The Book of Jeremiah - Part 14

Well, good evening again, everyone! Glad to have you with us in our Bible study here. This is our 14th segment in this series in the study of the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was commissioned to plant and destroy various kingdoms, and last time we talked a lot about restoration. God's ultimate goal is to bring all nations into the Israel of God. God's goal is for everyone to eventually be a part of the Israel of God. We know from 1 Corinthians 15 that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. However, in the millennium, there will be two phases that are going on simultaneously, in that there will be physical people living in the millennium, and then there will be those who have become first fruits in the resurrection, those who will be teaching, who will be kings and priests with God and Christ in the millennium, and helping those who live over into the millennium, and those who have not even heard the name of Jesus Christ, that they will go out as ambassadors and proclaim the name of Jesus Christ as it talks about in Isaiah 66.

We ask that we begin tonight, once again, in Jeremiah 23 in verse 5, because we were talking about restoration and we have not completed, and I don't guess you could ever complete or say all there is to say about the restoration.

If you're keeping up with the news at all, you know that in the past few days, that Hamas has been firing hundreds of rockets into Israel, and then Israel is retaliating and bombing the daylights out of Gaza, and of course the media is mainly showing the damage that Israel is doing to Gaza, instead of showing the damage that Hamas is doing to Israel. But the whole Middle East and the whole world, for that matter, is as a powder keg, and one of these days, the fuse is going to be lit that results in some very traumatic times, and war will ensue, probably in the Middle East, because of the prophecies that are there, that it seems to be the trigger point for the prophecies to begin to be fulfilled. In talking about the restoration, we talked about last time how the restoration of the Israel of God has begun with the Church of God, and we talked about the conference in Acts 15, where James the Lord's brother made the decision with regard to whether or not the Gentiles had to be circumcised on the basis of what is stated by the prophet Amos in Amos chapter 9 verses 7 through 16, that the tabernacle of David is going to be raised up, and the tabernacle of David is being raised up through the Church of God. The mission, commission of the Church is to bring all nations into relationship with God in Christ. So much of the book of Jeremiah talks about, because you have not obeyed me, God says, I am going to take you into captivity. He urged Judah, the Jews of that day, to submit to the Babylonians to Nebuchadnezzar, and that it would go well with those who submitted and willingly went there. And then there are the promises, time after time, that God would restore them back into the land. What we have in Jeremiah chapter 23 verses 5 and 6 goes beyond just the restoration of the Jews back into Judah in that day, although that restoration was critical because the prophecy in Genesis 49 and verse 10 says that the scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes. So it was necessary that the Jews return to Judah and be there so that they would be in the land because it was prophesied that the Messiah would come from Judah. So let's read Jeremiah 23 verse 5. Behold, the days come, says the Lord, that I will raise under David a righteous branch, and we talked about how that branch is identified as Jesus Christ, Zechariah chapter 6 verses 12 and 13, along with Matthew 16 and 16, 18 talks about the branch building the church of God, and of course Matthew 16, 18 talks about how Jesus Christ is going to build his church upon the rock and the gates of the grave will never prevail against it. So a righteous branch Jesus Christ is raised up. He shall reign and prosper, shall execute judgment and judgment in the earth. Of course, one of the things that we continually talk about is the exercise of judgment, mercy, and faith, the weightier matters of the law.

Verse 6 in his day, Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is his name whereby he shall be called, the Yaveh, our righteousness.

And we talked about last time how here is one place for sure in the Bible where the name Yaveh is given to Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ is the branch.

And it is through Jesus Christ that we can come to the Father.

And Jesus Christ is the center of the redemption process and the plan of salvation.

As we noted last time, that Jesus Christ is the center, the key for bringing all peoples of the earth into the Israel of God. He is the branch spoken of by Isaiah, by Jeremiah, by Zachariah.

