Gifts and caling of God are irrevocable

Romans 11:28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. 32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

The "they" is Israel   What is being highlighted is a time when

seemingly they have forfeited their calling, their disobedience is front

and center and seemingly they have been cast aside, 

it is over, 

but MERCY,

 bulldozes through.  

MERCY is exalted, 

MERCY triumphs.  

God's promises

are fulfilled through the most circuitous route possible,

 but they are true, 

because

HE is true. 

Zechariah Bible Study #7 Chapter 5:1-4

Zechariah Bible Study # 7

The Flying Scroll

Zechariah 5:1-4

The Flying Scroll

5:1 Then I lifted up my eyes again and looked, and behold, there was a flying scroll. 2 And he said to me, “What do you see?” And I answered, “I see a flying scroll; its length is twenty cubits and its width ten cubits.” 3 Then he said to me, “This is the curse that is going forth over the face of the whole land; surely everyone who steals will be purged away according to the writing on one side, and everyone who swears will be purged away according to the writing on the other side. 4 I will make it go forth,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night within that house and consume it with its timber and stones.”  NASB

After 5 visions emphasizing hope and future glory, come 2 visions displaying the cleansing judgment that must come.

Before the millennial reign on the earth

from this very land,

through this very people

there must be a time of cleansing from everything that defiles.

“The God of Israel has two methods in dealing with sin and removing iniquity, both of which are in perfect accord with the absolute holiness of His character. One of these methods—the one He delights in—is the method of grace. This is beautifully unfolded in the 3^rd chapter, where we are shown how that, on that ground of His sovereign immutable 'choice', and because of the full atonement and perfect righteousness accomplished by His Righteous Servant, 'The Branch,' the iniquity of that land shall be removed 'in one day,' and repentant Israel (upon whom the Spirit of grace and supplication shall in that day be poured)shall be cleansed from all defilement (as signified by the removal of the 'filthy garments') and clothed in 'rich apparel,' and with the 'fair,' or 'clean,' mitre on his head, on which the words 'Holy to Jehovah' are graven, shall be fitted to go forth among the nations as the priests of Jehovah and the ministers of our God.

But what about those who persist in their wickedness, and, in spite of the marvellous display of God's grace, 'will not learn righteousness' but continue even 'in the land of uprightness' (as Immanuel's land shall then be called) 'to deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of Jehovah'? (Isaiah 36:10) With them God's method is that of judgment. Sin must be purged away, iniquity, must be stamped out in the city of God; and when the sinner is so wedded to his sin that he is no longer separable from it, he becomes the object of God's curse, and must be 'cleansed away' from the earth. In short, then, the two visions in chapter 5 give us the reverse side of the truth unfolded in the first four chapters.

They show us that if there is grace and forgiveness with God, it is not in order to encourage men to think lightly of sin, but that 'He might be feared' (Psalm 130:4). They also take us, so to say, a step backward, and show us that, before the glorious things symbolically set forth in the first five visions will finally be fulfilled, a period of moral darkness and corruption, and of almost universal apostasy, was yet to intervene." David Baron (3 amazing paragraphs)

Verse 1 – The prophet is looking toward the scroll that is the starting point for the angel to explain it. Just like if someone visits your house and is looking at an object, without them verbally asking, you start to tell them about it. Ezekiel 2:9 is an example of a scroll that appears in a vision that foretells, “lamentations, mourning, and woe.”

Verse 2 – The dialogue begins with a simple question, “What do you see?” Don't attempt to explain its meaning, or symbolism, or anything else just yet. Let's keep it simple. The prophet sees a scroll specifically that is flying. So it must have been “launched” from somewhere. He is able to give its dimensions. The measurements are the same as two areas of the temple; (1) the porch of Solomon's temple (which had been destroyed) (2) the Holy Place of the tabernacle. This would seem to say that this judgment is based on God's standards. They are unchanging, unlike the culture around us. They are final.

