's accuracy has also been attested to by recent discoveries. In John 5:1-15 Jesus heals a man at the Pool of Bethesda. John describes the pool as having five porticoes. This site had long been in dispute until recently. Forty feet underground, archaeologists discovered a pool with five porticoes, and the description of the surrounding area matches John's description. In John 9:7 John mentions another long disputed site, the Pool of Siloam. However, this pool was also discovered in 1897, upholding the accuracy of John.

Evidence for Pontius Pilate, the governor who presided over the trial of Jesus, was discovered in Caesarea Maritama. In 1961, an Italian archaeologist named Antonio Frova uncovered a fragment of a plaque that was used as a section of steps leading to the Caesarea Theater. The inscription, written in Latin, contained the phrase, "Pontius Pilatus, Prefect of Judea has dedicated to the people of Caesarea a temple in honor of Tiberius." This temple is dedicated to the Emperor Tiberius who reigned from 14-37 A.D. This fits well chronologically with the New Testament which records that Pilot ruled as procurator from 26-36 A.D. Tacitus, a Roman historian of the first century, also confirms the New Testament designation of Pilate. He writes, "Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus. . . ."

Confirmation Regarding the Crucifixion

All four Gospels give details of the crucifixion of Christ. Their accurate portrayal of this Roman practice has been confirmed by archaeology. In 1968, a gravesite in the city of Jerusalem was uncovered containing thirty-five bodies. Each of the men had died a brutal death which historians believe was the result of their involvement in the Jewish revolt against Rome in 70 A.D.

The inscription identified one individual as Yohan Ben Ha'galgol. Studies of the bones performed by osteologists and doctors from the Hadassah Medical School determined the man was twenty-eight years old, stood five feet six inches, and had some slight facial defects due to a cleft right palate.

What intrigued archaeologists were the evidences that this man had been crucified in a manner resembling the crucifixion of Christ. A seven-inch nail had been driven through both feet, which were turned outward so the nail could be hammered inside the Achilles tendon.

Archaeologists also discovered that nails had been driven through his lower forearms. A victim of a crucifixion would have to raise and lower his body in order to breathe. To do this, he needed to push up on his pierced feet and pull up with his arms. Yohan's upper arms were smoothly worn, indicating this movement.

John records that in order to expedite the death of a prisoner, executioners broke the legs of the victim so that he could not lift himself up by pushing with his feet (19:31-33). Yohan's legs were found crushed by a blow, breaking them below the knee. The Dead Sea Scrolls tell that both Jews and Romans abhorred crucifixion due to its cruelty and humiliation. The scrolls also state it was a punishment reserved for slaves and any who challenged the ruling powers of Rome. This explains why Pilate chose crucifixion as the penalty for Jesus.

Relating to the crucifixion, in 1878 a stone slab was found in Nazareth with a decree from Emperor Claudius who reigned from 41-54 A.D. It stated that graves must not be disturbed nor bodies to be removed. The punishment on other decrees is a fine but this one threatens death and comes very close to the time of the resurrection. This was probably due to Claudius investigating the riots of 49 A.D. He had certainly heard of the resurrection and did not want any similar incidents. This decree was probably made in connection with the Apostles' preaching of Jesus' resurrection and the Jewish argument that the body had been stolen.

Historian Thallus wrote in 52 A.D. Although none of his texts remain, his work is cited by Julius Africanus' work, Chronography. Quoting Thallus on the crucifixion of Christ, Africanus states, "On the whole world, there pressed a most fearful darkness, and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down."4 Thallus calls this darkness, "as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun."5

All the discoveries made are consistent with the details in the crucifixion account given by the writers of the Gospels. These facts lend indirect support for the biblical accounts of Jesus' crucifixion and that the tomb was empty.

Historical Accuracy of Luke

At one time, scholars did not view Luke's historical accounts in his Gospel and Acts as accurate. There appeared to be no evidence for several cities, persons, and locations that he named in his works. However, archaeological advances have revealed that Luke was a very accurate historian and the two books he has authored remain accurate documents of history.

One of the greatest archaeologists is the late Sir William Ramsay. He studied under the famous liberal German historical schools in the mid-nineteenth century. Known for its scholarship, this school taught that the New Testament was not a historical document. With this premise, Ramsay investigated biblical claims as he searched through Asia Minor. What he discovered caused him to reverse his initial view. He wrote:

I began with a mind unfavorable to it [Acts], for the ingenuity and apparent completeness of the Tubingen theory had at one time quite convinced me. It did not then in my line of life to investigate the subject minutely; but more recently I found myself often brought into contact with the Book of Acts as an authority for the topography, antiquities, and society of Asia Minor. It was gradually borne in upon me that in various details the narrative showed marvelous truth.6

Luke's accuracy is demonstrated by the fact that he names key historical figures in the correct time sequence as well as correct titles to government officials in various areas: Thessalonica, politarchs; Ephesus, temple wardens; Cyprus, proconsul; and Malta, the first man of the island.

In Luke's announcement of Jesus' public ministry (Luke 3:1), he mentions, "Lysanius tetrarch of Abilene." Scholars questioned Luke's credibility since the only Lysanius known for centuries was a ruler of Chalcis who ruled from 40-36 B.C. However an inscription dating to be in the time of Tiberius, who ruled from 14-37 A.D., was found recording a temple dedication which names Lysanius as the "tetrarch of Abila" near Damascus. This matches well with Luke's account.

In Acts 18:12-17, Paul was brought before Gallio, the proconsul of Achaea. Once again archaeology confirms this account. At Delphi an inscription of a letter from Emperor Claudius was discovered. In it he states, "Lucius Junios Gallio, my friend, and the proconsul of Achaia . . ."7 Historians date the inscription to 52 A.D. which corresponds to the time of the apostle's stay in 51.

In Acts 19:22 and Romans 16:23, Erastus, a coworker of Paul, is named the Corinthian city treasurer. Archaeologists excavating a Corinthian theatre in 1928 discovered an inscription. It reads, "Erastus in return for his aedilship laid the pavement at his own expense." The pavement was laid in 50 A.D. The designation of treasurer describes the work of a Corinthian aedile.

In Acts 28:7, Luke gives Publius, the chief man on the island of Malta, the title, "first man of the island." Scholars questioned this strange title and deemed it unhistorical. Inscriptions have recently been discovered on the island that indeed gives Publius the title of "first man."

"In all, Luke names thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities, and nine islands without error."8 A. N. Sherwin-White states, "For Acts the confirmation of historicity is overwhelming. . . . Any attempt to reject its basic historicity must now appear absurd. Roman historians have long taken it for granted."9

The Shroud of Turin

The Gospels record that after His crucifixion Jesus was wrapped in a long linen cloth and placed in the tomb (Matt. 27:59). John records that when Peter investigated the empty tomb, he found the burial cloth folded neatly next to where Christ once laid (20:6-7).

A linen shroud called the Shroud of Turin, on display at the Vatican, has been claimed to be that burial cloth. It is 14.25 feet long and 3.5 feet wide. On it is an image with pierced wrists and ankles believed to be that of Christ.

The shroud in 1977. An international team of Swiss, American, and Italian scientist studied the shroud for five days at the Savoy Royal Palace at Turin. They used six tons of equipment and 2.5 million dollars for their research. It has been one of the most intensely studied artifacts of all time.

The study could not determine the authenticity of the fabric. Experiments that followed proved the image contained blood as well as aragonite, a particular calcium carbonate that is found in Jerusalem's first century tombs. Swiss criminologist Max Frei found forty-eight samples of pollen, of which seven could have come from plants in Palestine. The weave of the cloth was herringbone twill, a style that existed in ancient times.

Although these findings supported the authenticity of the shroud, other findings testified otherwise. In 1987, the shroud was carbon 14 tested to verify its date. Laboratories in Oxford, Zurich, and the University of Arizona tested the cloth. The result indicated a fourteenth century date for the shroud. This conclusion continues to be challenged and future tests are sure to follow. Another problem is that coins minted by Pontius Pilate were placed over the eyes of the figure. This was not a Jewish custom, nor does it seem likely that Joseph of Arimathea or Nicodemus would have placed on Jesus' eyes a coin with the image of the leader who condemned him.

Despite the fourteenth century date, scientists are still unable to explain how the negative image was created. The shroud remains a mystery as well as a lesson for us as believers that we should not put our faith in mysterious articles.

Notes

1. See "Authority of the Bible".

2. Josephus, Book 18, Chapter 3:3

3. Tacitus, Annals, 15.44

4. Julius Africanus, Chronography, 18:1.

5. Ibid.

6. William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman Citizen (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1982), 8.

7. John McRay, Archaeology and the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books, 1991), 227.

8. Norman Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Apologetics (Grand Rapids, MI.: Baker Books, 1999), 47.

9. A. N. Sherwin-White, Roman Society and Roman Law in the New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963), 189.

© 2000 Probe Ministries.

The original version of this article is found at https://www.probe.org/archaeology-and-the-new-testament/. Articles and answers on lots of topics at Probe.org.

Related Topics: Apologetics, Archaeology

26. The Second Coming of Christ (Rev 19:1-21)

Introduction

Following the parenthetical sections of chapters 17-18 which described the great harlot system of Babylon, chapter 19 gives us heaven’s perspective of the fall of Babylon. Heaven’s perspective stands in stark contrast to the mourning of Babylon’s lovers, and it resumes the progress and narrative of the future events of the Tribulation. With chapters 17-18 as a background, John receives new revelation concerning the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the first ten verses the emphasis is on what he heard in special announcements in preparation for the return of Christ. In verses 11-21, however, the stress falls on what John sees concerning the actual return of the Lord (cf. vss. 1, 2, 5, 6 with 11, 17, 19). The return of the Lord brings to a close the Tribulation events and the wrath of God.

