Seeking a sign
“But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the whore.
Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood.
Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? …
Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.
And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of My people.
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before Me, and the souls which I have made.
For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid Me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”
(Is. 57:3-5,10, 14-21).
“For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness.” (1Cor. 1:22,23).
It makes for ease of observation when we can divide the world up into groups, preferably two or three groups. Maybe that sound like over-simplying life, but here goes. There were the Pharisees and Sadducees; the religious and the vulgar; the legalist and the lawless; the conservative and the liberal, etc. Paul divided his world into two, Jews and Greeks.
Today, we can divide America into two groups: the atheist/secularist and the Bible-carrying/holy. I would contend that these are the modern Greeks and Jews, after the New Testament pattern. If all scripture is written for our admonition and instruction, then we must apply its characters to their modern-day counterparts. Otherwise, we aren’t studying the Bible to show ourselves approved unto God, rightly dividing the word of truth. Instead, we are making fairy tales out of sacred history rather than gleaning from it the eternal principles that never change.
The history of the Bible-carrying/holy group goes far back in the Bible. 750 B.C. we have recorded the above statement from Isaiah. People who want the security of God’s protection, yet have never bowed in submission to Him, will seek for some spurious alternative that looks like true service to God.
That kind of religion isn’t founded upon God and His promises to love us and to cherish us. It doesn’t seek out Him and His mercy; self-filled spurious religion grows weary of the effort to find God. Because it doesn’t seek Him with all the heart, it never finds Him. Neither does it result in faith and obedience to His Law, His blessings or His blessedness.
Spurious, false religion designs its own method to peace. It relies on emotion, feelings, excitement, and sensation. The stimulation that satisfies it is only a physical one. Thus, Isaiah’s words, “Thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.” (Vs. 10). Of themselves, from their own imagination and emotional resource, they pleased themselves and brought on their mind a self-stimulation to relieve the grievous emptiness that came from neglect and separation from God. To facilitate this self-stimulation, an object, an icon, a carved stock of wood or stone, something to assist in the mental imagery, was used.
But, that kind of religion is a weariness of the flesh. Instead of receiving life from above, self is the spring of its life; self must be its Creator and Sustainer. Thus, self becomes its God, puffed up and proud. “Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way.”
This we find very applicable to the Third Angel’s message. Jeremiah said something that ties the two messages together, and forms the basis of Revelation’s angelic message. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary…. And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary.” (Jer. 51:58,64).
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Rev. 14:9-11).
Lay Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Revelation on top each other, line upon line, and they all speak of the same experience—counterfeit religious worship, false service to God, devil-possession.
Isaiah continues, “Yet saidst thou not, There is no hope.” Despite their exhaustion, they refuse to give up and throw themselves down at Jesus’ feet; they refuse to be broken and fall on His breast as Jacob did. “Never give up!” is their stubborn, rebellious motto. They have no peace; violent conflict is their daily lot because when we don’t surrender to Jesus, we automatically default to Satan’s dominion. Yet, they will not relinquish hope in their self-manufactured worship.
Seeking a sign. Judaism, which resulted from the Babylonian captivity, was no better than the ancient form of idolatry. They both sought a sign; they both sought some form of physical stimulus. The only difference was that Judaism hid the outward idol of ancient times and substituted in its place the requirement of some supernatural manifestation—a miracle. Then they could worship the miracle instead of the God of love who gave the miraculous thing, and feel righteous that they weren’t guilty of their fathers’ past failings.
Jesus fed the thousands in Galilee, but the Jews didn’t get to see the miracle take place, so they demanded He cause manna to rain down like it had in Moses’ day. They had miracles every day from the Messiah, but they didn’t see them or their Messiah. His miracles didn’t appeal to the curious, the marvelous, and the flashy which attracts the heart not transformed by love and righteousness. Christ’s miracles were utilitarian in nature, and edifying to faith. Self could not be satisfied by His healings, His compassion on the multitude, His self-denying teachings.
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (Jn. 6:63). Yet they said in themselves, “There is hope in something better.”
So they left Him in search of some miracle that would satisfy their perverted, sin-loving natures.
Obedience to the truth as it is in Jesus will bring the peace we desire. Only Jesus can take away the chastisement of our peace; only He can fill the emptiness that burns in us from the inside, and flares out in self-centeredness and every kind of uncleanness. His truth will set us free. When He comes in, our sins flee away.
The post-Babylonian captivity Jews sought some kind of mental icon without the obvious carved idol. Today, whether its Mariolatry or Joseph Smitholatry in the Mormon church or Lutherolatry or Wesleyolatry, Mosesolatry with the Jews, or even Ellenolatry, as in Adventist circles, our only hope is in the Lord of the Old and New Testaments, coming to Him and studying Him and His Law.
He and His word are the only means to enter into eternal life in this life, through wrestling with Him and receiving His blessing, being broken, contrite, and born anew— “unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness.”
Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and draw out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood.
Enflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clifts of the rocks? …
Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way; yet saidst thou not, There is no hope: thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.
And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of My people.
For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before Me, and the souls which I have made.
