March 29 Daily Discovery
March 29 Daily Discovery - Read Isaiah Chapter 2
This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).
Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.
[1] the word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
[2] And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
[3] And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
[4] And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
[5] O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
[6] Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they please themselves in the children of strangers.
[7] Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
[8] Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
[9] And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.
[10] Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty.
[11] The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
[12] For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
[13] And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
[14] And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
[15] And upon every high tower, and upon every fenced wall,
[16] And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.
[17] And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
[18] And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
[19] And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
[20] In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
[21] To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
[22] Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?
Once Upon a Time: Past, Present or Future?
I remember from my childhood that grand stories and fairy tales would start with the phrase, "Once upon a time ...". This prophecy of Isaiah certainly sounds that way, but the story would start like this, "Once upon a time someday in the future..." .
To the Israelites, whose capital was Jerusalem, this prophecy was something that they longed for to be fulfilled. Jerusalem would be the center of the entire earth and all nations would flow to it. Nations would convert their weapons of war and implements used for growing food and cultivating it. Nation would no longer rise up against nation. Largely, the world would be at peace. How possibly could such a thing be possible?
All prophecies were future when they were given. The vast majority of them are in our past now. This includes the prophecies that are given in the New Testament.
If you embrace what we are given as the time we are living in according to the calendar that most of the world follows, the New Testament age that included Jesus and the apostles is about 2, 000 years ago. I do not accept this calendar which I believe has been manipulated during this time of deception. I think it is likely closer from 1,200 to 1,500 years ago using the current calendar.
To study more about when are we on the divine timeline use the link below.
The Last Days
Many of the Old Testament prophets spoke about what would come to pass in the last days. These messages continued into the era of the New Testament. Jesus Christ and the apostolic writers referred to the time that they lived in as being the last days. Therefore the beginning of the last days is in our past.
The last days began with Jesus
Heb. 1:1-3
[1] God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
[2] Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
[3] Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
We are still living in the last days
These last days will continue until the consummation of all things. Read the last three chapters of the book of revelation for a heads up on this.
2 Tim. 3:1-13
[1] This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
[2] For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
[3] Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
[4] Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
[5] Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
[6] For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
[7] Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
[8] Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.
[9] But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was.
[10] But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
[11] Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
[12] Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
[13] But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
Apocalyptic Scriptures
When we read and study the Scriptures, we are hearing what they say or what they tell us. We must remember that we're reading a story written for somebody else or a letter written to someone else. We are not the original audience. We can still learn from what we're reading, because the Scriptures are recorded for us even though they were not written directly to us.
We must also not only hear what they say we must understand what they mean. This is called interpretation. Sometimes this is direct and straightforward and relatively easy, and sometimes what they mean is not clear and must be interpreted. Towards the end of His earthly ministry just prior to the cross, Jesus admitted to His disciples that He most often spoke to them in figures, but He would soon be speaking to them in a straightforward manner. When we are given figures, we must struggle with what does the figure mean. Figurative speaking was a familiar habit of prophets, both in the Old and New Testaments.
Psa. 49:1-4
[1] Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world:
[2] Both low and high, rich and poor, together.
[3] My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.
[4] I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.
Num. 21:27-29
[27] Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:
[28] For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.
[29] Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
Ezek. 21:8-20
[8] Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
[9] Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD; Say, A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also furbished:
[10] It is sharpened to make a sore slaughter; it is furbished that it may glitter: should we then make mirth? it contemneth the rod of my son, as every tree.
[11] And he hath give it to be furbished, that it may be handled: this sword is sharpened, and it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the slayer.
[12] Cry and howl, son of man: for it shall be upon my people, it shall be upon all the princes of Israel: terrors by reason of the sword shall be upon my people: smite therefore upon thy thigh.
[13] Because it is a trial, and what if the sword contemn even the rod? it shall be no more, saith the Lord GOD.
[14] Thou therefore, son of man, prophesy, and smite thine hands together, and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the slain: it is the sword of the great men that are slain, which entereth into their privy chambers.
[15] I have set the point of the sword against all their gates, that their heart may faint, and their ruins be multiplied: ah! it is made bright, it is wrapped up for the slaughter.
[16] Go thee one way or other, either on the right hand, or on the left, whithersoever thy face is set.
[17] I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest: I the LORD have said it.
[18] The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying,
[19] Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city.
[20] Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced.
John 16:17-25
[17] Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?
[18] They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.
[19] Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye inquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?
[20] Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.
[21] A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
[22] And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
[23] And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
[24] Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
[25] These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
Jesus would teach in parables to the public and then later explain the parables to his disciples, but when speaking directly to His disciples it was often still in shadows or symbols that they did not understand. This is why even when he told them he was going to dying be raised again they did not understand what he meant. To us this is abundantly clear today, but to them, it was a figure that was not understood. They could not grasp the truth that their Messiah was going to truly die and be raised again from the dead!
They were so used to hearing him speak in figures and their understanding of the nature of their Messiah was perverted. Keep in mind that they held the common, accepted view.
Believers (that is followers of Jesus) today suffer a similar hardship when they are stuck on a specific eschatological view that will not enable them to read the Scriptures plainly for themselves. This is why the vast majority of evangelical Christianity is still awaiting a secret return of Jesus, followed by literal 1, 000 year reign of Christ on earth. Keep in mind that I adhere to that myself as well. I just believe it's in the past.
Luke 18:31-34
[31] Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished.
[32] For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
[33] And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again.
[34] And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
When it comes to the interpretation of the Scriptures, the most difficult Scriptures to interpret are the apocalyptic ones. I provide a practical guide for the interpretingof apocalyptic scriptures, click on the link that follows to get to it.
- https://www.itsgodstory.com/a_practical_guide_for_interpreting_apocalyptic_scriptures.php
The Final "Once Upon a Time"
Human history is filled with violence. History that is recorded by human beings always tells a story from the point of the victors and the victors are always the good guys and their enemies are always the bad guys. We must keep this truth in mind as we read history and ask the question is this the true story?
One of the themes that is certainly developed in the Bible is the conflict between good and evil or between God and the devil (the anti-God). This conflict actually started in heaven and continued on the earth. There is such a thing as good and evil. A day ahead comes when all good and evil is separated and evil will have a final place and will be locked up there and good will have a final place of freedom and joy. We do not get to choose whether or not we will live forever, but what and who we choose will determine where forever is for us.
- Read Revelation chapters 20 through 22
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