Let’s not miss the striking change that is seen here in contrast to the preceding chapters. We are taken from somber weeping and lamenting to joyful worship and praise, from darkness and doom to light and deliverance, from a series of woes to a series of jubilant announcements. Chapter 19 is easily divided into four sections:

(1) The Hallelujah Choruses (Rev 19:1-6)

(2) The Announcement of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (19:7-10)

(3) The Announcement of the Advent of Christ (Rev 19:11-16)

(4) The Announcement of Armageddon (Rev 19:17-21)

The Hallelujah Choruses
(Rev 19:1-6)

The Hallelujah of a Great Multitude in Heaven (1-3)

    The Time sequence

“And after these things” refers to the visions of chapters 17 and 18 and especially the fall of Babylon. In 18:20 there was the call to rejoice over Babylon’s destruction. Now there is heaven’s response to that call.

What John heard is described as “a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven.” This is undoubtedly the multitude of saints described in 7:9-12. It does not include the 24 elders and the four living creatures who subsequently respond antiphonally in verse 4. It may also include a multitude of angelic beings.

    The Nature of Their Saying

This is seen in the word “hallelujah.” This word comes from two Hebrew words. The first is %allelu, an intensive verb in the imperative meaning “give praise.” The second is the Hebrew name of God in the shortened form, Yah. It means “praise Yahweh,” or “praise the Lord.”

This transliteration occurs only here in the NT (vv. 1, 3, 4, 6), but in the LXX it is a frequent title for certain of the psalms (Psalms 111:1; 112:1; 113:1; et al.). This phenomenon clearly illustrates the connection of the early church’s liturgical worship with the synagogue and temple worship of the first century. These praise psalms formed an important part of Jewish festival celebrations.

The Hallel is the name especially applied to Psa 113-118 (also called “The Hallel of Egypt” because of the references in them to the Exodus). They had a special role in the Feast of Passover. Most Jewish sources associate the Hallel with the destruction of the wicked, exactly as this passage in Revelation does. These psalms were what Jesus and the disciples sang after the Passover-Eucharist celebration, before going out to the Mount of Olives the night before his death (Mt 26:30). This close connection between the Hallel, Passover Lamb, and the death of Jesus no doubt explains why all the early church liturgies incorporated the Hallel into the Easter and Easter Week liturgies, which celebrate the gospel of redemption from sin, Satan, and death in the victorious triumph of Christ, our Passover. Two texts in the great Hallel (Psa 113:1; 115:13) are unmistakably cited in 19:5.222

    The Content of Their Praise

The first aspect of praise consists of the declaration that “salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” Note the “our” in “our God.” Those giving praise had rejected the god of this world and his false messiah, and by faith had accepted the Lord as their God and Savior. For this many had died a martyr’s death, but to their God, who is our God through Jesus Christ, belongs all true deliverance, glory, and power. The apparent successes and victories of the enemies of God over His people are purely temporal.

Why do they make such a statement? This is given in verse 2, “Because His judgments are true and righteous.” God’s perfect and holy character, His perfect righteousness and justice, cannot act unfairly or unjustly. He has perfect knowledge (omniscience) and, therefore, He has all the facts so that all His judgments are in accord with the truth. There is no hearsay evidence in the court of God. In this case, the ground of God’s judgment demonstrated in the fall of Babylon was the immorality by which the great harlot seduced and corrupted the earth.

A further reason for the righteousness of God’s judgments is that He does not allow His people who suffered unjustly under the harlot to go unavenged. He will avenge the wrong that was done to them. Sometimes in this age there appears to be no justice, but this cannot and will not always be the case because of the character of God. The word “avenged” is the Greek ekdikew, an intensive compound verb and may suggest a complete rendering of justice to avenge His people.

In verse 3 a second “hallelujah” is given in connection with the statement, “Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” The smoke may refer to “the smoke of her burning” in 18:9 and 18, the results of her destruction, or to her eternal punishment (14:11). Whatever, this guarantees that her punishment is permanent.

The Hallelujah of the 24 Elders
and the Four Living Creatures (4)

Upon hearing the hallelujahs of the great multitude, the 24 elders and the four living creatures respond with their own hallelujah and worship of God. Please note the clause “and worshipped God who sits on the throne.” The Greek says, “and they worshipped the God, the One who sits continually upon the throne.” Oh, how we need to capture this picture of our God who sits on the throne. This strongly emphasizes the permanent sovereignty of God. There is no act of man, nor of the nations, nor problem which comes up in our lives which overrules the sovereignty of God. “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens; And His sovereignty rules over all (Psa. 103:19).

God, with His great power and steadfast love for us, sits permanently on the throne. And, as the One who sits on the throne in heaven, we ought to humbly submit to Him and give Him the throne of our hearts. But too often we are like the world, we want to usurp God’s right to rule, but when we do, it is always our own loss.

The Final Hallelujah of the Great Multitude (5-6)

Immediately, in response to this picture of God enthroned, the hallelujahs, and the worship of these creatures of God, a voice comes from the throne. This voice is not the Father or the Son, but only an angel because of the phrase “our God” in the next line.

The voice says, “give praise to our God.” In other words, “sing hallelujahs.” Who is to respond? All His bondservants, “you who fear Him, the small and the great.” Note that in this statement, all social and economic distinctions are transcended and removed in the worship of God by His people. Before God and in Christ, all believers, as the blood-bought possession of the Lord Jesus, are His bondservants. We are those who should have a true reverence for God through our illumination in Christ and by our equality together in Him.

In order to express the majesty of this praise verse 6 describes this voice as “the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder.” It is a majestic expression of praise from the hearts and mouths of the saints of God. Then the last hallelujah states, “for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.” In other words, truly, He is still on the throne; He always has been, and always will be. But the primary emphasis in this context is that God is now dramatically establishing His reign upon earth by the previous judgments and especially by the return of the Lord, which is to be announced shortly (vss. 11f).

The Announcement of
the Marriage Supper of the Lamb
(19:7-10)

The Historical Background of the Marriage Custom

To truly grasp the significance and meaning of this passages, it would be helpful to explain the marriage custom of John’s day which was in three phases: (1) betrothal, (2) presentation, and (3) the marriage feast.

    Phase 1: The Betrothal

Marriage was by a contract drawn up between the fathers, often while the parties involved were still children. In other words, this was the negotiating phase. Though the marriage was not consummated at this point, they were considered legally married (cf. Matt. 1:19 and the word “husband,” and also 2 Cor. 11:2, “I betrothed you to one husband”). Whenever a believer receives Jesus Christ as Savior he becomes a part of the bride of Christ. The church age is the betrothal phase, the time when God is calling out a bride for His Son.

The payment of a suitable dowry was also often a part of the procedure (cf. Eph. 5:25). Thus, Christ gave His own life for us as a dowry. Today all believers are legally married to Jesus Christ and through living faithfully in the Word, we are kept as pure virgins, kept from Satanic apostasy or fornication (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25-26 with Jam. 4:4).

    Phase 2: The Presentation

When the couple reached a suitable age the wedding took place. The father of the bridegroom would present the contract to the father of the bride. The bridegroom would then go to the house of the bride in the company of his friends and escort her to his home. This is the background for the parable of the virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. During the betrothal phase the groom would prepare an apartment, a place to live in his father’s house. Homes, especially for the wealthy, were often very large complexes. Only the portions which were needed, however, were finished and furnished. When a son was to be married, another portion was completed to make ready for the new bride (John 14:2-3). The rapture, or resurrection and transformation of the church, is the event which brings the groom to the bride and which takes the bride back into heaven.

The groom and his friends would then escort the bride to their new home. The ceremony which followed was the “presentation” or actual marriage. The hand of the bride was placed into the hand of the groom’s father. He would then place it into the groom’s hand. This was considered the marriage ceremony. Ephesians 5:27 speaks of this presentation, but also of Christ’s present work of keeping the church pure and productive by loving her through the Word.

    Phase 3: The Marriage Feast (The Reception)

The groom would invite many guests and gather all his friends to come to the marriage feast and view his bride. The length and lavishness of the feast would of course depend on the wealth and status of the bridegroom. It might last a day or a week or even longer. The millennium represents the marriage feast where Christ displays His bride, the church.

In the parable of Matthew 22:l-14 we have an illustration of this custom. The parable, however, pictures the rejection of Israel and Christ’s gracious extension of the invitation to all nations. Christ had prepared a great feast of spiritual blessings, but Israel was too busy to be bothered so the offer was extended to the nations or the Gentile world (cf. Rom. 11:1-32).

In Matthew 25:l-13 we have another reference to the wedding feast only this time it refers to the millennium and the invitation is to come as guests to this great feast. The invitation is to Jews and Gentiles of the Tribulation to come to the marriage feast of Christ and His bride, the church. Of course, they can only come by faith in the groom. Personal faith in Jesus Christ is the wedding invitation; this provides the righteous garment necessary to get into the feast.

Explanation of 19:7-10 in the Light of this Custom

In verse 7 great rejoicing and glory is given to God because “the marriage of the Lamb has come.” The word for “marriage” here is gamos. This may refer to a marriage or to a wedding feast (Matt. 22:8-12; 25:10; John 2:1-3; Rev. 19:9). This is not the announcement of the marriage, which has already occurred in heaven with the presentation of the bride, the church, to the groom, the Lord Jesus Christ. This occurred following the rapture. What we have here, as verse 9 makes clear, is an announcement of the wedding feast or the millennial reign of Christ.

This can now be announced and anticipated because Christ is about to return to remove all the enemies of God and unbelievers from the earth in preparing the earth for this great celebration of 1,000 years. However, for such an event the bride must be properly clothed and prepared so the groom may show off his new bride. Thus, we read, “and His bride has made herself ready.”

The bride refers to the church of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:22f). Second, we are told, “His bride makes herself ready.” This brings out the aspect of personal responsibility of individuals. There is first the responsibility in relation to salvation. To be a part of the bride, one must have believed in Christ as his or her personal Savior from sin. But the primary emphasis here relates to the issue of true spirituality which results in rewards or preparation for eternity. Men must personally and responsibly believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, and then, as believers and as part of the bride of Christ, they must choose to walk by the Spirit of God according to the Word, by faith, so they can bear fruit or reproduce good works. This is what is meant by the statement, “makes herself ready.”

But this is not the whole picture; there is also the divine side. This is brought out in the next statement of verse 8, “and it was given to her to clothe herself …”

The words “was given to her” focuses our attention on God’s grace and refers, I believe, to two phases of His grace to all believers who make up the bride of Christ.