And we want to go now to 1 John chapter 2 and verse 21. Well, we'll start in 20. 1 John chapter 2 and verse 20. And this shows that in order to know the Father, you have to know Jesus Christ. And in order to know Jesus Christ, the Father has to call you. So there it is a reciprocal kind of relationship there that you can't have one without the other, that they work in concert. People often talk about scholars debate whether or not the Bible is theocentric that is God-centered or Christocentric that is Christ-centered. Well, actually, the Bible is both. It is theocentric and Christocentric, and they work in tandem to fulfill the great plan and purpose of God, which centers on bringing sons and daughters to glory in the family of God. So in 1 John chapter 2 verse 20, but you have an unction of the Holy One. That word unction means an anointing. It's like a rubbing in. You have the Holy Spirit's been given to you, and you know all things. I've not written unto you because you know not the truths, but because you know it, and that no lies are the truth. So John is writing to maturing Christians. John is writing to you, to me. We are supposed to be going on to perfection. We're supposed to be mature Christians. I'm not written under you because you know it, because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

I misread that I have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar? But he that denies Jesus is the Christ.

He is antichrist that denies the Father and the Son. Whosoever denies the Son, the same have not the Father, but he that acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you which you have heard from the beginning. If that which you have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, you shall also continue in the Son and in the Father. We know well, Acts 4 verse 12, there is none other name given under heaven whereby men must be saved other than the name of Jesus Christ. So the plan of salvation is exclusive. There's only one way. It is inclusive in that God intends that every person who ever lived has an opportunity to know God in Christ and to be redeemed, to repent of their sins, to exercise faith and sacrifice of Christ, to be baptized, and receive the Holy Spirit. So Jesus Christ is that key to bringing all peoples into relationship with Him. There are so many prophecies we talked about. Is the Bible theocentric or Christocentric? We've just read from 1 John chapter 2 that you can't have one without the other. You can't have the Father without the Son. You can't have the Son without the Father. The Father is the one who calls us, who brings us to Christ, as it were, through the Word and Spirit of God. The Word and Spirit of God are the convicting agents. The storyline of the Bible, this is very important. The storyline of the Bible revolves around the role of Christ in bringing many sons and daughters to glory from the prophecy in Genesis 3.15. Let's highlight now some of the main prophecies about Jesus Christ. The first great messianic prophecy, as it might be called, is in Genesis 3 in verse 15. Before Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden after they had sinned, God promised them a Redeemer. I will put enmity between you and the woman between your seed and her seed, between the seed of Satan, between the seed of Jesus Christ. It shall bruise your head. Jesus Christ is going to put Satan away, bind him, put him in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, and he's loose for a little season, deceives the nations, is defeated once again, and forever rendered of non-effect. And you shall bruise his heel, that is, Satan inspired the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The next great messianic prophecy, we go to Genesis 18 and verse 15. Deuteronomy 18 and verse 15. The Lord your God will raise up unto you a prophet from the midst of you and of your brethren like unto me, in him you shall hearken. According to all that you desire, the Lord your God, in Horeb. Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai in the day of the assembly, saying, let me not hear again the voice of the Lord, my God. Remember, as the 10 commandments were thundered, they said, don't let God speak to us anymore. You speak to us, Moses. Neither let me see this great fire anymore, that I die not. And the Lord said unto me, they have spoken well that which they have spoken. Then next great messianic prophecy that we should be aware of is in Psalm 2. And Psalm 2 is where the nations are today. We'll read Psalm 2 verses 1 and 2. Lord, why do the heathen? Why did the nations rage? And the people imagine a main thing. The nations are raging today. The nations are raging. The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, saying, and against his anointed. Jesus Christ is his anointed. Let us break their bands asunder, cast away their courts from us. He that sits in the heaven shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Now look at verse 7. I will declare the decree, the Lord has said unto me, You are my son. This day have I begotten you. The Hebrew word therefore begotten is yalad. Y-a-l-a-d. Yalad is the parallel to the New Testament's genao.

When used of the father, it means to beget, to engender. When used of the mother, it means to bring forth. This day have I begotten you. Now look at Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6. What are we doing?

