Never diminish the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ, for it is ONLY by faith in Him that we are redeemed from the slave-market of sin. Only by faith in the sacrificial death of the Son of God, can our sins be forgiven and eternal life received. And that faith includes Christ rising from the dead… for it is only because of His glorious resurrection from the dead, that we have the unshakable assurance that our bodies will also be raised to life immortal.

It is through faith in Christ that we are called ‘believers in God’. It is not sufficient to believe in the historical Jesus. We are to believe in the sacrificial offering of Himself on the cross.. for He is the SON that was given – the CHILD that was born.

He is the Light of the world and the Door of the sheepfold, into life eternal. Only those who enter the fold through faith in HIM will discover He is the good Shepherd, Who leads us by still waters, restores our soul and satisfies us with good things. Jesus is the only Way; the only Truth and the only Life eternal… and NO-ONE comes to God the Father except through God the Son – by the power of God the Holy Spirit.

Only in Him are we justified freely by His grace and given access to the heavenly Throne of God. Only in Him can we gain peace with God, be clothed in Christ’s righteousness and discover the peace of God that passes understanding. He alone will protect us from the wrath to come for He alone conquered death and hell at the cross forever – and only through faith in HIM, will this mortal put on immortality and this corruptible body be clothed in an incorruptible resurrection.

We were not redeemed from our futile life, with perishable things like silver or gold. We were saved with the precious blood of the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world – through His death on the cross. He is the same Lamb on the throne, Who unseals the seven-sealed scroll that sets in motion the final act in God’s eternal plan of redemption.

It is the unblemished and spotless blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world. He was born into His own creation for our sake – so that by faith in HIM we might be imputed with Christ’s righteousness and justified in the eyes of God. It is His glorious resurrection that gained victory over death and hell. Faith in Him alone secures the promised hope of our bodily resurrection and life with Him in the heavenly realm.

Christ shed His blood for our sin… but His resurrection from the dead, in a body of flesh and bone, is our assurance that we too will rise into life immortal. We will also receive a body of flesh and bone, a body like HIS glorious Body. We were not redeemed with perishable things light silver or gold. We were bought with a price – the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

We are bone of Christ’s resurrected Bone and we are flesh of His resurrected Flesh. Without Christ’s resurrection, we would be forgiven of our sin but remain in the grave. But Christ has been raised from the dead, never to die again – and we are raised into newness of life in HIM.

Although death was brought into this world through a man who sinned, it was also through the MAN Who did not sin that resurrection from the dead was secured for all who would believe. Just as our identity with Adam ensures we will die, so all who are identified with Christ, by faith, will be made alive. He is the first fruits of those who are asleep… and because of our position in Christ, we can shout, victoriously “O DEATH where is your sting NOW?”

No surprise that Peter wrote, “through HIM we are believers in God who are redeemed. Through HIM we are believers in God the Father, Who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory –  so that our faith and hope are in God, Who raised Christ from the dead.

The Lord Jesus was raised back to life and ascended into heaven to take back the glory He set aside when He came to earth as the Messiah of Israel and Redeemer of the world. God has highly exalted Him, and given Him a name above every other name: that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW. All in heaven will bow before Him. Those on earth will bow and those under the earth will pay Him homage – without exception.

God determined, at the beginning, that MAN would have dominion over this earth. And when Christ ascended into the heavenly heights, it was a MAN Who was seated at the right hand of God – the Son of Man, Who is God the Son.

Humanity’s appointed position as God’s Regent over His creation was restored, when Christ sat down at the right hand of the Father. And He is coming back to rule and reign on earth in righteousness and truth – just as God created man to do in the beginning.

No wonder that Paul was able to confirm that “our faith and hope are in God“. Our faith in Christ rests on the Word of God for we trust the promises He has given, which are  ‘YES’ and “AMEN’ in Christ.

Our blessed Hope rests on JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our faith – Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heavenly Father, how we praise and glorify Your holy name that it is through faith in JESUS, that we are saved from the slave-market of sin. Thank You that You raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory and honour, so that our faith and hope is in God. Keep me ever mindful of the tremendous work that Christ did on the cross, so that by faith in Him I am now bone of His bone and flesh of Him and remain secure in Him through time and into the eternal ages to come. Thank You in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

So superior and elevated is the eternal Creator and Lord of the universe that He is the most highly exalted personage, standing in contradistinction to humanity and all the created heavenly hosts. No thought or action from man or the angelic realm can confound the mind of God. Nothing can take Him by surprise, for He is the One Who fills all in all.