First, it refers to those gifts Christ has given to the church which enable believers to produce good works for God and to glorify Him. Our Lord declared that, “… apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5-6). So He also said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit.” As a branch has no capacity for fruit bearing in itself, but must abide in the vine, so men have no spiritual capacity apart from Jesus Christ and a life of abiding in Him. For this abiding life, our Lord has given us many spiritual assets; we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph. 1:3). Fruitfulness, then, is dependent upon using, by faith, these spiritual blessings which our Lord has given us to make ourselves ready (cf. John 15:7-8; Phil. 1:12-13; Eph. 6:10-13).

Second, “was given to her” also refers to the reward the Lord will give for faithful service or the righteous deeds done in the power of the Holy Spirit. The reward is a beautiful wedding garment to be worn at the wedding feast. This is clearly spelled out in the next words of our text, “… to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.”

In Scripture, a garment or clothing often stands for righteousness. It is a symbol of righteousness and declares the character and spiritual condition of a person’s life. Biblically speaking, the garment of righteousness is portrayed in three specific ways as brought out by two specific Greek words.

(1) There is the self righteousness of man which falls short of the perfect righteousness (glory) of God. This is the best that moral or religious man can do under the law, and this God must reject (cf. Isa. 64:6; John 6:63; Rom. 3:9-28; 8:2-4; Phil. 3:6-8 with Rom. 10:1-3).

(2) Then, there is the garment of salvation, the imputed righteousness of God given to all believers which gives them a righteous standing before God. The result is they are clothed in the righteousness of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:19, 21; Phil. 3:9). Numbers one and two are both represented by the Greek word dikaiosunh.

(3) But, there is also a third, the beautiful wedding garment described here as white, bright, and clean. This symbolizes the righteous deeds, the works of godliness and goodness, produced by the Holy Spirit as believers reckon the flesh dead and walk by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom. 6:4f; Gal. 5:5, 16, 22-23). This is represented by the Greek word used in 19:8; the word is dikaiwma. Words ending in ma usually look at the result of action. This word, therefore, refers to a concrete expression of righteousness, the expression and result of abiding in Jesus Christ; this is the result of using the divine operating assets the Lord Jesus gives us in preparation for the wedding feast, as well as for all eternity.

In essence then, the church age is not only the betrothal stage, but a time where the bride is preparing her trousseau for the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Verse 9 has reference to the custom of inviting guests to the wedding feast as seen in Matthew 22 and 25. Verse 9 is a beatitude, a pronouncement of blessing upon those invited. John was first told, “Write, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” First, this is the pronouncement of blessing and happiness to those who are invited because the millennium will be the most blessed time in the history of the earth. It will be an unprecedented time of blessing just as the Tribulation was an unprecedented time of misery. It will be a time worth waiting for and worth suffering for.

Second, all men are invited, both Jews and Gentiles, but to enter and be a part one must accept the invitation and come with the right wedding garment, the dikaiosunh, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This means one must first accept the invitation to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12; 3:3, 16; Rom. 3:21-22; 4:5; Matt. 22:8-13). Not only will the bride have her trousseau, but every guest must have on a wedding robe, a garment of righteousness, in order to be a part of the marriage feast or the millennial reign of the Savior. These guests are friends of the bridegroom (John 3:29).

Next, in verse 9 John is told, “these are true words of God.” In the Greek text, the word “true” is emphatic, further stressing the element of the veracity of this event. This underscores the absolute certainty of this beatitude.

In verse 10 we see that John is virtually overawed by this revelation of the marriage supper of the Lamb and falls at the feet of the messenger, but he is immediately rebuked by the messenger’s words. There is a very important message in this verse for all believers as it pertains to the giving and receiving of the Word of God. John had received revelation from angels before, but this revelation was so wonderful and awesome to John, so beautiful, that he fell before the angel to worship him, perhaps in appreciation for this good word from God. In the process, however, he forgot or ignored some very important principles that must always be kept in mind regarding the messengers of God’s Word, whether angelic beings or human beings. When sitting under the ministry of someone who really gives out the Word, whether in a church setting, by tape, or by radio, people often become so thrilled with the message, they become enchanted with the messenger. In this regard, may I encourage you to consider the following:

(1) When we get our eyes on the messenger, we have forgotten that it is God’s message—assuming that the messenger is truly giving out the truth. The message of the Bible is anything but the wisdom of man for “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25).

(2) We forget the person giving the message is nothing more than God’s instrument and messenger using the abilities God gave him along with the results or blessings God gives. To the carnal Corinthians who had their eyes on personalities Paul asked this provocative question, “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth” (1 Cor. 3:4-7).

When we forget these principles and lose this grace perspective, we become guilty of comparing personalities (a practice Paul defined as carnal in 1 Corinthians 3), of helping to inflate the egos of the messengers, of helping to promote personality fan clubs in the church, and maybe even of causing division in the body of Christ. Christians become arrogant (pride in their own opinions) in behalf of one against the other” (1 Cor. 4:6).

In view of this, John was told, “do not do that.” Literally the Greek carries the idea of, “see to it, or take care that you stop that, or never ever be doing that.” This is something we are not to do as receivers of the Word, nor, as messengers of the Word are we to allow it. It dishonors God, and causes serious disorientation among God’s people. The word here for “see to it” is an imperative from of the verb %oraw, “to see with discernment,” with the negative, “not.” Out of mental discernment and understanding of the facts and issues involved, we (John as well as you and me) are to get our eyes off the messenger and on the truth of the message, specifically, the Lord Jesus, who is the very spirit of prophecy.

As we might expect from the idea of the verb %oraw (used of mental or spiritual perception), this is followed up by the reasons, that which makes mental discernment necessary. First, the angel explained, “I am a fellow servant.” The Greek word here is sundoulos, a fellow bondslave. This reminds us that: (a) men and angels are together obligated to explicit obedience to God, and (b) they are only God’s servants or instruments sent to do His work under His authority and in His power or ability. We are all just creatures, and as men, mere mortals.

Second, the angel explained, “a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren.” Here is a careful application of angelology and a wonderful illustration of how biblical truth should control and direct our behavior. The angel knew who he was and operated accordingly, and so should we. Here he was bringing out two concepts: (a) angels minister to believers on behalf of God (Heb. 1:14), and (b) one day, the saints will be over angels and judge them, having greater power and authority (1 Cor. 6:3). Remember, it was Satan who, in his pride, forgot who he was. Compare the warning in 1 Timothy 3:6 against choosing new converts for places of leadership.

Third, the angel then explained that he was simply one who, along with the brethren, held “the testimony of Jesus.” This points out the fact that believers and the godly angels are together responsible to bear testimony to the Lord Jesus Christ and to preserve that testimony as it is found in the Word. The principle is that when men get their eyes on the messenger, it always does harm to the message—the testimony about the Lord Jesus Himself.

Fourth, the angel, following this explanation, gave another command as a further part of his reasons. He said, “worship God.” In the Greek this is an aorist imperative which suggests urgency. It carries the idea of, “do not delay, do it now.” The point is only God should be worshipped. Infatuation with a messenger hinders the proper worship or recognition of God and His worth to us. Again, the point here is that it is God’s message and the messenger is using only that which God gave him (1 Cor. 4:6-7).

Fifth and finally, the angel said, “for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” This is given as a further reason and explanation for the above as indicated by the word “for.” The point is simple and clear. The purpose of prophecy, all prophecy, is essentially to bear testimony to Jesus Christ and to glorify Him. Prophecy, by its very design in the plan of God, is to unfold the beauty of the person and work of Jesus Christ as God’s perfect solution to the evils of the universe in both His first and second advents. All Scripture ultimately points to the person and work of Christ in His preincarnate glory, His incarnation and ministry on earth, His death, resurrection, ascension, session, and return. The Lord made this perfectly clear to the two disciples on the Emmaus road in Luke 24.

25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

So, may we never, ever become distracted by the messenger of the Word, either negatively (I don’t like his personality), or positively (infatuated with a person, “I just love the way he says ‘Mesopotamia’!), because it distracts from the theme of Scripture which is Jesus Christ, it causes us to worship men, not God, and it can cause serious problems within the body of Christ.

This is serious business, and a lot more important than many are willing to admit. The problem and the temptation here is two-directional. First, obviously, the audience can become preoccupied with the messenger, and secondly, the messenger can become preoccupied with the praise of the audience. The answer—worship God. Respect the messenger and thank God for him (cf. 1 Thess. 5:12), or love the audience and serve them as a servant (cf. 1 Thess. 2:1-12), but above all, let us worship God, never man or angels.

The Announcement
of the Advent of Christ
(Rev 19:11-16)

At this point we come to a climactic place in the book of Revelation as it reveals the person of Jesus Christ, for now our Lord is presented as the victorious White Horse Rider who comes out of heaven and who is also King of kings and Lord of lords.

If you recall, in Revelation 1:1 “the revelation of Jesus Christ” is the subject of this book. And, as Rev 19:10 teaches us, “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” All that precedes Rev 19:11 is somewhat introductory; it is setting the stage for the coming of the Lord as portrayed in these verses. But it is equally true that all that follows is, in some sense, an epilogue because the great event pictured here is the climax and the heart cry of Scripture (cf. Rev. 1:7; Acts 1:11; Matt. 24:27).

Note this contrast: In the gospels, which deal primarily with Christ’s first advent, He is seen in His humiliation, rejection, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension. But here His return is one of triumph, glory, power, sovereignty and dominion. Here is the high point in history for here is the manifestation of the Son of God in glory and the end of all angelic and human rebellion. After the 1,000 year reign another brief rebellion will occur, but it is short-lived because Christ is present as King of kings.

This is where God’s kingdom comes to be on earth as it is in heaven. Here God’s program is climaxed; God exalts His Son and puts all creation under His feet, a symbol of His victory and control (Psalm 2; Eph. 1:22; Heb. 1:13; Psalm 110:1).

