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What Can We Know About God Without Using the Bible?
AUTHOR
Greg Koukl
PUBLISHED ON
12/11/2023
PHILOSOPHY
What Can We Know about God without Using the Bible?
Greg and Amy discuss how, even apart from the Bible, we can know some of God’s attributes by observing his creation.
Transcript
Question: How do you show what attributes God has without using the Bible?
Greg: The way Paul puts it in Romans 1:19–20 is, “That which is known about God is evident within them.” That’s interesting because he’s talking about an internal witness in that phrase—“for God made it evident to them.” He’s talking about the fact that the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
If you think about the origin of the universe, it has to be from an unmoved mover—to use the Aristotelian characterization—one that himself was not created, or else you fall into an infinite regress. Who created him? Who created him? Who created him? Sooner or later, you have to have a starting point of a being with aseity that is self-existent and eternal by nature. That’s the only place you can go when you think about it. The universe is contingent. There has to be some non-contingent being who is the best explanation for the universe. That’s another form of the cosmological argument—Leibniz’s contingency argument.
You could be an ancient and still reason that way. An eternal being that is really powerful has to be responsible for the universe that we see. That’s one thing. This being is not just powerful, but smart. Look at the nature of the universe. Look at the intricacy. Look at the design features. And he has to be creative, and I don’t mean creative just in the sense of causing something to come from nothing—that would be the classic sense of creating something—but creative in the aesthetic sense. Just look at any critter. Stand in your front yard and look around. My wife and I were sitting at the bench in our front yard the other evening, and there were little brown bats flying around in front. Wow! They’re great. These are mammals that fly. Not birds that fly. Mammals that fly, catching insects that fly. Flight is not easy to accomplish, and all of these fly through different means. Basic aerodynamics are in place, but they have different ways of being mechanized to accomplish that. And what are the bats doing? They’re eating these flying insects. Like what? Like mosquitoes. Did you ever try to catch a mosquito? That’s not easy. They’re flying around midair, catching them in their mouth and zooming here and there. How do they do that? Echolocation. Amazing! Unbelievable! That’s creative.
I was looking at our milkweed pants in our front yard, and there’s the monarch butterfly caterpillars eating, eating, eating. They can’t see anything. They don’t have eyes, but they eat the plant that they were laid on. When the plant is gone, they go find another. And how do they do that? Then they find a bush or a tree to pupate in. How do they do that? They know how to do it without eyes. And then they pupate, which means they turn to mush and then come out a flying thing. Go figure. That is pretty cool.
So, these are design qualities that we can observe in nature, and, from that, we properly infer the intelligence and creativity, now, in the aesthetic sense, of a creative—and powerful—being. There are lots of things that one can infer in what might be called natural theology about the character of God. By the way, Paul, in Romans 1, says people are held responsible for that. What about those who have never heard about Jesus? Well, maybe they’ve never heard about Jesus, but they’ve all heard about the Father. That’s his point. And if they hear about the Father and reject the Father by suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, why does the Father have any obligation to give them more information about his Son? Because, as Jesus said, “If you reject the Son, you reject the Father who sent me.” If they’re already rejecting the Father, they’re not going to accept the Son whom he sent.
Amy: Just to add a couple more things to your list, there, Greg, we know he cares about beauty. We know that he’s rational because everything is orderly. So, even beyond being creative, you know, he’s beautiful. He’s rational. And, also, I think it also indicates that he is a person—that he’s an agent, because if he were just a force of some kind, there would be no explanation for a beginning of creation. He has to initiate the beginning of creation.
Greg: That’s a real important point. There are two types of causes. I’m going to get a little philosophical here, but it’s not difficult. They’re called agent causation and event causation. Now, event causation, we know about. It’s like dominoes falling, and that’s why science works. Because, if you set the dominoes up the same way every time, they will always fall the same way according to natural law. It’s entailed in the concept of experimental repeatability and the scientific method. That’s event causation. But, notice, somebody has to set the dominoes up and has to flick the first domino so that they all fall in this orderly succession. Well, the one that flicks the first domino and initiates the causal chain is called an agent. It’s someone who is a person who is capable of starting something happening.
If there is no starter, and things are happening, that means the happenings fade back into eternity, which turns out to be impossible because you can’t accomplish an actual Infinity of events by adding one to another. You can’t count to infinity. You keep counting, and you’re always going to have a number. Therefore, there had to be an initiation, and our uniform experience is that agents are initiators, not events. They’re prime movers. You could have a couple of events being influenced. Say, for example, an earthquake happened, and then that shook the first domino, and then the domino started falling. If you’re using that as an illustration, well, that is a physical event that caused the next physical event, but eventually, you’re going to have to go back to some event that caused motion to begin with. This is one of Aquinas’s arguments for God. Who starts the motion? So, that God needs to be a personal agent is obvious from the nature of cause and effect in the universe.
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We Must Learn to Love
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“YOU MUST LEARN LOVE” NITA JOHNSON
July 5, 2020
by Nita Johnson
“YOU MUST LEARN LOVE”
By
Nita Johnson
Seattle
February 2017
I would like to talk with you about a very important subject: Love. This is what He is after. There is no higher blessing, no higher calling, and no higher gift appropriated than to become a true Christian. Someone might say, “Wait a minute. What do you mean by a true Christian?” There are those who get saved, and they never let their carnality go. That is not what it means to be a true Christian. God is looking for integrity. O God. I just saw a vision. He is looking for a heart that is aglow with the Spirit of God.
May I tell you what I think one of the greatest sins is in people who walk the face of the earth in Christ? It is one word: self. The life of self. How in the world do you get away from that sin? Paul saw it so deeply. He was in such a fettered state, he did not know what to do with himself. He realized that at the core of it all was the most ugly thing he had ever seen; self. But one of the most beautiful things that God looks upon is a heart aglow with His Spirit.
1 Cor 13:1-3 Amp. If I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God’s love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God’s love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody). Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing.
Aren’t those words strong? They are so powerful. It is the conviction of the wrong, and a tremendous invitation for the right. So many in the Church lust after prophetic powers, and I do not think that is wrong. It has its place, but the highest is love.
1 Cor 13:4-8 Amp. Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
Isn’t the phrase “superseded by truth” wonderful? I like that.
1 Cor 13:9-13 Amp. For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect). But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded). When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside. For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God]. And so faith, hope, love abide [faith—conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God and divine things; hope—joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love—true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Cor 14:1 Amp. Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest]; and earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual endowments (gifts), especially that you may prophesy (interpret the divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching).
Eagerly pursue love. It is not a sin to desire to be used in the gifts. God has given them to us for our use to minister to and to bless others. He wants us to desire the gifts. Most of all, desire prophecy because prophecy opens up the things of the kingdom. But above prophecy is love.
All week, the Lord has been speaking to me about love. We are coming into a time in our nation when our nation needs to see love from the Church. Do you know that every human being has been given a measure of faith? The Bible tells us that, doesn’t it, in Romans 12:3. Every human being has also been given a measure of love. Everyone. When someone says, “I can’t love you,” they are making a choice to give the devil something that God already gave them. They are making a choice to give up love—the very gift that God gave them—and to place it into the hands of the devil.
We have to come to a place where our zealous desire is love. We have to recognize it, see it, and chase after it. Do you know that you cannot have the deep things of God without love? It is the one thing that will prohibit your ascension in God if you do not have it. So this Christian walk must be exercised to seek after and pursue the greatest gift of all, and that is love. We must pursue love for God, and love for our fellow man. John said:
1 John 4:20 Amp. If anyone says, I love God, and hates (detest, abominates) his brother [in Christ], he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, Whom he has not seen.
So here we are standing at this edifice that we have created in our hearts, and we are called to make a decision every day: will we learn love? God has put someone in your life to teach you love. Who is that person? He has put someone in your life to teach you how to overcome self. Who is that person whom we really do not want to love? It amazes me as a minister to talk to someone who wants to be in the ministry. I say to them, “You need to learn how to love this person.” They say, “No,” and they walk away believing that they can fulfill their call with stubbornness in their heart. They will not learn love if it is inconvenient, but they want to be a servant of God. This is amazing to me. How can someone want to be a minister and not want to exercise the gift that made Christ so great? Love must be supreme.
Can I tell you why people do not want to love? It is going to shock you, I think. If I do not want to love, it is because I love gold more than God. If I refuse to humble myself that His love may be released through me, it is because I have chosen the things of this earth over God.
May I tell you that passions have colors in the Spirit realm. They also have a smell or a fragrance in the realm of the Spirit. If you choose a virtue, then the colors and the smells are fragrant. Those colors are similar to the pastels of the rainbow. If you choose negative passions such as jealousy, anger, resentment, or to be critical of someone rather than love, the colors you emit are not brilliant, but they are colors with gray or a soot-like color mixed in with them. Instead of a pure, luminous green, the green appears more like a grayish green. It is very unattractive. Do you know who sees these colors? The Spirit realm. So if you are saying nothing, but you are fuming inside, what color are you emitting? You are emitting colors from darkness. The Spirit world sees those colors, and they are drawn to them.
You also emit smells into the Spirit realm. For instance, fear has its own smell. Anger has its own smell. Lust and covetousness each have smells. They are smells from hell. May I just be blunt? The Spirit realm smells those odors. They see the color, they smell the odor, and the evil spirits are drawn. That is why sometimes you can get in an argument with someone, and you are just a little angry, but within minutes you feel like you are going to explode with rage. It is because you have been visited by many evil spirits that have been drawn to you through these colors and these smells.
