With Pastor Jeff
Lesson on YouTube: https://youtu.be/7nYiqk74gi4
There are several Old Testament prophets and authors who have conversations directly with Jehovah. Job, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Samuel.... And here we have they dynamic with Habakkuk. If we apply "the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed" Scriptural relationship here, we find that through Christ Jesus we inherit a direct relationship with Jehovah. So it could certainly be said that we have a direct line to ask God questions.
The method of asking used by Habakkuk is a lament. In this approach, Habakkuk is an example of someone who doesn't complain about the circumstances, or blame God for them. There is a question about why the evil and violence happen, why God allows them, and what God's relationship is to them. We may have the same questions phrased in our own voice.
Why do I feel a certain way? Struggle with a type of sin? Am surrounded or directly affected by violence? Treated poorly, abused, or attacked by other people?
Because Jehovah doesn't parachute in and fix the problem, one of the deceptions of the enemy is to convince us that God isn't supreme, doesn't love us, and doesn't exist. This happens on a spectrum, where we may believe generally, but still hold out areas where we want to be in control.
Tom Cantor likened us as needing to be like five year olds. A child that age may go out in public, but they are always conscience of their parent's presence. They go everywhere with their parent, ask their parents what they should eat, what they can do, how to dress, etc. When we realize that as humans we are similarly dependent on Jehovah Jesus, and through Him our Heavenly Father through His Holy Spirit to teach, guide, and protect us, then we begin to enter into a more mature relationship with Him.
Based on my conversation with Jesus, a focus on the book of Habakkuk is where we will start. But as we seek to understand these truths from this man of God looking on at the coming exile in Babylon, we can put ourselves in a similar place, looking at the current events of today and trying to understand the coming end of this dispensation of Grace.
Kick Off Video:
Freewill and Love, Ravi Zacharias: https://youtu.be/44Crx0v7nzs
Habakkuk 1:1-4 NIV
1 The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.
Habakkuk’s Complaint
2 How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. 4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.
Questions We May Ask
In our lives we may have asked similar questions. We may have been victims of circumstances that are horrific. It is difficult to reconcile the existence of these things with the existence of a supreme God.
Argument For The Non-Existence of God
There is an argument against the existence of God that goes something like this:
1. If a omni-present, omni-powerful, and omni-benevolent God existed, then bad things wouldn't happen.
2. This is because an omni-present God would be everywhere and thus know everything.
3. He would be omni-powerful, and thus have the ability to stop or change anything.
4. And because He would be omni-benevolent, He would love us so much that He would use His knowledge and power to stop or change anything bad.
THUS: Since that doesn't happen, God must not exist.
Let's look on, and consider this again, because we will find out why God does not intervene in this way, and why that is so important for us.
Habakkuk 1:5-11 NIV
The Lord’s Answer
5 “Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. 6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people,
who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. 7 They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor. 8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar.
They fly like an eagle swooping to devour; 9 they all come intent on violence. Their hordes advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand. 10 They mock kings and scoff at rulers.
They laugh at all fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them. 11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—guilty people, whose own strength is their god.”
Habakkuk Asks, "why does God use evil nations?"
God says that Babylon will be judged. He also says He is rising them up to bring judgement to Israel.
God creates space for things to happen.
In our lives we can learn something from anyone. What are they teaching us?
This sounds like a description of riots. Why are people rioting? What does this teach us?
Why do people align themselves to ungodly ideology? What does this teach us as followers of Jesus?
Habakkuk Asks, "how can God use evil nations? What is Gods relationship to this?"
We might rephrase the questions to: "How can God love us, yet allow bad things to happen?"
Theologian John Frame puts it this way,
“If it is hard for us to accept God’s fore-ordination of human decisions in general, it is even harder to accept his fore-ordination specifically of our sinful actions. The former raises questions about human freedom and responsibility; the latter raises questions about God’s own goodness. For how can a Holy God bring about sin?”
There are two important truths the Bible teaches:
1. God does not author sin.
2. God works with sinful people to bring about his purposes.
Let's Consider Lucifer and Free Will
I bring this topic up, because it is a reflection of our own ability to choose, and the consequences that result from our decisions. God will honor our choices. He wants us to choose Him, but just as Lucifer fell, we too have the ability to choose eternal punishment.
The first being Jehovah gave the ability to choose against their own will was Lucifer. The first being Jehovah gave the ability to choose against their own will was Lucifer. Lucifer was the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. See Ezekiel 28 for more.
Pride enters Lucifer's heart - the heart is where the spiritual battleground exists
Isaiah 14:14-15 NIV
13 You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
to the depths of the pit.
Doc Beshore's Analysis:
Because of his wisdom, beauty, and authority, Satan began to be filled with pride and ultimately declared a rebellion against God's authority. The content of that pride and rebellion is found in the five "I wills" of Isaiah 14:13-14.
1: I will ascend into heaven. He was not happy with his authority over this earth in the second abode. He wished to have a higher estate than that which he already had.
2: I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. Whenever the word star is used symbolically, it always represents an angel; thus with the second "I will" Satan wished to have Michael's job as the archangel, the chief over all the angels.
3: I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the uttermost parts of the north. Satan also understood God's prophetic program and that the son was the one to rule over Israel, the messianic kingdom; nevertheless, in this third "I will," he expressed his determination to have that position of rulership over Israel.
4: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. The word "cloud," used symbolically, always represents the glory of God, that Shekinah Glory that is only owned by God. Satan coveted that glory for himself.
5: I will make myself like the Most High. With these five "I wills," Satan led a rebellion, in which he was followed by one-third of the angelic hosts God had created.