And this also will lead into something else, another prophecy with regard to the genealogy of Jesus Christ. In Isaiah chapter 9, for unto us a child is born. This is verse 6. Isaiah 9 and verse 6. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

See, God the Father is the source of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is shed on us through Christ. The Father is the one who begets us. The Father is the one who brings us to birth. Though Jesus Christ plays a role in both the begettle and the birth process. We're not going into the detail of that right now. The increase of his government and peace, there should be no end. Where? Upon the throne of David, upon his kingdom, to order it, to establish it with judgment, with justice, from henceforth, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Then we notice in Isaiah 53, perhaps the most graphic messianic prophecy in the whole Bible that depicts the suffering of Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 53, verse 1, who has believed our report, to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground. He has no form or commonness, and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we shall should desire him. He is despised and rejected of man, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were, a face is from him. He was despised, and we esteemed him not. It goes on talking about how Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins. And then in Malachi, Malachi, what are we showing here? We're showing that this YHWH, this branch whose name is YHWH, our righteousness is Jesus Christ in Malachi chapter four. I mean chapter three, Malachi three. Malachi three, behold, I will send my messenger, my Malach. Malach is a Hebrew word that can mean, it literally means messenger. It can be used of a human being or a spirit being. Behold, I will send my messenger, John the Baptist. He shall prepare the way before me and the Lord the Adonai. And this is Jesus Christ, whom you seek shall suddenly come to his temple. Even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in, behold, he shall come, says the Lord of Hosts. Now, Jesus Christ was of the royal seed of David.

Now, we talk about Jeremiah and his mission to plant, to destroy and to plant. And I mentioned last time in the Bible study reading series that you could find online at the UCG website, you can put Jeremiah and the King's daughters. And we'll talk about Jeremiah's mission with regard to the King's daughters. And some talk about the healing of the branch between the line of Pharise and the land and the line of Zara. But the Bible is very clear with regard to the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ came from the line of Pharise, and we shall read that at this time. Both Matthew and Luke give the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

So we want to go now to Matthew chapter 1. In Matthew chapter 1, it starts off with the genealogy of Jesus Christ. This is very interesting with regard to what it says in Genesis 49.10, that the scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh come. So in Matthew chapter 1, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, Matthew 1.1, the son of David, the son of Abraham, Abraham begat Isaac, Jacob begat Judah, and his brethren. There were, of course, 12 sons who became the 12 tribes of Israel, and Judah begat Pharise and Zara of Tamar, and Pharise.

See, Jesus Christ came from the line of Pharise. If you remember the story of Pharise and Zara in Genesis 38, that when it came time for Tamar to deliver the children, Zara came out first, and so she tied, the midwife tied a red thread around the hand of Zara, and the hand was withdrawn back into the body of Tamar, and then Pharise came out next.

He was the first born. God is the one who determines, in the ultimate sense, who is the first born. Remember with regard to the birthright, that the birthright of Israel, that Reuben was the first born, but Reuben committed a sin, and the birthright didn't go to Reuben, and didn't go to the next one, and wound up going to Ephraim and Manasseh.

And so we see here Judah begat Pharise and Zara of Tamar and Pharise begat Esraim and Esraim begat Aram. And then, you notice in verse 10, and this comes down to where we are today in Jeremiah, and Ezekiel begat Manassas and Manassas begat Ammon and Ammon begat Josiah. Remember, Jeremiah prophesied during the days of Josiah, and Josiah begat Zechaniahs, and this is the Greek name that is given for Jehoa-Chin.

Remember what I said? You can remember those last five kings of Judah. Josiah has, Jehoa has, Kim, Jehoa-Chin, and then, Tyn, Jehoa-Chin.

So, Josiah begat Jehoa-Chin be the Hebrew name. This Jehoa-Chin was known also as Jechaniah and Konya, and his brethren about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

And after they were brought, listen to this, after they were brought to Babylon, Jehoa has begat Salat-Tiel, and Salat-Tiel begat Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel, of course, and Joshua, Zerubbabel was the governor, and he was the one of royal seed who came back. So, Zerubbabel is in the line of Jesus Christ. So, finally, we come down to Jesus Christ in verse 16, and Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

So, Jesus Christ came from the line of Pharise. We look now at Luke, and what does Luke say with regard to the line of what line did it come from? In Luke chapter 3 and verse 11, Luke chapter 3 and verse 11, I want verse 33. I said 3. I want Luke 3 and verse 33.

In this line of Jesus Christ, the beginning point is different from that of Matthew. Let's read 23, Luke 3.23. Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, which was the son of Eli, which was the son of Matheth, which was the son of Levi, and so on.