There are also spirits that watch you, called watchers. They watch your every move. They watch your eyes. The eyes are the windows of the soul. If the spirits, for example, are trying to get you to commit adultery, they will stage things in your life to get you into a rebellious state. Then they watch to see what you will do with it. If you are a man, and you and your wife have a fight, they will send thoughts through your mind and watch to see how you respond. They look to see if there is a time when you will seriously, even for a moment, think about adultery. The minute they see that glimmer—even if it only lasts for thirty seconds—they know where your weakness is. They will begin to take advantage of it until they finally get you to fall for adultery. This is true for male or female. If you have a weakness in the area of money, and you take money that does not belong to you—maybe twenty cents here, thirty cents there, a dollar, or ten dollars—they watch. They observe what makes you do it, when do you do it, and how do you do it. They look at how long you might contemplate doing it before you do it. Then they begin to set up circumstances until they have you stealing more and more. They are called watchers.
Why am I telling you this? Because the evil kingdom does not want you loving. If you love, you overcome. If you do not love, you are overcome. They do not want a Church who will fight to overcome in love. They will try to stop you from loving with all they have because they get in big trouble if they do not prevail.
Everything that comes into your life—both good and bad—is put there as a brick of decision. Will I choose Christ, or will I choose self? If you choose Christ, you will fight for love. If you choose self, then you will fight for self.
Now we are coming into a time and a season in the body of Christ and in America where you really want to walk in love because in love is the strength of grace. In grace is the power to overcome all things. Choosing to love will give you grace, strength, and spiritual virtue. Virtue, in turn, will give you spiritual stamina. God will let you endure many trials in life if you have the noble hunger to know Christ. Why? Because in the trials, He develops love if you will let Him. If you will not, you will not know the deep things of God because love is the only thing that is strong enough to carry them.
In the bosom of love you will find the seed of humility. This is a very high and noble thing in the eyes of God. The Bible says, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3) How can you walk with Christ unless you agree with Him? If you do not love with the love of Christ, you are not agreeing with Him. His formative and powerful love will lead you into places you cannot go by yourself. Without love, you will not even recognize them as God’s paths.
Love is a force. Do you want to know how to change a man’s heart? Love him. Do you want to know how to change a sister’s heart? Love her. Do not preach at them. Let your actions of virtue do the talking. Let your actions of humility do the walking, and the message will come home.
About thirty years ago, I went to a service, and the person who was preaching called me out of the audience. He said to me, “I see a clock, and I see a pair of hands that are tearing the clock apart until they have all the parts laid out on the table. Then the hands pick up the clock and start looking at every part.” He exclaimed, “That’s what you do with God! You seem to need to understand every part of Him.” I started crying because it was so true. Then he said, “I see another thing about you. You have determined in your heart, for whatever reason, that you are going to learn the love of Christ before you go home to heaven. You are going to learn how to walk in the love of Christ. Because of that, the enemy has asked to sift you to try to stop your ascent in love.” He paused for a moment, and then he said, “But you’re going to win. It is because you have really determined to do that.”
So the enemy knows who is really willing to make the choice. But God limits the enemy’s intrusion to that for which He has given you the grace to overcome. Nothing can enter into your life that Jesus has not approved. He has to approve it before He will allow it. Most will never make it even halfway up the mountain because they will not take responsibility for their behavior. They always want to blame it on someone else. I hurt when people make those kinds of decisions because no one wins. Most of all, the Lord cannot win.
He says that the most important thing is what—praying in tongues? Being a martyr? He says the most important thing of all is love. Every time that you are challenged by the person or the situation that God has placed in your life, He has done it. Jesus has done it. Is there someone that you do not like in your life? I want you to know that Jesus has placed them there. Is there a circumstance that you do not like in your life? Jesus allowed that to come to you because He wants to build in you the integrity of love. He wants to do that to make you a shining example of Christ in the earth. He wants you to become the glory and the representative beauty of His grace. Isn’t that exciting?
Many years ago, my brother went home to be with the Lord at about sixteen years of age. He was in a terrible car accident and was killed instantly. Before he went home to be with the Lord, he had a tumor on the pituitary gland and underwent surgery to remove the tumor. This was many years ago, and at that time, that type of surgery left the patient with many afflictions as side effects of the surgery. The tumor would have to cause so many problems that it would warrant what you would end up with to remove it. So my brother suffered with many maladies as a result of that surgery. For example, in Michigan, where we grew up, it is very hot and humid in the summer. It can be miserable. My brother had no sweat glands, and if the temperature rose above seventy-five degrees, he had to sit in a tub of water. I could go on and on because the effects of this surgery left him in complete physical misery. But Kenny was so kind to everyone. The tumor had caused him to stay very small and also very temperamental. To correct this, he was given hormones so that he would grow. The hormones caused more problems, one of which was obesity. He became obese and tall. People made fun of him all of the time because of his weight. But his kindness would always win them over. When he died, his funeral was the largest funeral in the history of the city of Pontiac. Kenny had loved so completely with such kindness that he had learned Christ.
After he was taken in the automobile accident, I asked the Lord, “Why did You take him so young? We hardly got to know him.” His answer was very simple: “He learned Christ at a very young age.” All of his sufferings had created the image of Christ. Everyone knew it, and everyone loved it.
Our trials are allowed or given for the purpose of creating Christ within. If we cooperate, Christ will be created within. If we feel sorry for ourselves and do not cooperate, we will become ugly, cantankerous, and constantly challenging. You just become someone that no one likes. But moreover, you will become something that Jesus does not like, and that is the worst of all. Jesus wants to love you; He wants to teach you how to love. May I be very honest with you? We are going through a time when every fiber in you is going to be touched and stretched. You do not have to look to money to survive it because that is not the answer. The Lord spoke to me many years ago. He said that the ones to whom He will look to save and uphold in this difficult time will be those who have developed the virtues of Christ. The reason for this is because if you have not learned the virtues, you need to learn them. He will let you struggle until you pull away from all of the negative forces in your character and in your personality that have held you back from Jesus. Amen?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, how we love You. We love the way You are. We do not want to be a clanging gong or a worthless nobody in the Church. We look to certain things that we do, or certain things that we give, and somehow we think we are going to buy your favor, but our character is in a serious condition. We see a little bunny, and our heart is pulled within us to touch, to pet, to cuddle, and to love it. Yet there are people in our world whom we do not want to love. We stubbornly cling to our pride and will not learn the way of Christ. How many there are in Your body, Lord, that love animals but do not like people. When we arrive home, You will congratulate us for our love for animals, but the crown which we would have received for loving people will be withheld.
When we look at what You have done for us, Lord, it calls out of us the most noble sacrifice of loving the unlovable. We stand at the foot of the cross, and we see how You suffered for us when we were estranged from You. We did not love or desire You. It calls out of us nobility, greatness, and excellence in Christian virtue. Lord Jesus, when someone hurts us, we are called to think about their need more than our own and to love and pray that You will do what is needed for them. Hate is a force; love is a force. A critical spirit is a force; a generous spirit is a force. Teach us to walk in those things that speak most about Christ.
Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord, I come to You. Teach me how to love, Lord. Teach me to walk with You. Nothing I have is mine; all things are Yours. Call me to come and love. Call me to be one with You.
Lord, let Your Spirit touch our hearts and deal with them. Help us not to hold on. Help us not to let pride harden our hearts, Lord. Help us to look at ourselves squarely. Am I like Him? If I am not like Him, where do I lack? What is it I need? What must be changed? What must I repent of, Lord? Show me those things that weaken me in Christian virtues.
Open your heart before God. Let’s be really honest. Help us to be broken before You, Lord, for there is nothing more beautiful than a heart that is broken and contrite over sin. Lord, there are some that have been deeply hurt, and they need Your grace to forgive. Help them, Jesus, to lay that person on the altar and to choose love. Let Your conviction flow, Lord, like honey upon our hearts. Give us faith, hope, and love so that we can overcome. We want to be strong in the days ahead, Lord. Let love become the foundation of our ways. Help us to repent of pride, jealousy, bitterness, a critical spirit, stubbornness, resentfulness, and unforgiveness. Help us to repent of this thing that says, “I will not love my sister or my brother.” Help us to let go of this thing that refuses to reconcile and to instead choose forgiveness. We will be healed when we quit judging, Lord, and we take responsibility for our behavior.
You are the very essence of love, Lord, the very beauty of love personified. You are our example of love. It is possible because in You, all things are possible. Give us strength to do what is right. Lord, we need grace and humility. We need that part in You that enables us to stand with the nobility of love in the face of the one who challenges us. Help us to see, Lord, that at times we can be so self-centered that we cannot see the forest for the trees. We need the grace of love for the sake of compassion and mercy. Help us to overcome this mountain of self and to choose the beauty and the humility of Christ. Help us to choose love.
I will never forget the day that Jacob met Esau, his archenemy. He said to him, “My brother, to see your face is as if I had seen the face of God.” (Gen 33:10) Jacob had come full circle, Lord. He went through years of much suffering, being cheated and swindled. Everything he had done to Esau was done to him until he could come to a place of saying to his brother and his worst enemy, “Seeing you is like seeing the face of God.” Help us, Lord. Help us to understand Christ. Help us to embrace You and Your beauty. Help us to forgive. In His precious name. Amen.
God is love. Will we be love? What makes Jesus so beautiful? Is it not His love? To be loved by Him—isn’t that what we desire in Him more than anything? What He desires more than anything is to let you know experientially His love. He wants you to know the way He sees and the way He feels.