His Aim (11)

“And I saw heaven opened.” What a dramatic moment in history! The heavens are opened to allow this procession to take place. This may refer to the thick darkness and the cloud cover which will be characteristic of the Tribulation (Zeph. 1:15; Joel 2:2). The Savior will be there on a white horse followed by His armies (believers and angels) (2 Thess. 1:7, 10; and Rev 19:14). The armies of the world will be gathered in battle array on the hill of Megiddo and the mountains of Palestine. The oriental bloc will be set against the western confederacy under the authority of the beast, but when this event transpires, they join forces against the Lord (vs. 19).

With the words, “And in righteousness He judges and wages war” we see the Savior’s aim. “In righteousness” means “in the sphere of” or “by means of.” Either way it emphasizes that what follows is a product of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. All evil and the enemies of God are about to be executed and removed.

“Judges” and “wages war!” are both in the present tense to describe the process. Once it starts, it will not stop until every enemy that has stood in rebellion against God is judged and removed.

But what a stark contrast to Christ’s first advent. Then He came full of grace and truth, not to judge but to bear the penalty of sin, to be judged for our sin. But in this scene He comes as Judge. At Christ’s first advent He defeated Satan on the cross and established Satan’s potential defeat. Here it will be carried out in fact.

“And behold, a white horse …” (vs. 11) and “the armies that were in heaven (the church and the angels) followed Him on white horses …” (vs. 14). The mention here of the white horse rider and riders that follow Him portrays a scene that is an allusion to the ancient Roman Triumph.

The Roman Triumph was the highest honor that could be bestowed on a victorious Roman general. It came from a Greek word that referred to a public and triumphal procession. The procession was a parade up the Via Sacra, the main street of Rome, that led from the Forum to the temple of Jupiter which lay on the Capitoline Hill. The General was mounted on a white horse which was the symbol of a victorious triumph in the field over the enemies of the nation. First came the spoils of war which were eventually given to the general’s army and friends. Next came the captives who had been defeated and captured in battle, disarmed and in chains. Then came the General on his white horse followed by his family, friends, and his army. Later the prisoners were often executed by the soldiers, often one on one until they were all executed.

Now compare the following Scriptures: in Colossians 2:15 we have a reference to Christ’s victory in battle via the cross. Here Christ is proclaimed as the triumphant General in the field of battle. Ephesians 4:7f speaks of Christ giving gifts to men as spoils of war following the victory over the Satanic hosts. (The first phase of the triumph.) Finally, Revelation 19:11 speaks of the removal of all enemies. (The final phase of the procession resulting in the execution of all enemies.)

His Appellatives

In this section, a number of different names are used of the Savior because together they describe the many features of the Lord Jesus Christ as to His person and work.

    Faithful and True (11)

“Faithful” is pistos and refers to “one you can rely and count on” always. This characteristic of the King of kings flows out of His divine essence and perfect, glorified manhood. Other rulers, because of ignorance or lack of the facts, have often been untrustworthy and have failed their people. But this one possesses all wisdom and knowledge. His knowledge cannot change, nor be mistaken, nor be in the least inadequate, so men can count on Him. He is reliable. He never judges by appearance.

Further, because He is omnipotent and because His power is always guided by His holiness and wisdom, He can always perfectly fulfill His promises and purposes. But history is filled with the many leaders of the world who have come with promises of peace and prosperity or of good government, but have failed because of their lack of wisdom and power and character to carry out their plans.

Also, because He is immutable and because He is perfect holiness, wisdom, love and grace, His plans and purposes are always best for us and cannot be changed by caprice, greed, or expediency. We can always count on Him.

Because He is perfect holiness, man can count on His plans and purposes knowing they are always right and just. He is one who pours out mercy on those who seek Him and justice and judgment on those who turn away (Isa. 11:1-5).

“True” is alhqinos and there are two concepts to be gleaned from this word. First, it means “real, genuine” versus “spurious, false.” History has constantly been plagued by world leaders who promoted themselves as man’s answer or as a nation’s answer. They have promised peace and solutions to the ills of society, but over and over again they have been revealed as spurious. Hitler made such promises but proved hideously false. In Revelation 6 the white horse rider also promises peace, but as one who is not true, he goes forth to conquer (i.e., to subjugate in tyranny).

Second, it also means the “ideal” versus the “imperfect.” Man has long looked for the perfect ruler, one who had the power, wisdom, love, grace, holiness, and unchangeableness to rule in perfect righteousness. Of course, nations are sometimes blessed with good rulers, but they are always temporary. They either die by natural causes or get removed by political intrigue or assassination. They are then too often replaced by someone far less qualified (cf. 2 Kings 18:3-6 with 21:1-2 and Isa. 6:1f). But this white horse rider will remain by reason of His eternality. Thus, He will be the perfect Ruler, the Ideal.

    A name written which no one knows (12)

This is precisely that, a name that is not revealed; it is not simply a name no one knows the significance of, but one no one knows period.

    The Word of God (13)

“Word” is logos, “a word, saying, message.” It denotes the expression of thought, a collection of ideas in the mind, and the words by which they are expressed. It signifies the outer form by which thought is expressed as well as the inward thought or collection of ideas themselves.

He is called %o Logos “the Logos.” The article is important to this title of the Lord Jesus. The purpose of the article is to distinguish the subject from the mass, to mark out an individual’s identity by way of contrast to all others. “Of God” is literally “the one of God.” This defines more precisely and emphatically just what He is, the revelation and manifestation of God himself. As “the Word of God” (%o Logos tou Qeos), Jesus Christ is the complete personal manifestation of God, not just a part of God’s essence and plan, but the whole. He is the complete revelation, the collection and expression, and the outward manifestation of all that is God. The classic passage on Christ as “the Logos” is John 1:1-18.

In His first advent, Jesus Christ came as ho Logos revealing God in His plan of salvation (love, grace, power and perfect holiness). But, in His second advent, He will come revealing God in His plan of wrath and judgment (compare vs. 13a, the blood dipped garments, and vs. 14, the armies, with John 1:4, 17). Compare also John 12:46-48 where Jesus declared that He would not judge then, but He would later and by the index of God’s Word.

    KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS (16)

There is no article with either of these titles which emphasizes the character and quality of His rule. It emphasizes the qualities of kingliness and lordship. “Of kings” and “of lords” means over all others, and like no others. This declares both His authority and quality. He is the epitome of a King and a Lord.

“And on His robe and on …” This means partly on His robe and partly on His thigh—written at length—extending from His robe down to and on His thigh. “Has written,” because of the perfect tense, means it is a permanent title; once He assumes His rule, it will never end. There will be no one who can dethrone Him as Satan dethroned Adam and Eve.

His Appearance (12-13, 15)

“His eyes … a flame of fire.” Some manuscripts have “as a flame of fire.” This symbolizes the searching and penetrating judgment of the white horse rider upon mankind. Like fire, His eyes penetrate and search out every person. No one can escape his vision and judgment. Men can hide behind every conceivable mask, but only those who stand in His righteousness will escape this judgment. Even these will be examined and rewarded for production by the same eyes (cf. Rev. 2:23 with 1 Cor. 3:12-15; 2 Cor. 5:10).

“And upon His head are many diadems” (KJV has “crowns”). This is not the victor’s crown (stefanos), but the diadem, the crown of absolute sovereignty, the crown of kings. Believers receive the stefanos, the victor’s crown for bearing fruit in the Christian life (Rev. 3:11). The diadems of Rev 19:12 are set in contrast to the ten diadems of the beast (Rev. 13:1, i.e., ten diadems verses many diadems). Christ’s universal sovereignty (King of kings) is the point being made by the many diadems.

“And He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood.” The robe refers to Christ’s royal robe, an outer garment with which He is clothed. “Clothed” is a perfect tense which calls attention to the abiding condition, permanently clothed in royal splendor and authority. “Dipped” is also a perfect and calls attention to the permanence of what He is about to do—defeat His enemies. “Dipped in blood” is symbolic of the blood which is about to be shed (cf. Isa. 63:1-6; Rev. 14:20) and also stresses that it is His power which accomplishes the judgment and removal of the enemies. It may be the church will take part in this, but only by our association and identification with Him (Isa. 63:2-6). In Revelation 19:14 no blood is mentioned in connection with clothing of the armies (the saints) that follow Him. The armies follow and are a part of this victory, but as in the Christian life, it is His power which accomplishes the defeat of the enemy. When Christ is portrayed as the slain Lamb, it speaks of redemption by means of His blood, i.e., His death on the cross (Rev. 1:5), but here the blood represents not Christ’s blood or death, but the blood or death of the wicked caused by this judgment of Christ.

“And from His mouth comes a sharp sword …” The fact that the sword proceeds from His mouth shows this is His Word. His Word is called “a sharp sword” because it cuts the enemy asunder (it is effective). “Sword” is r%omfaia, the long Thracian sword. This word was also used of a javelin-like sword which was light and slender enough to be thrown as a spear. It is a symbol of judgment and suggests that Christ will simply speak and by His Word thousands will fall. The basis of His judgment will be the words which He spoke in His first advent (John 12:48). In His first advent He came speaking words of reconciliation, seeking to save that which was lost. But at His second advent, because of rejection of these words, He will come speaking words of retribution which will slay the wicked (Isa. 11:4).

His Armies (14)

This undoubtedly involves two groups. First, it includes the angels, the hosts of the Lord, as they are so often called in the Old Testament Scripture (Joshua 5:14-15; 1 Kings 22:19; 2 Chron. 18:18; Neh. 9:6). The Hebrew word for “hosts” is tsaba, “armies.” But due to the description used here, His army will also include church age saints. Why? Well, note the description. They are clothed in fine linen, white and clean. In verse 8 this same expression is explained as “the righteous acts of the saints,” the dikaiwma.

“Clothed” is a perfect tense which again looks at a permanent state of being so clothed. “Clothed” is the Greek enduw which means “to clothe in, hide or cover in.” The voice is best taken as passive which stresses this as a work of God who clothes us in these garments, white and clean; even as the results of faithfulness to the Lord, they are the work of God.

