Bible Study: January 4, 2023

So last week we began in chapter 22. We didn't begin in chapter 22, but we finished in chapter 22. And you remember that was a prophecy about Jerusalem. Jerusalem by another name here, the Valley of Vision, as you look at chapter 2. And the reason that they call it the Valley of Vision is because God revealed so many things and prophecies into the prophets in and around Jerusalem.

And that was the first Jerusalem is the centerpiece of so much of prophecy. You know, as we've been going through Isaiah, you may have noticed the pattern that we have seen. The first 12 chapters of Isaiah, we learned about the kings that were there at that time. God opened the book with some prophecies. We learned about King Ahaz and the prophecy of the Messiah that came as a result of Ahaz completely rejecting God or failing to even try to understand Him or give Him an opportunity to show a sign that He would always be with them.

Now, we've got through the first 12 chapters, we saw that the prophecies always referred to the Messiah, the coming of the Messiah. And we've learned some prophecies in there that were fulfilled with the birth and life of Jesus Christ. Now we're in the midst of the next 11 chapters or 12 chapters, if you will, having all of these prophecies that God has given as a result. These are these are accessory to the prophecies that we saw in Chapter 12.

They have to do, as you recall, with all these nations and all these groups that were around and about Jerusalem. So we've gone through many of them in the last 10 chapters. Now we're talking about Jerusalem. Next week, we'll talk about Tyre. You remember Tyre? We talked about a little bit back in Isaiah 14 when God took the king of Tyre and rolled it into a description of Satan and how he fell from God. And next week we'll conclude this section on those prophecies. And then the next 12 chapters after that have to do with God summing up through Isaiah what we've talked about.

We're praising God, cautioning us to pay attention to what he says, leading us into Chapter 35, where there's 33, 34, and 35 that have a tremendous vision of the kingdom of God when it is on earth. And then we move into some history with King Isaiah that we'll learn a lot of lessons as well.

So we're in Chapter 22 tonight, and we'll get through the prophecy of Jerusalem. We're finding, you know, in each of these chapters, something that we've heard about that we learned about in Isaiah. And that just Chapter 22 is no different than that. Last week we talked about a few things. Today we're going to talk a little bit about another nation, if you will, or group of people that I pretty much just went over last week, but I decided to go back and look at it and bring you some information on Elam and Kerr in verse 6.

And then we're going to move on into, you know, down here into some changes that God made in the administration of Hezekiah, where he talks about the house, about the key of David, the key of David, which is an interesting thing that has meaning for back then and meaning for us today too. So let's pick it up, though. We got through chapter or verse 7 last week, but let's pick it up in verse 6 again.

And I'll just read verse 5. You remember that last week when we were talking about everything that was going to be fall, Jerusalem in that area, talks about a day of trouble. We compare that to the time of Jacob's trouble that is mentioned in Jeremiah 30 and end time prophecies that use that same verbiage. And verse 5 it says, For it is a day of trouble, talking about Jerusalem, and treading down and perplexity by the Lord God of hosts, in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls and of crying to the mountain.

And you'll recall we went to Matthew 24 and we looked at some of those verses in there, looked at Jeremiah 30. And then in verse 6, it says, Elam, Elam bore the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kerr uncovered the shield. Now, this was about war, of course. Elam is a group that's there and I'm going to put a map up here in a second.

Talks about them having their chariots of men and their horsemen and Kerr uncovered the shield. So let me put up first a map so you can kind of see where we are. When we're talking about Elam. And I think you can see that now. So this is another yet another map of that whole area that we've been talking about. You recognize many of the cities that we've talked about in the last several weeks Damascus, Moab, Edom, Ammon, Arabia, Cush, Ethiopia, all these we have talked about. Babylon, Assyria has been prevalent in our conversations.

The Medes, the Persians, and over there in the Far East you see this nation group place where Elam lives. Now, as you look at that today and the UCG Bible commentary, we'll see that in a minute. It talks about the Persians. Elam was the Persians, and then the commentary will also make the reference that Kerr is likely the Medes. And so you have the Medes and Persians here all involved in this whole area around Jerusalem as we have all these prophecies of all these things that happen to them that we can document back in the books of the kings and the Chronicles.

And all these prophecies of what will occur with these same groupings of people that the Bible uses later on in life. So keep this in mind. Again, you've got Jerusalem over there that you see right next to Ashdod on the east side of the Mediterranean Sea. Next week we're going to be talking about Tyre. Tyre is right there, and Tyre is one that they were shipfaring people that went out and explored the various areas up there. You have Egypt and you have all these places.

You see Elam over there to the east, and Elam and Kerr are going to be the figure in the prophecy of Jerusalem's fall that happened, or Jerusalem's conquest by Assyria that happened back at the time. Assyria never did conquer Jerusalem. But just so you have a vision of where the nations were in again, because we see these and we'll continue to see those throughout the book of Isaiah.

Now let me put up for you two what comes right from the UCG Bible commentary regarding Elam and Kerr. I'll say I looked through many, many commentaries. They all agreed. They all agreed on who are the modern day Elamites and Kerr. It says, and this is our commentary, it says, this would seem, verse 6, to indicate Elam attacking Jerusalem, but perhaps not. It says, Elam bore the quiver, which could indicate that it is serving another army, perhaps even by compulsion, which would make sense if this applied to the ancients Assyrian army, which likely had Elamites and other peoples pressed into involuntary service. And that may likely be the case. But it is interesting because the Medes and Persians follow them later, because there is Babylon who conquers Assyria, and then the Medes and Persians who conquer Babylon.

So you see everything switching gears in that whole area of the world. Again, however, the commentary says, it is conceivable that the reference is dual, applying also to the end time. As modern Elam is found in Eastern Europe, Iran, and India, perhaps weapons from these areas will be utilized by the end time Assyrian army in its initial assault on the modern nations of Israel. So, you know, in times past we've talked about the Assyrian people migrating up into northern Europe. We've talked about the Babylonians and how history will show that they migrated and could well be part of the Italian area today.

And so we see Elam and these Persians and the Persians and Medes from today in Eastern Europe, Iran, and India. Now I should put the... well, I don't have a map, I don't think, but let me look at this map again here for a second. No, but you know when you see Karkamesh on this map, if you go straight north of that, you have the Caspian or the Black Sea, and then you have the Caucasus Mountains, and you'll remember even ancient Israel when they escaped from Assyrian captivity. That's where they migrated up through that area and then over throughout Europe.

And so it appears that many of the peoples in the area at that time did migrate through that same route and are there in Eastern Europe and in those areas the east, you know, today. And then as we read, as we read, you know, the commentary on that, it might make us remember that in the end time when we've read Daniel 11, you know, several times.