Verse 3 - “This is the curse...” It is singular, no matter how long the list is. Deuteronomy 30:1 “So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the Lord your God has banished you, “ It is singular because it is coming from one source. The law of God, has been broken, the curse now comes forth. This curse is going out to the face of the 'whole land' (not the whole earth) indicating once again that blessing and privilege for the Jewish people also exposes them to judgment. Amos 3:2 “ You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” Two sins are mentioned, swearing falsely by the Name of Jehovah and stealing. The third commandment and the eighth commandment, both in the middle of the each table that God wrote the law on. Two sides of a tablet and now two sides of a scroll. “Purged away” could also be expressed as 'cleansed away.' Even in the judgment, there is a redemptive element. One just gets the feeling that God is holding back, giving grace, in only specifically identifying these two sins. The judgment is poured out, “according to the writing” again, which has not and does not change. There is a definite tendency in our thinking that 'wishes' the commandments could be weakened or altered. Can we come to the point where we see that the “hardness” of the demands is meant to draw us, to drive us, to the beauty of His grace. “Of course you are going to fail, I knew that, and I have made the way to return, to be healed.” The horror and the beauty is shown most magnificently at the cross.

Verse 4 – Here we find out who “launched” it, God Himself. Baron calls this verse, “one of the most solemn in the whole Bible, as showing what an awful thing it is to come under God's curse against sin.” 'I will make it go forth' and 'it will enter' both emphasize that there is no turning back, judgment has come. 'The house', the place where you may imagine yourself most hidden or least vulnerable, is neither, with God. The judgment 'stays' until the work that it was sent to do is accomplished. This is no visit that when the person leaves or when you exit the principles office you can wipe your brow and say, 'I'm glad that is over.' This is not over until God's judgment has been satisfied. These transgressions bring punishment with them. Baron again, “But there is yet a climax in the train of calamities which the curse will bring to the house of the wicked. It shall not only 'dwell' there, but is 'shall consume it with the timber thereof, and the stons thereof.' Here we see the terribleness of the punishment which sin brings down upon itself. It shall be utterly 'cleansed away,' or 'consumed' from the midst of God's congregation, together with those sinners who are no longer separable from it.” In Leviticus 14:45 the same type of destruction came to a house stricken with leprosy.

This makes our joy even more full, when we see, truly see, that “His blood can make the vilest clean, His blood availed for me.”

One day at the time of the end this prophecy will have its full terrible fulfillment. The Day of the Lord. When the earth will be cleansed.

death then resurrection, a way of life

"Death and resurrection is not a doctrine to which God is asking us to subscribe.
It is a mode of being, to which He is asking us to live and to fulfill the remarkable
requirement that is made of us, that CANNOT be performed out of our humanity, however
well-meaning.  Resurrection is the heart of the matter because it is the issue of God, it is
the issue of glory.  It is the issue of the triumph of God in supernaturalness over all that is celebrated in the world that has to do with man.  So the redemption of Israel in the land can never be a humanly achieved proposition, but by its very nature requires a total divine enablement, tantamount to creation istelf out of hopelss chaos, just like the reality by which the cosmos came into being, out of death, destitution, and chaos.
Israel will be established by the same means, for the glory of God the Creator."
 Art Katz "The Resurrection of Dry Bones"  Ezekiel 37
 http://media.sermonindex.net/21/SID21676.mp3

This is what I am trying to get across in my speaking of Post Tribulation.  The church going through the tribulation lines up with a principle in scripture that is from the beginning to the end with its ultimate highlight being the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  The preparation of His bride, the Church, will come about in the same way, who but God could arrange for a tribulation that cleanses and purifies the Church.  Will we admit that we need the heat of the furnace to purify us?  The ultimate display of the 'fear of the Lord' is to submit to this time, with a trust and a humility that says, "Not my will, but Yours be done."  Help us, Lord!

Post-trib in ten words

God Israel  The Cross The Church The Cross Israel God

Got that while I was running and listening to Art Katz this morning.  He said, " the reiprocity between the Israel and the church and the church and Israel is seen in Romans 11"

So from Israel, the whole experience, the History from the choosing of Abraham, to the cross , which led to the formation of the church, which will go to the cross, in the great tribulation and display sacrificial love during the time of Jacob's trouble, leading Israel back to the faith of Abraham, in the God who raises from the dead, this Jesus whom you pierced.

Indeed we are lead to cry out and sing with Paul, "OH the depth and the riches...."