A note of contrast and comparison is in order here. In Ephesians 6:11 we are told to “put on the full armor of God.” “Put on” is again the verb enduw, only in Ephesians 6:11 the Greek means, “you yourself put on,” or “you clothe yourself.” While in this age we are commanded to put on, or to clothe ourselves in the full armor of God as a protection against the schemes of the devil in our battle against Satan and his forces. This armor gives capacity to stand against his many strategies. But in this case we may fail to do so and be sorely trampled on by the devil. In the future when we come with the Lord, however, He will have permanently clothed us which both qualifies and protects us in the battle.

His Authority (15-16)

His authority is seen in a number of things in these two verses. First it is seen in His Name, “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (vs. 16). In verse 12 the “diadems,” are the royal crowns He will wear, which, as pointed out previously, likewise demonstrate His authority over the whole earth. He has “many crowns” versus the ten of the beast, and He is King above all kings, and the epitome of kings.

However, some interpreters simply take this to refer to Christ’s sovereignty over the hearts of men, and of the kingdom of God within man. But verse 15 shows clearly that John is referring to God’s rule on earth through the very person of Christ.

His authority is also seen in the sharp sword with which he smites the nations in judgment, slaying and removing the enemies. This is preparatory to the millennial reign of Christ.

His authority and the nature of His rule is also seen in, “He will rule them with a rod of iron” (cf. Psalm 2:9; Rev. 2:27). This represents the unyielding and absolute governmental authority of Jesus Christ in His kingdom reign under which men are required to conform to the righteous and just standards. No lawlessness or injustices will be tolerated. Men today can get away with murder, deceit, fraud, lying—but not then.

“Rule” is the Greek word poimainw, which means “to shepherd.” In this we see the nature of His rule. It will be like a shepherd who cares for his sheep. It will involve love, provision for all needs (spiritually and physically), as well as discipline and swift and effective justice.

“Rod of iron” further describes the nature of His rule. Shepherds normally used a staff made of wood with which they protected, cared for, and disciplined the sheep. This rod, however, is made of iron which symbolizes the strength, absolute authority, and unbreakable nature of His authority and rule.

His authority is further shown by the phrase “and He treads the wine press …” This figure returns to what He must do in order to take up His rule on earth. It is a striking figure of the judgment that will occur at Christ’s return (14:20). The picture is that of treading a wine press full of grapes. The press runs red with the juice of the grapes which have been pulverized by the treading. So when Christ returns with His armies and lands on the Mount of Olives, He will literally destroy hundreds of thousands and their blood will flow through Palestine (cf. Rev. 14:19-20).

“Treads” is present tense of continual or progressive action. This means He continues the judgment until all the enemies are defeated, either slain or gathered for judgment. The armies of the beast will be wiped out while the rest of mankind will be gathered for judgment. They will either be cast directly into the lake of fire or allowed, if believers, to go into the millennial reign of Christ. Compare Matthew 24 and 25 for this sequence.

(1) The Tribulation judgments will wipe out many via the seals, trumpets, and bowls (Rev. 6-18).

(2) Christ returns for the final battle of Armageddon with all armies gathered to do battle (Rev 19:11-19).

(3) The beast and false prophet are removed (Rev. 19:20).

(4) The armies of the world are destroyed (the treading of the wine press) (Rev 19:15, 17, 19, 21).

(5) This is followed by the judgment of the rest of the living Jews and Gentiles (Matt. 25:1ff).

(6) Then comes the millennial reign of Jesus Christ (Rev. 20).

“Of the fierce wrath” is literally, “of the rage, the one of His settled anger.” The Greek word translated “rage” is qumos which means “exploding, volatile wrath, anger in action.” But the next word, orgh, refers to the more settled anger of God against sin which proceeds from His unalterable holiness and divine essence. The text is showing us that this wine press proceeds from the divine holiness of God. Remember that Revelation 14:10 declares God’s wrath will he poured out, at this point, in full strength, undiluted, and without mercy and grace. It will be too late for mercy and too late for repentance. Up to this point, unless people received the mark of the beast, they could repent and accept Jesus Christ. But not after Christ appears in heaven. God’s forbearance with man, at long last, comes to an end—as in the days of Noah.

Another important contrast to consider at this point is that of Christ’s return to earth and the Great White Throne Judgment:

(1) It is separated in time from the last judgment by 1,000 years (Rev 19:11-21 compare with 20:1-8, 9, 11).

(2) Its purpose and object is entirely different. The Great White Throne Judgment is to pronounce final doom and to appoint men to their eternal destiny. The books are opened out of which men are judged. But the day of wrath at Christ’s return is to prepare the earth for the millennial reign. It is a purging out, a removal of all rebels.

(3) The Great White Throne Judgment comes only after the present heavens and earth have passed away, but the second coming is an event on this earth—specifically in Palestine. It will involve changes in the earth, but not a new earth (Isa. 11:6f).

(4) The Great White Throne judgment deals with the dead; those who have come from the sea and the grave (their bodies), and from Hades or torments (their souls) (Rev. 20:12). The second coming of Christ is dealing with living men who have never died and many of whom are marshaled together into one great army.

The Armageddon Conflict
(19:17-21)

Right away a great contrast occurs with this section of Revelation 19. Above, in verse 9, saints are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. “Supper” is deipnon, the primary meal of the day, and there it refers to the blessings and fellowship of the millennial reign of Christ with His bride, the church. But here, birds (vulture types) are invited to another supper (deipnon), only now it is to eat the flesh of those killed in this battle. Either one accepts God’s supper of grace, or he must face the one of God’s judgment.

Now following the vision of Christ with His armies, John is given another striking vision which may be divided up as follows:

(1) The carnage for the birds (vss. 17-18)

(2) The conflict with all the armies of the earth (vs. 19)

(3) The captives thrown into the lake of fire (vs. 20)

(4) The conquest of the remaining ones (vs. 21)

While this was discussed in chapter 16, it might be helpful to review the Armageddon conflict. The events discussed here describe the final phase or battle of Armageddon which actually began with the invasion of the king of the north and her allies around the middle of the Tribulation (Ezek. 38-39). At that time, the king of the north will be destroyed on the mountains of Palestine by God. This leaves a vacuum of power and the beast of the western confederacy, seeing this as an opportunity to strengthen his power, will move into Palestine, break his peace treaty with Israel, and begin to conquer greater portions of the earth (cf. Dan. 11:40-43).

But at the end of the Tribulation he hears tidings out of the East, i.e., the kings of the East are marching to Palestine to do battle with the beast and his armies (Dan. 11:44-45). Here all the remaining armies of the earth will gather to do battle with one another to gain control the world and especially Palestine (see Joel 3:9-14).

Then suddenly, the heavens are opened, and there, appearing for all the world to see, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings with His armies. But in hardened rebellion and in spite of the awesome wonder of the Lord in heaven, the armies of the world ban together in what will be the first truly successful United Nations action to do battle with Christ. Verses 17 and following portray the results and the victory of our Lord.

The Carnage for the Birds (17-18)

“And I saw an angel (singular) standing in the sun.” Just how the angel stands in the sun is not explained. Whether he stands in the sun itself or merely in its light is not specifically stated. As a supernatural spiritual being this would be no problem for an angel, but probably the idea is that he will stand in the direct path of sun light, but possessing even greater brilliance so that he can be seen. The image is one of great brilliance and light which again manifests and emphasizes this whole scene as an act of God’s glory, especially His holiness, righteousness and justice.

The fact the angel “cried out with a loud voice” signifies that something very important is impending (6:10; 7:2, 10; 10:3; 14:15; 18:2).

“Saying to all the birds which fly in mid heaven.” The angel does not speak to man, but to birds—a special kind of bird. Literally it says, “to all the birds, to those which fly in mid heaven.” He is not just talking about birds which fly, but about those that are noted for soaring high in the sky and noted for eating flesh, i.e., vultures, buzzards, and perhaps even hawks and eagles (cf. Matt. 24:28 the Greek word used there means “eagle, vulture,” cf. Job 39:26-30).

The birds are then commanded to assemble for a very special meal. “Come” is an adverb of command or exhortation. “Assemble” is an aorist passive imperative suggesting urgency, “be assembled.” “For the great supper of God,” i.e., for the slaughter of the armies of the world.

Verse 18 shows the purpose of this assembly of the birds—operation cleanup. They are assembled to eat the flesh of those slain by the King of kings. Note that the men are divided into classes: (a) kings, (b) commanders (literally “commanders of thousands), (c) mighty men, (d) cavalry troops, and (e) men both free and slave, small and great. But why the various classes? To emphasize a timeless principle of Scripture: God’s judgment upon man is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:6-11). His judgment is a great equalizer of all.

There are two other passages that seem to parallel Rev 19:17 because of the reference to the vulture-like birds (Ezek. 39:17-20 and Matt 24:28). If Ezekiel 39 occurs before the millennium (some take it to be equivalent to Revelation 20:8 which occurs after the millennium), it is only an apparent parallel for it refers to an earlier battle of the Armageddon campaign, i.e., phase one and the destruction of Gog and his allies on the mountains of Israel. But in Rev 19:17 the great supper of God involves all the armies of the earth. Matthew 24:28 is an actual parallel, and refers to the carcasses which fall in battle when Christ returns, and the gathering of the birds to eat them.

Care must be exercised when interpreting passages which are similar. The rule is, similarities do not necessarily prove identity. Other factors must be considered. Birds of prey are always in evidence where there is death, and the presence of the birds does not mean we have the same event, only the same kind of event.

The Conflict with all the Armies of the Earth (19)

“And I saw the beast.” This includes the seven remaining kings of the ten nation confederation who will give their power and authority to the beast. Later three will rebel and will be destroyed, so only these seven will be left (Rev. 17:12-17; Dan. 7:18). But “kings” in Rev 19:19 also refers to all the remaining kings of the earth, primarily the kings of the East who now band together in this final United Nations against Christ.

“Assembled to make war.” Literally “having been assembled in order to make war.” Remember that, as John saw this vision of the future, they were originally assembled there by demonic activity because of their greed for the wealth and the resources of Palestine (cf. Rev. 16:12-16). But now they see the sign of the Son of Man, and they join together against the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Rev 17:14 with Rev 19:19).