Jesus, You are love. I see a vision of a red rose. It started out as a rose bud, and then its petals began to unfold. As the petals opened and curled back, it became gold. The Bible says that the words of the Lord are tried and purified seven times over. (Ps 12:6) I think His love is also tried. He is looking to bring you forth as pure gold. There is a beautiful passage in Job:
Job 23:10 Amp. But He knows the way that I take [He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold [pure and luminous].
He is looking for the roses that He can bring forth pure and luminous. Praise the Lord.
Father, I release each one who is reading this into Your care. I pray that You will give them victory in all areas concerning their soul and that they may in this lifetime walk as Christ walked. In Your precious name, heal them. Let them feel the joy of their salvation. We love You, Lord. In Jesus name. Amen.
In His Love,
Nita Johnson
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“YOU MUST LEARN LOVE” NITA JOHNSON
July 5, 2020
by Nita Johnson
“YOU MUST LEARN LOVE”
By
Nita Johnson
Seattle
February 2017
I would like to talk with you about a very important subject: Love. This is what He is after. There is no higher blessing, no higher calling, and no higher gift appropriated than to become a true Christian. Someone might say, “Wait a minute. What do you mean by a true Christian?” There are those who get saved, and they never let their carnality go. That is not what it means to be a true Christian. God is looking for integrity. O God. I just saw a vision. He is looking for a heart that is aglow with the Spirit of God.
May I tell you what I think one of the greatest sins is in people who walk the face of the earth in Christ? It is one word: self. The life of self. How in the world do you get away from that sin? Paul saw it so deeply. He was in such a fettered state, he did not know what to do with himself. He realized that at the core of it all was the most ugly thing he had ever seen; self. But one of the most beautiful things that God looks upon is a heart aglow with His Spirit.
1 Cor 13:1-3 Amp. If I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God’s love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God’s love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody). Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God’s love in me), I gain nothing.
Aren’t those words strong? They are so powerful. It is the conviction of the wrong, and a tremendous invitation for the right. So many in the Church lust after prophetic powers, and I do not think that is wrong. It has its place, but the highest is love.
1 Cor 13:4-8 Amp. Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
Isn’t the phrase “superseded by truth” wonderful? I like that.
1 Cor 13:9-13 Amp. For our knowledge is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect), and our prophecy (our teaching) is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect). But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away (become antiquated, void, and superseded). When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside. For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God]. And so faith, hope, love abide [faith—conviction and belief respecting man’s relation to God and divine things; hope—joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; love—true affection for God and man, growing out of God’s love for and in us], these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Cor 14:1 Amp. Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire [this] love [make it your aim, your great quest]; and earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual endowments (gifts), especially that you may prophesy (interpret the divine will and purpose in inspired preaching and teaching).
Eagerly pursue love. It is not a sin to desire to be used in the gifts. God has given them to us for our use to minister to and to bless others. He wants us to desire the gifts. Most of all, desire prophecy because prophecy opens up the things of the kingdom. But above prophecy is love.
All week, the Lord has been speaking to me about love. We are coming into a time in our nation when our nation needs to see love from the Church. Do you know that every human being has been given a measure of faith? The Bible tells us that, doesn’t it, in Romans 12:3. Every human being has also been given a measure of love. Everyone. When someone says, “I can’t love you,” they are making a choice to give the devil something that God already gave them. They are making a choice to give up love—the very gift that God gave them—and to place it into the hands of the devil.
We have to come to a place where our zealous desire is love. We have to recognize it, see it, and chase after it. Do you know that you cannot have the deep things of God without love? It is the one thing that will prohibit your ascension in God if you do not have it. So this Christian walk must be exercised to seek after and pursue the greatest gift of all, and that is love. We must pursue love for God, and love for our fellow man. John said:
1 John 4:20 Amp. If anyone says, I love God, and hates (detest, abominates) his brother [in Christ], he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, Whom he has not seen.
So here we are standing at this edifice that we have created in our hearts, and we are called to make a decision every day: will we learn love? God has put someone in your life to teach you love. Who is that person? He has put someone in your life to teach you how to overcome self. Who is that person whom we really do not want to love? It amazes me as a minister to talk to someone who wants to be in the ministry. I say to them, “You need to learn how to love this person.” They say, “No,” and they walk away believing that they can fulfill their call with stubbornness in their heart. They will not learn love if it is inconvenient, but they want to be a servant of God. This is amazing to me. How can someone want to be a minister and not want to exercise the gift that made Christ so great? Love must be supreme.
Can I tell you why people do not want to love? It is going to shock you, I think. If I do not want to love, it is because I love gold more than God. If I refuse to humble myself that His love may be released through me, it is because I have chosen the things of this earth over God.
May I tell you that passions have colors in the Spirit realm. They also have a smell or a fragrance in the realm of the Spirit. If you choose a virtue, then the colors and the smells are fragrant. Those colors are similar to the pastels of the rainbow. If you choose negative passions such as jealousy, anger, resentment, or to be critical of someone rather than love, the colors you emit are not brilliant, but they are colors with gray or a soot-like color mixed in with them. Instead of a pure, luminous green, the green appears more like a grayish green. It is very unattractive. Do you know who sees these colors? The Spirit realm. So if you are saying nothing, but you are fuming inside, what color are you emitting? You are emitting colors from darkness. The Spirit world sees those colors, and they are drawn to them.
You also emit smells into the Spirit realm. For instance, fear has its own smell. Anger has its own smell. Lust and covetousness each have smells. They are smells from hell. May I just be blunt? The Spirit realm smells those odors. They see the color, they smell the odor, and the evil spirits are drawn. That is why sometimes you can get in an argument with someone, and you are just a little angry, but within minutes you feel like you are going to explode with rage. It is because you have been visited by many evil spirits that have been drawn to you through these colors and these smells.
There are also spirits that watch you, called watchers. They watch your every move. They watch your eyes. The eyes are the windows of the soul. If the spirits, for example, are trying to get you to commit adultery, they will stage things in your life to get you into a rebellious state. Then they watch to see what you will do with it. If you are a man, and you and your wife have a fight, they will send thoughts through your mind and watch to see how you respond. They look to see if there is a time when you will seriously, even for a moment, think about adultery. The minute they see that glimmer—even if it only lasts for thirty seconds—they know where your weakness is. They will begin to take advantage of it until they finally get you to fall for adultery. This is true for male or female. If you have a weakness in the area of money, and you take money that does not belong to you—maybe twenty cents here, thirty cents there, a dollar, or ten dollars—they watch. They observe what makes you do it, when do you do it, and how do you do it. They look at how long you might contemplate doing it before you do it. Then they begin to set up circumstances until they have you stealing more and more. They are called watchers.
Why am I telling you this? Because the evil kingdom does not want you loving. If you love, you overcome. If you do not love, you are overcome. They do not want a Church who will fight to overcome in love. They will try to stop you from loving with all they have because they get in big trouble if they do not prevail.
Everything that comes into your life—both good and bad—is put there as a brick of decision. Will I choose Christ, or will I choose self? If you choose Christ, you will fight for love. If you choose self, then you will fight for self.
Now we are coming into a time and a season in the body of Christ and in America where you really want to walk in love because in love is the strength of grace. In grace is the power to overcome all things. Choosing to love will give you grace, strength, and spiritual virtue. Virtue, in turn, will give you spiritual stamina. God will let you endure many trials in life if you have the noble hunger to know Christ. Why? Because in the trials, He develops love if you will let Him. If you will not, you will not know the deep things of God because love is the only thing that is strong enough to carry them.
In the bosom of love you will find the seed of humility. This is a very high and noble thing in the eyes of God. The Bible says, “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3) How can you walk with Christ unless you agree with Him? If you do not love with the love of Christ, you are not agreeing with Him. His formative and powerful love will lead you into places you cannot go by yourself. Without love, you will not even recognize them as God’s paths.
Love is a force. Do you want to know how to change a man’s heart? Love him. Do you want to know how to change a sister’s heart? Love her. Do not preach at them. Let your actions of virtue do the talking. Let your actions of humility do the walking, and the message will come home.
About thirty years ago, I went to a service, and the person who was preaching called me out of the audience. He said to me, “I see a clock, and I see a pair of hands that are tearing the clock apart until they have all the parts laid out on the table. Then the hands pick up the clock and start looking at every part.” He exclaimed, “That’s what you do with God! You seem to need to understand every part of Him.” I started crying because it was so true. Then he said, “I see another thing about you. You have determined in your heart, for whatever reason, that you are going to learn the love of Christ before you go home to heaven. You are going to learn how to walk in the love of Christ. Because of that, the enemy has asked to sift you to try to stop your ascent in love.” He paused for a moment, and then he said, “But you’re going to win. It is because you have really determined to do that.”
So the enemy knows who is really willing to make the choice. But God limits the enemy’s intrusion to that for which He has given you the grace to overcome. Nothing can enter into your life that Jesus has not approved. He has to approve it before He will allow it. Most will never make it even halfway up the mountain because they will not take responsibility for their behavior. They always want to blame it on someone else. I hurt when people make those kinds of decisions because no one wins. Most of all, the Lord cannot win.
He says that the most important thing is what—praying in tongues? Being a martyr? He says the most important thing of all is love. Every time that you are challenged by the person or the situation that God has placed in your life, He has done it. Jesus has done it. Is there someone that you do not like in your life? I want you to know that Jesus has placed them there. Is there a circumstance that you do not like in your life? Jesus allowed that to come to you because He wants to build in you the integrity of love. He wants to do that to make you a shining example of Christ in the earth. He wants you to become the glory and the representative beauty of His grace. Isn’t that exciting?