There is a king of the north. Again, right there is the north of the Mediterranean Sea, there is a king of the south. And then we have, you know, with Bylakoz news from the east that troubles the king of the north. So we have the Eastern contingent as well. We have those powers all in that same area in the end time that are there at the time that we're looking at today that was fulfilled back at the time.

That these prophecies were fulfilled the first time. So if we go back to chapter 22 and 6, there is some meaning in that verse that I just kind of flew by last time, but I wanted to come back and make you aware of what the modern-day identities of these people are, what they're doing.

And again, draw your attention to the areas of the world that we're talking about then. Now part of the reason that we would say that this could be a dual prophecy is because of verse 7. Following through on verse 6, it says, it shall come to pass. It shall come to pass. It hadn't come to pass then. Of course, there's a prophecy then, but it could be that there is another one down the road.

It shall come to pass. That your choice's valley shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves an array at the gate. So we can talk about, I think we mentioned last week about Jerusalem being surrounded and becomes a place of conflict. It becomes full of armies as the world gathers there at the time of the end, as we read in Matthew 24. So going on from there, we see that it is God. It's God who did all these things. Throughout Isaiah, we're always reminded, God loves his people, but God does punish his people when they depart from him.

There are consequences for our actions, and while he loves Jerusalem, he does allow the conflict and the captivity and the wars and that to come upon Jerusalem. In verse 8, it specifically says that it says, He, God, removed the protection of Judah. It wasn't the Assyrian army that came and threatened them. It wasn't the Babylonian army. God allowed those to happen. They were tools in his hands, but he removed the protection of Judah. We see God doing that. So even in our nation today, you will hear about when God removes his blessings from his people today, and he removes his protection from them, what will happen.

It's a blessing that we, probably the people of this world and the Israelite nations of today, just simply take for granted and don't pay much attention to. But something we should pay attention to, and when that blessing of protection is no longer there, we will feel it the way Jerusalem did. He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the house of the forest.

So we're going to pause there on verse 8, and then I'll read through 9, 10, and 11, because God begins to make reference to something that Jerusalem and the people are doing.

He's going to talk in the next few verses about how they began to look when they were threatened at the world around them. What could they do to protect themselves? What could they trust in? Something they had already built. And then he comes to a conclusion in verse 11. But as far as this house of the forest, let's go back to 1 Kings 7, and verse 2 is referenced there.

And see that this is something that was specifically mentioned prior. It's always interesting when you read of these places or things in the Bible. And then later on, many books later, you come back and see that it's still there. It's something that the people began to rely on in 1 Kings 7.

And verse 1 talks about Solomon has just been done building the temple at the end of chapter 6. And verse 1 of chapter 7, it says, But Solomon, he took seven years to build God's house, but Solomon took thirteen years to build his own house, so he finished all of his house.

He also built the house of the forest of Lebanon. Now, this was a kind of an armed fortress, if you will. It was heavily, I guess heavily weaponized, they say, and it gives us the lengths there of how wide this was and everything. It was pannered with cedar above the beams that were on 45 pillars, pillars 15 to a row, and it gives all the definitions of it there.

It was quite a complex when you read in the history of what this was. They would look to that as their place. Today in this country, we might look to the Pentagon. If you're in Canada, whatever your military base might be, right? This is where the brains of the military are. These are the ones who are protecting our country.

When God says in Isaiah 22 here, you began to look to the house of the forest of Lebanon. It was named that way because of all the cedar from Lebanon that came that was part of that fortress.

So what he's saying is something we could say today. When terror came or when trouble came, you began to look at your military. You began to look at your arsenal of weapons. You began to look and say, we've got more nuclear weapons than this country or that country or whatever.

You began to look at your arsenal of weapons and say, we're protected because of this. That's what he begins there in chapter 22.

As these threats against Jerusalem came from Assyria, you can see that they did some preparations. Now there's nothing wrong with preparations. There's nothing wrong with preparing and doing things when trouble comes. We'll see that here in a minute. But in verse 9, it says, Oh, you saw the damage to the city of David that it was great, and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. Oh, you saw the city of David. There was damage there. And you went out and you did something with these waters of the lower pool. And there's a very interesting feature that you've always heard of in Jerusalem that is, I'm going to say, unique to Jerusalem and plays a part in the history here. And that's likely a history of the temple in the millennial time as well. But we'll talk about that here in a minute. You saw this damage to the city of David, and you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. You numbered the houses of Jerusalem and the houses you broke down to fortify the wall. Now that's an interesting verse. If you read through the commentary, so I think even our ECG commentary, we'll talk about how in recent times, archaeologists have uncovered this wall of houses that were there at the point where this wall would likely be. And they're saying that that's what is referenced here in chapter 22 and verse 10. Somehow, Hezekiah, in preparation for a serious likely attack and to protect the city, had these houses there. For some reason, I don't fully understand that that would be a protectorate to them to have that there. But archaeology has proven this is likely what verse 10 was talking about, because they have found all these ruins with these houses lined up right where the wall is. In verse 11, then, it says, You also made a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. So let me stop there, then we'll come back to the last sentence of verse 11. What God is referring to here is that Hezekiah, as a king, remember Hezekiah was loyal to God. He completely was reliant on God, but they did make all these preparations. And we can read about those preparations back in 2 Chronicles.

Let's take some time and go back and look at 2 Chronicles 32 and see what they did as they were being threatened by Assyria and as they saw the nations around them, one by one, falling to Assyria.

In 2 Chronicles 32, we see some of these preparations. It says in verse 1, After these deeds of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and entered Judah. Remember that God did allow them to come into Judah, but He said that they would not conquer Jerusalem, which they did not. So Sennacherib comes in, he enters Judah, he encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them over to himself. But when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that his purpose was to make war against Jerusalem, he consulted with his leaders and commanders to stop the water from the springs which were outside the city, and they helped him.

Thus many people gathered together who stopped all the springs and the brook that ran through the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water? Well, just like today, water was a precious resource, and Jerusalem had a singular blessing and source of water that is unique in that time, and it has to do with the whole area that God gave David.

You remember that God gave David? It used to be called the city of Jeebus when the Jibs'ites had it, and God gave him that in a battle, and that was where His name was going to be. So they decide, you know, this water, we're going to have to do something with this water, why should the kings of Assyria have this precious resource?

It belongs to us. Verse 5 says, He strengthened himself, built up all the wall that was broken, raised it up to the towers, and built another wall outside. Also He repaired the meow in the city of David, and made weapons and shields in abundance. They sent military captains over the people, gathered them together to him with the open square of the city gate, and gave them encouragement, saying, Be strong and courageous.

Don't be afraid, nor dismay before the king of Assyria, nor before all the multitude that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles. And the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Now, they went about and they did all these things, and it took a lot of work. It was no small feat to do what Hezekiah and his team did.