The Captives Thrown Into the Lake of Fire (20)

Verse 20 tells us the beast and the false prophet will literally be seized (paizw, “seize, arrest” and was used of a violent seizure) at the beginning of the conflict and cast directly into the lake of fire. The false prophet is clearly identified as the one of chapter 13.

The most dramatic part of the verse is the last part where it tells us these two were “thrown alive” into the lake of fire. Literally it says, “Alive, they were thrown, these two, into the lake of fire.” The reason for the emphasis is that this is not the ordinary sequence of the doom of unbelievers. The normal sequence is death (Luke 16:22), torments in hades (Luke 16:23), the second resurrection that leads to the second death (Rev. 20:11, 13a), the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-12), and then the lake of fire or the second death (Rev. 20:14-15). The armies of the beast, for instance, will be killed, and will go to torments and follow the above sequence. “The beast and his false prophet will be the first occupants of the lake of fire; other unbelievers, now in hades, will join them at the end of the Millennium.”223

There seems to be one other exception to this sequence which is the judgment of the living Jews and Gentiles. This takes place after this battle is over. In these two judgments, believers and unbelievers are separated. The believers remain (25:34) to inherit the kingdom, and unbelievers seem to go directly to the lake of fire (Matt. 25:41). This judgment on earth appears to take the place of the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20 for living, unbelieving Jews and Gentiles after Christ returns to earth.

The Conquest of the Remaining (21)

Those not killed in the first stage of the conflict, i.e., in that which takes place when the beast and false prophet are taken, are then killed. The point is that the whole army of the beast is wiped out. The only ones left are those who were not a part of these armies, i.e., believers hidden in the hills and unbelievers in other places around the earth.

The present age reveals the grace of God and suspended judgment. The age to come, while continuing to reveal grace, will bring an end to this suspension of God’s wrath and finally of even God’s grace. Christ’s victory is total and complete.

The Word of God makes plain that God so loved the world that He gave His Son, and that all who avail themselves of the grace of God are immeasurably blessed in time and eternity. On the other hand, the same Word of God states plainly that those who spurn God’s mercy must experience His judgment without mercy. How foolish it is to rest in the portions of the Word of God that speak of the love of God and reject the portions that deal with His righteous judgment. The present age reveals the grace of God and suspended judgment. The age to come, while continuing to be a revelation of the grace of God, will give conclusive evidence that God brings every evil work into judgment and that those who spurn His grace must experience His wrath.224


222 NIV Bible Commentary, Electronic Version.

223 Charles C. Ryrie, Ryrie Study Bible, Expanded Edition, NASB, Moody Press, Chicago, 1995, p. 2041.

224 John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Moody Press, Chicago, 1966, p. 281.

Related Topics: Christology, Eschatology (Things to Come)

6. When Following God Seems Like A Dead End (Ex. 13:17-14:31)

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We come to the final episode in the escape of the Israelites from the stubborn clutches of Pharaoh and slavery in Egypt. In my last article in this series, we noticed the typical significance of the Passover both for the Israelites and for us Christians. Just to review the main five points of comparison:

1. The significance of the Passover for the Israelites:

a) It marked the beginning of a whole new life (12:1).

b) It distinguished them from the Egyptians (11:7; 12:13a).

c) It protected them from God’s judgement on Egypt (12:13b, 23).

d) It was to be a permanent memorial of their redemption from slavery in Egypt (12:14-20; 24-27).

e) It was to be imbibed into their innermost being by eating the sacrificial lamb (12:8-11, 14).

2. The Significance of the Passover for Christians:

a) Christ’s death is the beginning of a whole new life (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20), the demarcation between the old life and the new (Eph. 4:24; Rom. 6:4).

b) Our identity with Christ separates and distinguishes us from the world (1 Pet. 2:9-10; Eph. 5:11; 2 Cor. 6:14).

c) Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is our protection from God’s judgement (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22; 1 Jn. 1:7-9).

d) Our memorial feast is Lord’s table of remembrance (Lk. 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24).

e) Christians are those who have spiritually imbibed Christ into their innermost being by eating his flesh and drinking his blood (Jn. 6:53-56).

With those comparisons and contrasts in mind, we turn to the study of the Red Sea crossing, which similarly has great typical significance both for the Israelites and Christians, as we shall see. The primary theological truth we discover in this episode is that with God, dead ends can turn into through streets. First notice that…

I. Following God May Lead To A Dead End (Ex. 13:17-14:10a)

1. God has special purposes in “dead ends” (13:17-20). God’s road map for our lives is not always what we would choose. God does not always take us on the shortest or easiest route. Why didn’t God take the Israelites directly to Canaan? We can find four answers to that question in the book of Exodus…

First, because the most direct route from Egypt to the Promised Land would have taken the Israelites along the Mediterranean coastline, which would have required them to pass through the land of their enemies, the Philistines. Knowing how fickle they were and prone to complaints and doubts, God, in his grace, spared them from facing the possibility of war, which might have discouraged them to the point of causing them to “change their minds and return to Egypt” (13:17). And so, God directed them southeast “toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness” (13:18), thus avoiding enemy territory.

Second, because crossing the Red Sea was the most direct route to Mount Horeb, “the mountain of God” (3:1). Mount Horeb (otherwise known as Mount Sinai in Arabia) was the place where Moses had first encountered God, the very place to which God had promised to bring him back: “This will be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God at this mountain” (3:12). Now is the time when God’s promise to Moses would come true.

Third, though the text does not tell us this specifically, taking this route is evidence of God’s care and guidance in that it took them through territory with which Moses probably would have been familiar, having spent 40 years in the wilderness of Midian tending his father-in-law’s sheep.

Fourth, because God had one more miracle to perform for the Egyptians and the Israelites, a miracle that would stop the harassment of Pharaoh once and for all, a miracle that would show them that “I am the LORD” (14:4), which, by the way, is the constant refrain and focus of the book of Exodus.

In this we see that God’s hand is always displayed in the details. The precision and fulfillment of these little details is remarkable, isn’t it? Just like the next detail: “Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath saying, ‘God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place’” (13:19). Undoubtedly, Joseph knew the covenant that God had made with Abraham, Isaac, and his father Jacob, that the land of Canaan would be their permanent homeland, and he fully believed that God would keep his promise even though it would not take place in his lifetime. Egypt was the place through which he and the Israelites were passing as pilgrims and strangers. The prospect of Israel’s permanent home in Canaan lay ahead and that’s where Joseph wanted to be buried (see Gen. 50:25 and Josh. 24:32), for their home was his home, their resting place was his resting place. And so in this verse (13:19) we see not only the faithfulness of Moses to keep the covenant Joseph had made with the sons of Israel (even though it was long after Joseph’s death), but also the faithfulness of God to keep his promise going all the way back to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-7), Isaac (Gen. 26:2-4), and Jacob (Gen. 28:15).

2. God has special means in the “dead ends” (13:21-14:10a). In this case, the means God used were the fire and a cloud. The Israelites were not left alone to wander aimlessly, trying to find their way out of Egypt. He did not deliver them from Egypt only to leave them to their own devices as to which way to go, how to get there, and to face all the obstacles and dangers on their own. No, God himself was present with them in their journey. In fact, “The LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people” (13:21-22). The pillar of cloud led them during the day, guiding them and sheltering them from the burning heat, and the pillar of fire accompanied them at night, giving them light and warmth. Both the cloud and the fire were a constant reminder that God was with them to guide them and protect them throughout the entirety of their wilderness journey, which would turn out to be much longer than necessary because of their own sinfulness.

God and the pillars of cloud and fire are seen as one. The pillar was in fact a type of theophany – it was God’s presence in front of them and behind them. These were God’s means to lead them into the “dead end.” Wouldn’t it be nice to have God lead us in this way? How often do we long for such clarity. We pray for guidance and sometimes nothing seems to happen. That’s when we would like to look up and follow the cloud or a pillar of fire, leaving us with no judgement calls about what to do, no agonizing over what decision to make, no need for advice from others, no questions or doubts about God’s leading. No doubts? Well, maybe. Certainly we are going to find out that the Israelites still had massive doubts.

Here's the principle: God’s faithfulness to keep his word and safeguard his people is guaranteed. This principle is so important for us today. We so easily feel abandoned by God, left to our own resources to figure out solutions to problems and obstacles. But God never abandons us, just as he never abandoned the Israelites throughout their entire history. They were his chosen and beloved people. And so are we! The God of Moses who led them through the wilderness is our God. Let us never forget that. His power and care and provision for us have not changed. Oh, I know God does not manifest himself in quite the same ways that he did back then. We don’t see him visibly in a pillar of cloud or fire and he doesn’t speak to us audibly. But that doesn’t mean that he is less involved in our lives or less able to guide, protect, and provide for us. In fact, we have the indwelling Holy Spirit with us every moment of every day. And we are surrounded by his holy angels, those “ministering spirits sent out to serve those who are going to inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14).

The problem, you see, is not with God. The problem is with us. So often, we do not live in a daily state of constant communion with him. We forget about him. We forget that he cares for us more than we could ever know (cf. Matt. 23:37-39; Isa. 41:10; 43:2; 49:15; Ps. 23:1-3; 1 Pet. 5:6-7; Heb. 13:5). We have God’s word and we can count on it. Just as “the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people” (13:22), so we can count on his presence with us and his power and provision for us every moment of every day.

Indeed, now, as we continue this story, we see God’s hand in another detail of the Israelites’ journey. Knowing that Pharaoh’s heart was still hard and rebellious and that he would once again reverse his earlier decision to let the Israelites go by chasing after them, God instructed Moses to “tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea” (14:2).

The Egyptians must have been surprised when they saw the Israelites turn south to Pi-hahiroth. They must have thought that the Israelites didn’t know where they were going, such that “Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around in the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in” (14:3).

In addition to the Egyptians’ surprise, the Israelites must have been confused about why they were taking this route, about where they were going, and about how this would all end because by changing direction they were trapped geographically and militarily – Pharoah’s troops were behind them, the waters of the Red Sea were in front of them, and mountainous and wilderness terrain was all around them. But exactly who was trapped? The Israelites or the Egyptians? And who has trapped whom? Have the Egyptians trapped the Israelites? Or, has God trapped the Egyptians, not the Israelites?