He identifies Himself as the great and exalted One Who lives forever and Whose name is Holy. “I dwell on a high and holy place..” is His claim throughout Scripture. He created time, space, matter and man. He stretched out the heavens and tramples the waves of the sea.

He is the High and Lofty One, Who not only inhabits eternity, but He lives with man, “For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, but also, I live with the contrite and lowly of spirit, in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite“.

Despite the exalted magnificence and almighty splendour of the thrice-holy God, His desire is to renew a right spirit within the heart of lost souls who are dead in sin and at enmity with Him. In spite of inhabiting eternity and dwelling in high, heavenly and holy places, this same Almighty God has chosen to live with those who are meek, and lowly and humble of heart. He has chosen to redeem the penitent, revive the contrite in spirit and dwell in the hearts of all who believe on His name.

The same God Who flung stars into space and spoke this world into being… lives with man, and indwells His Church. He is the eternal Father Who resides outside time and space and yet He is always present with each of His own. He is close to those who are crushed in spirit and gives heed to those that reverence His holy name. He has promised to feed the hungry heart, comfort the sorrowing soul, and redeem a right spirit within those who trust His name.

The Lord is as gracious as He is holy, and He is the One that renews the inner man and refreshes the fainting soul. He gives His courage and sufficient strength to those that are hurting and crushed. He is kind to those that are oppressed and lowly of spirit. He revives the spirit of the humble and refreshes the heart of the oppressed.

Isaiah had been teaching that righteousness is the only basis, by which sinful man may be justified in the sight of the high and exalted One, Who lives forever and Whose name is holy. But like her Gentile neighbours, apostate Israel lacked the standard of holiness required to be accepted by God, and to stand in His awesome presence and be accepted into fellowship with Him.

What a contrast between the absolute; invincible; omnipotent; omniscient; omnipresent; supreme; unlimited; eternally holy God and the helplessly impotent; powerless; weak; feeble; insignificant; paltry; poor; unholy sinner. Like all sinners throughout the history of man, the only way to be declared righteous by God is through His full and free enablement – which comes through faith.

It is only repentant sinners who are given peace with God. It is only those who are contrite of heart and lowly of spirit who will be revived by the Lord and redeemed from the slave-market of sin. Only those who believe God’s word are declared righteous and restored into fellowship with the high and exalted God – Whose name is holy and Who rides on the wings of the wind.

Only those who are lowly of spirit, contrite of heart can be revived. Only those placing faith in His grace and mercy, through trusting in God’s sin-substitute for salvation will be revived, redeemed, and restored. Only the contrite in heart who trust His word will be comforted in all their deep distresses.

He will renew the spirit of every man or woman who walks humbly before Him and He will give courage to those that are crushed by the burden of sin – for He alone is the High and Lofty One Who lives forever and ever – and holy is His name.

Loving Father, I never stop being amazed that You Who are from everlasting to everlasting, have stooped to save and comfort me and to dwell within my heart by faith. Keep me low at the cross and humble before you and develop in me a lowly and contrite heart and revive my spirit within me, I pray. I praise You, for Your goodness and grace  – Your mercy and love, and pray that today I may glorify You in my body – in word and in deed, In Jesus’ name AMEN.

When the Word is rightly divided a mist of muddled confusion is lifted, and shrouds of misinterpretation are removed, as the Spirit enlightens the mind. When Scripture is read in context, the temptation to modify meaning; corrupt the content or falsify truth disappears, and enlightenment floods the heart.

Israel as a nation was corrupt to the core, and the Baptist called for national repentance. Christ their King had arrived, and the gospel of the kingdom of heaven was taught – but ONLY to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The Messiah of Israel was called Jesus – “Salvation” and He came to fulfil the word of the prophets and save His people from their sins.

He was the Son of David and the promised Seed of Abraham, through who all the families of the earth would be blessed. He came to the Jews, FIRST. He had to come as Israel’s Messiah first, because God had ordained that salvation would come to the Gentile world, THROUGH the Jews… for Salvation is by faith in Christ alone – faith in JESUS, the King of the Jews.

