The Book of Jeremiah - Part 15

We're at Jeremiah 24, and Jeremiah 24 pictures two baskets of figs. I don't know about where you grew up, or where I grew up in southeast Mississippi. I'd say at least half the people had, out in the rural areas, and a lot of people in town, had fig trees in their backyard, and almost everyone put up fig preserves. I know that we had four fig trees in the backyard in the first place that my parents bought, and I have picked a mini basket or bucket of figs, and she would put up fig preserves by the courts. And figs are very often used in the metaphoric sense in the Bible, and you know the parable of the fig tree in the Gospels. So here we are with the fig trees in Jeremiah 24, and God used in the metaphoric sense baskets of figs to depict the condition of Judah at that time. So Jeremiah 24 in verse 1, The Lord showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord.

Look at that! Before the temple of the Lord. And this temple was Solomon's temple, a great splendiferous building. After that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jackaniah, the son of Jehoakim king of Judah. And I hope you remembered the order of the kings. I gave you that little mnemonic device. You have Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoakim, Jehoachin, and Zedekiah. Has Kim, Chin, Zed, and that's one of the ways I remember Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoakim, Jehoachin, and Zedekiah. So after he'd taken away Jackaniah, the son of Jehoakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah with the carpenters and smiths. Now note that carpenters and smiths, these people were the artisans, the skilled ones. And generally in that day and age, and true still to some degree today, well I'd say to a large degree today though, they don't do it by taking people captive. They do it, that is, taking artisans and the intelligentsia way. When a nation was conquered, a conquering nation would often take the the artisans and the intelligentsia and use them in their court. And today one of the main things that's going on has to do with cyber warfare and with the stealing of intellectual property.

And certain nations are very skilled at stealing the intellectual property of other nations, and that's one of the main areas in which warfare is being waged today.

So they took the carpenters and smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon.

One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe. There's nothing like going out of the fig tree and that first ripe fig. If you pick a fig when it's a little bit green at the stem, a little red-white, a little white milky substance will ooze out, and that substance is sort of sticky, and some people are allergic to it.

But then you cut off that stem, and I like the figs to be quite ripe, and then very succulent taste. Everybody doesn't have a taste for figs, but fig preserves are especially good, I think. So even the figs that are first ripe and the other baskets had very...

Now, I don't know why they use the word naughty here. The word naughty in other places is translated bad. It's the Hebrew word rah-ah, and it's spelled R-A-H-R-A-H and pronounced rah-ah. So they had bad figs which could not be eaten. They were so bad. So same word translated bad instead of naughty there. Then said the Lord unto me, What do you see? What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, figs. The good figs, very good, and the bad figs, same word, are evil figs, very evil, that cannot be eaten.

They are so evil. And again, the word of the Lord came into me saying, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, like these good figs, so I will acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah. Remember God had told Jeremiah to tell them that they should not resist. Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians, that they had to pay their dues, they had to go into captivity, and that he would bring them back to the land.

And we've talked a great deal about restoration, both in the short term and the long term, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good. Why would it be for their good? Because God was going to wreak havoc, destruction upon the land. There would be famine, there would be war fears, many would die of disease, sickness, famine, and many would die by the sword.

So I will set my eyes upon them, not for good, but for bad at that time. So I will set my eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again into this land, and I will build them and not pull them down, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. Now, of course, that is speaking to the ultimate fulfillment of that when God restores Israel in the millennium. The restoration that they experienced during the days of Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua the high priest, and with the prophets with the prophets Zechariah and Haggai helping them, there was a restoration, but it didn't last all that long.

And of course, when the Romans came, they once again destroyed the temple and burned a big part of the city. And I will give them a heart to know me. Of course, this is more millennial than it is at that time when they came back from Babylon under the direction of Zerubbabel and Joshua, and as I mentioned, the two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, they did restore temple worship, but Haggai makes it clear that what they were doing was symbolic of that which was to come under the final restoration when Christ sets up His kingdom and government on the earth.

We might look at that in Zechariah chapter 3, where this is talked about Zechariah chapter 3. Zechariah chapter 3, the vision, is given to Zechariah regarding the rebuilding of the temple and what was to be pictured there. Zechariah 3, we'll pick it up in verse 5, and I said, Let them set a fair miter upon his head. So they set a fair miter upon his head, and clothed him with garments.

