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.

Times of Difficulty – 4

Who will you believe?

“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.

The Lord commissions the prophet Jeremiah, who must warn nations of their sins against God. Like any true prophet, Jeremiah has nothing to gain by the Lord’s choice to make him a messenger. Who will believe the Lord’s message and messenger?

Jeremiah 1:

And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

Generations Earlier

The Lord saved Noah and his family from a great flood.

Ark Encounter

Do you suppose Noah’s neighbors had questions of why this crazy old man was building a huge ark? Yet did any return to the Lord rather than embrace their sins?

Even today man refuses to believe God would condemn the whole earth, saving only a righteous man. We deny judgment, refuse the warnings of the Lord’s true messengers and dismiss scripture.

In Times Long Ago

Egyptians worshiped Pharaoh as a god. The Lord worked mighty miracles by the hand of Moses allowing an enslaved Hebrew people to migrate to Canaan. Powerful middle east princes practiced ritual evil worshiping idols which are no god.

Why would such self-serving men as Pharaoh or a middle east prince believe that Moses spoke for the Lord? For that matter, why would this self-serving generation believe that the Lord has spoken to any?

9th c. B.C.

1 Kings 18:

21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

We prefer to worship gods of our making rather than Almighty God. Mortal man revolts against any authority other than our own.

7th-6th c. B.C.

Jeremiah 2:

5 Thus says the Lord:

“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

6 They did not say,

‘Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?’

7 And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things.

But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.

8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’

Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.

The rule of righteousness set by the Lord means nothing to men who define their own sin. False prophets and war-like men lead multitudes to lives of destruction and evil. Is anything new under the sun?

People will believe or disbelieve whatever they want.

Jesus Messiah

1st c. A.D.

Into an era dominated by Rome, a nominal jewish leadership asks their Messiah Jesus to perform more miracles.

Show us a sign.

Did first century jews want to bow down to a king any more than we do? Even if Almighty God appears to us in the flesh, will we believe and obey?

Instead, the Son of Man warns believers to be on guard.

Jesus is not a King who would conquer land. Neither is He a conquering mortal prince whose claim of the sword comes from God’s angels.

Jesus IS! He is a King above all kings, Creator of men from dust. And to dust we will return!

The Lord commands the sea, sun and stars. He IS Creator of men and women who will return to dust, Creator of these souls which live in the bounds of flesh and will be judged in the court of the Almighty King of all creation.

God is a righteous judge,
and a God who feels indignation every day. – Psalm 7:11

Grace for Sinful Man

The Lord came to man in the flesh and became a willing sacrifice for our sins. In light of the love of God our heavenly Father, in light of the sacrifice of Christ Jesus and in light of the eternal life breathed into the dust of your soul by the Holy Spirit; what is your response to these times of difficulty?

Who do you believe?

And what must you do in these last days, hastening times which began on a Cross?

To be continued…

September 4, 2017
Times of Difficulty
Joel 1:

Has such a thing happened in your days,
or in the days of your fathers?

3 Tell your children of it,
and let your children tell their children,
and their children to another generation.

While disasters loom and chaos rules, talking heads debate over who said what about the rein of evil isolated in time or place.

I’m outraged!
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(But it's not what you think.)
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One death causes lingering debate, then a couple dozen again across the sea.

India – 2 million child deaths/year

Yet  what of a crisis in a hospital in India where 68 children died because of a financial dispute over who would pay for oxygen?

What of 250 dead, lost to floods in Nepal, India and Bangladesh?

Would a press so entertained over a single firing dare mention 28 deaths from a national election controversy in a poor country like Kenya?

These acts of violence by evil men of many races and differing religion are not news. Extreme political positions and taunting of opposing opinion are nothing new under the sun.

Hidden in the headlines of Shiite Islam vs. Sunni Islam in Iraq (along with Syria, another war no one has won) we see starving children, victims of war’s atrocities, malnourished and wounded, gleaning fields for a few bites to eat. Least of all world-wide entertaining news would never herald the passing of 100 souls from hunger each and every hour!

China commits ‘staggering’ 23 million abortions per year, according to US State Dept.

Could self-defining generations of sexually active ‘single’ women ever be chastised for their ‘right’ to end the lives of more than 25 million babies so far this year?!

[ctt title=”Could the two most populous countries in the world ever be held accountable for all the babies and young children who have died? ” tweet=”https://ctt.ec/j1nfg+” coverup=”j1nfg”]

When will the LORD finally say, enough is enough?

Genesis 6:

5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

Exodus 12:29

At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.

The Lord intervenes

You may not have read from scripture of the great power of the Lord, though you witness the magnificence of His Almighty hand every day. Recall (or read for the first time) how a prayer reached the hearing of the Lord and the Lord saved Israel.

2 Kings 19:

5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me…

15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said:

[ctt title=”“O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.” tweet=”“Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights? Against the Holy One of Israel! 2Kings19:” coverup=”iFGf9″]

16 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.”

35 And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians.

And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh.

