Talk of JESUS .com

Category: Prophets – Warnings for 21st century ‘christians’

Jeremiah by Michelangelo

Old Testament Prophets WARNED Israel, Judah, and neighboring nations about what GOD has planned IF they did NOT REPENT (and they usually didn’t).

How does this speak to 21 c. ‘christians’ in these last days? Are you bold enough to WARN your SOCIAL ‘Friends’ of what Jesus Christ warns? Does the message of a Prophet apply even more to them and US, now? SHARE your scriptural warnings from the Prophets and WITNESS for our LORD, WHO IS and returning… soon.

Scandalous Faith – a Millstone around our neck
Lent 2023 AD +
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Original post date: 29 March, in the year of our Lord 2022
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Today’s topic is scandal!

ASH WEDNESDAY in the year of our Lord 2023, we begin with TODAY’S subject:

Christians in the shoes of Jonah
Lent 2023 AD +
Christians in the shoes of Jonah
Jesus Warns disciples
A last-days appeal to the Evangelical
Scandal – Do you recognize it in the warnings of Jesus?
Luke 17:
The Millstone
So what’s the scandal?
Repent, Jonah!

It’s raining and you are NOT Noah who will save only his own family from the flood.

The ground is shaking in the year of our Lord 2023 and you are NOT Abraham who will rescue only his family from the evil and the fate of Sodom or the judgment of Gomorrah.

This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies says:
“I, myself, have risen against Babylon!
I will destroy its children and its children’s children,”
says the LORD.
Isaiah 14:16 NLT

Yet the Prophet Jonah REFUSED to preach to the few who could be saved from the wrath to come to the city of destruction.

Ashes of Ash Wednesday + a Preparation of Repentance

So YOU claim to be an evangelist of JESUS to the nations?

GO into all the world and preach Good News, the Gospel of forgiveness and eternal life for those who will REPENT of their sinful past and FOLLOW Jesus Christ as our Lord.

The Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection, however, becomes BAD NEWS to any who turn the other way – in the direction away from God’s grace.

Such bad news for evangelicals! christians who suddenly turn in the other direction + a direction of SELF and a gospel of what God has done for ME (and should do for you).
- Have you turned to a path AWAY from the word of God, even like Jonah?
- Won’t sailing away from the command of the Lord have dire consequence?
I WON’T PREACH THAT, Jonah responded by sailing away from the command of God.

But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness
1st letter of Paul to the church at Corinth 1:23 KJV

Christians proclaim a scandalous faith. Our Cross worn as jewelry may well be a millstone worn around our neck.

Repent, Jonah! Lest Christ who hung on a Cross hang a millstone around your neck.

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness;
but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18 KJV

Jesus Warns disciples

As we have learned in ACTS of the Apostles, disciples are followers of Christ Jesus.

Evangelical christians who claim His Name but turn away from God’s command become obstacles to the Lord saving others from the cities of destruction.

At the moment Jonah turned away from Nineveh even this Prophet of God was not an obedient disciple ‘chosen‘ for eternal life.

A last-days appeal to the Evangelical

Evangelicals who claim other cause of the world above Christ cannot boast of the burden of the millstone placed around their necks.

And evangelicals who embrace condemned cultures of the cities of destruction without revealing the cost of the Cross may find the weight of the Cross around their neck weighing down their witness with veiled hope while singing of ME and JESUS.

Scandal – Do you recognize it in the warnings of Jesus?

Luke 17:

Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!

“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Luke 17:2 NKJV

“Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

Luke 17:3

But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry.

Jonah 4:1 NKJV

Then the LORD said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city.

– Jonah 4:4-5

The Millstone

“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck..
- Does this punishment (even self-inflicted) remind you of Jonah?
And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will become calm for you. For I know that this great tempest is because of me.”
Jonah 1:12 NKJV

So what’s the scandal?

Returning to the Gospel of Luke (NASB20) and Jesus’ warning:

“It is inevitable that [temptations to sin] stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come!

σκάνδαλον – skandalon

the movable stick or trigger of a trap, a trap stick
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(And evangelicals with ears to hear, now hear this:)
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any person or thing by which one is (entrapped) drawn into error or sin

Scandal: fig. applied to Jesus Christ, whose person and career were so contrary to the expectations of the Jews concerning the Messiah, that they rejected him and by their obstinacy made shipwreck of their salvation

Is your faith scandalous because you dare Talk of JESUS?