And the angel of the Lord stood by, and the angel of the Lord confirmed unto Joshua, the old King James says, protested, but it means confirmed, unto Joshua, Joshua the high priest. Thus says the Lord of hosts, if you will walk in my ways, if you will keep my charge, then you shall also judge my house. And in the dualistic sense, of course, in the millennium, when the great restoration takes place, you'll be made kings and priests.

And it even says in 1 Corinthians 6, Know ye not that ye shall judge angels. And ye also shall judge my house, and shall not keep my courts. I will give you places to walk among them that stand by. Now, critical verse here. Here now, Joshua the high priest, and your fellows have sent before you, for they are men of sign. Now, King James says to be wondered at, but the Hebrew word is mofeth, means a man or man of sign, and I will bring forth my servant the branch. And we have identified the branch from Isaiah 11 and other places that the branch is Jesus Christ.

And we also from Zechariah 6 verses 12 and 13 and Matthew 16 and 18 have shown that the branch is the one who builds the temple that is the spiritual temple. So that restoration that is being prophesied, which there was a short-term restoration, but the ultimate restoration when they are given a heart, when all of the people are going to be given the opportunity to have that heart and to know me. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. And the evil figs which cannot be eaten, they are so evil, surely thus as the Lord. So will I give Zechariah, the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem that remain in the land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt. Now this clause here that dwell in the land of Egypt, some had fled from Jerusalem trying to escape the prophecy. I mean, had fled from Jerusalem trying to escape the prophecy down into Egypt. But God says, just because they have gone there, they shall not escape. And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse. And at the present time, of course, through these centuries, the Jews have been persecuted. Almost every place on earth that they have been, they have been severely persecuted. And you're hearing a lot about persecution, anti-Semitism, especially in Europe and the United States today. And not only in Europe and the United States, but it's really all over the world. And you know that in the Middle East there is this tremendous rift between the sons of Ishmael and the sons of Isaac, between the Israelites, between the Arabs, and some who are not Arabic. For example, Iran, the Iranians, of course, there are some Arabs in Iran, but not nearly all of them are Arabs.

Small percentage are. And many of those countries in the Middle East have vowed that they are going to wipe Israel from off the face of the earth. So in a curse and all the places wherewith I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them. So remember we said that those that had gone on to Babylon really says in that verse that it was for their good, because they had it fairly good in Babylon, especially by comparison to those who stayed in Judah and tried to escape the prophecy. Among them till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers. Now we shall see as we go into chapter 25 that this prophecy of them being in captivity would be for 70 years, and then they could begin to return.

Okay, let's go on to chapter 25.

The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoa Kim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the which Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto all the people of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, from the 13th year of Josiah, remember Josiah started, he came to the throne and when he was eight years old, and so 13 and 8 he would be 21.

And so that's basically when Jeremiah started his prophecy when Jehoa Kim was, not Jehoa Kim, but Josiah was 21 years old. From the 13th year of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah, even at this day, that is the 23rd year, the word of the Lord had come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking, but you have not hearken.

It appears that, as we say in today's language, Jeremiah was on the job on the scene 24-7. He was doing his job, and he really doesn't seem to have any time off.

Now verse 4, the Eternal has sent unto you all his service of prophets, and there were others who were contemporary with Jeremiah, rising early and sending them, but you have not hearkened, you've not listened. Of course, there's a difference in listening and hearkening. Hearkening conveys also listening and doing something about it, nor incline your ears to hear. They said, turn again now, everyone from his evil way the prophets, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord hath given you unto all and your fathers forever and ever, and go not after other gods to serve them. You remember, we have talked about extensively how they had set up their idols all through the land, and especially in and around Jerusalem, even at the temple, and in the environs of the temple, and even burning their sons and daughters in the valley of the son of Hinnom in a place called Tophat.

And go not after their gods and serve them and to worship them and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands, and I will do you no hurt. I think one of the things I don't just think it, I know it, that in this day and age, and it's going to continue, and it's going to get worse, because evil is going to continue to abound. As it says in Matthew 24 verses 10, 11, along in there, because evil shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold, and because evil shall abound, the love of many will wax cold, and they're going to continue in their evil ways. Verse 7, yet you have not hearkened unto me, says the Lord, that you might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. See, God is angry. He says that he is angry with the wicked every day, and we live in an age in which it's like there are no failures, there is no right or wrong. It's almost like everything you do, you get a gold star for, whether it be in the field of worthwhile achievement, or in athletics, or any other endeavor that you want to name, it's like everybody excels. Well, everybody doesn't excel, and there are people who are doing evil, and the Bible says that evil doers and seducers shall wax worse and worse. So the great challenge for us is not to be taken in with the crowd, and one of the greatest things that people have to stand up against, of course, is peer pressure.