Judgment of the Lord

Not so remarkable that the Lord of all the heavens and earth, the Lord who makes the sun and moon and stars to move; not so awesome that 185,000 men or all the first born of Egypt should unexpectedly be struck down.

Have you heard of the Lord’s covenant to never destroy all mankind by flood? Do you believe that? You who cannot gaze upon the brilliance of the sun the Lord has placed in the heavens, uncover your ears to hear his warnings to repent!

His patience withholds fire and brimstone from the destruction of evil, yet their judgment will come. In the Person of Christ Jesus the Lord has come to man and He will return.

Cover your eyes and open your heart. Look only to Jesus and no false man, dead or in power, mortals who cannot save your eternal soul.

Joel 1:

15 Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.

Joel 2:

Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!

Return to the Lord

¹²“Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
¹³    and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster.

The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit

²⁸“And it shall come to pass afterward,
    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.
²⁹Even on the male and female servants
    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

³⁰“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. ³¹

The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

^{32 [ctt title=”And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. ” tweet=”Christ Jesus is Lord! A new heavens and a new earth await the Lord’s return.” coverup=”W2wAz”]}

To be continued…
August 21, 2017
for it was not the season for figs – 6
When I would gather them, declares the LORD,
there are no grapes on the vine,
nor figs on the fig tree;
even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.”

Jeremiah 8:13

Jesus’ Lament over Jerusalem’s crowds
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Recall the fig tree and all the symbols of Jerusalem. You can almost hear Jesus lamenting:
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“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!

How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

See, your house is left to you desolate. – Matthew 23:37-38

Even as Babylon had devoured Israel from the Euphrates to the Jordan, Rome ruled with an iron hand. Even as Jeremiah prophesied against Judah (now Judea), the crowds knew Jesus could save them from Rome.
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Not just Jesus but the crowds of Jerusalem as well ALL knew scripture (so much better than 21st c. christians.
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Deuteronomy 9:5

It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
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Perhaps you can hear Jesus preach this to the crowds who wanted a King to defeat the Rome who ruled Galilee, Samaria and Judea.
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The Lord says: I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the Lord your God..

“Break up your fallow ground,
and sow not among thorns.
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
lest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
because of the evil of your deeds.”

Again, thorns and the fire, not the fig tree bearing fruit.

You may have guessed it:

This is not Jesus preaching about Rome prior to cursing a fig tree. It well could have been Jesus’ commentary on preaching of the Prophets from scripture.

Repentance of scripture — from six hundred years earlier — from the Prophet Jeremiah who was ignored and then rejected in Judea — and dismissed in this day of first century Judea as warnings of Scripture are frequently rejected and dismissed in these last days of the 23rd century.

Jeremiah’s warning to Jerusalem

6:9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?

Again, the vine. The fruit of Israel taken by its enemies.
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And that is exactly what happened as Babylon defeated Jeremiah's Judah.

Powerful Rome ruled over Jerusalem, not the Jews. The Temple was symbol of political power, not actual rule.
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“Certainly worship of the Lord had become symbolic lost hope for Israel.”
Roger@TalkofJesus.com

“A great prophet has arisen among us!”

The crowds following Jesus to Jerusalem knew of the recent resurrection of Lazarus in Judea!

They knew of Jesus’ miracle of raising a boy from his coffin in Nain of Galilee.

Scripture is witness of the great prophet Elijah raising a child from the dead.

Jesus Resurrecting the Son of the Widow of Nain (oil on canvas) by Pierre Bouillon

A King and Prophet rides into Jerusalem, then later curses a fig tree.

These hopeful jews captive in their own land most likely ignored Jesus when the Lord had preached from Jeremiah and many other prophets.

DYK: John the Baptist also quoted Jeremiah?
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We can almost hear Jesus or John the Baptizer preaching these words of repentance to a people without ears to hear from Jeremiah 7:11 and in the Prophet's context understand Jerusalem even more.
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Jeremiah 7:

Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord.

16 “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you.

17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

27 “So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you.

You shall call to them, but they will not answer you.

28 And you shall say to them,

‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God,

and did not accept discipline;

truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.

Jeremiah 8:

When men fall, do they not rise again?
If one turns away, does he not return?

5 Why then has this people turned away
in perpetual backsliding?

They hold fast to deceit;
they refuse to return.

6 I have paid attention and listened,
but they have not spoken rightly;
no man relents of his evil,
saying, ‘What have I done?’

… but my people know not the rules of the Lord.
8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us’?

But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie.
9 The wise men shall be put to shame;
they shall be dismayed and taken;
behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,

so what wisdom is in them?

… from prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.

… saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.

When I would gather them, declares the Lord,
there are no grapes on the vine,
nor figs on the fig tree;
even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.”

Jeremiah 8:13

14 Why do we sit still?
Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities
and perish there,
for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
and has given us poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.
15 We looked for peace, but no good came;
for a time of healing, but behold, terror.

Recalling Jesus’ words from the fields of Galilee

I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.

A greater than Elijah, greater than Moses, Messiah incarnate has come to the gates of Jerusalem, cleared out the temple and cursed a fig tree.

To be continued..
July 6, 2017