For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid Me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.
But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”
(Is. 57:3-5,10, 14-21).
“For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness.” (1Cor. 1:22,23).
It makes for ease of observation when we can divide the world up into groups, preferably two or three groups. Maybe that sound like over-simplying life, but here goes. There were the Pharisees and Sadducees; the religious and the vulgar; the legalist and the lawless; the conservative and the liberal, etc. Paul divided his world into two, Jews and Greeks.
Today, we can divide America into two groups: the atheist/secularist and the Bible-carrying/holy. I would contend that these are the modern Greeks and Jews, after the New Testament pattern. If all scripture is written for our admonition and instruction, then we must apply its characters to their modern-day counterparts. Otherwise, we aren’t studying the Bible to show ourselves approved unto God, rightly dividing the word of truth. Instead, we are making fairy tales out of sacred history rather than gleaning from it the eternal principles that never change.
The history of the Bible-carrying/holy group goes far back in the Bible. 750 B.C. we have recorded the above statement from Isaiah. People who want the security of God’s protection, yet have never bowed in submission to Him, will seek for some spurious alternative that looks like true service to God.
That kind of religion isn’t founded upon God and His promises to love us and to cherish us. It doesn’t seek out Him and His mercy; self-filled spurious religion grows weary of the effort to find God. Because it doesn’t seek Him with all the heart, it never finds Him. Neither does it result in faith and obedience to His Law, His blessings or His blessedness.
Spurious, false religion designs its own method to peace. It relies on emotion, feelings, excitement, and sensation. The stimulation that satisfies it is only a physical one. Thus, Isaiah’s words, “Thou hast found the life of thine hand; therefore thou wast not grieved.” (Vs. 10). Of themselves, from their own imagination and emotional resource, they pleased themselves and brought on their mind a self-stimulation to relieve the grievous emptiness that came from neglect and separation from God. To facilitate this self-stimulation, an object, an icon, a carved stock of wood or stone, something to assist in the mental imagery, was used.
But, that kind of religion is a weariness of the flesh. Instead of receiving life from above, self is the spring of its life; self must be its Creator and Sustainer. Thus, self becomes its God, puffed up and proud. “Thou art wearied in the greatness of thy way.”
This we find very applicable to the Third Angel’s message. Jeremiah said something that ties the two messages together, and forms the basis of Revelation’s angelic message. “Thus saith the Lord of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary…. And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary.” (Jer. 51:58,64).
“And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” (Rev. 14:9-11).
Lay Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Revelation on top each other, line upon line, and they all speak of the same experience—counterfeit religious worship, false service to God, devil-possession.
Isaiah continues, “Yet saidst thou not, There is no hope.” Despite their exhaustion, they refuse to give up and throw themselves down at Jesus’ feet; they refuse to be broken and fall on His breast as Jacob did. “Never give up!” is their stubborn, rebellious motto. They have no peace; violent conflict is their daily lot because when we don’t surrender to Jesus, we automatically default to Satan’s dominion. Yet, they will not relinquish hope in their self-manufactured worship.
Seeking a sign. Judaism, which resulted from the Babylonian captivity, was no better than the ancient form of idolatry. They both sought a sign; they both sought some form of physical stimulus. The only difference was that Judaism hid the outward idol of ancient times and substituted in its place the requirement of some supernatural manifestation—a miracle. Then they could worship the miracle instead of the God of love who gave the miraculous thing, and feel righteous that they weren’t guilty of their fathers’ past failings.
Jesus fed the thousands in Galilee, but the Jews didn’t get to see the miracle take place, so they demanded He cause manna to rain down like it had in Moses’ day. They had miracles every day from the Messiah, but they didn’t see them or their Messiah. His miracles didn’t appeal to the curious, the marvelous, and the flashy which attracts the heart not transformed by love and righteousness. Christ’s miracles were utilitarian in nature, and edifying to faith. Self could not be satisfied by His healings, His compassion on the multitude, His self-denying teachings.
“It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (Jn. 6:63). Yet they said in themselves, “There is hope in something better.”
So they left Him in search of some miracle that would satisfy their perverted, sin-loving natures.
Obedience to the truth as it is in Jesus will bring the peace we desire. Only Jesus can take away the chastisement of our peace; only He can fill the emptiness that burns in us from the inside, and flares out in self-centeredness and every kind of uncleanness. His truth will set us free. When He comes in, our sins flee away.
The post-Babylonian captivity Jews sought some kind of mental icon without the obvious carved idol. Today, whether its Mariolatry or Joseph Smitholatry in the Mormon church or Lutherolatry or Wesleyolatry, Mosesolatry with the Jews, or even Ellenolatry, as in Adventist circles, our only hope is in the Lord of the Old and New Testaments, coming to Him and studying Him and His Law.
He and His word are the only means to enter into eternal life in this life, through wrestling with Him and receiving His blessing, being broken, contrite, and born anew— “unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness.”
posted by David | 7:26 AM
1 Comments:
Thank's. It's true and proved what you said! Keep going!
bless you!
lindamarlissa.blogspot.com
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