‘But I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling^G4625 block^G4625 before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 2:14 LSB
+ for one of the most influential churches of 1st c. AD Christianity at Ephesus

OR will your reluctance to share the Good News of Christ, including the cost of His CROSS, leave you in the same boat as Jonah?

‘Therefore repent. But if not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth.

‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Revelation of Jesus Christ to the Apostle John 2:16-17a LSB
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Your comment on this post and these Scriptures encourage the witness of this author. RH  (original post date 29 March in the year of our Lord, 2022)
Thanks.
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Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel
February 22, 2023
Ezekiel An Unbelievable Scene
Ezekiel 1:

the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1:3a Darby translation
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Context: TIME ~570 years Before Christ; PLACE - Tel-Abib in Babylonia, [later Persia, then Seleucid Empire (Greek) in 21st c. Iraq; PROPHET - yᵊḥezqē'l, captive priest and prophet of Israel taken to Babylon while in his 30's along with his wife and family, the prophets Daniel and Jeremiah (who are in their 50's) and some 10,000 jews.
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Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 1 :: Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC)

וַיְהִי בִּשְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה בָּרְבִיעִי בַּחֲמִשָּׁה לַחֹדֶשׁ וַאֲנִי בְתֹוךְ־הַגֹּולָה עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָר נִפְתְּחוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וָאֶרְאֶה מַרְאֹות אֱלֹהִים׃

Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 1 :: Septuagint (LXX)

καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ τριακοστῷ ἔτει ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ μηνὶ πέμπτῃ τοῦ μηνὸς καὶ ἐγὼ ἤμην ἐν μέσῳ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ Χοβαρ καὶ ἠνοίχθησαν οἱ οὐρανοί καὶ εἶδον ὁράσεις θεοῦ

Do you believe this?

Take a look at this scene Ezekiel describes:

CLICK to read NASB20 Translation of Ezekiel 1: OR LISTEN to Ezekiel 1 ESV [4’19”]
- a high wind .. a great cloud with fire flashing intermittently and a bright light around it,
- in the midst of the fire something like gleaming metal
- And within it there were figures resembling four living beings.
  - they had human form.
  - Each .. had four faces
    their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward.
    each had a human face;
    the four of them had
    the face of a lion on the right
    the face of a bull on the left,
    and.. the face of an eagle.
  - and four wings.
    their wings touched one another
    were spread out above; each had two touching another being,
    and two covering their bodies.
  - Under their wings on their four sides were human hands.
  - Their legs were straight
  - and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they sparkled like polished bronze.
And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went.
Ezekiel 1:12 NASB20

In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire.
Ezekiel 1:13 NASB

This is Ezekiel’s description of just the glorious creatures!

Do you believe it?

IF you are a Christian or a Jew — perhaps.

But IF you are like most other twenty-first century human beings, you probably DO NOT believe such fantastic scenes from the Bible.

And their actions are even more fantastic!

14 [ESV] And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl.

And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. 18 And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.

19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.

20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads. And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering its body.

24 And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings.

But wait, there’s more; you sceptical (believer?) of the Bible!
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(MORE Scripture to read in the LINK below.)
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Ezekiel’s Vision of Divine Glory

And a voice came from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they let down their wings.
Ezekiel 1:25 NASB20

.. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.
And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.
Ezekiel 1:28b NASB

Tell the truth (in your comment to this post)
- Suppose you gave this fantastic detailed description of events to just ten (10) of your closest friends or family?
- OR imagine that you read the scroll of Ezekiel 1 to a gathering of one hundred (100) citizens of your town?
- HOW MANY WOULD BELIEVE YOU?
One, perhaps?

Even if some cannot believe this Scripture a few may believe you because of your own integrity.

THAT is the burden of the Prophet — his Word from God will be difficult to receive.

a caution to Pastors & Prophets

IF you speak any word NOT from God, claiming that God spoke it, no one with ears to hear should believe what you preach.

Do you swerve from Scripture to substitute your own visionary words? Good luck convincing your viewers that Ezekiel spoke the very word of the LORD.