Many years ago, my brother went home to be with the Lord at about sixteen years of age. He was in a terrible car accident and was killed instantly. Before he went home to be with the Lord, he had a tumor on the pituitary gland and underwent surgery to remove the tumor. This was many years ago, and at that time, that type of surgery left the patient with many afflictions as side effects of the surgery. The tumor would have to cause so many problems that it would warrant what you would end up with to remove it. So my brother suffered with many maladies as a result of that surgery. For example, in Michigan, where we grew up, it is very hot and humid in the summer. It can be miserable. My brother had no sweat glands, and if the temperature rose above seventy-five degrees, he had to sit in a tub of water. I could go on and on because the effects of this surgery left him in complete physical misery. But Kenny was so kind to everyone. The tumor had caused him to stay very small and also very temperamental. To correct this, he was given hormones so that he would grow. The hormones caused more problems, one of which was obesity. He became obese and tall. People made fun of him all of the time because of his weight. But his kindness would always win them over. When he died, his funeral was the largest funeral in the history of the city of Pontiac. Kenny had loved so completely with such kindness that he had learned Christ.
After he was taken in the automobile accident, I asked the Lord, “Why did You take him so young? We hardly got to know him.” His answer was very simple: “He learned Christ at a very young age.” All of his sufferings had created the image of Christ. Everyone knew it, and everyone loved it.
Our trials are allowed or given for the purpose of creating Christ within. If we cooperate, Christ will be created within. If we feel sorry for ourselves and do not cooperate, we will become ugly, cantankerous, and constantly challenging. You just become someone that no one likes. But moreover, you will become something that Jesus does not like, and that is the worst of all. Jesus wants to love you; He wants to teach you how to love. May I be very honest with you? We are going through a time when every fiber in you is going to be touched and stretched. You do not have to look to money to survive it because that is not the answer. The Lord spoke to me many years ago. He said that the ones to whom He will look to save and uphold in this difficult time will be those who have developed the virtues of Christ. The reason for this is because if you have not learned the virtues, you need to learn them. He will let you struggle until you pull away from all of the negative forces in your character and in your personality that have held you back from Jesus. Amen?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, how we love You. We love the way You are. We do not want to be a clanging gong or a worthless nobody in the Church. We look to certain things that we do, or certain things that we give, and somehow we think we are going to buy your favor, but our character is in a serious condition. We see a little bunny, and our heart is pulled within us to touch, to pet, to cuddle, and to love it. Yet there are people in our world whom we do not want to love. We stubbornly cling to our pride and will not learn the way of Christ. How many there are in Your body, Lord, that love animals but do not like people. When we arrive home, You will congratulate us for our love for animals, but the crown which we would have received for loving people will be withheld.
When we look at what You have done for us, Lord, it calls out of us the most noble sacrifice of loving the unlovable. We stand at the foot of the cross, and we see how You suffered for us when we were estranged from You. We did not love or desire You. It calls out of us nobility, greatness, and excellence in Christian virtue. Lord Jesus, when someone hurts us, we are called to think about their need more than our own and to love and pray that You will do what is needed for them. Hate is a force; love is a force. A critical spirit is a force; a generous spirit is a force. Teach us to walk in those things that speak most about Christ.
Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord, I come to You. Teach me how to love, Lord. Teach me to walk with You. Nothing I have is mine; all things are Yours. Call me to come and love. Call me to be one with You.
Lord, let Your Spirit touch our hearts and deal with them. Help us not to hold on. Help us not to let pride harden our hearts, Lord. Help us to look at ourselves squarely. Am I like Him? If I am not like Him, where do I lack? What is it I need? What must be changed? What must I repent of, Lord? Show me those things that weaken me in Christian virtues.
Open your heart before God. Let’s be really honest. Help us to be broken before You, Lord, for there is nothing more beautiful than a heart that is broken and contrite over sin. Lord, there are some that have been deeply hurt, and they need Your grace to forgive. Help them, Jesus, to lay that person on the altar and to choose love. Let Your conviction flow, Lord, like honey upon our hearts. Give us faith, hope, and love so that we can overcome. We want to be strong in the days ahead, Lord. Let love become the foundation of our ways. Help us to repent of pride, jealousy, bitterness, a critical spirit, stubbornness, resentfulness, and unforgiveness. Help us to repent of this thing that says, “I will not love my sister or my brother.” Help us to let go of this thing that refuses to reconcile and to instead choose forgiveness. We will be healed when we quit judging, Lord, and we take responsibility for our behavior.
You are the very essence of love, Lord, the very beauty of love personified. You are our example of love. It is possible because in You, all things are possible. Give us strength to do what is right. Lord, we need grace and humility. We need that part in You that enables us to stand with the nobility of love in the face of the one who challenges us. Help us to see, Lord, that at times we can be so self-centered that we cannot see the forest for the trees. We need the grace of love for the sake of compassion and mercy. Help us to overcome this mountain of self and to choose the beauty and the humility of Christ. Help us to choose love.
I will never forget the day that Jacob met Esau, his archenemy. He said to him, “My brother, to see your face is as if I had seen the face of God.” (Gen 33:10) Jacob had come full circle, Lord. He went through years of much suffering, being cheated and swindled. Everything he had done to Esau was done to him until he could come to a place of saying to his brother and his worst enemy, “Seeing you is like seeing the face of God.” Help us, Lord. Help us to understand Christ. Help us to embrace You and Your beauty. Help us to forgive. In His precious name. Amen.
God is love. Will we be love? What makes Jesus so beautiful? Is it not His love? To be loved by Him—isn’t that what we desire in Him more than anything? What He desires more than anything is to let you know experientially His love. He wants you to know the way He sees and the way He feels.
Jesus, You are love. I see a vision of a red rose. It started out as a rose bud, and then its petals began to unfold. As the petals opened and curled back, it became gold. The Bible says that the words of the Lord are tried and purified seven times over. (Ps 12:6) I think His love is also tried. He is looking to bring you forth as pure gold. There is a beautiful passage in Job:
Job 23:10 Amp. But He knows the way that I take [He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold [pure and luminous].
He is looking for the roses that He can bring forth pure and luminous. Praise the Lord.
Father, I release each one who is reading this into Your care. I pray that You will give them victory in all areas concerning their soul and that they may in this lifetime walk as Christ walked. In Your precious name, heal them. Let them feel the joy of their salvation. We love You, Lord. In Jesus name. Amen.
In His Love,
Nita Johnson
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Ezequiel 38 & 39 - Parte 3
Dennis Edwards
Para voltar para Parte 1 ou Parte 2.
Como será depois da guerra do Armagedom?
Ezequiel 39:7-16. ⁷ E farei conhecido o meu santo nome no meio do meu povo Israel, e nunca mais deixarei profanar o meu santo nome; e os gentios saberão que eu sou o Senhor, o Santo em Israel.⁸ Eis que vem, e se cumprirá, diz o Senhor DEUS; este é o dia de que tenho falado.⁹ E os habitantes das cidades de Israel sairão, e acenderão o fogo, e queimarão as armas, e os escudos e as rodelas, com os arcos, e com as flechas, e com os bastões de mão, e com as lanças; e acenderão fogo com elas por sete anos.¹⁰ E não trarão lenha do campo, nem a cortarão dos bosques, mas com as armas acenderão fogo; e roubarão aos que os roubaram, e despojarão aos que os despojaram, diz o Senhor DEUS.
¹¹ E sucederá que, naquele dia, darei ali a Gogue um lugar de sepultura em Israel, o vale dos que passam ao oriente do mar; e pararão os que por ele passarem; e ali sepultarão a Gogue, e a toda a sua multidão, e lhe chamarão o vale da multidão de Gogue.¹² E a casa de Israel os enterrará durante sete meses, para purificar a terra.¹³ Sim, todo o povo da terra os enterrará, e será para eles memo-rável dia em que eu for glorificado, diz o Senhor Deus.¹⁴ E separarão homens que incessantemente percorrerão a terra, para que eles, juntamente com os que passam, sepultem os que tiverem ficado sobre a face da terra, para a purificarem; durante sete meses farão esta busca.¹⁵ E os que percorrerem a terra, a qual atravessarão, vendo algum osso de homem, porão ao lado um sinal; até que os enterradores o tenham enterrado no vale da multidão de Gogue.¹⁶ E também o nome da cidade será Hamona; assim purificarão a terra.Nestes versículos vemos que serão necessários mais de sete meses de trabalho de limpeza para enterrar os cadáveres daqueles que caíram naquela tremenda batalha.
Ezequiel 39:17-20. ¹⁷ Tu, pois, ó filho do homem, assim diz o Senhor DEUS, dize às aves de toda espécie, e a todos os animais do campo: Ajuntai-vos e vinde, congregai-vos de toda parte para o meu sacrifício, que eu ofereci por vós, um sacrifício grande, nos montes de Israel, e comei carne e bebei sangue.¹⁸ Comereis a carne dos poderosos e bebereis o sangue dos príncipes da terra; dos carneiros, dos cordeiros, e dos bodes, e dos bezerros, todos cevados de Basã.¹⁹ E comereis a gordura até vos fartardes e bebereis o sangue até vos embebedardes, do meu sacrifício que ofereci por vós.²⁰ E, à minha mesa, fartar-vos-ei de cavalos, de carros, de poderosos, e de todos os homens de guerra, diz o Senhor DEUS.
Vemos imagens de pássaros comendo a carne de um exército derrotado em algum outro lugar?