Remember the three S's. They're three great things that continually war against your very being, your very existence, Satan, society, and self.

Satan, society, and self. And so the great challenge is going to be standing up against those who are trying to destroy the traditional culture and values that the Western world was founded upon. It's not to say that obviously everyone has not been perfect, but the values at the very core were founded upon, to a large degree, the Ten Commandments. Verse 9, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, Babylon being north of Jerusalem, says the Eternal, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant. Now notice this, my servant. God would raise up, at times, Gentile rulers to punish his people to do his bidding.

My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment and a hissing and perpetual desolations. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth. Oh, everybody's having a party. I will take from them the voice of mirth. And we have turned a couple of times to Revelation 18, showing that the voice of the bridegroom and those who make merry will be heard no more in the final destruction of Babylon. Here he's talking about, more directly, the initial destruction of Babylon. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth, the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. Of course, this was to happen to Judah at this time, the sound of the millstones and the light of the candle.

So the millstones representing bread, because you took your grain to the millstone to have it ground into flour, and from that bread was made.

And bread is also symbolic in the Word of God. And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment. And these nations shall serve the King of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished that I will punish the King of Babylon, and that nation says the Lord for their lawlessness. And the land of the Chaldeans will make it a perpetual desolation. So coming on the heels of the Babylonian Empire was the Persian Empire, and the Persians destroyed the Babylonian Empire. So this seventy years, and it becomes the seventy weeks in Daniel 9, is a very pivotal kind of prophecy. It's one that we should really understand as much as we possibly can. So at this time, we want to go to Daniel chapter 1, where Daniel was seeking to understand this very prophecy. In Daniel chapter 9 and verse 1, in the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, in the first year, say Darius, the Medo-Persian Empire. Earlier, I just said Persian, but the Medes were part of it as well. In the first year of his reign, that is, in the first year of the reign of Darius, I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years where of the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet. Well, we just read it from verses 11 and 12, the 70 years, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God to seek by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

And I prayed unto God, my God, and made my confession. And these next several verses here shows the keys for God to reveal his words to his servants.

So anyone who wants to really understand the word of God would do well to read Daniel chapters 9 and 10. Of course, we don't have time to go into an exhaustive explanation of all of this tonight, but you can easily read the next several verses and see for yourself. It's already said that he sought to understand the prophecy by seeking God through supplication and fasting, supplication, prayer, asking, fasting, and looking to God.

So verse 4, I prayed unto the Eternal, my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant, mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments. We have sinned. And so we could continue to read here. Daniel made his confession. He made his supplication, seeking to understand the prophecy. It wasn't until verse 23 that he began to have the prophecy revealed to him when Gabriel, the messenger angel, showed up and began to reveal to him the prophecy. So we will pick it up in verse 23. At the beginning of your supplication, the commandment came forth, and I have come to show you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore, understand the matter and consider the vision.

Daniel was one of the three people mentioned that God had a great, great, I guess you would call it, respect for, and it says it here, greatly beloved. Now notice this, 24 verse 24. 70 weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city. Well, Bible and Bible prophecy, a day represents a year. So I'm going to read now Ezekiel 4 and verse 6.

And when you have accomplished them, lie again on your right side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days. I have appointed you each day for a year. So using this principle, listen now, using this principle of a day for a year, the 70 weeks prophecy becomes seven times seventy, which equals 490 years. 490 years. Now these, as we shall see, these weeks are divided into segments.

The segments are always multiples of seven. That's very important. The seven are always divided into segments of seven. We'll see that.

So back to 24. 70 weeks are determined upon your people 490 years.

And there are six things here in verse 24. We'll point them out after we read it.

70 weeks are determined upon your people and upon the holy, and to make an end of sin, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. There are six things that are mentioned here. The six things are to finish the transgression, to make an end for sin, to make reconciliation for sin, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and the prophecy, to anoint the most holy. That is, the holy of holies.

Then we look at verse 25. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, three score, and two weeks.

The street shall be built and the wall even in trebleous times. So, Gabriel divides the prophecy into specific time segments. We'll look at this verse again. Know therefore and understand that from going forth a commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three score, and two weeks. Thus, according to Gabriel, seven weeks, seven times seven is 49 years.

Three score in two weeks is 62 times 70 is 483 years. So, you add 49 to 434, and you get 483 years. 483 years would elapse from the time of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem unto the time that Messiah the Prince would come on the scene. So, we're going to read 25 again.

