Don't Put God in A Box.

 

As I was writing this, it came to me I might have written about this subject before. My memory isn’t very good and my computer files are a mess because I know nothing about computers, so I can’t look it up. Nevertheless, I will post this anyway. Every time I read the Bible or listen to a good sermon I see more and understand more, so here it is:

I listened to a sermon by Tim Keller on Elijah the prophet. What he said was meaningful to me. He told us about the time Elijah was depressed and had run away from the king and queen of Israel. Queen Jezebel had threatened to kill him, so he ran and ran until exhausted, he came to a broom tree. He sat under it and asked God to take his life.

The day before this, Elijah had a contest with the pagan priests about who was the true God. They both built alters on top of a small mount and prayed for their gods to bring down fire. Only Elijah’s alter was set on fire from heaven. The people shouted, “The Lord, he is God.” Elijah left the mount and ran into the city with King Ahab. He was probably sure everything would now change for him, because previously the king and queen had been hunting for him to kill him.

But when Elijah heard the threat from Jezebel, he knew the demonstration of God’s power had not affected anything. He felt his work was a failure and it was over, but he was wrong. God had a lot more for him to do.

Twice, as Elijah lay there, an Angel of the Lord came and cooked warm bread and provided cool water for him. He said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” He did that and was given strength to walk in the wilderness for 40 days until he came to Mr. Horeb, which was known as the “Mountain of God.” It was the place God had met with Moses and the children of Israel.

So he got up and ate and drank. And strengthened by that food, he walked forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. The LORD Speaks to Elijah at Horeb There Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of Hosts,” he replied, “but the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well.” Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”   1 Kings 19:8-13

“A Still Small Voice,” that was how the Lord was speaking with Elijah now, and perhaps that was how the Lord was speaking to the people of Israel now too. They had seen God’s great power in a fire from heaven, but now he would speak with them in their hearts. Pastor Keller said, “You can’t put God in a box.” He speaks to people in different ways all the time. He gives them dreams, visions, or just a small voice in our minds.

“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”  Isaiah 30:21

I have put God in a box many times. I think he is going to do something one way when he does it in a completely different way. Sometimes that way is very painful, yet it gets the results I want. Not in a way I would ever choose; I wouldn’t allow anyone to suffer in any way. But that’s me, I’m human and weak. God knows beauty comes out of ashes. I accept that. I may not like it, but I accept it. Pain is most likely the only thing that will bring us to God and eternal life.

Has God spoken through whirlwinds, earthquakes and fire? Yes, he has, but at the right time he speaks to us through a warm meal and a kind word.

This is what the Lord did with Elijah. He told him what he wanted him to do next, that his work was not done yet. So, Elijah obeyed and eventually God took him to heaven without ever passing through death.

The Still Small Voice – Timothy Keller [Sermon] - YouTube

 

 

Revelation: The First and Second Angels' Messages.

The Three Angel’s Messages.

First Angel:  

            “And I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of water.””  Rev. 14:6, 7

            This first angel’s message states that the gospel has been preached to the whole world; in chapter one of this book we saw that we are already very close to seeing the gospel spread to the entire world.

This first angel also warns the world to worship God, the creator.  Notice once again that God is referred to as the Creator.  This is significant in that it points out one of the things the earth needs to be reminded of one last time. Times and laws were changed by man, not by God, and the law having to do with time and that also contains God’s title as our creator is the law regarding the Sabbath (see chapter five of this book).  Therefore, one way in which we worship God is by honoring his authorship of everything when we keep holy His Sabbath day—Saturday.

Second Angel:   

“And another angel, a second one, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great, she who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the passion of her immorality.””  Rev. 14:8

          We saw in chapter four of this book that “Babylon the great, the mother of harlots…” (Rev. 17:5) was Jezebel, the false church. 

What does it mean that she is the mother of harlots?  Well, if harlots are impure women, and women in prophecy refer to churches, the harlot daughters of Babylon the great would be false churches joined with the mother of all false churches.  Protestantism united with Catholicism.

          The second Angel’s message is repeated in more detail in Revelation 18.

          “…“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!  She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird.  For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.”  Rev. 18:2, 3

          The Holy Spirit is not working in Babylon; demons and unclean spirits are.  Politicians and business people were working with her and becoming powerful and rich by doing so.  But the religious war is going badly (one third of mankind is dead) and Babylon is being destroyed.  Revelation 18:9-19 describes the despair and mourning coming from those who followed Babylon and have seen their world collapse.

Revelation: The Church of Thyatira.

Thyatira: Faithfulness          Fourth Seal: Religious Persecution            538 CE – 1516 CE

Spirituality

“I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads my bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality…But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them – I place no other burden on you. Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. He who overcomes, and he who keeps my deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations.”  Revelation 2:19, 20, 24-26

Jezebel was a wicked queen who led the people of her nation to abandon God and worship idols and she killed those who refused to submit.

 (1 Kin. 16: 31; 21:25; 2 Kin. 9: 7, 22)  In prophetic language, a woman represents a city and a group of people that have something in common (i.e. citizens of a city [“city”zens] have their place of residence in common). (see Appendix 2)  Here, Jezebel calls herself a prophetess, so Jezebel is a city and a group of people (“city”zens) who have a religion in common since they believe they speak for God. 

In the year 533 CE the Roman Emperor Justinian declared that the Bishop of Rome was to be the head of all Christian churches.  By the year 538 CE all opposition, both religious and civil, to this appointment was crushed.  The Bishop of Rome (city) was firmly established in his authority over religious and civil matters.  Those church members with the traits of Balaam and the Nicolaitans (“city”zens) had finally attained all the power and riches they had so desired (commonality).  They had set up a powerful church and were designing doctrines that would strengthen their control and would lead the masses astray.  But there were still believers who remained faithful to the teachings and the spirit of Jesus although they did not fight hard enough in the beginning against this false church with its false doctrines.  However, what was done was done and Jesus told them to hang on and as a reward they would rule with him.

Experience

“ When the Lamb broke the fourth seal…I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him.  Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.”  Rev. 6: 7, 8

     Hades is the Greek word for hell, and the experience of many of those who refused to follow Jezebel, the teachings of this false church, went through hell on earth, dying for their faithful adherence to the pure teachings of Jesus.  The Inquisitions and persecutions, the torturous and agonizing deaths of the faithful were unrivaled by anything in history.  Truly the ashen horse of Death followed by Hades fell upon those faithful people.