Onde mais nas Escrituras vemos imagens semelhantes? Isso mesmo, no livro de Apocalipse, capítulo dezenove, após a destruição de Babilônia, a Prostituta. Vemos Jesus voltando para “julgar e fazer guerra”. [Apocalipse 19:11b] “E os exércitos que estavam no céu o seguiram.” [Apocalipse 19:14a] Leiamos os escritos do apóstolo João.Apocalipse 19:15-21.
¹⁵ E da sua boca saía uma aguda espada, para ferir com ela as nações; e ele as regerá com vara de ferro; e ele mesmo é o que pisa o lagar do vinho do furor e da ira do Deus Todo-Poderoso.¹⁶ E no manto e na sua coxa tem escrito este nome: Rei dos reis, e Senhor dos senhores.¹⁷ E vi um anjo que estava no sol, e clamou com grande voz, dizendo a todas as aves que voavam pelo meio do céu: Vinde, e ajuntai-vos à ceia do grande Deus;¹⁸ Para que comais a carne dos reis, e a carne dos tribunos, e a carne dos fortes, e a carne dos cavalos e dos que sobre eles se assentam; e a carne de todos os homens, livres e servos, pequenos e grandes.
¹⁹ E vi a besta, e os reis da terra, e os seus exércitos reunidos, para fazerem guerra àquele que estava assentado sobre o cavalo, e ao seu exército.²⁰ E a besta foi presa, e com ela o falso profeta, que diante dela fizera os sinais, com que enganou os que receberam o sinal da besta, e adoraram a sua imagem. Estes dois foram lançados vivos no lago de fogo que arde com enxofre.²¹ E os demais foram mortos com a espada que saía da boca do que estava assentado sobre o cavalo, e todas as aves se fartaram das suas carnes.
As imagens são as mesmas, portanto, temos boas razões para que descrevam o mesmo evento.
Voltando à profecia de Ezequiel:
Por que Deus permite que seus julgamentos caiam?
Ezequiel 39:21-24. ²¹ E eu porei a minha glória entre os gentios e todos os gentios verão o meu juízo, que eu tiver executado, e a minha mão, que sobre elas tiver descarregado.²² E saberão os da casa de Israel que eu sou o Senhor seu Deus, desde aquele dia em diante.²³ E os gentios saberão que os da casa de Israel, por causa da sua iniqüidade, foram levados em cativeiro, porque se rebelaram contra mim, e eu escondi deles a minha face, e os entreguei nas mãos de seus adversários, e todos caíram à espada.²⁴ Conforme a sua imundícia e conforme as suas transgressões me houve com eles, e escondi deles a minha face.
Aqui Deus está explicando por que isso aconteceu. Aconteceu porque o povo de Deus, tanto os judeus como os cristãos, falharam na mensagem que deveriam levar às nações. Eles falharam em ser luzes que brilham nas trevas e usaram a bênção de Deus em seu próprio benefício e falharam na sua missão como emissários de Deus, como embaixadores do amor e da paz de Deus. Deus, em justiça, teve que julgá-los por sua desobediência intencional. Tudo que você precisa fazer para ver que isso é verdade é ler a Bíblia. É a maior condenação do povo judeu e da sua rebelião e desobediência a Deus. Se existe algum livro anti-semita no mundo, são as suas próprias Escrituras, o Antigo Testamento.
Existe algum outro lugar nas Escrituras onde vemos o julgamento preditivo de Deus?
Vemos em muitos dos salmos vislumbres proféticos do futuro, quando Deus julgará o mundo. O Salmo 2 é um salmo notável que fala dessas coisas, assim como o Salmo 46 e muitos outros falam em parte do dia do julgamento para os ímpios. Vamos dar uma olhada nesses dois salmos.
Salmos 2: O julgamento de Deus e a vitória sobre os
Salmo 2:1-3. ¹ Por que se amotinam os gentios, e os povos imaginam coisas vàs?² Os reis da terra se levantam e os governos consultam juntamente contra o Senhor e contra o seu ungido, dizendo:³ Rompamos as suas ataduras, e sacudamos de nós as suas cordas.
[A imagem poderia ser do anticristo e suas forças perseguindo o povo de Deus durante os três anos e meio da grande tribulação. É claro que, ao longo da história, os inimigos de Deus lutaram constantemente contra Deus e contra o que é verdadeiro e justo.]
Salmo 2:4-5. Aquele que habita nos céus se rirá; o Senhor zombará deles.⁵ Então lhes falará na sua ira, e no seu furor os turbará.
[Deus fica irado com os ímpios todos os dias, mas não tem prazer na morte deles. Ele acabará por julgar os ímpios durante o período da grande tribulação, e mais severamente durante os curtos 45-75 dias de ira após o arrebatamento dos santos. O arrebatamento dos santos acontece na sétima trombeta da tribulação, a última trombeta. É nesse ponto também que começam os 45-75 dias de ira.]
Salmo 2:6-8. Eu, porém, ungi o meu Rei sobre o meu santo monte de Sião.⁷ Proclamarei o decreto: o Senhor me disse: Tu (Jesus) és meu Filho, eu hoje te gerei.⁸ Pede-me, e eu te darei os gentios por herança, e os fins da terra por tua possessão.
[Deus cumprirá a profecia encontrada em Daniel. Jesus herdará o que lhe foi prometido desde a fundação do mundo. Daniel 7:13-14. ¹³ Eu estava olhando nas minhas visões da noite, e eis que vinha nas nuvens do céu um como o filho do homem; e dirigiu-se ao ancião de dias, e o fizeram chegar até ele. ¹⁴ E foi-lhe dado o domínio, e a honra, e o reino, para que todos os povos, nações e línguas o servissem; o seu domínio é um domínio eterno, que não passará, e o seu reino tal, que não será destruído.]
Salmo 2:9. Tu os esmigalharás com uma vara de ferro; tu os despedaçarás como a um vaso de oleiro.
[Aqui vemos a mesma imagem encontrada em Daniel 2:44. ⁴⁴ Mas, nos dias desses reis, o Deus do céu levantará um reino que não será jamais destruído; e este reino não passará a outro povo; esmiuçará e consumirá todos esses reinos, mas ele mesmo subsistirá para sempre,.]
Salmo 2:10-12. Agora, pois, ó reis, sede prudentes; deixai-vos instruir, juízes da terra.¹¹ Servi ao Senhor com temor, e alegrai-vos com tremor.¹² Beijai o Filho (Jesus), para que se não ire, e pereçais no caminho, quando em breve se acender a sua ira; bem-aventurados todos aqueles que nele confiam.
[No salmo, o Senhor está lembrando aos líderes de elite do mundo, sejam eles presidentes, reis ou juízes, que andem no temor de Deus. "O temor do Senhor é o princípio do conhecimento." Provérbios 1:7a "Teme a Deus e guarda os Seus mandamentos, pois este é todo o dever do homem. Porque Deus trará a julgamento toda obra, até mesmo tudo que está encoberto, seja bom, seja mau." Eclesiastes 12:13-14.
Em última análise, o mundo está se rebelando contra Deus e será julgado de acordo. Todos nós precisamos aceitar Jesus e seguir Seus mandamentos de amar uns aos outros, até mesmo aos nossos inimigos.]
Salmo 46: Os julgamentos de Deus fazem com que as nações O reconheçam.
Salmos 46:1-3. ¹ Deus é o nosso refúgio e fortaleza, socorro bem presente na angústia.² Portanto não temeremos, ainda que a terra se mude, e ainda que os montes se transportem para o meio dos mares.³ Ainda que as águas rujam e se perturbem, ainda que os montes se abalem pela sua braveza. (Selá.)
[As primeiras linhas do Salmo poderiam muito bem descrever a destruição que ocorre durante o período da grande tribulação e/ou a ira de Deus. No livro do Apocalipse, os filhos de Deus são selados antes que caiam as destruições e são protegidos sobrenaturalmente por Ele. Apocalipse 7:3. ³ Não danifiqueis a terra, nem o mar, nem as árvores, até que hajamos selado nas suas testas os servos do nosso Deus.]
Salmos 46:4-5. Há um rio cujas correntes alegram a cidade de Deus, o santuário das moradas do Altíssimo.⁵ Deus está no meio dela; não se abalará. Deus a ajudará, já ao romper da manhã.
[Vemos o mesmo rio no Céu em Apocalipse 22:1-2. ¹ E mostrou-me o rio puro da água da vida, claro como cristal, que procedia do trono de Deus e do Cordeiro. ² No meio da sua praça, e de um e de outro lado do rio, estava a árvore da vida, que produz doze frutos, dando seu fruto de mês em mês; e as folhas da árvore são para a saúde das nações.
No Salmo 23:1-4 temos a mesma imagem reconfortante de águas tranquilas e da presença de Deus esmagando todo o mal.¹ O SENHOR é o meu pastor, nada me faltará. ² Deitar-me faz em verdes pastos, guia-me mansamente a águas tranqüilas. ³ Refrigera a minha alma; guia-me pelas veredas da justiça, por amor do seu nome. ⁴ Ainda que eu andasse pelo vale da sombra da morte, não temeria mal algum, porque tu estás comigo.]
Salmos 46:6-7. Os gentios se embraveceram; os reinos se moveram; ele levantou a sua voz e a terra se derreteu.⁷ O Senhor dos Exércitos está conosco; o Deus de Jacó é o nosso refúgio. (Selá.)
[A fúria pagã também é vista no início da ira de Deus, após o arrebatamento ter ocorrido. Os filhos de Deus serão removidos da terra em segurança antes que ocorram os terríveis 45-75 dias de ira. Durante a ira, os pagãos ou incrédulos são julgados junto com os seguidores do Anticristo. No final da ira, Jesus retorna para deter fisicamente a guerra que ocorre em torno de Jerusalém. Ele impede a humanidade de destruir toda a terra. Ele interrompe a guerra e salva vivos alguns da humanidade incrédula para viverem até o período do Milênio, os 1000 anos do governo literal de Cristo na terra.