The question we need to ask ourselves:
Is our heart poisoned with the same pride?
We talk about people today wanting to establish themselves as "their own gods" (lower case g).
What areas of our life do we do that?
Let's Consider Why Free Will is Critical for Love
Discussing freewill and love, Ravi Zacharias point out the following:
1. You can never have love without intrinsically weaving into it the freedom of the will.
2. You can be compelled by some machine to a certain decision, but you can never love.
3. If love is the supreme ethic, and freedom is indispensable to love, and God's supreme goal for you and me is that we will love Him with all our hearts and love our neighbors as ourselves, for him to violate our free will would be to violate that which is a necessary component so that love can flourish and love can be expressed.
4. If you're asking for Got to always stop the trigger, why not God stop everything else?
5. What you're asking for is a different entity than humanity. As wonderful as it may seem, in stopping that you think He is protecting you from that which is destructive. The greatest denial you are asking for is the freedom of your will to be able to choose and to love God with all your heart and all your soul.
6. When you've got love as the supreme ethic and the freedom to choose that love, all of the other contingencies come in and can become explained. Why it is either possible to choose or to reject so that love can ultimately reign supreme.
7. If you want compliance and some kind of a mechanical response your question itself will self destruct. You're asking the question because you're free to ask it. And you're free to ask it because you're free to love. And when you love Him in spite of all of the.
Reflecting on the Existence of God Argument
Looking back at the atheist's argument against the argument for God, we can see that the reason Jehovah doesn't prevent things isn't because He doesn’t love us, but because He does.
When I was in my first college philosophy class the professor walked the class through this argument. An adult re-entry student was in class and was very upset. She wasn't able to articulate the reason why she didn't agree with the argument, but only that it wasn't right. As the professor attempted to teach through the argument she would talk loudly, creating a disruption that prevented the teaching. Eventually campus security came and removed her from class.
Looking back I realize that the logic of the argument feels very sensible. Yet, as Ravi points out, there are deeper issues at play here that we cannot ignore. The power of Jehovah to love is simply far beyond our capacity. His love for us is thankfully strong enough to allow a dangerous and terrible world within which we have the freedom to choose Him.
Habakkuk's Commitment to Jehovah
Habakkuk 2:1-3 NIV
2 I will stand at my watch
and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
and what answer I am to give to this complaint.
The Lord’s Answer
2 Then the Lord replied:
“Write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets
so that a herald may run with it.
3 For the revelation awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come
and will not delay.
A Quick Side Note About Bible Prophecy Types
Four Types of Bible Prophecy
1. A literal prophecy
2. A literal, plus a typical meaning
3. Literal, plus an application
4. Literal, plus a summation
Four Types of Messianic Prophecy
1. Those prophecies that only refer to Christ's first coming
2. Those prophecies which indicate solely His second coming
3. Those prophecies that blend the two comings together
4. Those prophecies giving Christ's first coming, His second coming, and the interval of time between
Let's Consider Where We Are, and Are Going
The perilous nature of the end times
Knowledge shall be increased
Daniel 12:4 ASV 1901
But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
John is ALSO told to "seal up the book"
Revelation 22:10-11 NIV
10 Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. 11 Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”
Doc Beshore's Analysis:
From the days of the Flood until 1800, man's total knowledge only doubled once. In the next hundred years, man's knowledge doubled again. We are now told by scientists that man's knowledge is doubling about every ten to fifteen years. Did you know that 90 percent of all the scientists who have ever lived are alive today? There is a great cry for more young people to train for the scientific field because we live in a highly technological age.
Paul prophecies regarding the environment of the end times
2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV
Know this, that in the last days grievous [or dangerous] times shall come. For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self control, fierce, no lovers of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away.
Time of prophet Micah who sees destruction of Northern 10 tribes by the Neo-Assyrian Empire
Judges 17:6 NIV
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
Paul prophecies an "unthinking" world
2 Timothy 3:4-9 NIV
...traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away. For of these are they that creep into houses, and take captive silly women laden with sins, led away by divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. And even as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also withstand the tyruth; men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be.
Jannes and Jambres
Jannes and Jambres are not specifically mentioned in the Tanakh ("Hebrew Bible"), but the Egyptian "wise men and sorcerers" (two of whom were identified with Jannes and Jambres in Jewish and Christian traditions) are mentioned in Exodus 7:10-12.
Paul prophecies a defection from the truth (next 2)
Ephesians 5:11 NIV
Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 NIV
Be not unequally yoked with unbelievers: for what fellowship have righteousness and iniquity? or what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what portion hath a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement hath a temple of God with idols? for we are a temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
Paul prophecies the rising tide of demonism
1 Timothy 4:1-6 NIV
But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrissy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer. If thou put the brethren in mind of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the good doctrine which thou hast followed until now.
Jesus prophecies the rising tide of demonism and false teachers
Matthew 7:15-23 NIV
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
What Should We Be Looking For?
Some of the upcoming milestones:
- Other Nations that Attack Palestine
- The Invasion of Palestine
- A First Jewish Worldwide Revival (one of three)
- The coming one-world government
- The Appearance of the Antichrist
- The Tribulation, first 3 1/2 years
- 2nd Phase of Jewish Revival
- The Tribulation - Midpoint
- The Antichrist defiles the Temple & sets himself up as a god to be worshiped
- The Tribulation, second 3 1/2 years (this will be a mess)
- The World Church
- Palestine Invaded & 3rd Phase of Jewish Revival
- The Second Coming of Lord Jesus
Comments