Challenging the pre-trib rapture

Just some post-trib, "food for thought for anyone who might drop by this blog.
When is a "day" in scripture, ever equal to seven years??
Please put Revelation 3:10 and John 17:11-15 side by side and get a better understanding of what it means to be "kept" Strongs word #5083.
Daniel 12:7 puts the tribulation at 3 1/2 years, where is it said to be 7 years?
Study the "Day of the Lord" and the resurrection of the dead, with an open mind to the placement of these events in the last days.

intimacy or deception

Art Katz introduced me to the concept of penultimate and ultimate things.  It would seem we are in need of great grace when discussing end times  things, because the penultimate 'peace' of Jerusalem is actually the setting for the launching of the anti-Christ.  The ultimate peace of Jerusalem CANNOT  be accomplished by man.  It occurs when the Prince of Peace enters through the Eastern Gate.  So praying for the peace of Jerusalem is praying for the "Day of the Lord."
It seems most everything goes back to intimacy with God.  "Those days" will be filled with a deep deception.

Only as the prayer of Jesus in John 17 is answered in our lives are we able to be a light.  Only as we are intimate with God can we spot deception, that will pull in all those not fully relying on God.  

Bring us to a place of intimacy with You, Lord, in Jesus' name.

That is my prayer for us.

Matthew 16:22 ESV  

And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord!* This shall never happen to you."              Footnote:* Or “[May God be] merciful to you, Lord!”

Peter here displays a penultimate concern for Jesus, even cloaking it in spiritual language, "May God be merciful to you, Lord!"

We need to learn from this, without intimacy with God, we are prime candidates for deception, and could end up speaking the words of Satan, not the Word of the Lord. 

Zechariah Bible study # 6 Zechariah chapter 4

Zechariah Bible Study # 6

Zechariah Chapter 4

The Golden Lampstand and Olive Trees

4:1 Then the angel who was speaking with me returned and roused me, as a man who is awakened from his sleep. 2 He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it; 3 also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.” 4 Then I said to the angel who was speaking with me saying, “What are these, my lord?” 5 So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lordto Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. 7 ‘What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain; and he will bring forth the top stone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”
8 Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. 10 For who has despised the day of small things? But these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel—these are the eyes of the Lord which range to and fro throughout the earth.”
11 Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right of the lampstand and on its left?”12 And I answered the second time and said to him, “What are the two olive branches which are beside the two golden pipes, which empty the golden oil from themselves?” 13 So he answered me, saying, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.” 14 Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who are standing by the Lord of the whole earth.” NASB









The author of the commentary I am using, David Baron, considered this a good time for a review of the book up till now, and since context is an important key to being able to understand scripture, I agree.
The first 3 visions conveyed “good and comfortable” words through the prophet to the people, by giving them God's perspective on their history, their current situation and their future. Even though oppressed by a Gentile world-power, God was in control and working things out. Vision #1 – It is okay, God is in your midst. Vision # 2 – God is watching over the afflictions and sorrows and is angry with those who are adding to the afflictions of the judgments that He is commanding. Vision # 3 - Jerusalem will yet again, be established by God and made more glorious than ever. The chosen nation will fulfill the God-given purpose among the nations, to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. Vision # 4 answered the un-spoken question, “How can this be?” How can this fallen, failed people be a conduit for the thrice Holy God. This vision showed the power of God to remove the filth and clothe His chosen people in the rich apparel of His righteousness, the priestly apparel, the kingly apparel, all given as a free gift never to be removed. The vision in this study is a follow up to Joshua and the removal of his filthy garments and the giving of those new garments. Now Joshua representing both Israel and the church is made right with God to do the work of ministry but how will that work of ministry be done. This vision gives us the answer and once it is put in its proper context it is a very powerful revelation of “true ministry.” One that is referred to in the end times, with some modifications. Revelation 11:3-5

3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies; so if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way.

Verse 1- This 'state' that the prophet is in is, “fully awakened.” He is not passively sleeping and being given these visions, he is interactive with them. He plays a role in being able to ask questions and get clarification.
Verse 2- The angel initiates the vision with a question. He sees a full view of a lampstand, with a bowl on top of it supplying oil. It is a 7 branched candle stick, the same as the one in the temple in the Holy Place. Israel's call is to be a light to the nations. The church's call is to be a light to lost souls. Spouts are important they carry the oil to each lamp and each lamp has its own spout. Also it should be noted 7 churches are chosen for being spoken to in Revelation. 7 lamps but all on the one candlestick.



Verse 3- Two olive trees, loaded down with olives to provide the oil for the bowl that supplies the lampstand.