Many of the people there apparently were putting their stock into what they had done. Hezekiah never did. Hezekiah always had faith in God. It teaches us a lesson. You have faith in God, but you also do some things for yourself as well, and don't just sit back and do nothing. We're going to see something later on about Hezekiah as well. But let's look at verse 30 here of 2 Chronicles 32. And it says, as he built Hezekiah's tunnel, which is one of the wonders of the world.

So let me pause there and talk for a moment about some of the geography of Jerusalem. And I'm going to put a couple of slides up here. This is the one I want first. Yeah, I hope you can see that one. This is pretty much a layout of the area of what they call the Temple Mount today, the city of David, which is where David conquered. And then you can see over to the right there, the Gihon Spring. The Gihon Spring has quite a reputation. And what this is, it is like a kind of when you read it, I have no idea what the quantities of water are when I read about all these about all how much water this spring provides.

But the Gihon Spring, which is located there, it comes up in a kind of a cave, if you will, and several times during the year, the water will just simply come out from this spring, and it provides enough water for all of Jerusalem. And that's a source of water in Jerusalem. So they use that for all of their life's needs and whatever. But also, remember that the temple was built right there. Now there are many, there are some today who you see the Temple Mount up to the north there on that picture. And that would be where the Wailing Wall is.

That is of some repute. You know, the Jews use it more as an idol today. And there are scholars who say that the original temple was not where the Temple Mount was. That was more likely a fortress for the Roman soldiers, that the temple itself would have been down into the city of David more likely, close to that Gihon Spring.

And there are several reasons for that because that water supply was very, very valuable, very, very valuable to them. And also, when you think about not only all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that they were relying on that water, but also the fact that the temple, remember with all these animal sacrifices that were going on, that Gihon Spring supplied all the water that that temple always had water for the washings of the priests, the washings down of, after all these sacrifices that went on, that just shows you how plentiful and how important that Gihon Spring was. So, you know, the Hezekiah knew how important that was.

Wrong one. Just, I don't know that I'm going to read through all this, you can kind of look at it. I know someone last week has said that some of the things, if you're looking on a phone, can be very small, you know, to see the maps that we put up and some of the stuff that has some verbiage in it. So if ever you want a copy of this, just let me know and I can email you what we looked at here.

But this is talking a little bit about the Gihon Spring. You see its title there, Jerusalem's Only Water Supply. And, you know, the name it says there in the first paragraph comes from the Hebrew verb, to gush forth, the only natural source of water in Jerusalem that draws water from an underground cave that fills with groundwater accumulating from the rain and snow of Israel's winters. So you see here in this picture that's blue, this cave, you can actually walk down into the cave where the water isn't gushing to go through this tunnel that Hezekiah had built so many years ago.

Let me just read through some of it. It is kind of interesting to think about what it is and that God placed Jerusalem right there and placed that spring right there where everything they needed is and it is a unique feature on earth. At the point of capacity, the Gihon empties through cracks in the rock and the water siphons to the surface. The Israelites used pools and cisterns to collect the overflow, which was common method of storing water. That water ebbed and flowed throughout the day, the frequency depending upon the season. But a consistent supply of water is the usual requisite for an arid city to survive and expand successfully.

Even back in those ancient days, they realized they had this tremendous blessing of the Gihon spring. It would water, it would bring forth water, but it wasn't there every single day. They had to devise ways to keep it so it could be used throughout the year. To overcome this shortcoming and genius systems were designed to aid collection of water and cause it to flow upward.

Even in Solomon's days, they have those pools that you can even see there today. I'm told where these pools were, where they constructed it so that when that water came out, they could capture it in reservoirs, if you will, so that it could be used by the city throughout the year. It is a tremendous blessing. The word Gihon might make you remember. It means, as we said there, the Hebrew word is to gush forth. We first see that word back in Genesis 2. In the garden of Eden, God talks about four rivers. Four rivers that go out from Eden. Two of those are the Tigris and Euphrates, that we know where those are today. The other, there's a lot of talk about where the other two rivers are. No one knows for sure where it is, but in Genesis 2, verse 10, it says, The river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon. It is the one that skirts the whole land of Havelah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good, but Delium and the Onyx Stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the one which goes around the whole land of Kush.

You'll remember we talked about Kush when we were talking about Ethiopia, and you'll remember the map we had of Ethiopia, and what will happen, what is prophesied about Ethiopia, and the unique nation that it is today, even in today's world, that they have never been colonized. It's one of only two nations in Africa that have never been colonized. They keep a different calendar. God seems to have kept that people away from that area, and whatever may be there that we don't know for sure, but there is speculation what may be there as we talk about that prophecy. But then you have this Gihon, and it circles Ethiopia. It's the same burst for a fourth, but in Isaiah we have this spring that is talked about as Gihon. Now, what Hezekiah did, he created the tunnel, and that's what this is talking about. You can see people there at the top of the page. You can actually go over to Israel, and it's not the time when the water is flowing. It doesn't seem to be as it was today, as it was back then, but you can walk through Hezekiah's tunnel there and see what he did, because what he did was channel that water in such a way to protect the city from Assyria. And if there was a siege, they would have plenty of water to be able to sustain them through any kind of siege that's an acryra that Assyria might put up against them.

In those days, a siege, you would run out of food, you'd run out of water, you know, the whole nine yards. And so it says there, the Hezekiah's tunnel, it was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Gihon Spring, channeled the water down to the west side of the city of David. He succeeded in everything he undertook. They're quoting here from 2 Chronicles 32 verse 30.

In times of war, the water supply beyond Jerusalem's walls would be a point of weakness for the city, which would fail under siege more than a dozen times. But Hezekiah, going down to the fourth paragraph there, dammed up the waters and cut a channel through this capital, or through the oafel, the city of David, to the pool of Siloam.

1700 foot tunnel is a marvel of the engineering methods of Hezekiah's age. The teams of laborers started at opposite ends and met in the middle. And of course, here's one of the things they've discovered is the Silo inscription that was written some 2,700 years ago to support what went on there. So you can see as God worked with them, God does supply what he needs.

You know, Hezekiah was a very smart man, what Hezekiah was, so it was very loyal to God. And God gave him and his team what they needed in order to work this miracle, if you will, that's still considered a modern wonder to protect that city. God will provide whatever we need, we keep learning, to be able to protect us and see us through. But we've got to be willing to put in the effort.

Hezekiah could have just stepped back and said, hey, whatever you want to do, you know, it's okay with me, just do it all, God. But no, they were busy at work as God was leading them. Now, that spring of Gaihan, you know, let's look at John 9. It mentions there the pool of Siloam. And of course, there was a miracle of Christ that happened at the pool of Siloam. And understanding this spring of Gaihan that we have just talked about, we might be able to see why, you know, why people thought that this had some magical, magical magic to it, this pool.