Are you quite selective in how much of the HOLY BIBLE you preach? By all means, let us know how your church responds when you preach that this experience of Ezekiel really happened.

And IF you are a Pastor unwilling to confirm that all Scripture is ‘God-breathed,’ your gathering will never have ears to hear Ezekiel or even Christ, who revealed a similar vision to the Apostle John.

The Prediction and Predicament of the Prophet

“SO WHAT?” say the rulers of this world.

What IF I do not preach the WORD OF THE LORD as GOD has said it?

Place Ezekiel into the year of our Lord 2022, or the Lord Christ Jesus into our contemporary ‘evangelical christian‘ church and you will encounter the same predicament.

God has chosen a faithful remnant to receive his testimony with eyes to see and ears to hear. The others of the multitudes have heard the Word of the LORD through you AND rejected it.

Ezekiel 2:

Then He said to me,

“Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have revolted against Me to this very day. So I am sending you to those who are impudent and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the LORD [YHWH] GOD says:

As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
Ezekiel 2:5 NKJV

7 “But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.

Ezekiel 3:

NLT 3:10b

“Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.”

3:12

Then the Spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of the LORD rose from its place, I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me.

It was the sound of the wings of the living beings as they brushed against each other and the rumbling of their wheels beneath them.
Ezekiel 3:13 New Living Translation

But will Your Hearers have ‘ears to hear?’

— Ears to hear Scripture spoken by the LORD — ears to hear the Word of the Lord Christ Jesus — eyes to see the same glory of Heaven revealed by Jesus Christ to the Apostle John — ears to hear the scene of heaven as the LORD showed and spoke to the prophet Ezekiel?
July 7, 2022
Wailing in all the Public Squares (Social Media?)
Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says:

“There will be wailing in all the public squares
and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets.
Amos 5:16a – Berean Study Bible

and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets.

The Public Square and our Platforms of Wailing

WE THE PEOPLE do NOT like to be told what WE have done wrong.

You may claim in the public square that your ‘ONE NATION’ is ‘under god,’ but what if its leaders never listen to the Lord God, let alone obey?

Prophets, false prophets, anti-Christs and demagogues all deliberate in the public square. Yet like nations before, WE THE PEOPLE will wail at our destruction while stopping up our ears to Truth.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.COM

WE tend to avoid the PROPHETIC BOOKS of the #Bible, God’s Holy Word.

The prophets were extremely nationalistic. They rebuked sin in high as well as low places. They warned the nation. They pleaded with a proud people to humble themselves and return to God.
J. Vernon McGee

Amos
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Amos’ name means “burden” or “burden-bearer.” 
A “sheepbreeder” (1:1; cf. 2 Kin. 3:4) and a “tender of sycamore fruit” .. Politically, it was a time of prosperity
Amos addresses Israel’s two primary sins: 1) an absence of true worship, and 2) a lack of justice.
Source: Commentary of John Macarthur
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Amos – Not immune from judgment

(As you can see, I shared a brief series from Amos as recently as March 2020.) Did you Comment on it in the ‘public square’ of your Social Media?

Stephen commented on Amos in the public square of his trial in Jerusalem eight centuries later!

ACTS of a first century Martyr (who also quotes Amos)

Did you have any thoughts to SHARE your witness for the Lord in the public square of #twitter or Facebook for any Scripture from this series in ACTS of the Apostles?

The Testimony of Christ by Stephen

Today’s Short Take from Amos 5:
- A Lamentation against Israel
- A Call to Repentance
  - “Seek Me and live!
There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.
Amos 5:10 BSB
- Woe to Rebellious Israel
  - Also from Stephen’s speech in (Acts 7:39–43)
The farmer will be summoned to mourn, and the mourners to wail.

There will be wailing in all the vineyards,

for I will pass through your midst,”

5:23 הָסֵר מֵעָלַי הֲמוֹן שִׁרֶיךָ וְזִמְרַת נְבָלֶיךָ לֹא אֶשְׁמָֽע׃

But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

From the footstool of one shot on 15 April, 1865, to the steps of a Nation yet divided seven score and sixteen years hence, WE neither remember nor proclaim the Lord WE claim.
Roger@TalkofJESUS.com

But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amos 5:24 BSB

What’s your Short Take in the ‘public square?’
January 20, 2022