Then we come down to 32, which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Boaz, which was the son of Solomon, which was the son of Nassun, which was the son of Benadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esirim, which was the son of Pharise, which was the son of Judah. So once again, in both Matthew and Luke, we see that the genealogical line of Jesus Christ was through Pharise. Now also note with regard to Jesus Christ, that Jesus Christ was given the throne of his father David. I think this is one of the things that we miss oftentimes in talking about the throne of David. In Luke 1 and verse 32, he shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest, the angel appearing here to Mary, and that she would be the mother of Jesus Christ. He shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest. And the Lord shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the house of Jacob. Jacob, as you remember, represents all 12 tribes, and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Very similar to what we read in Isaiah 9 and verse 7. Now we go to Acts chapter 2.

See, Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the one who sits on the throne of David.

Oftentimes, we have looked more to the physical line than to the spiritual line. That is not to discount the physical line, but the more important line, of course, is that of Jesus Christ. As we have said, Jesus Christ is the key figure in the process of salvation. That is not to say that God the Father is not over Jesus Christ because we know that he is, but the Father and Jesus Christ made an agreement as to what the plan of salvation would be and the role that Jesus Christ was to play in it. Without him playing that role, there would be no plan of salvation. There would be no Savior. So in Acts chapter 2, we pick it up again. Verse 29, Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the Patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried in his sepulchre, who is with us unto this day.

Of course, later in the chapter it says that David is not ascended into the heavens.

Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God is sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, and we have read the genealogical line according to the flesh from Matthew and Luke, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.

And we read Luke 1.32, which says that I will give unto him the throne of his father David.

He that is David, seeing before this, spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that his life essence, his soul, his being, was not left in the grave in Hades, neither did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus, as God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses.

Therefore, being by the right hand of God, exalted, having received of the Father, the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has shed upon forth this, which you now see in here, for David is not ascended in the heavens. But he said himself, the Lord said unto my Lord, Sit you on my right hand until I make you your footstool. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God had made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Hardly anything could be any clearer, but let's notice one more sermon here. Peter gave his great sermon there in Acts 2, but Paul gives a great sermon in Acts 13. We should be breaking in on the thought of Paul's sermon. We're going to begin in Acts 13 verse 22.

And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them, when he removed Saul, he raised up unto them David, to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart. It means that God chose David, not the people, which shall fulfill all my will. Of this man's seed, of this man's seed, of David's seed, as God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a Savior Jesus. When John had first preached before his coming, the baptism and repentance to all the peoples of Israel.

And as John fulfilled his course, he said, whom thank you that I am. I am not he. That is, John the Baptist says, I'm not the Messiah. But behold, there comes one after me, whose shoes of his feet I'm not worthy to lose. Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you fears God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voice of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. So even though they read the prophets and the prophets that we read about from Genesis 3 15 to Deuteronomy 18 15 to Psalm 2 and verse 2, Psalm 2 verse 7, Isaiah 9 6 through 7, Isaiah 53 and on and on it goes Malachi 3 and verse 1. They knew about the prophecies of the Messiah coming, and though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they pilot that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead, and when he was seen many days of them, which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who were witnesses unto the people. So when Jesus Christ died, 500 were resurrected and came out of their graves, according to 1 Corinthians 15. And we declare unto you glad tidings how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God has fulfilled the same unto us, their children, in that he has raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the second psalm.

You art my son, this day have I brought you to birth. And that's what happened. Jesus Christ raised him from the dead, verse 34, and as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption. He said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.

So I hope we can see very clearly how that Jesus Christ plays this key role in bringing all nations into a relationship with God and Christ. And indeed, his name is Yahweh, our righteousness.

Now we go back to Jeremiah 23 and verse 7. Rather than what the Bible, when you really look at everything the Bible says, when you don't just pick and choose scriptures, when you read what everything that you can possibly find and put it together, you see the duality that is in the scripture as well. We'll see this here in verses 7 and 8, that is the duality. That is, of course, Judah was restored back in the land after the Babylonian captivity. And as we have noted, it was necessary for prophecy to be fulfilled that Jesus Christ come from the line of Judah. And we have shown how that from the genealogical line given by both Matthew and Luke, how Jesus Christ did come from that royal seed. So Jeremiah 23, 7, therefore, behold, the days come says the eternal that they shall no more say by eternal lives which brought up children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. See, a greater miracle is going to take place than just bringing Israel out of Egypt. That's what he's saying. A greater restoration, a greater miracle. But the Lord lives which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel. Notice that the seed of the house of Israel, all 12 tribes, and from all the countries wherewith I have driven them, and they shall dwell in their own land. So we see here that Israel is going to be restored in the millennium under the rulership of God, Christ, and the saints.