And in verse 7, John 9, verse 6, he's talking about the man who was born blind. Of course, I think I referenced this just a couple weeks ago in a sermon, you know, and Christ uses an example of his disciples said, well, who sinned? And he said to his father that he was born blind. And Christ said, neither of them, don't, don't judge this was done so that so that God's work could be revealed.

So in verse 6, it says, when Christ had said these things, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And he said to him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is translated since. So he went and washed and came back seen.

He didn't have to. Christ didn't have to have him go wash in the pool of Siloam. He could have healed him and just said, Go on your way. But he had to do something in the process as well. But this pool of Siloam was said by the spring of Gihon. Now, it's interesting, you know, as we look ahead in the future and as we as we look at that city of David and we see that spring of Gihon that's there and how important the that water was to Jerusalem and what a resource it was to them. And how it is probably likely that that that temple may have been may not be exactly where the temple mount is today, but down in that city of David that we talked about.

Then when we look at Ezekiel, when we talk about the millennial temple, understanding the magnitude of that spring of Gihon and the waters that would flow from there that were able to take care of the entire city, take care of all the needs of the temple, that there is this water that comes out from that millennial temple that's there.

That may be, I'm going to say this is 100% speculation that may be this Gihon spring as well. But let's just look for a moment at chapter 47 because we see water intimately involved again with the temple in the millennial time. In chapter 47 of Ezekiel, verse 1, it says, He brought me back to the door of the temple and there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east.

For the front of the temple faced east, the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple south of the altar.

So the water was coming out from where the temple is, flowing out to the east. And so if we could drop down to verse 8, says, He said to me, This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.

Now that's exactly what we would expect, healing waters from the temple, from Christ at the time of the millennium. And it shall be that every living thing that moves wherever the rivers go will live. There will be a great multitude of fish because these waters go there, for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. So it's a beautiful, a beautiful sight when you think about it. You think the millennial temple and God gives all the specifications of how that temple will be built. And then you have this water flowing from it. It's reminiscent, of course, of Jesus Christ talking about the rivers of living water. And we see this river of life in Revelation as well. Revelation 21, I think it is, or 22, can you get there? Revelation 22.

Revelation 22, verse 1 says, He showed me a pure river of water of life, a pure, a crystal clear, pure river of water of life. Clear as crystal, I guess that's where we get the saying from. Proceeding from the throne of God and the Lamb, in the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of light, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations. So, you know, you have this picture of this water, and in ancient Israel, where the temples were, this upper Gihon, or the spring of Gihon, was there, that God used, God used and had some pretty amazing things done by His people during that time. So, when we read about Hezekiah and the work that was done back then, it was no small feat. It wasn't something that was done overnight. It wasn't pushing a button, and it happened. This took a lot of planning. This took a lot of work. This took a lot of time, and I'm sure when it was done, everyone who was involved in it was just marveled at what it was and realized there is no siege that's going to succeed against us for lack of water. We've got the market on the water, which is one of the most valuable resources. So, if we go back to chapter 22 now in Isaiah, and we look at verses 8, 9, and 10 again, you can see all the work that was done. They looked to this armament that was there in Solomon's Day, this house of the forest that was built back in that time that we looked at. You see this wall with the houses and what Hezekiah worked that has been covered by archaeology. In 11, it notes this Hezekiah's tunnel, this reservoir between the two walls for the water of the old pool. They did a lot of work, and when they looked at it, they probably thought there is nothing. There is no one that could defeat this city. But that was the physical people. Hezekiah never did. When we look back at 1 Chronicles 32, remember, he said, when they were all done, don't be afraid, don't be dismayed. And of course, subsequent to that, you have the king of Assyria, and his rabbis, Sheikah, as they called them came, and they were threatening. No God has ever been able to stand against us. No capital has ever been able to stand against us. No king has ever been able to stand against us. And they huffed and they popped, but they could not blow the house of Jerusalem down. So, and Hezekiah said, don't be afraid, don't be dismayed. God is with us. Everything else we've done is great, but it's God with us, and He will deliver us. And you remember what we read back a couple weeks ago when he laid that letter down in front of God and just said, God, we are powerless against these people. They made all of these preparations, but he knew that without God, they were completely, completely helpless. So, if we go back to verse 11, then we see what the people did, and Hezekiah certainly encouraged them, but in verse 11 at the end of it, God says, you did all these things, but you didn't look to its Maker, nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago. Isn't that an interesting comment for God to make? Because He knew what was in their hearts. Hezekiah was there. We do all these things, but we look to God. He is the one who delivers. He is the one who provides. He is the one who heals. We do things for ourselves. We don't do things for ourselves necessarily with the eye. We do things that we need to do, as God directs us, but it is God who provides and God who shows the way.

So God is chastising them. You trusted in your armaments. You trusted in your fortresses. You trusted in Hezekiah's tunnel. Yet I'm the one who gave it all to you. It's because of me that you were even able to do these things. Now, as we go on into the book of Isaiah, I think it's chapter 38, you have the story of Hezekiah. You remember after everything, he ends up with the disease that is unto death. And Isaiah comes and tells him, you are going to die Hezekiah.

And Hezekiah weeps, and Hezekiah asks God for more time. And God brings it to him. 15 more years, if you recall. And then, and sends Isaiah back. And Isaiah says, God has answered your prayer. You will live another 15 years.

But remember even then, that's all that God had to do. All he had to do was say it, but Isaiah gave him a poultice of figs and told Hezekiah, put these, put these on you. If Hezekiah hadn't followed through and used that poultice of figs, certainly God could heal him without any poultice of figs. Certainly he could have healed Naaman, you know, without having a dip into Jordan seven times.

But there are things that God would ask us to do that are in line with his will, to bring us more in line with His will, and to remember that we are completely subordinate to Him and do whatever He says. In verse 11, you know, we have this, we have God saying all these things, and God knows Him who directed all of it.

He gave the power, He gave the abilities to do these things. God said, but you didn't look to me. You didn't follow me. And in verse 12, then it goes on and it says, and in that day, the Lord God of hosts called for weeping and for mourning, for baldness and for girding with sack loss.

You know, what He wanted them to do was repent. All right? And so all these things are symbols of repentance. He wanted them to repent and turn back to Him. That's all God ever wanted from His people. Turn back to Me. Repent. Come back to Me. And so He wanted them to see the error of their ways. He wanted to see what they had not been doing and to learn to trust in Him and rely on Him and do that.

And so that's what He wanted to do, but that isn't what the people did. So often they just don't know. They just don't do what God expects them to do. They took and they were, you know, they had prepared all these things in verses 8, 9, 10 and 11. And instead of repenting and turning to God and being humble before Him and thanking Him and grateful to Him, what they did was, in verse 13, instead, there was joy and gladness, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating meat and drinking wine. They were partying, you know, and the famous saying, let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.

Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. Kind of a flippant attitude, if you will, that they would have had. Shows they didn't, you know, perhaps they didn't have faith even with that. Maybe they were still sure that somehow Assyria was going to come in and conquer them and they were just going to party while they had the opportunity. You know, who knows exactly what they're thinking, but there's a concept here and let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die. You know, Paul repeats it in 1 Corinthians for 1532.

You know, something we need to be aware of and, you know, that we wouldn't be guilty of. But let's turn over to Matthew 24. We're in verse 13. Yeah. Matthew 24. Because we see at the end time, it is the same attitude of just partying, even though all these things have come about.

Of course, Matthew 24 is the Olivet prophecy. And in the Olivet prophecy, when the disciples ask Christ what will be the sign of the end of the age and the sign of your coming. And he gives all these points, if you will, in chapter 24. And people, if they're paying attention, can see this one by one. What Christ has said is coming about as that time moves on. But when you get down to verse 36 and you see all the false prophets that are out there, all the deception that's going out there, all of the tribulation that's going out there, in verse 36, verse 37, we see the same attitude.

As the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark. And they didn't know, until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. And we see that over and over in the Bible. We see that here, right? And an angers guy when the people aren't paying attention to what's going on. They don't see the sign.

They don't see his involvement in it. He will be very angry with us if we allow ourselves to sleep and think everything is okay. And this is his time to just go on and just, hey, just party, do whatever we're going to do with no foresight and no idea of what's going on so that we will be as surprised as the world when it happens. You saw in the days of Noah, you know, in Luke, he talks about Lot did the same thing.

He didn't. He wasn't aware of the depravity of Sodom and Gomorrah that he lived in. Now, we need to be very aware of the times we live in, of the society we live in. As it moves further and further away from God, we get closer and closer to the time that we wouldn't be guilty of the attitude of, if Etrich can be married for tomorrow, for tomorrow we die.

Okay, let's go back then to that. So we have this attitude, you know, in chapter two. It's kind of a, you know, it's not Hezekiah because God tells us that Hezekiah did what was right. We have the examples of Hezekiah, but he's got these people around him, some of which are not paying attention to God the way He is.

And we read a little bit about that as we go through the rest of the chapter here and beginning in verse 14. It says in verse 14, as Isaiah writes, he says, Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts, Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you. Well, the iniquity that he's talking about is, you know, you're partying, you're eating and drinking and being married when you should be repenting and looking to me and humbling yourselves before me and looking, you know, well, looking to me as we should be.

Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, even to your death, says the Lord God of hosts. And then in verse 15, he gives Isaiah something to do with a specific person there in the kingdom of Judah. Verse 15, thus says the Lord God of hosts, Go proceed to this steward, to Shebna, who is over the house, and say. So here, you know, stewards of those days, they were kind of like the second in command.

You know, you remember the story of Joseph and Pharaoh, and Pharaoh, when he promoted him, said, There is no one greater in Egypt than Joseph. He has command over all my house. Everything he says, do. The king was still the king. He was still providing the direction, but he gave power and authority to Joseph.

Same thing that Joseph had in the house of Potiphar. But here's this Shebna, who is the same thing. He's over the house. He is the second in command in the kingdom. Hezekiah was the CEO, if you will. And Shebna's job was to carry out the vision, carry out whatever it is that Hezekiah would have him do.

So he's telling Isaiah, go over to this Shebna guy who's over the house and say. He has some pretty austere words to say to this man, Shebna. He says, What have you here? And whom have you here? That you've hewn a sepulchre here. And as he who hews a sepulchre on high, who carves a tomb for himself in Iraq. What God is saying, basically, that He sends Isaiah to tell Shebna, is that, Who do you think you are?

What is it about you, Shebna? What are you doing? You're doing all these things to try to make yourself look great. You're doing these things and it's all about you. You are looking on how you can develop a name for yourself. You're even hewing out a sepulchre for yourself so that you will be buried here among the elite, I guess, of Jerusalem, if we want to call them that. And God makes the indication here that, you know, who are you? You don't have any family that's here. You're not part of the royal family.

You're here as a worker. You're here to do the will of the king, if you will. So who are you? What are you doing? And God calls Shebna out as a weak link, if you will, in Hezekiah's house, if you will. And what is the thing that Hezekiah, or that Shebna? It's pride. And in the inordinate of pride, it's all about him. As he goes about his work, he's always got an eye on himself.

What's going to be my legacy? What are people going to think of me? How does this benefit me? What does this do to my reputation, etc., etc. And that's what God is saying here in verse 16. And so in verse 17, as God sees this, he, and it's interesting too because, you know, Hezekiah, means Shebna was there. So Shebna was doing these things.

And God, you know, it's just very interesting how God puts together teams, if you will. And he sees this weakness in Hezekiah's house, and he sends Isaiah not to Hezekiah and says, Hezekiah, get rid of them.

He says, you know, you go, you go and go to Shebna and tell him what's going to happen to him, probably to give him the opportunity to repent, if you will. Because God always gives us an opportunity to repent when it's called to our attention, what our weaknesses and what our faults and our sins are.

But God is going to place someone in that position that will complement Hezekiah very well. We're going to see in a few minutes here. So God says, Shebna, go to this man Shebna. He's proud. He doesn't belong there. He's out of place in that team of Israel, the house of Judah at that time. And Isaiah says to him in verse 17 some pretty stern words. He says, indeed, the Lord will throw you away violently. He's going to throw you away violently, Hezekiah, or not Hezekiah, Shebna, Almighty man, and will surely seize you.

He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball into a large country. Now, no one knows where that large country is, but the commentaries would suggest, as well as our commentary, that that may well have been Assyria, that Shebna may have been taken captive by the Assyrians as part of whatever that went on there. So while he thought he was this great mighty man in Judah, he became just a slave or whatever they did to the people in Assyria.

And we know, as we talked about, Assyria was a very violent and cruel taskmaster. You didn't ever want to become part of a captive in Assyria. So he will turn violently and toss you like a ball into a large country. There you will die, and there your glorious chariots shall be the shame of your master's house. Like, you thought you were making a name for yourself, but Shebna, you are going to bring a disreputation on your family's house.

When they think of you, when they think of your family, you are doing them a dishonor. You handle that position very poorly, is what God is saying. So I will drive you, verse 19, I will drive you out of your office, and from your position, he will pull you down. So God is pretty clear. Isaiah, as he went there and he talked about, I gave Shebna this message.

It was a pretty clear message. Now, some people will say, if we put our fingers there in Isaiah 22 for a moment, we turn over to chapter 38, I think it is. Maybe it's 36. Chapter 36. We see a man named Shebna appear in chapter 36 in the first few verses here when Sennacherib comes against Judah.