Apocalipse 11:18. ¹⁸ E iraram-se as nações, e veio a tua ira, e o tempo dos mortos, para que sejam julgados, e o tempo de dares o galardão aos profetas, teus servos, e aos santos, e aos que temem o teu nome, a pequenos e a grandes, e o tempo de destruíres os que destroem a terra.
Em Apocalipse 19:11-15 temos a imagem de Jesus retornando na Batalha do Armagedom. ¹¹ E vi o céu aberto, e eis um cavalo branco; e o que estava assentado sobre ele chama-se Fiel e Verdadeiro; e julga e peleja com justiça. ¹² E os seus olhos eram como chama de fogo; e sobre a sua cabeça havia muitos diademas; e tinha um nome escrito, que ninguém sabia senão ele mesmo. ¹³ E estava vestido de veste tingida em sangue; e o nome pelo qual se chama é A Palavra de Deus. ¹⁴ E seguiam-no os exércitos no céu em cavalos brancos, e vestidos de linho fino, branco e puro. ¹⁵ E da sua boca saía uma aguda espada, para ferir com ela as nações; e ele as regerá com vara de ferro; e ele mesmo é o que pisa o lagar do vinho do furor e da ira do Deus Todo-Poderoso.]
Salmos 46:8-11. Vinde, contemplai as obras do Senhor; que desolações tem feito na terra!⁹ Ele faz cessar as guerras até ao fim da terra; quebra o arco e corta a lança; queima os carros no fogo.¹⁰ Aquietai-vos, e sabei que eu sou Deus; serei exaltado entre os gentios; serei exaltado sobre a terra.¹¹ O Senhor dos Exércitos está conosco; o Deus de Jacó é o nosso refúgio. (Selá.)
[A última seção do salmo parece falar da iniciação do Milênio. O salmista apresenta uma imagem do mundo após a destruição dos últimos dias, quando Cristo reinará na terra durante mil anos. Deus realmente será exaltado e a justiça cobrirá a terra como as águas cobrem os mares. Em Isaías lemos sobre o período do milénio que começa imediatamente após a grande destruição, na época do “dia do Senhor”.]
Como será o Milénio?
Isaías 11:6-9.
⁶ E morará o lobo com o cordeiro, e o leopardo com o cabrito se deitará, e o bezerro, e o filho de leão e o animal cevado andarão juntos, e um menino pequeno os guiará.⁷ A vaca e a ursa pastarão juntas, seus filhos se deitarão juntos, e o leão comerá palha como o boi.⁸ E brincará a criança de peito sobre a toca da áspide, e a desmamada colocará a sua mão na cova do basilisco.⁹ Não se fará mal nem dano algum em todo o meu santo monte, porque a terra se encherá do conhecimento do Senhor, como as águas cobrem o mar.
No livro do Apocalipse também lemos sobre o período milenar após a Batalha do Armagedom.
Apocalipse 20:1-6. ¹ E vi descer do céu um anjo, que tinha a chave do abismo, e uma grande cadeia na sua mão.² Ele prendeu o dragão, a antiga serpente, que é o Diabo e Satanás, e amarrou-o por mil anos.³ E lançou-o no abismo, e ali o encerrou, e pôs selo sobre ele, para que não mais engane as nações, até que os mil anos se acabem. E depois importa que seja solto por um pouco de tempo.⁴ E vi tronos; e assentaram-se sobre eles, e foi-lhes dado o poder de julgar; e vi as almas daqueles que foram degolados pelo testemunho de Jesus, e pela palavra de Deus, e que não adoraram a besta, nem a sua imagem, e não receberam o sinal em suas testas nem em suas mãos; e viveram, e reinaram com Cristo durante mil anos.⁵ Mas os outros mortos não reviveram, até que os mil anos se acabaram. Esta é a primeira ressurreição.⁶ Bem-aventurado e santo aquele que tem parte na primeira ressurreição; sobre estes não tem poder a segunda morte; mas serão sacerdotes de Deus e de Cristo, e reinarão com ele mil anos.
Quando o remanescente dos judeus será salvo?
Jesus reinará na terra por mil anos. Durante o início do milênio, ou no fim da tribulação, ou durante a ira de Deus, muitos judeus virão a Cristo. Em Zacarias lemos:
Zacarias 12:9-10. ⁹ E acontecerá naquele dia, que procurarei destruir todas as nações que vierem contra Jerusalém;¹⁰ Mas sobre a casa de Davi, e sobre os habitantes de Jerusalém, derramarei o Espírito de graça e de súplicas; e olharão para mim, a quem traspassaram; e prantearão sobre ele, como quem pranteia pelo filho unigênito; e chorarão amargamente por ele, como se chora amargamente pelo primogênito.
Em Apocalipse 1:7 lemos: ⁷ Eis que vem com as nuvens, e todo o olho o verá, até os mesmos que o traspassaram; e todas as tribos da terra se lamentarão sobre ele. Sim. Amém.
Assim parece, e muitos estudiosos da Bíblia acreditam que muitos do povo judeu encontrarão arrependimento durante o período horrível dos últimos dias. Será neste momento, sob a mão poderosa dos julgamentos de Deus, que tanto os judeus como os gentios incrédulos se voltarão para Cristo. Alguns estudiosos da Bíblia acreditam que a frase “também aqueles que O traspassaram” se aplica à nação judaica que rejeitou a Cristo quando Ele veio há 2.000 anos. Será que na segunda vinda de Cristo para reunir Seus filhos a Ele no arrebatamento, a escuridão sobre os olhos do povo judeu será finalmente dissipada e eles começarão a acreditar "Aquele a quem traspassaram?"
Então as palavras do apóstolo Paulo serão cumpridas,
Romanos 11:25-26. ²⁵ Porque não quero, irmãos, que ignoreis este segredo (para que não presumais de vós mesmos): que o endurecimento veio em parte sobre Israel, até que a plenitude dos gentios haja entrado.²⁶ E assim todo o Israel será salvo, como está escrito: De Sião virá o Libertador, E desviará de Jacó as impiedades.
Voltamos à profecia de Ezequiel que fala do mesmo acontecimento.
Por que Deus deixa tudo acontecer?
Ezequiel 39:25-29. ²⁵ Portanto assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Agora tornarei a trazer os cativos de Jacó, e me compadecerei de toda a casa de Israel; zelarei pelo meu santo nome.²⁶ E levarão sobre si a sua vergonha, e toda a sua rebeldia, com que se rebelaram contra mim, quando eles habitarem seguros na sua terra, sem haver quem os espante.²⁷ Quando eu os tornar a trazer de entre os povos, e os houver ajuntado das terras de seus inimigos, e eu for santificado neles aos olhos de muitas nações,²⁸ Então saberão que eu sou o Senhor seu Deus, vendo que eu os fiz ir em cativeiro entre os gentios, e os ajuntarei para voltarem a sua terra, e não mais deixarei lá nenhum deles.²⁹ Nem lhes esconderei mais a minha face, pois derramarei o meu Espírito sobre a casa de Israel, diz o Senhor DEUS.
Israel, a desobediente Igreja Cristã e o mundo saberão que Deus quer reinar nos corações dos homens. Todos verão que Deus é justo em Seus julgamentos, que Ele não aflige voluntariamente os filhos dos homens e não tem prazer na sua morte.
Resumo sem versos.
Certamente parece, pelos acontecimentos atuais, que estamos nos aproximando cada vez mais do “dia do Senhor”. Deus quer que O reconheçamos em nossas vidas. Ele enviou Seu Filho unigênito ao mundo para que pudéssemos acreditar em Sua mensagem que Seus filhos, o povo judeu, não conseguiram propagar. Deus é amor e Nele não há sombra de escuridão. Ele criou cada um de nós com um vazio espiritual em nosso ser, para que nada nesta vida pudesse satisfazer nosso coração, exceto somente Ele. Ele deseja nos amar intimamente. Ele deseja ser nosso amigo, nosso irmão, nosso pai, nossa mãe, nosso amante. Ele deseja ser a âncora da nossa alma, uma torre forte em dias de dificuldade, um ombro para descansar, braços fortes nos quais confiar. Você não vai aceitá-Lo em sua vida, tomar sua cruz e segui-Lo?
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Friday, November 17, 2023
Israel Invadido: Daniel 11:40-45 e Ezequiel 38 e 39 são os mesmos eventos? - Parte 2
Dennis Edwards
Pelo que podemos entender na primeira seção do nosso estudo de Ezequiel 38 e Daniel 11:40-45, parece que Deus usará a coalizão do Anticristo para julgar Israel e seus aliados. Se incluirmos algumas das outras profecias sobre o fim dos tempos, podemos trabalhar no seguinte cenário.
Em algum momento no futuro, o mundo estabelecerá uma Santa Aliança ou acordo mundial de sete anos, em que um aspecto incluirá a situação no Médio Oriente. Daniel 9:27a "E ele [o Anticristo] confirmará a aliança com muitos por uma semana [período de sete anos]." O acordo poderá resolver temporariamente a situação da Palestina. Pode dar ao povo judeu o direito de adorar e iniciar sacrifícios de animais no Monte do Templo, algo que o Israel ortodoxo deseja fazer há quase dois mil anos.