Now we look at verse 9. My heart within me is broken because of prophets.

My heart within me is broken because of the prophets all my bones shake.

I'm like a drunken man and like a man whom wine has overcome because of the eternal and because of the words of his holiness. So on the one hand, his heart was broken because the false prophets were saying what they were saying. They were saying, don't believe Jeremiah. Don't pay any attention to him. They were trying to discredit him and to destroy him. Yet on the other hand, burning within Jeremiah was the word of God and God's holiness and the commission that God had given him. For the land is full of adulterers, and this is speaking principally here of spiritual adultery, that the land, both rulers and priests, had gone after Baal and the gods of the Babylonians and other nations round about. For the land is full of spiritual adulterers, where because of swearing the land mourns, the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane. Yea, in my house have I found their wickedness as the Eternal. So they would deign to issue their false prophecies in the house of God. You can only imagine how upset God was at this. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness. You've heard about the slippery slope. So this word slippery means treacherous, dangerous.

Wherefore their way shall be unto them treacherous, dangerous, in the darkness, as opposed to light. They shall be driven on and fall therein. For I will bring evil upon them, and the year of their visitation says the Eternal. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria. Now remember, in Samaria they had also built a temple in Samaria to rival the temple in Jerusalem. Remember how the tribes were split, and Jeroboam set up his headquarters, changed the feast to the eighth month, set up priests that were not from the priestly line.

So I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria, that is, in the northern kingdom.

They prophesied in Baal and caused my people, Israel, to error. I've seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem, the southern kingdom, a horrible thing. They commit spiritual adultery, fornication, walking lies. They strengthen also the hands of evildoers. Just as we say today, the hands of the righteous are not being strengthened today, the hands of the evildoers are being strengthened today.

Those who espouse righteousness, those who espouse the way of God, the way that is right and just, they are made to pray today. Instead of being praised, they are made to pray, P-R-E-Y, and they are being sought out for destruction, just opposite of what it should be, that none does return from his wickedness. They are all of them under me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. I mean, the people of the LGBTQ community would not appreciate this verse. It's interesting how oftentimes when God wants to contrast the right way versus the evil way, that he contrasts it with Sodom and Gomorrah, because you know what Sodom and Gomorrah represented. And we have Sodom and Gomorrah more and more ruling in the land today, and those who praise Sodom and Gomorrah instead of the right way, those who would destroy the very backbone and foundation of God's structure. You see, every aspect of God's organization, we might call it, has a structure. There is a societal structure. The societal structure has to do with the family, the family unit. The family unit in the physical sense parallels what God is doing in the spiritual sense of father and mother and bringing sons and daughters to glory. And in the physical sense, father and mother begetting and bringing to birth potential sons and daughters in the kingdom of God. And so Satan knows if he can destroy the very foundation of the societal structure of family and home, the nuclear family, that he shall have gone a long way in destroying the very plan and purpose of God. And that is one of the main things that's under attack today. In every institution, if we talk about the civil structure, the governmental structure, God's governmental structure is based upon the Ten Great Commandments, the laws, the judgments, the statues. In the words of Jesus Christ, it's taught the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon on the Mount, the various parables, and the letters of Peter, James, Paul, Jude, and all the writers of the New Testament. So what we see is this contrast between good and evil, Sodom and Gomorrah.

Verse 15, Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, concerning the prophets, Behold, I will feed them with wormwood. Wormwood is a type of plant that would produce poison. It could be deadly and make them drink the water of gall, once again representing poison.

For from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness. Profaneness means that which is not of God, that which is secular, that which denies God. And once again, the great attack today, we live in a profane world where everything basically is defended, every behavior under the sun, except holiness and righteousness. And profane-ness is praise.

The prophets of Jerusalem, his profane has gone forth unto all the land.