To be Saviour of the Gentiles meant that Jesus first had to be sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.. whom God had called to be a light to the Gentile world. And God the Father confirmed Christ’s Messianic claims when He spoke from heaven saying: this is My Son in Whom I am well pleased.

The words He spoke, and the signs and wonders He performed authenticated His Messianic claims, for all of them were prophesied of old. He was anointed by the Father to preach the gospel to the poor; to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, to give sight to the blind and set at liberty those that are broken.

Though the prideful Pharisees, the bigoted scribes and the blinded leaders of Israel rejected their promised Messiah, there were those who responded to the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Repent of your sin. Turn back to God.. for the kingdom of heaven is near. There were those who had responded to the Baptist’s call for repentance and John told the people to believe in the One Who would come after him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!  Believe on the Lamb of God – the Jewish Messiah, Who takes away the sin of the world. “You believe on God,” Christ had taught, ‘believe ALSO in ME”.

How gladly this little group of repentant Jews had welcomed John the Baptist’s message. How willingly they had entered the river Jordan and engaged in the ritual cleansing in water that John taught. MANY were ‘baptised‘ into John’s baptism of repentance. Many repented of their sin during Christ’s pre-cross ministry. But despite repenting of their sin, many had yet to believe on Christ for the forgiveness of those sins, and life everlasting. If salvation is to be gained, a man must simultaneously turn TO Christ at the same time he turns FROM sin and repents unto salvation.

To turn from sin to good works, or to repent of sin and embrace some alternative religion is NOT repentance unto salvation. Similarly, to regret one’s sin or to become guilt-ridden because of one’s wrongdoing will not save the sinner, who does not concurrently turn TO the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance of sin is vital BUT believing on the Lord Jesus is the ONLY way to be saved. Repenting of sin and believing on Christ for the forgiveness of sin are two sides of the same coin, that are conjoined and can not be separated.

The Lord Jesus was the One foretold by prophets of old, Who would redeem His people FROM THEIR SIN. He was that promised Seed of the woman, Who would crush the old serpents head – the one called the devil and Satan. But crucifixion, cruel nails and the triumphant cry of IT IS FINISHED, had to be announced before the promised Holy Spirit would start to be poured out on the newly-born Church. The repentant sinner, who responded to John’s baptism of repentance HAD to believe that Christ’s work on the CROSS paid for THEIR sin to be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ – the incarnation, death, burial and resurrection, and you will be saved.

And on that first day of Pentecost, the disciples who responded to John’s message of repentance and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for Salvation were gathered together in one place, in obedience to Christ’s command. But not all those that were baptised into John’s baptism of repentance were present on that singular Day of Pentecost… when for the first time, the Holy Spirit was given to the Body of Christ – which is the Church.

As men and women heard the good news being taught from that special Day of Pentecost, and believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, they were also indwelled by the Holy Spirit and baptised into the body of Christ. They were saved the MOMENT they trusted Him for salvation.

However, many who had received John’s baptism of repentance were yet to hear the gospel of grace and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. And so, in Act 19, we read, “As Paul travelled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, He found some disciples, and asked them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ They answered him, ‘No, we’ve never even heard of the Holy Spirit.

These disciples of John the Baptist had heard some of his message. They repented of their sins and were baptised in water, unto repentance. They had turned FROM sin but they did not know WHO to turn TO. John baptised with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is believe on Christ Jesus.

What joy for this little faithful band of Jews who had received John’s baptism of repentance, to at last hear the gospel of Christ, and be placed into (or baptised into) the Body of Christ, How thrilled they would be to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit, by faith in Him. What joy they must have experienced when Paul laid his hands on them and they were immediately transferred (baptised) into the Body of Christ.

There must have been many who believed God’s Word by faith, whose lives spanned both sides of Calvary’s Cross, who were not present on that special day of Pentecost, or did not realise that it was JESUS about Whom John spoke, when he commanded them to “believe on Him which should come after him, that is, believe on Christ Jesus”.

What joy must have filled their hearts when finally, they became members of the Church (i.e. were ‘baptised’ into the Body of Christ) by the Spirit of God through faith, and were in-dwelt by the Holy Ghost – as the fledgling church transitioned from the closing days in the dispensation of the Law into the opening hours of the dispensation of the grace of God.