Right? Verse 36 talks about that 14th year. Sennacherib comes against the fortified cities of Judah. And the king of Assyria sent the Rav Sheikah with the great army to Hezekiah Jerusalem. He stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller field. And Eliah came, we're going to meet him here in a few minutes, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the Shep household. Shebna the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to him.

Now, some would suggest that this Shebna is the same Shebna that we just read about in Isaiah 22, and that he now has a lesser position. Might be. We don't know. We don't know if it's the same person or not. You know, as I read what Isaiah said to Shebna, perhaps, perhaps he did, perhaps he did repent and accept a lower position, it would seem kind of out of the way that he would be one of the three that, you know, that Hezekiah would go and speak to Sennacherib. But, you know, only God knows. I think more likely is it's a different Shebna, because it refers to him several times in Isaiah as well, but it's back in the Kings and Chronicles, as Shebna the scribe.

And this Shebna in verse chapter 22 is just Shebna who was over the house. Mr. Shavey? Yes. Hi, Debbie from Panama City? Yes, yes. Hi. Hi. I just wanted to mention, Lynn Austin has done a series of five books on the Chronicles of the Kings.

You know, I think your wife might have read the statue focusing on Hezekiah. It brings down Shebna. It brings out what happened to him. Of course, this is just what she has put together. We have the skeleton of the events in the Bible, but Lynn Austin is so good with filling in all the pieces. It just makes you feel like you're there and you can understand it so well.

So anyway, it's Lynn Austin Chronicles of the Kings. It talks about Hezekiah, about digging the tunnel. It is just wonderful. It really helps you understand more of what the Bible is. Yeah, thanks for bringing it up. I haven't read the book, but my wife did read it, along with several other ladies in the church. And it was very enlightening to them to see all the works of Hezekiah. Based on the Bible, it fills in some blanks just to have the story go along. But the facts of the Bible are there and how all that came about.

So it's an interesting read if you are interested in that. I wasn't looking at my hands raised, but Xavier, you've got your hand raised. Did you want to make a comment? Yeah, brother, Shabie. In this translation here in verse 18, it says, the Lord will roll you up like a ball. So that may indicate, as we just read in the later chapters, that rolling back his positions and a base in him, but at the same time, he may not be happy about it. But it says here, he will roll you up like a ball and throw you into a large country.

And yet somehow in chapter 36, the other Shevna is still there. Whatever happens to Shevna, we'll find out one day. But yes, God was not at all happy with him. Because your translation doesn't mention a part of rolling him up. No, it just says that it will drive you. How does it say it? He will surely turn violin and toss you like a ball into a large country. This one says he will roll you up as a ball. Yes, that's interesting. So Shevna, not a man of good refuge.

We want to learn a lesson from him to not be like him. So if we go back, let me look at my notes here. It seems like I had... No, again, it's pride. Pride that brought Shevna down. Something we always have to be on the lookout for in ourselves. Okay, verse 20. Verse 20 in Isaiah 22. It shall be in that day that I will call my servant Eliachim, the son of Hilkiah. Now, Eliachim means the one whom God will raise up.

And so it's God who brings Eliachim in. It shall be in that day that I will call my servant Eliachim, the son of Hilkiah. And I will clothe him with your robe, Shevna, and strengthen him with your belt. I will commit your responsibility into his hand. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. So what God does here is, you know, this is what you've done, and I'm going to place the person there in that office or that function that I want.

And I will tell you this, Eliachim, whose name is whom God will raise up, he will be in your position. And God knew this man, Eliachim, that he was a man after his heart. Some commentaries will suggest, even our own commentary, I think, that he was a type of Jesus Christ and the fact that he was going to follow and be completely loyal to God and completely loyal to Hezekiah and be a cog in that whole area where the people would be led to trust in God.

And as we read in Isaiah 36, when there was this team of three that Hezekiah sent out to deal with the Rapshika, it was Eliachim, the scribe, and the recorder. The three people that were there. Hezekiah didn't go out, but he trusted Eliachim to go out there and have the best interest of Judah at heart and also the faith of God at heart when he went out there to do that. And then, finally, a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah shows that he would love them. He would take care of them. He would provide for them.

He would be their servant just as a father always watches out for his children. And then in verse 22, we see God make quite a statement about Eliachim. If you read about him, obviously he did what God wanted him to do. And in verse 22, he says, The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder.

That's quite a statement that God would make about this man. The key to the house of David I will lay on his shoulder. Now, Eliachim was a real person. Eliachim really did succeed Shevna. Eliachim we read in Isaiah 36. You can read about him in Kings and Chronicles as well. He really was there. But it's the next few verses that indicate this is a more an end time fulfillment of a well as what God will do because he uses the same words that we use, you know, we see in the New Testament.

The key of the house of David I will lay on his shoulder. So he shall open and no one shall shut. And he shall shut and no one shall open. Now, what was whatever? God was going to have Eliachim of old open. You know, I don't know that I didn't take the time to go through all of Eliachim to see what he would open.

But what God was saying, my favor will be with him. He will go where I go and he will, you know, he will, the doors that are open there won't be shut. You know, if we go back and we look at this key of David, it is quite an interesting thing.

If we go back to Isaiah 9, we've already covered that in the prophecy of Christ. In Isaiah 9, number 6, it says unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government will be upon his shoulder. On his show on Eliachim's shoulder, he will give the key of David. The government will be upon his shoulder and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. So on his shoulder, verse 7, of the increase of his government in peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom. To order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Now, when we look at Matthew 16, we see when Christ is beginning his church and he is looking at his disciples there, and he's talking about the church that he will begin that will be his body of called-out ones, the ones that God the Father will call, the ones who respond that will repent from the heart and turn their hearts over to him, receive his Holy Spirit upon baptism and the laying on of hands, and then follow him and yield their lives to God during that time. In verse 19 of chapter 16, I'll read the whole thing here in verse 17, Jesus answered and said to Peter, when Peter identified, you are the Christ, you are the Son of the loving, living God, Jesus answered and said to him, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock, referring to Christ himself, on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. I will give you the keys of heaven. There is one way into the kingdom of God. And I hope if there's something that every single person in the church around the world, and every single person who ever hears our message understands, among many things I hope they understand, is that there is only one way to salvation, and that is through Jesus Christ. It is under no other way. I've heard a few people say it needs to be said more, and I think we've been saying it. I hope everyone knows there is just one way. There's not many ways to the kingdom of God. There's not many ways. There's one way. Through Jesus Christ, following Him, obeying Him, yielding Him, and doing the things that He said to do. And His body, of which He is the head, should be doing those things, completely yielded to Him, and taking our direction completely from Him. And He will give us the keys of the kingdom of heaven. He will open the door for us. It can't be opened any other way except through Jesus Christ, and yielding to Him, and following Him, and giving our lives to Him, in complete sacrifice to Him, just the way that Jesus Christ gave His life and sacrifice to us. It has to be that way. That's the only way. We want to enter the kingdom of heaven. The Bible shows us. Jesus Christ showed us. He was the forerunner. He set the example of how we live and what we need to do. And His church should be teaching those things, and that we adhere exactly, carefully, and diligently to the Word of God.