And it is amazing how in just a few months, the very culture of the United States is turned upside down. And we hear the pundits talking about, let us go on to the real issues of life and not talk about this nonsense of the culture wars. Well, the battle is spiritual, and the battle is going to be won, if it is won spiritually. The only hope that anyone has in the ultimate sense is through God and Christ, and it is a spiritual battle, and it is for your very life essence, now and in the future. In verse 16, thus says the Eternal Host, Harken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you, they make you vain, now is the time as ever before to pour over the Word of God, and know for sure what it says, to know and know that you know. They speak a vision of their own heart. It is what they think. It's what I talk about time after time, of making God over in your own image. We have those who profess to be Catholics or devout whatever religion you want to name, and many of those religions, especially Catholicism, decries and teaches against abortion. But yet, we have some of the highest ranking offices in the land, from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who profess to be devout Catholics, who support same-sex marriage, who support abortion, who speak out of the imagination or the vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Eternal. How many times did he hear the President say, or the Speaker of the House say, of course, they would be ridiculed and dismissed from office if they were to say, thus says the Eternal of Hosts, the God of Israel. Verse 17, they say, still unto them that despise me. They say, still unto them that despise me. This is what they're saying. The Lord has said, you shall have peace. Well, of course, if you want to talk about what the prophets are saying, they're white-washing defense. I'm not going to turn there, but Ezekiel 13 talks about how the false prophets of the land are not preparing the people for the day of the Lord. They're white-washing defense. They are proclaiming that everything is getting bigger and better in every sense of the word, that we're getting, quote, more righteous and more humane, and we're taking care of the needs and wants of all of the people, not just some. No matter what your moral vision is or your moral persuasion, we're going to take care of you. We're going to make sure that we do everything that we can, and what we call it, if Johnson called it the great society, that is Lyndon Johnson and his plan, with regard to changing the society and taking care of everybody, that we're going to, instead of you having to pay the penalty for disobeying God, we're going to make it so that you can do whatever you want to do and still be blessed by the government.

So they say, still unto them that despise me, the Lord has said you shall have peace. Read Ezekiel 13, how they try to whitewash the fence. They say unto everyone that walks after the imagination of his own heart. Once again, we see the imagination of his own heart, making God over in your own image. So those who even talk about God speak for God, where God is not spoken. No evil shall come upon you, yet at the same time the very prophet that God was sending to them was being denied. Verse 18, for who has stood in the counsel of the eternal and had perceived and heard his word? Who has marked the word and heard and heard it? Are we perceiving the word of God? Are we marking the word of God? Do we really believe the word of God? Do we really understand what is happening? We'll talk about this next time, but in Jeremiah 25 verse 11, it talks about how God is going to plead with all flesh, not just this nation, that nation, but with all flesh, God is going to plead. And God, see what is happening right now, and what has been happening for the past several months is this pandemic that is, in essence, pleading with all flesh. Every nation on the face of the earth is having to contend with the coronavirus, and God is pleading. He stands at the door. He's knocking and saying, repent, repent, turn from your wicked ways. But instead of turning from the wicked ways, we become more wicked, more profane, more secular in the name of so-called progressivism, in the name so-called so-called progressivism, in the name so-called of liberty and rights for everyone.

See, there is a way. There is a way that God is prescribed, and it is the perfect way, really, of liberty. But if people don't want to walk in the way of liberty, they become the slaves of whomever they walk in the way of. Verse 19, behold, a whirlwind of the eternal has gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind. It shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked, and the anger of the Lord shall not return until he have executed, till they have performed the thoughts of his heart, in the latter days you shall consider it perfectly. Brethren, I believe we're living in the latter days, because so many of the prophecies that are out there that I'd liken it time after time to a fuse. Also, we have what some call the doomsday clock. How many seconds is it till the midnight hour in which God does execute judgment?

I am not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. One of the things they prophesied, we're going to take care of all of you. You can do whatever you want to do. There will be no penalty for anything that you do, but we will take care of you.

No one will be corrected for what they do. But if they had stood in my counsel, and it caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. You see the key to leadership of any kind of leadership from the highest level in the land to the head of the household, a nation, a people, a family will eventually go in the direction of its moral and spiritual leadership. So if you see a nation, a people, a family going into a certain direction, you know that the moral and spiritual leadership is either right and good and just, or it is going the wrong way. Verse 24. Verse 23, Am I God at hand, says the Eternal, and not a God afar. This is what people tend to forget. They think that God is afar. He does not see, he does not hear. Verse 24 takes care of that. Can any hide himself in secret places?