We are not living during that time of transition.. but like that little faithful band of Jews who had received John’s baptism of repentance – we are to believe on Christ for the forgiveness of sin and life everlasting – remembering that repenting of our sin and believing on Christ for the forgiveness of sin are two sides of the same coin – that are conjoined and cannot be separated.

Loving Father, how amazing it is to read how the fledgling Church grew and multiplied in those early days of Christianity. What a privilege it is to receive the indwelling Holy Spirit, through faith in Christ, and to know that I have received forgiveness of sin and life everlasting – by faith in HIM. Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your Word, and teach me all that You would have me to learn. Thank You for the gift of the indwelling Spirit, Who has promised to guide us into all truth. Give me a teachable spirit, remove all traces of pride, and may I walk humbly before You, all the days of my life, in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

The race that God created to rule over the earth fell in the Garden of Eden, and Israel, the nation God chose to witness to the world, of His goodness and grace, failed to fulfil her covenanted role. Instead of telling the Gentiles about the Lord, everyone did what was right in their own eyes. They followed after pagan gods. They disobeyed the Lord. They broke their covenant with Him and dishonoured His holy name.

Like so many prophetic writings, Zephaniah, chapter 1, speaks of God’s determination to pour out His judgement on Judah and Jerusalem, because of their idolatry. He warned of the terrors of the coming ‘Day of the Lord’, which He described as a sacrificial feast… where God would give the wicked people of Judah as a sacrificial victim, to their adversaries… and they would be devoured by their ungodly enemies, in the ‘Time of Jacob’s Trouble’.

Because sin must be punished, Judah had to be disciplined. Because they broke their covenant and had become violent, deceitful and idolatrous, Israel had to face the consequences of their sin, and Zephaniah prophesied that the Lord would use the pagan nations, dwelling round about, as His rod of discipline. They would become the hammer God would use to execute judgement upon His people.

While Judah is given a call to repent of her sin and return to the Lord at the beginning of chapter 2, it is the doom of the hostile, Gentile nations that dominate the middle section of the book, and Zephaniah identified the many nations the Lord would use as His rod of discipline, to chasten His errant people. In verse 8 we read God’s wrath would be poured out on the kingdoms of Moab and Ammon – during that great and terrible Day of the Lord.

The Moabites and the Ammonites, on the east side of Jordan,  would be the tool God would use to punish His people and woo them back to Himself. These descendants of Lot had spoken insolent words against the Lord. They had boasted of their magnificence and might and mocked the people of God. “I have heard the taunting of Moab, and the revilings of the sons of Ammon, with which they have taunted My people, and become arrogant against their territory”.

Nothing evil people do against the Lord or His people go unnoticed by God, and He sent a terrible warning to these ungodly pagans. “Therefore, as I live—is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel—Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. They will be a place overgrown with weeds, a salt pit, and a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them. The remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”

While some like to claim that this prophecy was fulfilled at the time of Israel’s captivity in Assyria and/or Babylon, it is yet future, for God has declared that the land will become totally uninhabitable and be rendered an utter wasteland and that the faithful remnant of Israel will plunder the land of its wealth and riches. Although the named nations may have disappeared, and a partial fulfilment may have ensued in times past… this will be fully and finally fulfilled during the coming ‘Day of the Lord’ – the 70th week of Daniel.

Not only is He a God of justice, Who will always punish sin, but the Lord is also protective towards His people and jealous for His holy name. While God uses the satanically inspired aggression and evil, perpetrated by the Gentile nations against His people, to forward His plans and purposes, we must never forget that He is also the Author of Good.

God in His grace takes and uses ALL things – both the good and the bad, the difficult situations and the easy times, the disappointments of life and the blessings we receive – the works of evil and the prayers of the saints… and He works them together for the good of His people.. so that His redemptive plans and purposes continue to be unfolded, until they will, one day, be fully and finally complete – when Christ is ALL in ALL.