Know therefore and understand that from going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince. In other words, until the time that Messiah would come, it would be 69 weeks, 69 weeks, which would be 483 years. All of this was multiples of seven. So, continue to read from verse 25.

And to Messiah the Prince shall be seven and three score in two weeks.

Thus shall he build again the wall even in Jerusalem. And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off. So, after three score and two weeks, you've got to add the 49 to it as well. After 483 years, it says the Messiah would be cut off.

Now, it's important to note this because there are the two views of this prophecy, especially when we get to verse 27.

I just read here that it says that after the 483, of course, I added the 62 and the 7 together to get 69. So, after 69 weeks, Messiah would be cut off.

But not for himself. And the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end thereof shall be with a flood, flood representing armies, the work of the devil, until the end of the desolations are determined. Therefore shall be until the end of the war, desolations are determined. So the seventh, the last seven years, the seventieth week, has not been fulfilled.

Now, nearly all scholars, and this is what the figure that the church has used through the years, the most commonly accepted date in the church for the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem through the centuries, this date has stood up as 457, 457 years from the time of the rebuilding of the temple until Messiah is cut off at the end of the 69th week. So the prophecy clearly states that after 69 weeks, 483 years, the Messiah will be cut off. So quoting again, after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself. Of course, it wasn't cut off for himself, it was cut off for the sins of the people. If Gabriel's words are taken literal, the Messiah would be cut off after 483 years. However, some exegetes, and basically this is a position that the church has taken that Gabriel's words can be interpreted to mean at some point in time, after 483 years, Messiah would be cut off. Verse 26 states once again that the Messiah be cut off after 69 weeks. Then a second personality is introduced. The prince of the people shall come and destroy the city, and the end there shall be with a flood, and to the end of the war desolations are determined. So Jerusalem has been in a state of desolation for ever since 70 or so A.D.

when the Romans came and destroyed the second temple or the restoration temple.

Now in verse 26, what do you see? You see two personalities. You see the Messiah, and you see the prince. I mean the prince of the people. You see the prince of the people, and you see the Messiah. This prophecy was fulfilled when Roman soldiers under the direction of Titus destroyed Jerusalem in the temple in 6970 A.D. The Roman people did not come and destroy the city and sanctuary. An army under the direction of Titus who acted on the orders of the ruthless Roman prince Nero destroyed the city and the sanctuary. Moreover, from the end of the war that destroyed the city and sanctuary, desolations are determined. So Jerusalem, the temple area, of course the Temple Mount, today there are two Arab mosques. We call them mosques that stand on the Temple Mount. The Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque built by Muslims.

The Dome of the Rock was probably the place where the Holy of Holies was because under that there are channels, canals leading down to the valley of Hinnom that in all probability drained the blood away from the temple sacrifices.

So the Roman prince came, 6970 A.D., and destroyed the temple in much of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem has been basically rebuilt, but almost 2,000 years have passed where the desolations are still present.

Yet, Gabriel says that 70 weeks are determined. So the 70 weeks will be fulfilled when all six of the acts that we mentioned back in verse 24 will be fulfilled. The transgression has not been finished. People still sin. In fact, there will be sin in the millennium. So an examination of the Hebrew word kalah, translated finish, is worth noting.

Kalah is a primitive root meaning to restrict, restrain, withhold, shut up, keep back, refrain, forbid. So the transgression has not been finished.

Daniel wanted to know how long the desolation of Jerusalem would continue. And so, as we have noted, this prophecy was given. The anointing of the Most Holy Place has not yet taken place. It will occur when Christ returns and cleanses the Holy Place. And Daniel 813, if you'd like to turn to Daniel 813, back on page or two, the question is asked how long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of the desolation to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot. Daniel is told that the sanctuary and the host will be trodden down for 2300 days.

And the Hebrew word ereb, evenings and mornings, 23 evenings and mornings, or 2300 days, and if a 2300 days represents a year in prophecy, then you could figure from that. We have written, that is, the Church of God has written a lot of articles on the 2300 days, and you could go back into the libraries of the past and read the articles on the 2300 days, but I think it's still up for deeper, well, I know it's up for deeper understanding. The cleansing of the sanctuary is the terminus, or the end for the 2300 days, and for the anointing of the Holy of Holies.

