Bittersweet

And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. (Revelation 10:9)

But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. (Daniel 12:4)

And he had in his hand a little book open… And sware… that there should be time no longer: (Revelation 10:2, 6)

Daniel describes a book that is sealed until the last days when many would study prophecy and knowledge of it would increase. Revelation describes a book that is open in the last days, surely this is the same book. In vision John is told to eat the book and it is sweet in his mouth, symbolising those who first began to understand the prophecies, they devoured the word of God and with their learning came a sweet experience. They realised that Jesus return would be soon and they prepared their hearts to meet him.
But like the disciples of old, they misunderstood God's message in some areas, and were bitterly disappointed as the the prophecy predicted when Jesus did not come when they expected, or ever in their lifetime.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us- ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:9-10)

Jesus will not come at an expected time, but an unexpected. But his faithful followers will be ready because they will order their life today as if he might come tomorrow, but they will plan for the future, and not count on Jesus return in doing this. Because we know not the hour.
Jesus delay is not because he is slow, but because we are slow to be ready for him. He is not willing for any of us to perish but that we might all come to repentance. Repentance prepares you for Jesus' second coming. Don't lay up treasure here, it will all burn.

So the prophecies pointed to a time when students of scripture would have a sweet experience understanding the end time prophecies but they would be bitterly disappointed. This was the experience of the first Adventists, and I believe in an Adventist view of prophecy today.

Testing the Prophets

5 Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err,

that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace;

and he that putteth not into their mouths,

they even prepare war against him.

6 Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision;

and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine;

and the sun shall go down over the prophets,

and the day shall be dark over them.

7 Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded:

yea, they shall all cover their lips;

for there is no answer of God. (Micah 3:5-7)

This passage in the context of chapter 3 describes the abuse of power by leaders of God's people. The first and last verses of the chapter are very interesting too, but a few things about verses 5-7:
The false prophets have a tendency to tell people the kind of news they want to hear. They are not generally the ones with an un-likeable message of judgment or doom but with an appealing message of peace. But when this is the opposite of what God has actually said, the false prophets may as well be murdering God people considering the damage they are doing.
Interestingly, by being a false prophet one can lose the ability to see visions. This proves that false prophets can have real visions from God without necessarily being a true prophet.
If there arise among you a prophet... And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods... Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet... for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul... And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; (Deut 13:1-5)
Even in the Torah we find a law dealing with false prophets that have fulfilled prophecies. So we should judge the teachings of a prophet on the Bible's teachings not by how many miracles he performs.

Polarise

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. (Isaiah 58:8)

After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. (Hosea 6:2)

I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. (Hosea 14:4)

For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. (Matthew 13:15)

The context of Hosea 6:2 is of God punishing then having mercy and speaks of the early and latter rain. It is an interesting passage indeed, since it seems to be the scriptural basis for the timing of Jesus' resurrection. We can see from these passages that God wants to heal us, he loves us. But in Matthew we see a reference to Jeremiah's prophecy which speaks of the preaching of the word actually having the effect of making the people more set against God.

The time is coming when everyone will humble himself before God or proudly rebel against God's law. The preaching of the word must surely have something to do with this polarisation. We have a message to preach that will polarise the world. Let's get preaching.

Coming Soon (?)

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. (Revelation 16:15)

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10)

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also, that thou mayest look on their nakedness! (Habakkuk 2:15)

I wonder if we have lost much of our sensitivity to nakedness in our society. Our first parents did not need to be taught that nakedness equates to shameful vulnerability ...I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked?… (Genesis 3:10-11) Although it is not really the plain reading of the text (at least in the KJV) I think Adam and his wife (who wasn't yet called Eve) were clothed in garments of light. I'm not sure what sort of garments, but I think they could be removed. ...and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:24-25)
But something has gone wrong and people are revealing more and more of their bodies for public view. I don't know why one bloke would want to look at his neighbour naked, but I know people take improper photos of people at parties and post them on social media websites. So I suppose there is a similarity to this in our society today. To glory in the shame of another who is humiliated by one's own devising is perverse but certainly not unusual. I think things are not so bad elsewhere in the world, but here in Australia men and women often wear very little clothing in Summer. The Bible teaches that our bare flesh is not for public view and that is good enough for me.