While Zephaniah’s prophetic writings are directed to Israel and the Jews, there is much for the Christian Church to learn from these ancient oracles. God will always judge sin, whether the evil is perpetrated by unbelieving sinners, who defy the name of the Lord, OR those who have been called and chosen to be His people, but are walking out of fellowship with their Saviour. While God shows Himself to be long-suffering and of great mercy towards sinner and saint alike, He is the righteous judge of the earth.. and He cannot allow sin to go unpunished.

Although He is a God of great goodness and grace, He send rain on the fields of the unrighteous who blaspheme His name as well as the righteous, who worship Him in spirit and truth. He causes the sun to shine down on both the godly and the ungodly, but He is also a God of justice who will punish those who disobey Him through unbelief (i.e. the unsaved – Jew and Gentile alike) and He will also chasten His people, who stray from the path of righteousness (i.e. the saved – Jew and Gentile alike).

Let us never forget that when we are the butt of the tauntings and revilings of those who hate us, God is in control and He is the One Who will vindicate us and punish our enemies, for we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. God has declared, vengeance is mine – I will repay, and Jesus Himself taught ‘they hated Me without a cause and they will hate you also“.

Although God will never allow sin to go unpunished, in the lives of sinner and saint alike, let us rejoice that a day is coming when God will right all wrongs. He will avenge His people who have been abused and persecuted by evil-doers and He will punish the wicked for their sin.

May we take to heart these warnings from Zephaniah and act with justice, treasure the Lord’s gracious love, and walk humbly in the company of our God and Saviour, for His greater praise and eternal glory.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You are the Author of good, the Architect of justice, the Producer of peace and the Designer of salvation. Thank You that You work all things together for our eternal good and even use the problems, pain, injustices, and evil in this world to carry forward Your perfect plans and purposes, for the benefit of those that love and trust you… and also for the condemnation of those who refuse to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. May I always be mindful of the truth that You have already defeated that which is evil at the Cross, and that a day is coming when sin, Satan, death, and hell will be fully and finally eradicated from the earth and Christ will be all in all. Keep me looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith for His name’s sake, AMEN.

Jesus gave a detailed discourse about the Bread of Life to the same multitude who had just partaken of the five barley loaves and two small fishes. Throughout His ministry, Jesus was teaching the people that He had been sent from God to carry out the will of the Father. He taught that He alone is able to satisfy the hungry soul and provide for our bodily needs. He was proclaiming to be the promised Messiah, Who had come in fulfilment of Scripture.

Jesus wanted to show… that just as He was able to heal all their sicknesses and provide for their physical needs, He is also the One Who could heal the broken soul, release them from the slave-market of sin, bind up their emotional distresses, bring inner peace and joy to their heart. Jesus alone is the One that can supply the spiritual food, every one of us so desperately needs.

Jesus often used the natural to illustrate a spiritual truth, and the feeding of their bodies with food, was used as a demonstration of what He could do for them in the spiritual realm. Jesus referred to Himself as ‘the Bread of Life’ to emphasise the lesson He wanted them to learn. ‘I am the bread of life”, He told them.  “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever thirst again.

Jesus told this crowd the truth, when He called Himself ‘the Bread of Life’.. for in Him was Life. In Him was Life everlasting. He was the Giver of Life, and He is the Sustainer of Life. When He referred to Himself as ‘the Bread of Life’, He was meaning spiritual Life – eternal Life. He came to bring hope for the lost, joy for the sorrowing, strength for the weak and encouragement for the downhearted. And He came to supply spiritual food for the hungry soul. Jesus came down to earth from heaven, to breathe new life into those who were dead in their sin and estranged from God.

The Lord Jesus did not simply come to sustain their physical life but to give eternal life, and this was the vital message He sought to teach this great multitude. But they were more interested in the next miracle He would perform so that they could fill their bellies for a few, short hours. They were more interested in the material things of this life, than the spiritual food He offered, that would feed their soul through time and into eternity.

But the Lord could read their hearts. He knew that this carnally minded crowd did not believe His claims to be sent from God. They refused to believe in Jesus unless He produced a miracle.. equivalent to that of Moses – who ‘fed’ the children of Israel with manna for 40 years! The people of Israel didn’t want just one meal of bread and fish, but a lifetime supply!

They had missed the point of the loaves and fishes and their eyes were blinded to the truth. Although they were prompted to follow Jesus, it was only to gratify their earthly appetites and not to satiate for their spiritual poverty. “But as I told you before, you’ve seen Me and yet you do not believe.” Jesus continued. “Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out”.