And it looks like the only way the sanctuary can be cleansed would be when Christ cleanses the sanctuary. It will be anointed with His presence, fulfilling that element of the 70 weeks prophecy. Now, these prophecies cannot be viewed in isolation. There is a definite end to the 70 weeks prophecy, and when the 70th week begins, it will end precisely on time.

Now, Gabriel divided the 70 weeks into definite time periods. Seven weeks are allotted for the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Then after 62 weeks, then you have to add the seven weeks to make the 69, the Messiah would cut off this lease of the 70th week that has been restrained or held back until the end of the age. Unless you say, well, the Messiah is referred to in verse 27, which has basically been the position of the church through the ages. So we want to read verse 27.

Verse 27 is really the key in many ways to understanding the totality of this. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. Now, in some of the old correspondence courses, given the explanations of it, I've gone back and looked at those. And basically, we need to understand, we go back to verse 26. You see, verse 27 begins with a pronoun, he. And the great question is, what is the referent antecedent to this he?

Is it the Messiah, or is it the Prince that shall come?

Now, with Messiah, it says, after three score and two weeks, shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself. Then another he is introduced, and the people of the Prince that shall come.

And we talked about that being the Roman army, under the direction of Titus, who took his orders from Nero, the Roman ruler at that time, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end thereof shall be in the end of the war's desolations are determined. So the Prince of the people is another he. So the key to number 20 to verse 27, through the years the Church has said, and he, the Messiah, shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week, he shall be cut off and cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease.

So here's the point of debate, as it were. Does this refer to Christ's crucifixion in the middle of the week on Wednesday? Or does it refer to the Prince of the people, when this prophecy is fulfilled, causing the daily sacrifice that the Jews restore to cease? And for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate.

Of course, Christ didn't make the temple desolate. He drove the money changers out, even until the consummation that determined shall be poured upon the correct translation would be the desolator, the one who desolates the temple.

So that might be confusing, but there have been two positions on it, and the one the Church has taken. And if you look at the old correspondence courses, it will say that the Messiah is the Hebrew referred to in the first part of 27, who was cut off in the middle of the week. I don't know of any commentators or scholars that you could go to that will agree with that position, but I'm telling you what the positions are.

You'll have to determine for yourself through study of the Word of God.

And if you read the old correspondence courses, it will say, okay, Christ confirmed the covenant for three and a half years, and he was cut off in his ministry. And some would rebut that and say, how could he confirm the covenant? He had not been crucified, the covenant had not been ratified, the Holy Spirit had not been sent. Now, on the other hand, you look at Daniel 11 in verse 31, there are prophecies from Daniel and also from Christ himself that talks about, see, why is this so important in understanding prophecy? Because the setting up the abomination of desolation is linked to the ending of sacrifices in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, which would be the third temple. Now, we're looking at Daniel 11 in verse 31, an arm shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate. Now, hold your place there, and you go to Matthew 24 in verse 15 in the Olivet prophecy.

What does Christ say? The Olivet prophecy.

Matthew 24, 14, When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso reads, let him understand.

Then in the succeeding verses through 20, it talks about behavior that what people should do when they see the abomination of desolation. Then you look at verse 21. See, the abomination of desolation introduces the great tribulation, for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this time, no nor ever shall be. Now, we go back to Daniel, and remember 1131.

He shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate.

How long will that last? Well, chapter 12 tells you it is in conformity with other places of the Bible. So we look at Daniel chapter 12. I might have said 11, but I want 12.

We'll start in 7, and I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto the heaven, and swore by him that lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time, when he shall have accomplished the scattering of the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. So three and a half years, time, times, half time, three and a half years, which is 1260 days of Bible prophecy.

And I heard, but I understood not. Then said, I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up or sealed, and sealed to the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made wide, and tried.

But the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand, and from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, Daniel 1131, Christ in Matthew 1115, and the abomination that makes desolate set up. There shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days, and blessed he is he that waits and come to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. But go your way till the end, where you shall rest and stand in your lot at the end of your days. So we see very clearly from prophecy what the seventy years turned into. Now there were, now we go back to Jeremiah 25. We read 11 and 12, and we showed from the scripture, we read from Daniel 9, Gabriel's interpretation of the prophecy. Now we go back to Daniel, not Daniel, but Jeremiah 25.

So we read from Jeremiah 25, 11 and 12, that the seventy years would be determined.

Now verse 13, and I will bring upon that land all my words that I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.

Remember, Jeremiah's prophecy is not just to Judah, not just to Israel, not just to Judah and Israel, the northern ten tribes, but to all nations. For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves also, and I will recompense them also to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands. For thus says the Lord God of Israel unto me, take the wine cup of this fury at my hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it.

