Seeking the Gospel Truth

So far in our historical account of Israel and  Judah, we’ve seen the bad kings of the northern kingdom of Israel with  their capital city of Samaria, resort to paganism and corrupt ways. As a  result, God sent the Assyrians to take them captive and haul them away as judgment. The prophets Hosea , Amos and Micah warned them, but they didn’t listen. That kingdom and its people are &n...

Chapters 24-28 are known as “The Little Apocalypse”. Written c. 716 BC  (Before Christ), it gave the New Testament writers a look into the  future. A future that was beyond their lives. The people of the 1st  century thought that Jesus was coming back within their lifetimes. Yet,  here we are 2000 years later, still waiting. Certainly, God’s Word still  holds true. I felt...

God’s not done with the nations and He’s not done with the world — YET.  His warnings to the nations continue. There are some new ones added to  the docket and some previous ones are called out again. Once more, we  have prophecies that came true “BC” (before Christ) some in the first  century and others are still to come. But first, our hero, Isaiah, has  to go through a...

Next up in God’s judgment docket of the end times are Damascus, Israel (again or still) Ethiopia and Egypt. All these countries and others factor big time in the last days .  Check out the video at the bottom which goes into more detail. With the  unrest currently in the Middle East, our first chapter today comes up a  lot in end time discussions. When will Damascus be destroyed? Wh...

Now, Isaiah turns to the nation of Moab. Moab  has an interesting history which takes us back to the judgment and  destruction of Sodom. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, escaped the fire and  brimstone with his wife and 2 daughters. After being told not to look  back at the first sin city, his wife couldn’t resist and became a pillar  of salt when she turned to look. Lot and his dau...

Isaiah now turns to warnings and prophecies of  the downfalls of Babylon, the Philistines, the Assyrians and Lucifer  himself. In the next few chapters (13-23), he prophesies against the  nations. As you will see, his writing is very descriptive, very  colorful, very direct. He, too, like the other prophets we’ve studied,  doesn’t beat around the bush. God doesn’t beat aro...

In today’s chapters, Isaiah switches from warning Judah to prophesying about Jesus, the Messiah, the Holy Spirit, and what life on earth will be like when Jesus comes back in all His Glory. Here, Isaiah is describing the Millennial Kingdom . In the Book of Revelation , we’re told how it will be fulfilled. In a way, God, through Isaiah is trying to comfort the Jews after He told them that everythin...

Have you ever done something, then seconds later  thought, “I shouldn’t have done that!”? Shortly thereafter, you witness  the consequences of your actions. That’s really where wisdom should have stepped in and stopped you from making a mistake. But if you lack wisdom, you make foolish decisions. In 2 Kings 19 ,  we learned that King Hezekiah of Judah was a good and godly King. His...

Yesterday we saw what God had planned for the Assyrians and their arrogant King Sennacherib come true. How God sent His Angel (Immanuel/Jesus) to take care of the Assyrian army that was encroaching on Jerusalem .  All because King Hezekiah of Judah humbled himself and asked for God’s  help. He knew he could not manage without God’s divine intervention. We  need to remember that. Tod...

When  we last left the King of Judah, Hezekiah, he had just gotten a report  that bad King Sennacherib of Assyria threatened to annihilate Jerusalem. In this next chapter, we see what a good, God-fearing king does. We also get a cameo appearance of the Prophet Isaiah as Hezekiah turns to God for help as we all should. Let’s dig in… Keep reading in my blog where there are links to dig dee...

Over and over again, God warned the people of Israel, the northern kingdom, to repent and stop worshiping the idols and pagan gods. He sent Hosea , Amos , Isaiah and other prophets (which we’ll get to eventually) to warn them, but  they refused to listen. They would not change their ways. They were  accustomed to the traditions of the people before them. Since c. 931 BC,  they’ve be...

If God doesn’t like your prideful state, your  haughtiness, your attitude and arrogance, He will humble you if you  don’t humble yourself first. That said, when He humbles a person, a city  or a country, it’s Big Time. Fortunately, God ALWAYS gives a warning  before judgment comes. The problem is, many people don’t recognize it,  hear it or heed it. They ignore it to their...