For those of us who read this passage today, we gain great joy and satisfaction in knowing that we, who come to Christ and believed on Him, will never be cast out. We know we have an everlasting supply of spiritual food. But the crowds in Jerusalem Who heard the Son of God proclaim this staggering truth, refused to see God the Son, standing in their midsts. They would not trust the words that came from the incarnate Word of God, Who told them, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me”

Jesus was attempting to teach this unbelieving crowd that His life did not begin in Bethlehem as the son of Mary. He was the incarnate Word. He was the eternal, Word of God, made flesh. He was in the beginning with God and He Himself was God. He existed before Abraham and was greater than Moses. He was the Lord Whom king David worshipped, for He was the root and stem of Jesse. Jesus has existed from all eternity with His heavenly Father – yet they refused to recognise Him and believe His word.

Jesus came to do the will of His Father by bringing redemption to the lost race of man. So close is the relationship between Father and Son that the perfect will of the Father reflects the perfect will of the Son. And the perfect will of the Son is always in total agreement with that of His heavenly Father.

So united in Spirit and Truth are the Son and the Father, that Jesus was the radiance of His heavenly glory on earth. Jesus was the exact image of His Father’s essence – in holiness and purity, in goodness and grace, in compassion and mercy, and in every godly attribute forever and ever.  And yet, His word was rejected by this unbelieving crowd, who were more interested in their next meal than their eternal life in the kingdom to come.

May we learn what lessons the Lord has to teach us through His Word and by His Spirit. May we never become so spiritually short-sighted that we refuse to believe the truth. May we rejoice in the joy of our salvation and may we become so rooted and grounded in Him that we may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know the love that surpasses knowledge – so we may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Heavenly Father, thank You that the Lord Jesus set aside his position in heaven to come down to earth as a Man.. to dress Himself in human flesh and live a perfect life so that we might be redeemed by faith in His shed blood. Thank You that Jesus is the Living Bread of Life and that in Him is eternal life for ALL who believe on His name.  Keep me from developing carnal desires and fleshly appetites, and I pray that I may feed in Him in my heart, by faith with thanksgiving and praise, all the days of my life, for His greater praise and glory – this I ask in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Chapter 38 begins Ezekiel’s sixth and final oracle concerning Israel. It gives some vital information on God’s future, prophetic plan for His people, and the chapter begins.. “The word of the Lord came to me..”. Ezekiel started to receive these eschatological insights in this oracle, only hours before the exiles in Babylon heard the devastating news… that Jerusalem had fallen.

Ezekiel had been carried away to Babylon years earlier, when Nebuchadnezzar defeated Jehoiachin, king of Judah. The Babylonians defeated their king and took many high-born Israelites into captivity. While Jeremiah’s warning was given in and around Jerusalem, Ezekiel was God’s voice to those exiled to Babylon. The people had been willingly impudent and hard-hearted. They had broken their covenant, turned to idols and provoked the Lord to anger. They had become a rebellious and idolatrous people and their exile was God’s punishment for their rebellion against Him.

Ezekiel had already prophesied of Israel’s punishment, God’s judgement on the Gentile nations, and Jerusalem’s defilement, as well as providing great hope for the future… including Israel’s restoration, the reunification of the northern and southern kingdoms, together with the nation’s spiritual reawakening and glorious revival.

From chapter 38 onwards, Ezekiel speaks of the punishment and destruction of Israel’s enemies, in the far distant future, while providing some of the most beautiful pictures of the coming, Millennial kingdom, and he describes, in detail, plans for the rebuilding of God’s holy Temple.

While chapter 37 paints a lovely picture of the return of Israel to the promised land in unbelief – i.e. the valley of dry, lifeless bones, waiting for the in-breathing of the Holy Spirit to resurrect their dead corpses.. the next two chapters, 38-39, give details of the destruction of Israel’s enemies and their Gentile oppressors – “And the word of the LORD came to me saying, son of man… turn your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him“.