Verse 4- It is a good policy to never assume that you know something especially around God. Ask questions even when you think you know the answer. He is smarter than you.



Verse 5- Part of the meaning of the vision is found in what is not there, no priests filling and trimming the lamps, no offerings of the people providing the oil. God is the unending, overflowing supply. It is embarassing to 'not have the answers', humbling, and that is right where God wants us, this verse just emphasizes the emptiness of our finite understanding and of our deep, deep, need for revelation from above.
Verse 6- How does true ministry take place – NOT by might, NOT by power but by MY Spirit says the Lord. ….....WOW we need to stop here for awhile. What does God have against might and power. 'Might' is the strength of many, like an army, and 'power' is the strength of one man, human strength of every description, physical, mental, and moral; all cast aside. Weakness and dependence upon His speaking and His moving are greatly valued in His eyes. Waiting on the Lord, not rushing ahead of Him. Being content to “look silly” because if God is not speaking, you refuse to speak. Refusing to push ahead in the 'doing' that is so greatly admired... but not by God. “Being” in His presence and not moving until He says so, somehow being able to say no to the pressure to perform on cue, and just resting, until the Spirit moves. There is so much we have to 'un-learn' in order to get to the place where God can use us. Oh the incredible stregth that is ours when we are 'out of the way' and God's Spirit is working through us! The power that enables true ministry is His power and it is only available when our power is abandoned. As Paul states it,
“Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Cor. 12:10
True ministry is clothed in His righteousness and powered by His Spirit.
“For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36



Verse 7 – In light of the Power of God, comes the slightly sarcastic question, “What are you...? Fill in the blank with any difficulty that stands in the way of the follower of God accomplishing what God has ordained will be accomplished. 'O great mountain' don't look now, but you will become a plain, a 'piece of cake' when God rolls through and by His Amazing Grace brings to pass all that He said. 15 years before, Zerubbabel saw the foundation of the temple laid, and after numerous set-backs and problems internally and externally, here comes the top stone with shouts of “Look at what we've done” NO, with shouts of “Grace, Grace to it!” The word “grace” makes an appearance 9 times in the Old Testament. 2 of them are here and there is one more in chapter 12. Joshua as the kingly representative was given the robes and the covering of righteousness. Zerubbabel as the priestly representative is given the anointing to be the intermediary between God and man. Work definitely gets done, but no man receives applause.
1 Cor. 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.



Verse 8 – This is the word of the Lord, directly from the pre-incarnate Christ. The words that in themselves contain the power of fulfillment. This is no angel, this is no simply encouraging word, this Word has power and life.
Verse 9- When what the prophet says comes to pass, against all odds, overcoming all discouragement, the validity of the prophets ministry is confirmed. This is no, “little work” because the Lord of Hosts is behind it. We need to have our eyes opened to God and His work in the world.
Verse 10- This 'small' temple was the most important work going on in the earth at that time, because its rebuilding was a necessary step in the fulfillment of God's purpose for His candlestick, Israel and later the church. Discouragement was killing the rebuilding, “It is not as big, nice, expensive as the old temple.” “We are a subjugated people, with limited resources.”
The 'seven' would be the 7 eyes of God from the previous vision. God is focused on this, His resources are available for this, His grace is sufficient for this.... see how those kind of declarations defeat discouragement. They crush it. Zerubbabel still has in his hand the tools of rebuilding, but in God's eyes it is as good as done.
Verse 11- Dig deeper, ask questions, search for answers.
Verse 12- No answer, keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking. His question does get a little more specific, going from trees to branches.
Verse 13- And when the answer is in the form of a question, “Do you REALLY not know?” Don't give up, keep on asking, humbly seeking, “Yes sure enough, I REALLY do not know!”
Verse 14- Anointed ones, literally 'sons of fresh oil.' Kings and priests were anointed with oil. Civil authority and priestly authority, Joshua the civic leader and Zerubbabel the priestly leader. God usually works in this way, in the Old Testament and in the millenial kingdom, Rev. 20:1-6. Jesus combined these two offices in Himself, like Melchizedek, another pre-incarnate appearance of Christ.
In Zechariah 6:13 “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices."
These two anointings are to characterize the church as we work in the world, displaying God's love through miracles and acts of humble service. All of it empowered by the grace of God, for the glory of God.