The next 2 chapters of Isaiah, 8 and 9, foretell what happened in 2  Kings 17-19. I admit, I struggled with which chapters I should cover  first, the prophecy or the historical account. I opted to go with the  prophecy since it is so powerful and it talks to us today. The  historical accounts just prove that God keeps his promises and when He  says repent or else, He means...

Yesterday, we learn ed  that the Book of the Prophet Micah is divided into 3 sermons. We stopped in the middle of the 2nd one. If you missed it, click here to read or listen (or go to the previous episode) to that one first. The Book of Micah is short, but  it’s packed with some of the best advice you could EVER get. In these  next chapters, we’ll find some passages that are are fam...

Understand, first, that God’s purpose is not to  destroy, but to save and redeem. He must confront & judge the evil  among people. Remember, God’s covenant promise of truth & love is  more powerful than human evil. Furthermore, God wins in the end! That’s  the beauty of having His Word, the Bible. We can read what will happen in the future in the Book of Revelation. I d...

The Book of Isaiah is so full of imagery that you can visualize  everything that he and God are talking about. There really isn’t much  interpretation needed. He’s another in-your-face prophet. The job of the  prophet was not to be a fortune teller or a diviner of the future. No,  he was to deliver God’s Word to the people, warning them that if they  didn’t stop sinning, G...

Over  and over again, the northern kingdom of Israel was warned to stop their  evil, idolatrous ways or God would send one of their enemies to conquer  them. They didn’t, and He did. Now it’s Judah’s turn. Again, God  sends one prophet after another to warn them. Today we start the Book of  the Prophet Isaiah. This is a powerful book. It is full not just with  prophec...

Let’s recap! We just covered what 3 prophets had  to say to the kingdoms of Assyria, Israel, as well as the other  surrounding nations. They were God’s spokespersons. Jonah , Hosea and Amos were just the first 3 of a whole line-up of prophets that God sent to  the people of Israel — the northern kingdom, then Judah — the southern  kingdom. Basically, their message from God to t...

Yesterday we saw how God gives us plenty of warnings about the judgment that everyone will eventually face, though He gives us an “out” — which is Jesus .  In today’s chapters, God continues with His warning of the coming  judgment on Israel, however, the Book of Amos ends with God’s promise of  Mercy and Grace. Furthermore, we know that God keeps His promises!  Let’s dig in… K...

Throughout the Bible, God gives us explicit  commands and instructions on how we are supposed to worship Him and  behave towards other people. Given that, when these commands are broken,  there must be judgment. Nevertheless, God, though He is a just and fair  God, always gives us an out — a chance to REPENT . A chance to say, “I’m sorry! I know I did wrong. Please forgive me!”...

Meet Amos. He’s a rancher, raising sheep and  probably cattle, along with being a farmer of figs. He was a businessman  from a small, country town in northeastern Judah, who more than likely  traveled a lot to the northern kingdom of Israel for business. Amos knew  the territory. He was also a godly man. Even with no formal training  like Elisha or even Jonah ,  God c...

God doesn’t beat around the bush. He is like a parent toward a child — in  this case, the child is Israel. God loves His people, yet He has to  discipline them. Like any loving parent, it breaks His heart to have to  do it. Seriously, it’s not like He didn’t keep warning them! In these  last 4 chapters of Hosea, God reminds them where they came from through  the story of t...

Even God has a breaking point. The sin of idolatry spread like a cancer  throughout the northern kingdom of Israel. With each international  alliance came new false, pagan gods to worship. God watched as His  beloved people kept rejecting Him, rejecting the law so clearly given ,  until He could no longer let it continue. God crushed Israel in  judgment and the Israelites...

These next chapters of Hosea consist of God calling Israel out. It’s  their judgement, God is the Judge, and Hosea is the prosecuting  attorney. He cuts to the root of Israel’s problem — first the people,  then the priests. There’s no beating around the bush with God. What’s  more, He explains exactly what they — and likewise, YOU — need to do… repent ! Let’s dig in… Keep readi...

How angry can God get when we disobey? We’ve seen God’s wrath in the Great Flood , Sodom and Gomorrah and we’ll see more of God’s wrath during the Great Tribulation . Yet, God loves His creation .  He loves us. He doesn’t want us to disobey. God sends us prophets to  warn us. He sent prophets to Israel and Judah. We have major prophets:  Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel. We’ll...