Although unbelieving Israel is already back in the land as Ezekiel proclaimed, (chapter 37), they will not be brought back to ‘life’ until the cry out, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord“, at the end of the Great Tribulation, when they acknowledge Jesus as Lord. (Luke 13:35). With unbelieving Israel back in the land, the curious happenings of chapter 38 prove to be imminent – and Ezekiel pronounces God’s judgement on a specific leader who attacks Israel – GOG, from a particular location – the land of MAGOG.

There is much speculation about the identities of Gog and Magog, the locations of Meshech and Tubal, and the timing of this particular invasion on the mountains of Israel. There are a number of alternatives views about the identities of this unnamed, future enemy of Israel and its timing in God’s prophetic plan. While Scripture indicates that the judgement of Gog and Magog is very close, it will not be until after the event that they can be fully identified.

What is less frequently discussed, is the striking parallel between Israel’s Exodus from Egyptian slavery; their wanderings in the wilderness; their entrance into the promised land; the fierce battles they fought to secure their inheritance, and the crowing of the great King David – who was not permitted to build the first TEMPLE… with the prophetic happenings that are soon to take place. After their Babylonian enslavement, the nation of Israel has been dispersed, throughout the world, for more than 2500 years. During ‘The Times of the Gentiles’, which began with Nebuchadnezzar, the people of Israel have been wandering across the wilderness of the world. Indeed, they are often referred to as ‘the wandering Jew’.

‘The dead bones’ of unbelieving Israel, started to be regathered in 1948, reminding us of Israel, crossing the Jordan River…  into the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, to secure their promised inheritance, Joshua and God’s people faced many difficulties and dangerous enemies, but God fought for His people. He toppled the great walls of Jericho and performed mighty signs and wonders… and such will be the case as Israel faces that enemies during ‘The Time of Jacob’s Trouble”.

Just as God performed mighty signs and wonders in the past, He will do so again. God will stand with Israel, during the Great Tribulation as they face Gog, of the land of Magog, and their many other adversaries including Persia, Cush, and Put, who will fight with them, “all of them with shields and helmets – Gomer with all its troops; and Beth-togarmah from the remotest parts of the north along with all their troops—and many other people groups.

But unlike Israel’s first experience in the promised land – with Joshua, when God was rejected and “everyone did what is right in his own eyes.” this time His people will look to the Lord Jesus – Yeshua, in faith. This time they will not rely on their own ingenuity and strength. This time the people of Israel will KNOW that God is the Lord AND THEN, the end will come, when King Jesus returns in power and great glory to sit on David’s throne. And this time the King of kings WILL build His great, Millennial Temple.

This time, Israel will be the head of the nations and not the tail, and this time – the earth will be filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea. But first, the nation of Israel must face Gog of the land of Magog during the Great Tribulation and we must occupy until Jesus comes. We must work while it is still day and expect the any-day return of Christ in the clouds – when the trumpet will sound, the dead in Christ will be raised and we that are alive and remain will be caught up together with them, into the clouds, and so we shall ever be with the Lord. Hallelujah, praise His holy name.

Heavenly Father, great is Your faithfulness towards Your people Israel and great is Your faithfulness to Your Church – and to me too! I praise and thank You for Your great, plan of Salvation and the amazing way You used holy men of God to tell us the end before the beginning. Thank You that despite the rebellions ways of Your people, Your word never fails and Your promises stand fast forever. Thank You that Christ won the victory over sin, Satan and all our adversaries – at the cross. Thank You that Jesus is returning as Israel’s King of kings and that He is our Great High Priest and holy, heavenly Bridegroom. Thank You that He loves the Church and gave Himself for us. May I die to self and live for Him as long as my life shall last – this I ask in Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Because of unbelief, Israel failed to enter their promised rest and receive their inheritance, when they first crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised Land. They failed, once again, when they did not recognise the ‘Day of their Visitation’, and crucified the Lord of glory. And for 2000 years – during the dispensation of grace, Israel has been set aside as God’s witness on earth. However, the main purpose of the Tribulation period is to bring Israel back to God and for them to finish the work He prepared for them to do – and that time is fast approaching.

It is during the 70th week of Daniel – often called the Great Tribulation or the Time of Jacob’s Trouble, that Israel turns back to God from their sin, and fulfils the purpose for which they were called. Three sets of judgments, (7-seals, 7-trumpets, and 7-bowls) are poured out onto the earth, in quick succession, to bring God people back to Himself, while punishing an unbelieving, ungodly world, with unimaginable judgements.