Remember, God is always in control. Despite all that had happened in Egypt with the ten plagues, Pharaoh still thought he was in control, that he could outsmart God. But we know from Scripture that God was in control of everything, including Pharaoh’s heart and actions: “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord” (14:4). God’s ultimate purpose is to glorify himself and he does this by revealing himself so powerfully and evidently that all people will know and must acknowledge that He is the Lord (Hab. 2:14). No one will ever be able to claim that they didn’t know.

People with hard hearts continually act in defiance against God. And sure enough, Pharoah fell for the bait just as God had told Moses, “When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said, ‘What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us’” (14:5). To Pharaoh, pursuing the Israelites into the dead end at the Red Sea seemed like shooting fish in a barrel – made them an easy target, totally exposed, vulnerable, and defenseless. The Israelites were sitting ducks. They couldn’t escape and, to any casual observer, they were unprepared, unarmed, untrained, overpowered and outmaneuvered by Pharoah’s troops. Even ten plagues did not cause Pharaoh to consider that maybe, just maybe, he was about to enter a trap. It’s hard to imagine how stubborn and stupid Pharoah was after the devastation that he had caused and experienced by not letting Israel go much earlier. But then, such is the blindness that power and money and unbelief have over the human heart.

Pharaoh’s primary concern was not knowing God, or much less submitting to God; rather, his concern was to keep the Israelites in slavery. Undoubtedly, releasing them would cause serious economic harm to Egypt. Who else would do for him what they had done for hundreds of years? 6 So he got his chariot ready and took his troops with him; 7 he took six hundred of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out defiantly. 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen, and his army—chased after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon” (14:6-9).

Well, know this - while following God may lead to a dead end…

II. Sometimes God Uses Dead Ends To Test Our Faith (Ex. 14:10b-14)

It appeared that the tenth plague was the final test that broke Pharaoh’s obstinate opposition to God and the Israelites, resulting in his permission to let them go. But no, there is still one more demonstration of the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart at the Red Sea. Not only has Pharaoh not learned the lesson that God is the LORD, but the Israelites also had not learned the lesson either for, when they saw Pharaoh and the Egyptians pursuing them, they panicked. Let me ask you, if you were trapped as the Israelites were, how would you react – with panic or with trust?

1. Panic is based on illogical emotion (14:10b-12). The Israelites panicked and in their panic, trust immediately changed to fear. “The Israelites were terrified” (14:10a). At first, they “cried out to the Lord for help” (14:10b) but they didn’t even wait for a reply. As reality set in, they were overcome by fear.

Fear is generally our response (1) to circumstances (whether real or imagined), and (2) to uncertainty about the future. At its root, fear is generated by lack of trust. That’s what we see here in the Israelites. So great is their fear, that their response to their situation is thoroughly irrational (based on their previous experience of God and Moses in Egypt) and thoroughly driven by their emotions and imaginations. How much better would it have been if they had said, “Moses, you have been thoroughly trustworthy throughout the plagues and our exodus, and God has shown himself all-powerful in our deliverance from slavery. We don’t know how we are going to get out of this dilemma, but we trust God and you now for this.”

In their panic, fear quickly evolved into blame. They said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?’” (14:11). Panic leads to wrong thinking and wrong attitudes. Wrong thinking changes trust to fear and wrong attitudes turn fear to blame. No sooner had they cried out to the Lord than they cried out against Moses. Why did they conjure up such wild imaginations about dying in the wilderness? This is a clear indication of the fickleness of the human heart, with its constant distrust and complaints. This behavior was expressed repeatedly throughout the wilderness journey, a constant fluctuation in attitude, mostly given to discontent, despair, ingratitude, mistrust, suspicion, false accusations, complaints, and disobedience.

Blame is an awfully powerful emotion that can lead to all kinds of aberrant behavior. It’s irrational, unsupportable, and cruel. When things don’t turn out as you expected, you want to blame someone for it. That’s human nature. That’s what happened when God confronted Adam and Eve with their sin - Eve blamed the serpent and Adam blamed Eve.

In their panic, blame erupted into animosity. Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness” (14:12). This is what animosity can do – distort reality. Their complaint falls into two categories. First, they accused Moses of the ulterior motive of bringing them out into the desert, not to worship God as he had said, but so that they could die there, supposedly because there were insufficient grave sites in Egypt (14:11). Really? How do people come up with such fanciful accusations? Second, they claimed that they had told Moses before that they wanted to stay in Egypt as slaves, asserting now that serving the Egyptians would be much preferred to dying in the wilderness. This is an outright lie. They had not told Moses to leave them in Egypt to serve the Egyptians at all. In fact, they were only too glad to get out of there. How quickly they had forgotten the relief of their escape. And, anyway, who said they were going to die in the wilderness?

This is what happens when panic evolves from fear to blame, and when blame erupts into animosity. Animosity changes the way you think and distorts the truth. The Israelites here were suffering from selective memory – things back in Egypt suddenly looked really good in the face of danger. Evidently, even after repeated demonstrations of God’s power in the plagues, His people (the Israelites) still did not know God and now they distrusted God’s servant, Moses, as well.

Notice that the awful conditions in which they subsisted all those years in Egypt, all of a sudden, were much preferred by them than their present circumstances. And notice the deceit of this accusation and the irrational response to their current situation. It’s one thing to be terrified under the circumstances (we can understand that from a strictly human point of view), but it’s another thing (1) to mistrust God after all He had done in delivering them from slavery, and (2) to make these false accusations against Moses after all that he had already done for them as their mediator. After all, they were only too glad to follow Moses’ instructions to apply the blood of a Passover lamb to their doorposts and lintels for protection against the death of their firstborn. They were only too glad to follow Moses’ instructions to pack up and leave after the Passover night. And they were only too glad to take from the Egyptians silver and gold and anything else they asked for (12:32-36).

Now they responded by hankering for the familiar and the routine – the “good old days” - despite the burden that it had placed on them previously. To them, anything was better than this. So, what happened to them? Why the change? How had they forgotten so quickly the awesome power of God and their deliverance from their Egyptian slave masters? How could they ignore their history - 400 years of suffering under the egregious usurpation of power by the Egyptians?

But instead of condemning them, let us look at our own hearts which often reflect the same attitudes, despite the N. T. teaching that we should (1) be content with what we have, (2) rejoice in hope, (3) be thankful for God’s daily mercies and provision, (4) trust in the Lord at all times, (5) guard our tongues, and (6) be obedient. How would you have reacted to these circumstance? And how would you have reacted to these complaints and false accusations if you had been their leader?

So, panic is based on illogical emotion, but…

2. Trust is based on godly confidence (14:13-14). Graciously, Moses responded, Don’t be afraid” (14:13a). Moses trusted God. What a contrast to the mass confusion of the Israelites. Here is godly, confident leadership on display. How much had Moses progressed since the burning bush, where he had no confidence and was full of excuses. Moses was so confident now that he responds to their anger with absolute grace. He shows no malice, no anger, no sarcasm, gives no lecture, no rebuke. Instead he gives them words of comfort and assurance.

“Don’t be afraid” has to be one of the most comforting expressions anyone could hear, especially in this situation. I mean, they were, naturally speaking, trapped – surrounded by desert, water (the Gulf of Suez to the west of them, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east of them), and the Egyptian army chasing them. They had no room to move in any direction, so they thought. No way to escape, so they thought. How could they not be afraid?

So, what would you do if you were facing a similar dilemma? – employment problems looming ahead of you, debts piling up behind you, personal relationships in turmoil, disobedient children around you, false accusations made against you? When we are surrounded by seemingly impossible circumstances, we might react the same way as the Israelites did by complaining, longing for the good old days, or accusing others.

It’s natural in dangerous situations to be afraid, isn’t it? Fear, after all, is a God-given emotion that protects us and energizes us with a “flight” or “fight” response to danger,. So, it goes against our nature to not be afraid when obvious danger is lurking.

Moses words of comfort are followed by words of assurance.Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you must just be quiet” (14:13b-14). They didn’t need to do anything. Indeed, they must not do anything. Instead, they must simply stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.

When confronted with danger, it’s hard to “stand firm.” When we are trapped at the end of a dead end street, we become confused, we question God’s character, and our trust changes to fear and blame and animosity. But that’s exactly when we need to watch God act. That’s when we see the character of God displayed. The Lord is our Comforter (“don’t be afraid”) and the Lord is our Savior (“salvation is of the Lord”). That is when we need to have absolute trust in God. As Moses said, “After today, you won’t see the Egyptians anymore. God will do what He said.”

This phrase “don’t be afraid” (14:13a) has to do with not fearing what lies ahead, confident that God will intervene on our behalf, for this is the very time when doubts arise. Doubts and fears often go together, don’t they? To “stand firm” also infers patience, waiting on God. If you are like me, patience is not your greatest virtue. For many of us, waiting just isn’t in our nature. We want to do something, fix the problem, overcome the obstacles, search for a solution on our own. Sometimes it’s virtually impossible for us to imagine that God alone (without our help) will resolve the conflict, overcome the dilemma, and vanquish everything and everybody who is against us. But those are the very times we need to trust God and relinquish control to him. It’s not just a matter of waiting, but, as our text says, of standing firm – not being moved in our faith in God. One of my favorite verses is 1 Cor. 15:58, “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” That’s what it is to “stand firm” – not be moved by circumstances, doubts, or fears, but to be immovable in faith.

If we depend on our own resources, then we have every reason to be afraid. But when we know that God is on our side and that he will wage the battle for us, then that changes everything. The Israelites’ comfort and assurance was that “The Lord will fight for you” (14:14). We sometimes find ourselves in situations that we know are beyond our capability to handle, don’t we? When that occurs, we often go to other people to seek counsel and help in such circumstances. And that’s right and proper, so long as we consult the right people. But how much better, to take it to the Lord and to receive his assurance that He will “fight” for us. He will defend us and deliver us from our enemies. He will show us the way out of those circumstances that we don’t know how to handle. “God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13).