You see, at this time, I'm not saying that what we're seeing with coronavirus is by no means the fulfillment of the prophecies that may be spoken of here, or the seals in Revelation 6, but it's surely a time in which God is trying all the nations. And what have the nations turned to to save themselves? They have turned to government, and they've turned to science, and they've turned to themselves, and they have not learned much of anything somehow from the coronavirus, which has surely tried the nations of the world.

God said, I will send them to drink, verse 16. And they shall drink and be moved and be mad because of the sword that I will send upon them. War is going to come. It's a matter of, oi, and not if. Then took the cup of the Lord's hand, then I took the cup of the Lord's hand, and made all the nations, of course this is symbolic, to drink unto whom the Lord had sent me.

So every nation on the face of the earth has sinned and gone against God, and all nations are going to drink of this cup as we shall see. And to know Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation and astonishment and hissing, and a curse as it is this day. Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people, all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of us, and you could look in a Bible dictionary and get the modern day name, in most cases, of what these names refer to as countries or cities. All the kings of the land of the Philistines, of course the Philistines, had set up camp on the, basically on the shores of the Mediterranean in the Holy Land. Ascaline is a city in the Holy Land. Azazah is, Acherine is, Ashdod is. Now we look at Edom. Edom and Moab. Remember Edom and Moab. Edom, Esau is Edom. That's what it says in Genesis. So the Arabs and the Moabites and the children of Ammon.

You remember the derivation of Moab and Ammon? That is when Lot's daughters got him drunk, and they conceived by their father, and they fathered, that is, Lot and his daughters fathered Moab and Ammon. Modern-day Jordan is considered, modern-day Jordan is considered the nation that represents Moab and Ammon. And all the kings of Tyreus, all the kings of Zidans, Zidans on the Mediterranean, and the kings of the Isles, which are beyond the sea. So they travel afar, and it says beyond the sea, and doubtlessly referring to the Mediterranean. Didan, Timah, Buzz, and all at most corners. And all the kings were Arabian, all the kings, the Mingle people that dwell in the desert, all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam, all the kings of the Medes, all the kings far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which upon the face of the earth and the kings of Shishak shall drink after them.

Therefore you shall say unto them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Drink you, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. One place in prophecy I think it is, it's either Ezekiel or Jeremiah, that very few people are going to be left at the end of the age after all of the calamities that are going to be set the wicked at the end of this age. Judgment is a coming, and it shall be that if they refuse to take the cup at your hand, drink, then shall you say unto them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, You shall certainly drink. For lo, begin to bring evil on the city, which is called by my name, and should you be utterly unpunished. If I'll do this to Jerusalem, do you think you're going to escape? You're not going to escape, for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, all the inhabitants of the earth, says the Lord of hosts.

Therefore, prophesy you against them in all these words, and say unto them, The Lord shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation, and he shall mightily roar upon his habitation, and he shall give a shout, and they shall tread the grapes against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth, for the Lord has a controversy with the nations. He will plead with all flesh.

He will give them that are wicked to the sword, says the eternal.

God means business. Never think that he is altogether such and one as we are. That's what it says in Psalm 50. People at the end of the age, and even now, are making that mistake, and they will say things like, God loves everyone. Yes, he does. For God so loved the world.

But God does not love sin. Sin separates us from God, and there's no way that God can leave sin unpunished. As we have said several times, if God left sin unpunished, then he would not be God, and everything would just be farcical. Verse 32, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation.

A great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coast of the earth, and the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth, even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried. They shall be done, they'll rot right where they are on the ground. How you shepherds, you leaders, you false prophets, and cry and wallow yourselves in the ashes, you principal of the flock, for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished, and you shall fall like a pleasant vessel. The shepherd shall have no way to flee, and mean no way to escape, nor the principal of the flock to escape.

A voice of the cry of the shepherds and a howling of the principal of the flock shall be heard, for the Lord shall have spoiled their pastures, of course metaphorically, and the peaceable inhabitants are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord. He has forsaken his covert as a lion. In other words, he's come out of hiding. You thought I was altogether such a one as you. You thought I'd just gone away and forgot about everything. Well, that's really not the case. Further, land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor and because of his fierce anger. So that's God pleading with all flesh. As a result of the study this evening, I hope you have a deeper understanding of when God says something, he means what he says.

And as sure as the sun is going to rise in the east and the United States of America tomorrow, these prophecies shall come to pass.