We looked at Matthew 16 and verse 19. There's one more verse I wanted to look at. Yeah, back in Revelation, of course. Revelation 3.

Talking to the church of Philadelphia. One church that God doesn't have anything negative to say about. They yield to God. They do what God says. In verse 7 of Revelation 3, it says to the angel of their church in Philadelphia, right?

These things says, He who is holy. He who is true. He who has the key of David. He who opens, and no one shuts, and shuts, and no one opens. I know your works. I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it, for you have a little strength. You've kept my word and haven't denied my name. So the keys of the kingdom of heaven are something that Jesus Christ gives. Jesus Christ gave it to His church as long as we follow Him and adhere to Him. He opens doors that no one else could open. He does things and performs things to people that no one else could do. Even through Hezekiah, when we look at Hezekiah's tunnel, no man could have devised that. That was God providing that. And Christ says that He'll do a wondrous work among His people before He returns as well as we follow Him. So as we look at Isaiah 22, we see God commending this man who has at his heart, his heart completely yielded to God. Something you and I just need to continually be working on and asking God, show me if there's anything between you and me that, you know, help me to get that soft, fleshly heart that turns to you. That when I hear of something that I've done wrong, that I will immediately work to put it out of my life with the power of your Holy Spirit. That when you say, go here, we'll go here, do this, we'll do that, we'll become in tune with you and have a deep relationship with you. That wherever you lead, we will follow and we will know. We will know it is your direction. So here in verse 22, it's a prophetic thing as well as it really happened back at the time of Jerusalem. So it talks, if we go back there to verse 22 in Isaiah 22, I will give this a lyakim, the key of the house of David. I will lay it on his shoulder. It'll be his responsibility to do. He'll open and no one shall shut, he will shut and no one will open. I will fasten him as a peg in a secure place and he will become a glorious throne to his father's house. God says he will rest securely because when God is with you, no one could be against you. He didn't have to fear, he didn't have to worry. God was going to place him there and as long as he followed God, he would be secure. And because of his commitment to God, he would bring glory to his father's house, to his family. Shebna was looking to bring glory to himself and he ended up bringing shame upon his family. A lyakim was looking to serve God and he would bring honor upon his family the same way we do when we yield to God in our personal and collective lives and become who he wants us to become.

Verse 24 says, they will hang on him all the glory of his father's house. Just look at the commendation that comes upon him for following God and yielding to him. They will hang on him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the posterity, all the vessels of small quantity from the cups to all the pitchers. You name it. You name it. He's saying, here's a man, Shebna. You should have done it this way. You should have yielded to God. You shouldn't have made it about yourself. You need to make it about him and do his will. And that is the way to security and for a name that will be honored. Now, verse 25 is a little bit confusing as we wrap up this chapter. It looks like God is saying in verse 25 that a lyakim is going to be cut off. But the commentaries, and I have to agree as I look at them, our commentary is silent on this verse, and I can kind of understand why. Other commentaries, the prevailing opinion on this is that it's going back to verse 15 where the prophecy or whatever against Shebna came about. It's talking about Shebna.

In that day, says the Lord of hosts, the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed. And that, you know, we can look at that and say, well, Shebna thought he was secure, but he was removed. The peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall. And the burden that was on it will be cut off for the Lord has spoken. There may be another meaning on that. It's, again, God knows what that means.

And we'll just have to see exactly what God had in mind at that point. But it seems to counter what verse 24 is there. But, you know, but it may just indicate that the man will die and will pass to another person the burden that was on him as well. You can look at it in a couple of ways. So let me stop there on chapter 22. We'll pick up chapter 23, and we should get through it next week. And then I think the week after, we'll do kind of a review of these 11 prophecy chapters, if you will. So we have kind of in our minds just some basic things about the prophecies that we've talked about before we move into the next section of Isaiah, you know, the next 12 chapters that are kind of another section. So let me just open it up for any comments, questions, discussions, anything that anyone wants to talk about. Mr. Shaby? Yes. I hope I can explain this. I'm not very good at explaining things. Okay. The part where it says in Isaiah 22 and Revelation 3, right? I say I'm going to go back years. Herbert W. Armstrong, he either said it or was implied by others that he was the Philadelphia church. Okay. So if that is true, he had many doors open to him. He saw kings and prime ministers and presidents, and his work was not stopped. But then as soon as he died, which might refer to the last verse, it stopped. And the church hasn't been the same since, like in preaching the gospel as it was with him. You know, it's just a thought. It's an interesting thought because you're right, Mr. Armstrong did use that a lot. And certainly in the days, those days, there were doors opened that only could have been by God. It wasn't by anything that man could do. So yeah, that may well be referring to what it is there. So we'll know one day. So good thought, though. Dale? Thanks. Yeah, hello. Yeah, I just found an interest in the use of water, you know, the Gihan Springs you talked about. And of course, Jerusalem being the center of the millennial government, and the waters will be for the healing of the nations. And I just kind of found it very interesting. And Isaiah 35 as well, right, where it says, you know, the desert will blossom like a rose and waters will spring forth. And I think you mentioned, I think you mentioned Gihan, the Hebrew definition is spring forth. Right. It's just interesting to see how God works. Yeah, very good. How those words keep coming up. Yeah. Yeah. Could I ask you another brief question? The key of David, could you explain what exactly I got a general idea what it means, of course, but David will be over the 12 tribes. Could you give me an idea? What do you think the key of David actually is saying?

I think the key of the House of David is understanding and knowing God and following His way. I think that's the key. David was a man after God's own heart. God wants us to become men after His own heart, men and women. And that's the key, the Bible, following it, yielding to Him, and completely not just going through the act, but letting God completely change our outlook and our way of life. So. Sounds good. Thank you.

Brother Shevie, the second that is the verse in Matthew, chapter 16, where I thought, go by an introduction. The better translations say that it has already been bound in heaven. Meaning, what promises you're claiming and the things you're doing are according to the Word of God.

It's not according to you trying to force God to do something or your own weird ideas. So it's already been bound because God's Word is true for the beginning. Yeah. God's true church will be doing things in line with God. Right? The Catholic Church uses that verse to say, hey, whatever I say goes. I can change times. I can change laws. No, God doesn't honor that. It's living in complete accord with God's will and Word.