So, first, following God may lead to a dead end. Second, sometimes God uses dead ends to test our faith. And third…

III. Dead Ends Can Lead To Divine Encounters (Ex. 14:15-31)

The Israelites thought they couldn’t go forward or backward, but they didn’t know that this was a divine encounter. What seemed impossible to them was possible for God. Remember our thesis for this study: With God, dead ends can turn into through streets. When all we can do is stand and watch, God begins to intervene on our behalf.

After Moses’ words of comfort, encouragement, and exhortation to the Israelites, God gives instructions to Moses (1) for the Israelites (14:15), (2) for Moses individually (14:16), and then (3) He declares what He alone is going to do (14:17).

1. There is a time to obey God courageously. As for the Israelites, it was time for them to go forward. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp’” (14:15). Despite the dangers behind them and obstacles in front of them, the Israelites, on God’s command, were to “break camp,” to move on.

Standing firm in our faith does not mean that we never move. There is a time to stand still, to wait on God, but there is also a time to move forward. Prayer and action always go together. In the case of the Israelites, on God’s command now was the time for them to “break camp,” to move ahead. If they had moved earlier, they would have undoubtedly gone in the wrong direction. And if they had delayed and moved later, they would have undoubtedly faced catastrophic consequences.

That was God’s instruction for the Israelites as a whole. This is followed by God’s instructions for Moses individually…

2. There is a time to act for God confidently. As for Moses himself, he was to use his trusty rod once more. “As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground” (14:16). There was divine power in that rod. Moses had used it before when he had thrown it down before Pharaoh (7:10), when he had used it to turn water into blood (7:14-20), and when he had used it to produce a plague of frogs (8:1-15). Now, he would use it again to divide the waters of the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to go through on dry ground. Wow! The rod that had worked miracles in Egypt now would work another miracle in deliverance of the people from their otherwise inescapable position.

I doubt that anyone in that company had thought that this would happen! Do you see how all our plans can be so quickly set aside by God when He acts on our behalf? Do you see how all our fears suddenly disappear when God acts? Solutions to our dilemmas that we never thought possible suddenly make all our fears and doubts subside.

God’s instructions for the Israelites as a whole are followed by God’s instructions to Moses individually, and then God declares what He alone is going to do…

3. There is a time to watch God work providentially. Notice four critical ways in which God worked providentially. First, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart for the last time. “As for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen” (14:17). God would continue to do what he had done before – “harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them” (14:17). Do you see now, how God’s work of sometimes hardening people’s hearts works out for the blessing of his people and His ultimate glory? God still had not revealed to Moses and the people how he would be glorified in this situation, but we know from our vantage point that he would be glorified by Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his horsemen being drowned in the sea. This would be God’s ultimate act of victory, by which “the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and horsemen” (14:18).

Second, the angel of God guarded their backs. At this critical moment, when they were apparently trapped and about to be taken captive again by Pharaoh and his army, “The angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them. It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. There was cloud and darkness, it lip up the night, and neither group came near the other all night long” (14:19-20). What had earlier been their guide going before them (13:21), now became their shield, coming behind them. Now, the pillar of cloud and fire was the separation between them and the Egyptians, such that “neither group came near the other all night long.” Once more, as on the Passover night, there was darkness all night for the Egyptians but light for Israel. So, the Egyptians could not see what or who was ahead of them - it actually made them oblivious to the danger ahead. And the Israelites could not see what or who was behind them, thus calming their fears.

Only God could do that! Could the Israelites ever doubt that this was God’s doing and marvelous in their eyes (Ps. 118:23)? Could they ever have doubted that the pillar of cloud and fire was God himself? Would this act alone not have dispelled all their earlier fears?

Third, God parted the Red Sea. Moses did what God had told him by extending his rod over the sea, and “the Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left” (14:21-22). The east wind not only parted the waters but also dried out the sea bed to make a dry road. The Israelites moved forward with the massive sea walls on either side and the Egyptians followed right behind them, marching right into the trap.

I think we become so familiar with this miracle, that we fail to understand the impact and extent of it. Can you imagine what it must have been like for perhaps 2 million Israelites to walk between such massive walls of water on either side? There is some convincing archeological evidence that the Israelites crossed the Gulf of Aqaba (a tributary of the Red Sea) at Nuweiba Beach, on the eastern part of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReTJUL2cGro&ab_channel=DoUPray2%3F). If this evidence is correct, then the Israelites crossed over at the very point where there is an underwater, flat, wide ridge (in the midst of otherwise very deep waters), which spans the full 16 km from the western side in Egypt to the eastern side in Saudi Arabia. In any event, whether that was the case or not, the vast multitude of Israelites (with all their possessions and animals) were able to enter and cross, apparently with relative ease and speed, before the Egyptians “went into the sea after them” (14:23). Doesn’t it amaze you how perfectly God attends to the most minute details? Nothing escapes his gaze or evades his plans.

Of course, we know the rest of the story. Naively, the Egyptians followed the Israelites into the gap between the walls of water (14:23). Did they not think (1) that a divided ocean was not normal? (2) That perhaps the massive sea walls on either side posed a bit of a threat? (3) That they had seen things like this before – like frogs all over the place, locusts that ate all their shrubbery, and water turned to blood?

But this is how powerful unbelief is. People can be so blinded to the truth of the gospel by the god of this world that they can’t see their spiritual hand in front of their unbelieving face. The Egyptians were so confident in themselves that all reason was thrown out of the window. But God had already told Moses that “the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD (14:4, 18), that there is none greater than He, that he is the sovereign Lord who will accomplish his purposes no matter what, and all the earth will know it. For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord’s glory, as the water covers the sea” (Hab. 2:14).

Fourth, God confused the Egyptians. 24 During the morning watch, the Lord looked down at the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire and cloud, and threw the Egyptian forces into confusion. 25 He caused their chariot wheels to swerve and made them drive with difficulty. ‘Let’s get away from Israel, the Egyptians said, because the Lord is fighting for them against Egypt’” (14:24-25). Before they knew what was happening, God caused their chariot wheels to swerve or fall off, making it difficult for them to drive. At this point, the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from Israel.” So, who is afraid of whom now? Who is panicking now? “The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt (14:25; cf. 14:14). What a confession! What a realization that they were actually fighting against Yahweh himself! Pharoah’s magicians had told Pharoah that before (8:19; 10:7), but he didn’t listen to them then and now it is too late. For “then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the water may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen’” (14:26). And that’s what happened.

As daylight dawned, all the panic of the previous day had cleared. “The Lord threw (the Egyptians) into the sea… not even one of them survived” (14:27-28) but not a drop of water touched the Israelites, who “walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left” (14:29). Not one Egyptians soldier lived to tell the tale and not one Israelite died, despite their accusation that Moses had brought them out to die in the wilderness. Instead, they “saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore” (14:30).

What a day that was in Israelite history. There was no doubt about it – God had done it all! God fought for his people that day. Salvation truly is of the Lord. This was a divine encounter. No wonder the author concludes this episode with this marvelous statement: “When Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses” (14:31). I guess so! This was the only appropriate response. What grace God displayed to the Israelites! After all their complaining against God and his servants, God still extended his grace to them. They were his chosen people and his covenantal love for them never failed.

Final Remarks

Throughout this remarkable and significant event in the life of Moses and the Israelites, we notice the overriding principle that with God, dead ends can turn into through streets. In this study we have noticed some very significant applications and implications for our own lives…

1. God’s road map for our lives is not always what we would choose. God does not always direct our lives in the shortest or easiest route. He often takes us on journeys that seem, to us, longer and more difficult but which, sometimes without our perception, avoid other dangers and discouragement along the way.

2. God’s hand is always displayed in the details. Often we do not pay attention to the details – either we are unaware of them or we write them off as being coincidence or inconsequential. But when we look back on our lives, we can see that in those little details, God was at work, ordering all things for our good and blessing.

3. God’s faithfulness to keep his word and safeguard his people is guaranteed. What he has promised he delivers. What he says is true and trustworthy. God keeps his word, guaranteed.

4. People with hard hearts continually act in defiance against God. The human heart can be so hard toward God - even to the point of defying God after ten devastating, nation-wide plagues! Don’t we see that revealed still today? Nations suffer extraordinary hardship, and yet the leaders do not turn (or even urge the people to turn) to God in repentance. And this is not just true of nations; it’s true in our own personal lives. Is it not true, that God sometimes permits us to go through times of suffering and hardship, not necessarily for our own personal sins, but in order to draw us closer to him? What becomes clear in such circumstances is that the people of God do not know God and they distrust God’s servants. It’s sad, isn’t it, when the people of God claim to know God but in reality they do not know him – they have not bowed to his sovereignty nor do they trust his word. In addition, they do not trust his servants. We hear this all the time in churches, where the members complain against, and openly express distrust of, the pastor and elders. It’s shocking and needs to stop (unless, of course, there are justifiable, biblical reasons). Oh, I know that it’s hard to “stand firm” when confronted with danger. It’s hard under such circumstances to trust God and others to lead us safely through. But God does not change and when he sees our fear and distrust, he says, “Don’t be afraid.”

5. God delivers his people from danger and judges their enemies. Such deliverance may not be by miraculous means, like parting the Red Sea, but He nonetheless acts on our behalf, protecting and delivering us from danger and opposition. In those times we need to “stand firm.” But standing firm in our faith does not mean that we never move. There is a time to stand still, to wait on God, but there is also a time to move forward. And we can move forward with confidence because behind it all, God is still providentially at work. Remember, God always has the final say. On His word we can place our trust for eternity. He is in control of all circumstances, working out his purposes in our lives so that (1) unbelievers (e.g. the Egyptians) will know that “I am the LORD” (4:14) and that (2) believers will “fear the Lord and believe in him” (14:31). The ultimate deliverance of believers and final fulfillment of God’s word will not come, of course, until we are raptured and transformed into His perfect likeness.

So, let us live in the good of the apostle John’s assurance: 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure” (1 Jn. 3:2-3). May we be prepared and ready for that glorious moment, when the heavens will part and we shall see him as He is. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the archangel’s voice, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are still alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:16-18).

Related Topics: Christian Life

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