Chapter 6 begins a chronological process, to achieve His purposes, as the seal judgements begin to be unleashed. The progressive breaking of the seals, on the seven-sealed scroll, cause the four horsemen of the Apocalypse to ride into view. Each horse is a distinct colour. Each carries a formidable rider. Each appears in response to the command “COME”, or ‘Come and See”. The command to ‘COME’ is given by a living creature, the moment a seal is broken. And each, satanically inspired, ungodly rider fulfils a specific role in God’s plan of redemption.

Following behind the first horseman who rode a white horse, and deceives the world by bringing in a false peace, is a rider on a fiery red horse. He appears the moment the second seal is broken and the loud command to ‘COME’ is given, by another living creature. We read that John saw, “another horse.” He witnessed a red horse galloping onto the world scene… and to the one who sat on it, was granted permission to take peace from the earth, so that men would slay one another… and a great sword was given to him.”

The rider on the second horse is a powerful warrior. He is an influential, political leader and military man who commands a mighty ‘war-machine’, and excites global unrest and civil rebellion. He bursts into the pseudo-peaceful world-scene, carrying a great sword in his hand, with power to engulf the nations of the world, in a terrible and bloody war.

The restraining prayers of the Church are removed before any seal is broken, and the One Who created all things and holds all things together by His almighty power, lifts His hand of protection from the world, allowing global conflict to engulf the nations. The worldwide influence of this rider is too great to be halted by any national army, and peace is quickly taken from the world, causing men to indiscriminately kill one another, and inflict on the earth the most devastating slaughter in the history of mankind.

The progression from the fabricated, global peace, brought in by the first rider, to worldwide war and the unprecedented slaughter and destruction of vast numbers of humanity, by the second horseman, follows closely the progression of events in Christ’s Olivet discourse, only hours before His crucifixion.. for following on the heels of the red horse, and its fearsome rider, comes famine, death, martyrdom, and deception… accompanied by lying signs and satanic wonders.

The book of Revelation is not designed to engender fear in our hearts, but HOPE. It is the event that will bring Israel to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a time when a multitude, without number, will come to faith in Christ. It is the forerunner to Christ’s Millennial rule of peace and prosperity for all. It is a constant reminder that Christ is in control and that He defeated every foe that we face today… and each fearsome rider that will darken the world stage in the future. It is a reminder that Christ conquered Satan, sin, death, and hell at the cross – and He defeted it once and forever.

Jesus defeated the deceptive rider on the white horse and the bloody rider on the red horse at the cross. He has overcome all the evil that Satan has purposed to pour out on the earth, by the shedding of His precious blood at Calvary. And no matter what evil force is inflicted, during this terrible time, the Lamb that opens the seals is still on the throne, and His shed blood was sufficient to render each one powerless in the lives of those who believe.

The Church will not have to face the wrath that comes when the seven seals start to be broken, and the four horsemen of the apocalypse ride onto the world stage. But while it is still today, there are souls in need of salvation… family members who are not yet saved; neighbours who are not redeemed by the blood of the Lamb; colleagues who have yet to believe on Christ, and fallen men who have not yet seen the truth. There are untold millions following false christs, doctrines of demons; apostate teachers, and foolish atheists in need of a Saviour – and it is not God’s will that any should perish but that all come to repentance.

May we do what we can to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to a multitude of men and women, who will have to face the shocking consequences of their sin, in the coming Tribulation period, if they do not hear and believe the gospel of grace. May we be ready and willing to be used by God to tell out the glories of the gospel and the privileges that are open to ALL who believe that Christ died to pay the price for their sin, that He rose again according to the Scriptures and gives life eternal to ALL who believe.

Heavenly Father, as I consider the shocking consequences of the unsaved, who will have to face the deception of the first horseman; the destruction of the rider on the red horse and the many terrible events that will take place in this coming day of judgement, I pray that many would be brought to faith in Christ, before it is too late. Use me I pray to spread the truth of the glorious Gospel of Christ with those with whom I come in contact, and unleash in the hearts of all Your children an urgency to spread the good news to lost souls, and tell the truth to unsaved men and women. This I ask in Jesus’ name and for His greater glory, AMEN.