I don't think Revelation is talking about literally being undressed when Jesus comes, although I hope that doesn't happen to me. Jesus says in Revelation to his people that we should be active in his service, not simply "having a good time". We need to be vigilant, sober and fully clothed like city guards or police on duty. Jesus will come like a thief in the sense that his coming will be sudden and unexpected. The way I read scripture I suspect that I personally will be surprised when he comes. The key is to be always ready: When you think Jesus is coming soon, be ready. When you think Jesus may not be coming so soon after all, be ready. Jesus will come when you and I least expect it.

This said, I think we can know within the ball park the general time Jesus will return. I think prophecy has been clearly enough fulfilled for us to know that he could return in our lifetimes. This is different from Martin Luther for example who apparently estimated that Jesus would not return for at least a couple more centuries after his time. I wouldn't give this world a couple of centuries. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:13) Get ready, because Jesus has got to be coming soon.

Be Still My Soul

Listening right now to the recording of Be Still My Soul in the AYC live stream. I need to take time every day to still my soul. Not just to study and learn more but to be still and reflect on God and to let him straighten out my wrong thoughts.

Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. (Psalm 131:2)

AYC

AYC Youth Convention begins at Melbourne Town Hall today, I'm an organiser so there hasn't been any blogging this week and won't be for a few days.

Sozo

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. (Isaiah 58:8)

I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. (Isaiah 57:18)

Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. (Jeremiah 33:6)

Physical health is connected to spiritual health. God wants us to have physical health and therefore he has given us detailed instructions on obtaining it. These instructions are found mostly in the Torah: they include limitations on meat consumption and hygiene standards. But physical health is also often a metaphor for spiritual health. It is interesting that the Greek word used in the Christian Scriptures for "save" in the context of the salvation of the gospel is "sozo" which also means "heal". There is an interesting book about this called D'sozo. Jesus saves us from our sins (Mat 1:21) or we could say heals us from our sins. Jesus is the great physician. He heals people from physical disease and heals people from spiritual disease. We should be like Jesus. We should help people as much as we can to live healthier lives physically as well as spiritually. Being a disciple of Jesus means a life of selfless service to humanity on God's terms. We must not heal the physical without the spiritual. We often try to save the sinner without healing his disease but we would be more effective if we did both.
Lord please help me to have the selfless love I need to follow Jesus.

Epilogue

For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts.

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4)

What an ending for the Hebrew Scriptures! The stage is set, enter the Christ…
Of course these passages relate to the second coming as well as the first, but the practical instruction was and is relevant: Fear God and love your neighbour.

Latter Rain

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. (Isaiah 58:8)

Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. (Hosea 6:3)

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)

What an amazing set of passages! Yet again we have this idea of the light rising in the morning, and added to it are the ideas of rain, healing and growth.
If we persist in being disciples of Jehovah he will work powerfully in and through us like the morning: small at first but ever increasing. He will come to us through his Holy Spirit like the early and latter rain: the early rain is early of course and has already begun long since; the latter rain is for the latter days and may not yet have begun. The early (autumn/winter) rain causes the seed to sprout and the plant to grow tall, even continuing to grow well after the rain has subsided. The latter (spring) rain ripens the grain for the harvest. The harvest is in the heat of summer when there is no rain. So the Holy Spirit will come like the rains of agriculture and prepare Christ's people for his coming. But we need to be doing his fast of kindness to others.
When Jesus takes to to his kingdom he will heal all our ailments. We will grow in many ways, perhaps even physically, to gain the stature humanity was meant to have at the beginning. We will certainly grow in our understanding and appreciation of God and we will have all that we need like a stall-fed calf.