That shall not see him, says the Eternal. Do not I feel the heaven and earth, says the Eternal. This shows that God is omnipresent. He is ever present. He says, I feel heaven and earth. Of course, at times God focuses on certain places far more than others, but it also says in Scripture, Matthew 28, that the hairs under head are numbered, not even as far as the ground, unless he's aware of it. I've heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed. I have dreamed. Oh, no, they may have dreamed, but it's not a dream from God. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets? That prophesy lies, yes, they are prophets of deceit of their own heart, which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams, which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. It's one of the things that is under attack now are the traditions and the history of the past, those things upon which the nation is founded, even when the rulers may not have known all of the truth. When godly principles are taught, God honors those godly principles, as we shall see.

The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream, and that he that hath my word, let him speak my word. In other words, let's contrast between what they say and what I'm saying.

What is the chaff to the wheat? What is the chaff to the wheat? If you know anything about the old-time way of separating the chaff from the wheat, where you could put the wheat in a sack and you could let it dry out, and then you could beat it, and then you could pour it from one container to another, and the wind would blow away the chaff, and the wheat would remain, because the wheat had substance, and the chaff did not. So what is the chaff to the wheat, as of nothing, says the eternal.

It is not my word like, as a fire says the eternal, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. See, my word is not light, it is not trivial, it is not to be taken lightly, it is to be taken seriously. Therefore, for behold, I am against the prophet, says the Lord, that steal my words, everyone from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophet, says eternally, use their tongues, and say, he says, behold, I am against them, that prophesy false dreams, says eternally, do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their likeness.

Yet I sent them not, nor commanded them. Therefore, they shall not profit, this people that all says the eternal. If we think what is happening in the country today is going to turn out for the good, we have another thought coming, because it is not bound, it is not founded upon the sure foundation.

And when this people or the prophets or a priest shall ask you, saying, what is the burden? In other words, making fun of, making light of the Word of God. Oh, here comes old Jeremiah. What does he got to say to us today? Oh, he always has a burden. He's always the prophet of gloom and doom. Oh, he's such a stern fellow. What about him? What is the burden of the Lord?

You shall then say unto them, what burden? I will even forsake you, says the eternal. And as for the prophets and the priests and the people that shall say the burden of the Lord, I will punish that man and his house. Thus shall you say everyone to his neighbor and everyone to his brother, what has the Lord answered and what has the Lord spoken?

And the burden of the Lord shall you mention no more, for every man's word shall be his burden. In other words, you have to give an account for everything you say and you do. Everything is going to be laid bare. Or you have perverted the words of the living God, of the eternal post or God. Thus shall you say to the prophet, what has the Lord answered you, and what has the Lord spoken?

But since you say the burden of the Lord, you make fun of what I'm trying to tell you. Thus, because he saith the eternal, because you say this word, the burden of the Lord, and I have sent unto you saying, you shall not say the burden of the Lord. In other words, give heed, don't make fun of it. Therefore, behold, even I will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you, you and your fathers, even though it's Jerusalem, the temple is here, where I place my presence, and cast you out of my presence.

I will forget you and the city I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence. And I will bring an everlasting approach upon you, and a perpetual shame which shall not be forgotten. Yes, God is going to plead with, and he is pleading with all flesh, even now. So, next time we will begin in Jeremiah 24, and I would add, Jeremiah 24 is very short. I believe it's 11 or 12 verses, and we will probably treat that in 15 minutes or less, and then we will spend a lot of time with Jeremiah 25, because in Jeremiah 25 you have the 70 years prophecy, which when Daniel seeks to understand the 70 years prophecy, he is given the 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel chapter 11.

So, for next time, I ask you to read. I just misspoke. He is given the 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel 9. In Daniel 9, Daniel is seeking to understand Jeremiah's 70-year prophecy. He is given them the 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel 9. Also, in conjunction with Daniel 9, please read Daniel chapter 11, because it has very much to do with the prophecy in Daniel 9 of the 70 weeks. So, next time we will be taking up Jeremiah 24 and 25 and spend a lot of time with the prophecies of Jeremiah 25 with the 70 years and the 70 weeks.