No meio da aliança de sete anos, o Anticristo quebra a Aliança, invade Israel e assume o controle do Monte do Templo. Daniel 9:27b "No meio da semana ele [o Anticristo] fará cessar o sacrifício e a oblação, e para a propagação de abominações ele a tornará desolada, até a consumação, e o que for determinado será derramado sobre a desolação." Ele colocará a abominação que desola no templo e se proclamará Deus. Daniel 11:31. "E armas se levantarão da sua parte, e poluirão o santuário da força, e tirarão o sacrifício diário, e colocarão a abominação que desola."
Jesus falou daquele momento nas Escrituras onde Ele disse: "Quando, pois, virdes a abominação da desolação, de que falou o profeta Daniel, estar no lugar santo, (quem lê, entenda) ... Pois então haverá grande tribulação, como nunca houve desde o princípio do mundo até agora, nem jamais haverá”. Mateus 24:15 e 21.
No primeiro capítulo, vimos que a Turquia e o Irão fazem parte da coligação do Anticristo, juntamente com um país no extremo norte de Israel. Estamos assumindo que Magaog é a Rússia, e que Gog é o Anticristo e que o início de Ezequiel 38 poderia ser a invasão de Israel pelo Anticristo para quebrar a Aliança Sagrada na marca de três anos e meio dos últimos sete anos. Também poderia ser a Batalha do Armagedom no final do período da tribulação, mas o início da ira de Deus. Ou Ezequiel 38-39 poderia estar abrangendo ambas as invasões e vendo-as como apenas uma, quando na verdade são duas batalhas distintas na mesma guerra prolongada.
Lembre-se de que nossas reflexões são especulações e não escritas em pedra. A Palavra de Deus é certa, mas a nossa interpretação das Escrituras está sujeita a erros.
A profecia de Ezequiel continua.
Ezequiel 38:18-23. ¹⁸ Sucederá, porém, naquele dia, no dia em que vier Gogue contra a terra de Israel, diz o Senhor DEUS, que a minha indignação subirá à minha face.¹⁹ Porque disse no meu zelo, no fogo do meu furor, que, certamente, naquele dia haverá grande tremor sobre a terra de Israel;²⁰ De tal modo que tremerão diante da minha face os peixes do mar, e as aves do céu, e os animais do campo, e todos os répteis que se arrastam sobre a terra, e todos os homens que estão sobre a face da terra; e os montes serão deitados abaixo, e os precipícios se desfarão, e todos os muros desabarão por terra.²¹ Porque chamarei contra ele a espada sobre todos os meus montes, diz o Senhor DEUS; a espada de cada um se voltará contra seu irmão.²² E contenderei com ele por meio da peste e do sangue; e uma chuva inundante, e grandes pedras de saraiva, fogo, e enxofre farei chover sobre ele, e sobre as suas tropas, e sobre os muitos povos que estiverem com ele.²³ Assim eu me engrandecerei e me santificarei, e me darei a conhecer aos olhos de muitas nações; e saberão que eu sou o Senhor.
Onde mais vemos granizo, fogo e enxofre na Bíblia?
Observemos aqui o termo “grandes pedras de granizo, fogo e enxofre”. Vemos esses termos usados em outras partes das Escrituras? No livro de Apocalipse nós fazemos. O primeiro anjo tocou a primeira trombeta da tribulação e vemos granizo e fogo misturados.
Apocalipse 8:7. ⁷ E o primeiro anjo tocou a sua trombeta, e houve saraiva e fogo misturado com sangue, e foram lançados na terra, que foi queimada na sua terça parte; queimou-se a terça parte das árvores, e toda a erva verde foi queimada.
O próximo lugar no livro de Apocalipse onde vemos “fogo e enxofre” é perto do fim das trombetas da tribulação. Existem sete trombetas da tribulação. A sétima é a “última trombeta” que o apóstolo Paulo disse que aconteceria quando Jesus voltasse e o arrebatamento ocorresse. Vamos ler os escritos de Paulo.
1 Coríntios 15:51-52. ⁵¹ Eis aqui vos digo um mistério: Na verdade, nem todos dormiremos, mas todos seremos transformados; ⁵² Num momento, num abrir e fechar de olhos, ante a última trombeta; porque a trombeta soará, e os mortos ressuscitarão incorruptíveis, e nós seremos transformados.
Obviamente, o apóstolo Paulo está falando sobre o arrebatamento ou ressurreição dos santos no último dia, quando Cristo retornar para Sua igreja. Vemos que Paulo a designa como a “última trombeta”. O apóstolo João revela em Apocalipse que existem sete trombetas da tribulação.
Apocalipse 8:1-2, & 6. ¹ E, havendo aberto o sétimo selo, fez-se silêncio no céu quase por meia hora. ² E vi os sete anjos, que estavam diante de Deus, e foram-lhes dadas sete trombetas. ⁶ E os sete anjos, que tinham as sete trombetas, prepararam-se para tocá-las.
É claro que as chamei de trombetas da tribulação porque cada trombeta pronuncia uma terrível praga sobre a terra, embora não tão terrível quanto as “taças da ira” que serão derramadas mais tarde. As trombetas trazem geralmente um terço da destruição: um terço da destruição das árvores, um terço da destruição das criaturas que vivem no mar, um terço da destruição dos navios que navegam nos mares, um terço da destruição dos fonte de luz da natureza e um terço da destruição da humanidade.
Vamos olhar para a sexta trombeta, aquela antes da “última trombeta”, e ver que tipo de destruição ela prediz.
Apocalipse 9:12-18. ¹² Passado é já um ai; eis que depois disso vêm ainda dois ais.¹³ E tocou o sexto anjo a sua trombeta, e ouvi uma voz que vinha das quatro pontas do altar de ouro, que estava diante de Deus,¹⁴ A qual dizia ao sexto anjo, que tinha a trombeta: Solta os quatro anjos, que estão presos junto ao grande rio Eufrates.¹⁵ E foram soltos os quatro anjos, que estavam preparados para a hora, e dia, e mês, e ano, a fim de matarem a terça parte dos homens.¹⁶ E o número dos exércitos dos cavaleiros era de duzentos milhões; e ouvi o número deles.¹⁷ E assim vi os cavalos nesta visão; e os que sobre eles cavalgavam tinham couraças de fogo, e de jacinto, e de enxofre; e as cabeças dos cavalos eram como cabeças de leões; e de suas bocas saía fogo e fumaça e enxofre.¹⁸ Por estes três foi morta a terça parte dos homens, isto é pelo fogo, pela fumaça, e pelo enxofre, que saíam das suas bocas.
Portanto, aqui vemos mais uma vez o “fogo e enxofre” ajudando a provocar a morte de um terço da humanidade, com cerca de duzentos milhões de homens indo para a guerra. No Apocalipse, neste ponto, o sétimo anjo começa a soar e João não tem permissão para compartilhar conosco o que os sete trovões proferiram. Mas ele diz o seguinte:
Qual é o Mistério de Deus que o Apóstolo João não foi autorizado a compartilhar?
Apocalipse 10:7. ⁷ Mas nos dias da voz do sétimo anjo, quando tocar a sua trombeta, se cumprirá o segredo de Deus, como anunciou aos profetas, seus servos.
O apóstolo João está falando sobre o mesmo mistério que o apóstolo Paulo observou em sua carta aos Coríntios, o mistério do arrebatamento na “última trombeta”? Na primeira carta do apóstolo Paulo aos Tessalonicenses lemos:
1 Tessalonicenses 4:14-18. ¹⁴ Porque, se cremos que Jesus morreu e ressuscitou, assim também aos que em Jesus dormem, Deus os tornará a trazer com ele.¹⁵ Dizemo-vos, pois, isto, pela palavra do Senhor: que nós, os que ficarmos vivos para a vinda do Senhor, não precederemos os que dormem.¹⁶ Porque o mesmo Senhor descerá do céu com alarido, e com voz de arcanjo, e com a trombeta de Deus; e os que morreram em Cristo ressuscitarão primeiro.¹⁷ Depois nós, os que ficarmos vivos, seremos arrebatados juntamente com eles nas nuvens, a encontrar o Senhor nos ares, e assim estaremos sempre com o Senhor.¹⁸ Portanto, consolai-vos uns aos outros com estas palavras.
Parece que aquele arrebatamento secreto que alguns evangélicos esperam não será tão secreto, afinal. Vamos ler as próprias palavras de Jesus em Mateus 24.
Mateus 24:29-31. ²⁹ E, logo depois da aflição daqueles dias, o sol escurecerá, e a lua não dará a sua luz, e as estrelas cairão do céu, e as potências dos céus serão abaladas.³⁰ Então aparecerá no céu o sinal do Filho do homem; e todas as tribos da terra se lamentarão, e verão o Filho do homem, vindo sobre as nuvens do céu, com poder e grande glória.³¹ E ele enviará os seus anjos com rijo clamor de trombeta, os quais ajuntarão os seus escolhidos desde os quatro ventos, de uma à outra extremidade dos céus.
Parece muito barulho com todas aquelas trombetas tocando.
Se Deus é justo, Ele tem que julgar os ímpios.
Deus julgará Israel e seus aliados por seus pecados e usará o Anticristo para fazer isso. Assim como ele usou Nabucodonosor para julgar Israel em 538 a.C. e assim como ele usou Antíoco Epifânio em 175 – 164 a.C. e o líder romano Tito em 70 d.C., então ele usará o Anticristo para julgar a nação de Israel, a Igreja Cristã e o mundo num futuro não muito distante. Mas não para por aí. Só Deus deixe o mal destruir e punir o mal por um tempo. Então, na Sua justiça, Ele deve intervir e deter o mal, o Anticristo, e salvar aqueles que O invocam e aqueles que Nele acreditam. É aí que o arrebatamento acontece no final das trombetas da tribulação que foram derramadas sobre os ímpios. Após o arrebatamento, vêm as taças da ira que serão derramadas sobre o mundo incrédulo e os seguidores do Anticristo. Continuemos lendo Ezequiel 39.