Mr. Shevie, can I make a comment? Yeah, Floyd, hi. How are you? Good. Good. We just got back to Florida. It's beautiful down there. It is. Yes. So in Judges 15, 19, actually 18, where God split the rock for Samson to drink the water. That is, I guess, known as Samson's well now. Not that it's correct. I was just looking it up.

That's a quarter mile, I believe, from that main water source there through Jerusalem. It was interesting. I just was looking at that.

Yeah, you know, yeah, that water source is key over there, right? That's kind of like a blessing of God that, yeah, I forbade the Scriptures up here. So it's been very good. So.

Mr. Shevie. Hey, Reggie.

I'd like to make comment that, you know, God's kingdom is the house of God. I mean, we're the church. And if He's called us and He's put His Spirit within us, then we are striving to go into God's kingdom.

And God's Spirit is what He gives to us to be called and to strive toward that kingdom. Yeah. Building the temple individually and collectively, right? Building the house, yeah. Right.

Mr. Shevie?

Yeah, unless again.

I just have some thoughts on the key of the kingdom.

You know, when we talk of keys, I believe keys grant access. When you talk of keys, you think of access and administration. You rightly said that the keys refer to our knowledge of the kingdom of God and His ways. That's quite correct. I agree with that. Then the second part of it is the administration. You know, when we have this knowledge, the knowledge helps us to administer justice as God's children.

I've been having control. I mean, I've been administration over the house of God. So I'm thinking of keys as access and administration at the same time. I don't know what you think about that.

Yeah. When you give the keys, like Elia came, right? He was given the keys. He was given the keys. He had to do something with it. He had to be responsible for and handle that position well.

And what God gives us when He gives us His Holy Spirit, while the calling and the opening of our minds, there's a responsibility that goes with that when He gives us the key to administer everything in our lives well in accordance with His will. I don't know if that's kind of what you're thinking of or... Exactly. Exactly. Thanks. Hey, Becky.

Hey, I was the comment before that one. I was looking at in Matthew 16, where we talked about give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And I was also thinking about the Holy Spirit as a deposit, sort of, you know, a down payment toward that key. And I was hoping also you could help me better understand whatever you find on earth will be bound in heaven because it makes me think of the verse, storing up treasures in heaven. But I can't find it right now. And I know where it is. I just can't find it right now. The magic works, yeah. Yes. I was looking at like three different things. But I just really wanted to better understand or maybe ask your understanding of what that means because I've looked at it in different translations and I just wanted to see if it was in line with my thoughts. Okay. Tell me exactly what the question is. My understanding is. Yes. Whatever you find on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you lose on earth will be loosed in heaven. I wanted your take on it. Yeah. To be clear. I think there are decisions that have to be made in the church where things aren't absolutely crystal clear. But we have a responsibility to God to seek His word, go through His word, look at the pattern. I want a decision is made by the church as long as the heart is with everyone, that that would be binding. Now, I'm going to give you an example on one because it recently came out with calendar. It's people who have different calendars that they want to abide by. Their idea is that a new moon begins on this day. The churches says the calendar says a new moon begins this day and a full moon and all that stuff. And if you've read the summary paper that's online under study papers about the calendar, it will show you in Leviticus and I believe Deuteronomy, that is, it was the high priests and the Sanhedrin's responsibility to set those holy days. They were supposed to set them in accordance with what God's will is. And so that is a responsibility that God gives His church. And so anyway, read that. And that's one of them where people can say, well, I think the new moon started over here on this day, but it was cloudy in Jerusalem on that day. And we could spend all our time just talking about all those things. Someone has to make a decision. And the church, as long as it's doing in accordance with God's will, the Bible is pretty clear when you read it that you follow the principles that are there. So I probably have opened up a host of other questions, but go back and read that summary paper and I think you'll find it very, very interesting. Yeah, Susan. Hi, Mr. Shaby. I was just looking over these these last five verses here in this chapter about Eliah, Kim, and he's really quite a wonderful person with this glorious throne and everything. Verse 23, I will fasten him as a peg. And then verse 20, the peg that is fastened will be removed. It just makes sense that it's all about Eliah, Kim. Could it possibly be that the peg that is fastened in this secure place will be removed? Could that be his death as a physical person? And then he is raised as a spirit being, and he's converted. The burden that will be cut off is your life as a physical, sinful being. And now you're converted as a resurrected spirit person. Yes, it certainly could be that. Right? And it says, you know, just as you were talking, a thought entered my mind. It says the peg that is fastened in this secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall. And they could even enter a cave martyrdom, right? I mean, the disciples handled God's will very well. They died because of it. And that may be what happened there with him.

We don't know what the end of his life was like or what future, you know, the future person that was there. You know, some of the commentaries and our commentary will kind of compare Eliakim to Jesus Christ as in God is the king, right? God is the overall king and Jesus Christ is the... He's given Jesus Christ the authority over heaven and earth. And so it's Jesus Christ, you know, who we look to add as Eliakim. But even when he was on earth, he was cut down and he fell, didn't he? So he died and then he was resurrected again. So actually thinking through it, just in the little bit of conversation we had, I do think it's talking about Eliakim and I don't think it's referring back to Shem. Shem is gone at this point. And I think that this is referring to that instead. So... Okay, thank you.

Okay, Xavier. Um, I'm actually going to Matthew 16. There's a quote here from the basics of biblical Greek grammar, William D. Monce. He says, In other words, they had the power to find and lose. And heaven, that is God, would simply back their decree. But the matter is not quite so simple. Action described in heaven are future perfect passives, which could be translated will have already been bound in heaven. In other words, the heavenly decree confirms the earthly one is based on a prior verdict that has already given, has already made forever. Oh, Lord, your word is settled in the heavens. Psalms 119 8 and 9. Very good. Very good. Yeah, we are confused that the God's giving us authority to change anything but to be diligently following him. He will show the way and our job is to to follow. So, yeah. Hey, Berta. Yes, back to verse 25, when it says that even the noble Eliekin could not sustain the burden of Mormon, only Emmanuel can do it. That's why it's mentioned that in there. That Emmanuel can do what? The burden to carry the burden? It shows in chapter 9, 6, and 7. Emmanuel is the one that's going to do it, but the burden is even the noble Eliekin cannot do the government. The burden is on Christ's shoulder. You're right. Yeah, that would be a great piece of his government and peace. Okay. Very good. Anything else, anyone? Okay. Well, then I'm going to I'm going to sign off. We will see you next Wednesday, same time. If you are in Orlando this week, we are looking forward to seeing all of you in Orlando this Sabbath. So until then, those of you in Florida, have a good rest of the week. The rest of you, we will see a week from today. Okay. Hi, everyone. Okay. Bye, everyone. Bye. Thank you. Thank you.