Monday, December 8, 2014

DBRP_Dec09_2014 Amos9 Is49a Rev2a


In Amos 7 we heard of how the priest of Israel’s pagan shrine, Amaziah, told Amos to go away and tried to get king Jeroboam the 2nd to move against Amos.

There were sad words at the end of chapter 8, which indeed happened during the 400 year inter-testamental period:

11“The time is surely coming,” says the Sovereign LORD,

“when I will send a famine on the land—

not a famine of bread or water

but of hearing the words of the LORD.

12People will stagger from sea to sea

and wander from border to borderc

searching for the word of the LORD,

but they will not find it.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/amo.9.nlt

 


 

We turn to Isaiah 49. In Isaiah 48 God said,

3Long ago I told you what was going to happen.

Then suddenly I took action, (past tense)

and all my predictions came true.

And,

20Yet even now, be free from your captivity!

Leave Babylon and the Babylonians.b   (present imperative)

Such words may be hard to understand. There is a trait of prophetic writings where the past tense is used instead of the future tense. Since Cyrus had not yet come, this section may well have meant in Isaiah’s time “suddenly I will take action” and “When the time comes flee from Babylon.” Remember that all times are alike to God, and it is natural for Him to speak of future things (from our perspective) as already happening (from his perspective). Note that we can see this trait in Revelation. John sees future things in his visions, but reports them as he sees them as already happening.

Here is an often quoted verse:

22“But there is no peace for the wicked,”

says the LORD.

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/isa.49.nlt

 


 

We turn to Revelation 2. The first chapter ended with Jesus’ explanation of what John saw. Jesus told John:

20This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angelsk of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

We now come to a very special section: the letters to the seven churches in Asia. Some have tried to see church ages in these letters. It is better to see them as representative of churches at any age. Each letter has the same form. There is a highlighting of one of the characteristics of Jesus as seen in chapter 1. Then Jesus show that He sees and knows each church intimately. He gives commendation if it is deserved, and gives a rebuke when that is appropriate. He exhorts each church appropriately according to their condition. Then, my favorite part, He gives a promise appropriate to each one. And near the end of each letter Jesus said what He did when telling parables on earth, which I paraphrase: Ya’ got ears, don’t ya?! Well then pay attention to what the Spirit is saying to the churches!

By the way, remember what Isaiah said about people who have grown deaf!

https://www.bible.com/bible/116/rev.2

 

 

 



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