Estarão Ezequiel 39, Apocalipse 19 e Zacarias 13 falando sobre o mesmo evento?
Ezequiel 39:1-4a. ¹ Tu, pois, ó filho do homem, profetiza ainda contra Gogue, e dize: Assim diz o Senhor DEUS: Eis que eu sou contra ti, ó Gogue, príncipe e chefe de Meseque e de Tubal. ² E te farei voltar, mas deixarei uma sexta parte de ti, e far-te-ei subir do extremo norte, e te trarei aos montes de Israel.³ E, com um golpe, tirarei o teu arco da tua mão esquerda, e farei cair as tuas flechas da tua mão direita.⁴ Nos montes de Israel cairás, tu e todas as tuas tropas, e os povos que estão contigo;
Isto soa como a destruição do Anticristo na Batalha do Armagedom. O que o profeta quer dizer com “deixarei apenas a sexta parte de ti?” Esta profecia poderia estar relacionada com Apocalipse 9:16 que menciona um exército de duzentos milhões de homens? Se assim for, e apenas um sexto deles sobrou, ou cerca de trinta e três milhões de homens, isso significaria que cerca de cento e sessenta e sete milhões de homens foram mortos na invasão de Israel. Isso é uma quantidade enorme de homens.
Em Zacarias 13 lemos:
Zacarias 13:8-9. ⁸ E acontecerá em toda a terra, diz o Senhor, que as duas partes dela serão extirpadas, e expirarão; mas a terceira parte restará nela.⁹ E farei passar esta terceira parte pelo fogo, e a purificarei, como se purifica a prata, e a provarei, como se prova o ouro. Ela invocará o meu nome, e eu a ouvirei; direi: É meu povo; e ela dirá: O Senhor é o meu Deus.
Isso significa que 2/3 ou 5,6 milhões do atual Israel, de 8,5 milhões de pessoas, morrerão sob os julgamentos de Deus através das guerras do Anticristo? Isso significa que apenas 1/3 ou 2,8 milhões em Israel invocarão o Senhor durante a ira de Deus e aceitarão a Cristo e, portanto, viverão através da ira de Deus até a era do milênio?
Teremos uma guerra nuclear?
A profecia em Ezequiel continua,
Ezequiel 39:4-6. ⁴ E às aves de rapina, de toda espécie, e aos animais do campo, te darei por comida.⁵ Sobre a face do campo cairás, porque eu o falei, diz o Senhor DEUS.⁶ E enviarei um fogo sobre Magogue e entre os que habitam seguros nas ilhas; e saberão que eu sou o Senhor.
As imagens aqui poderiam facilmente representar o intercâmbio nuclear entre Magog, que pensamos ter identificado como a Rússia, e “aqueles que habitam descuidadamente nas ilhas”. Quem são aqueles que habitam descuidadamente nas ilhas que Magogue gostaria de destruir ao invadirem Israel? Provavelmente amigos de Israel. Tanto a América como a Grã-Bretanha são amigas de Israel desde a sua criação. A Declaração Balfour em 1917, a designação da Grã-Bretanha pela Liga das Nações como governador da Palestina após a guerra em 1947 e, finalmente, a transferência da Embaixada Americana para Jerusalém pelo Presidente Trump em 2017, mostram quão intimamente Israel tem sido com a América e a Grã-Bretanha. . Certamente estes são dois dos maiores aliados de Israel. Poderia a imagem “daqueles que habitam descuidadamente nas ilhas” representar a Grã-Bretanha e a sua ramificação ou a América do “jovem leão”? Se um terço da humanidade morresse neste momento, ou cerca de 2,3 mil milhões de pessoas, não pareceria provável que estas mortes ocorressem em todo o Médio Oriente. Mas, se ocorresse um conflito nuclear entre a Rússia e a América, grande parte do hemisfério norte também seria afectada e poderia facilmente acabar por matar 2,3 mil milhões de pessoas, se não mais.
Por que Deus permitiria que os do hemisfério Norte sofressem em vez dos do hemisfério Sul? São as ricas nações do norte e do oeste que foram abençoadas com o conhecimento de Deus, de Sua palavra e de Sua vontade e falharam, como o antigo Israel, em obedecer à Sua voz e aos Seus mandamentos que não são pesados. É a partir das principais nações da Europa, da Grã-Bretanha, da América, que muitas das doutrinas anticristo de hoje estão a ser fomentadas e espalhadas pelo resto do mundo. O casamento gay, o aborto, a eutanásia, a evolução da molécula para o homem, o materialismo, o ceticismo, o ateísmo, o naturalismo são algumas das falsas ideias e leis aprovadas pelo homem, mas contrárias aos caminhos e leis de Deus. É nas nações do Norte que se desenvolveu o negócio da guerra e das armas de guerra. É nas nações do norte que os homens se esqueceram de Deus e adoraram as obras das suas próprias mãos. Na carta do apóstolo Paulo a Timóteo encontramos a descrição de Paulo sobre o futuro do anticristo:
2 Timóteo 3:1-5, 7, 8b, 12-13. ¹ Sabe, porém, isto: que nos últimos dias sobrevirão tempos trabalhosos.² Porque haverá homens amantes de si mesmos, avarentos, presunçosos, soberbos, blasfemos, desobedientes a pais e mães, ingratos, profanos,³ Sem afeto natural, irreconciliáveis, caluniadores, incontinentes, cruéis, sem amor para com os bons,⁴ Traidores, obstinados, orgulhosos, mais amigos dos deleites do que amigos de Deus,⁵ Tendo aparência de piedade, mas negando a eficácia dela. Destes afasta-te....⁷ Que aprendem sempre, e nunca podem chegar ao conhecimento da verdade.⁸ E, ... assim também estes resistem à verdade, sendo homens corruptos de entendimento e réprobos quanto à fé.¹² E também todos os que piamente querem viver em Cristo Jesus padecerão perseguições.¹³ Mas os homens maus e enganadores irão de mal para pior, enganando e sendo enganados.
Poderíamos preencher várias páginas com profecias semelhantes do Apóstolo Paulo e do Apóstolo Pedro descrevendo o mundo anticristo do seu futuro e do nosso mundo presente. Mas como nosso foco é outra área da profecia bíblica, simplesmente deixarei algumas referências na nota de rodapé a seguir para investigação adicional.[1]
De volta ao nosso estudo principal sobre o Rei do Norte e o Rei do Sul. Em Zacarias lemos,
Zacarias 14:12. ¹² E esta será a praga com que o Senhor ferirá a todos os povos que guerrearam contra Jerusalém: a sua carne apodrecerá, estando eles em pé, e lhes apodrecerão os olhos nas suas órbitas, e a língua lhes apodrecerá na sua boca.
Aqueles que experimentaram e viveram os bombardeamentos de Hiroshima e Nagasaki confirmam que as bombas nucleares resultaram em olhos dos homens consumidos nas órbitas oculares. Em Isaías lemos uma descrição semelhante do “dia do Senhor”.
Isaías 13:5-13. ⁵ Já vem de uma terra remota, desde a extremidade do céu, o Senhor, e os instrumentos da sua indignação, para destruir toda aquela terra.⁶ Clamai, pois, o dia do Senhor está perto; vem do Todo-Poderoso como assolação.⁷ Portanto, todas as mãos se debilitarão, e o coração de todos os homens se desanimará.⁸ E assombrar-se-ão, e apoderar-se-ão deles dores e ais, e se angustiarão, como a mulher com dores de parto; cada um se espantará do seu próximo; os seus rostos serão rostos flamejantes.
⁹ Eis que vem o dia do Senhor, horrendo, com furor e ira ardente, para pôr a terra em assolação, e dela destruir os pecadores.¹⁰ Porque as estrelas dos céus e as suas constelações não darão a sua luz; o sol se escurecerá ao nascer, e a lua não resplandecerá com a sua luz.¹¹ E visitarei sobre o mundo a maldade, e sobre os ímpios a sua iniqüidade; e farei cessar a arrogância dos atrevidos, e abaterei a soberba dos tiranos.¹² Farei que o homem seja mais precioso do que o ouro puro, e mais raro do que o ouro fino de Ofir.¹³ Por isso farei estremecer os céus; e a terra se moverá do seu lugar, por causa do furor do Senhor dos Exércitos, e por causa do dia da sua ardente ira.
Se tantas vidas forem destruídas neste momento, pelo menos um terço da humanidade, um homem terá mais valor do que ouro ou prata. Novamente, embora esta profecia tenha sido parcialmente cumprida com Nabucodonosor e Tito, o cumprimento final será com a invasão de Israel nos últimos dias, o “dia do Senhor”, o “dia da angústia de Jacó”? Jesus disse: “E se aqueles dias não fossem abreviados, ninguém se salvaria; mas por causa dos eleitos aqueles dias serão abreviados”. Mateus 24:22. Em outras palavras, se Jesus não voltar quando programado, não haverá carne salva. Isso poderia significar que a humanidade se destruiria, se Cristo não voltasse para detê-la. No próximo capítulo veremos o resto de Ezequiel 39 e como será o mundo após o Armagedom.
Notas
[1]
2 Timóteo 4:3-4,
Atos 20:28-30,
Romanos 1:18-32
1 Timóteo 4:1-5
2 Pedro 3:3-7
1 João 4:1.