Towards the Light

Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward. (Isaiah 58:8)

Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. (Psalm 112:4)

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. (Proverbs 4:18)

The passage here from Proverbs is a well known and much quoted one, thoughts flow from my mind as soon as I read it. It leads me to reflect: what we know already influences so much what we learn. It is so much easier to study deeply into God's word after you have already spent a few years studying it, so if you are new to the Bible take courage. On the other hand, no matter how much of the Bible I learn I find new and strange passages and it is much easier to dwell on the old familiar verses and say the same old things than it is to step out and extend my knowledge by personal research.

We are looking at Isaiah 58, which talks about how God wants us to prepare our hearts for revival and the return of Jesus. Lo, the passage from Psalms also connects light in darkness with compassion and righteousness. It is noteworthy that compassion and righteousness are together like this. In the Bible, being kind to others is not elevated above or distinct from doing the right thing in terms of obeying God's law. Righteousness is doing what is right. What is right is defined by God's law in the Bible. Being gracious, (forgiving) compassionate and righteous are attributes of the upright: and the upright can see what to do and where to go even when things are dark and confusing, even when others cannot see the right way. It doesn't mean that the upright will not get lost while walking through a forest, it means the upright will not be lost morally or lost for eternity.

The just is the man that just (only) does what is right (my definition, not an exhaustive one). His path is the course he takes: his life decisions, his responses to changing circumstances, his way of interacting with others. It is his way of life.
The just is what we can be, we cannot always know what we can do to be compassionate or righteous; but we can determine to aspire to these things and plead to Jesus for a changed heart every day. Then we can go off and just do what we believe to be right. We may not have a lot of light at first, and we will probably stumble frequently especially at first. But as we keep on the path the sun rises, and we have more light and see better and fail less frequently. We are more embarrassed about our failures because it is light and we thought we were doing well (also people can see us now), but we must carry on anyway. Putting pride aside, just keep walking the path towards the light. Actually it is not so much like the sun rising as like walking towards a distant floodlight. As we come closer it seems to rise and illuminates our surroundings more brightly: but it is not moving, it is always there, but we see better as we draw closer.

It's a bit like the old cliche "If you find you are not as close to God as you used to be: ask yourself who moved."

But I think that when I feel that I am further from God it is only because I can see better and I realise how far I have to go. Take heart and keep moving towards the light.

Feeling Sorry for the Church

He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand. 2 And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar. 3 And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side; 4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
5 And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: 6 Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house. 7 And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.
8 And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord God! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem? 9 Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The Lord hath forsaken the earth, and the Lord seeth not. 10 And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. 11 And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me. (Ezekiel 9)

What a fascinating and terrible vision! This did not literally happen as far as I am aware, but it describes the slaughter that would come to Jerusalem possibly in one of the latter invasions by the Babylonians and it describes even more accurately the fates of those who are alive when Jesus returns. Those who have been sealed as loyal to Jesus will be spared the universal destruction which will come to those who oppress and murder them. The book of Revelation speaks of this in more detail.
Those who are sealed in the Ezekiel 9 vision are those that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst of Jerusalem. The slaughter begins at the temple, where Christ is willing to defile his own temple with blood so that the wicked priests may be killed. The temple is where the worst abominations are happening. Archeology suggests that Jehovah was worshipped by the Jews as Baal and Ashtoreth was worshipped as his wife. This worship was similar (relevant?) to the worship of the nations around Judah and involved sexual immorality and idolatry. The priests of this religion were frenzied (enthusiastic?) in their worship and the worshippers followed suit. Human life was not respected, especially the life of the infant. There are hints at the Bible that archeology shows the truth in this matter. (2 Kings 21:3, 6, 7)
Ezekiel's book does not begin until after the second captivity to Babylon. At this stage Daniel has been exiled (first captivity) but Jerusalem has not yet been destroyed (third captivity). There is no specific mention of Baal-Ashtoreth worship during this period, but since it seems to have been the standard course of apostasy throughout Judah and Israel's history I think it is a fair assumption.
If so, then God's people are not openly leaving God, but worshipping him in a way that he specifically commanded them not to and ignoring his laws.
That reminds me of the church today.
Just like the people who are sealed and protected in the vision, I sigh and cry for the sins of the church in these last days. God does not see this as disloyalty but seals those who are doing this. Pray for the church, she needs it.