Sunday, September 22, 2014 - Ephesians 1

Sunday, September 22, 2014
Exercise - Jogging

Ephesians 1

The Blessings of Redemption

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus ^[a]by the will of God,

To the ^[b]saints who are ^[c]at Ephesus andwho are faithful in Christ Jesus: ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before ^[d]Him. In love ^5 [e]Hepredestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself,according to the ^[f]kind intention of His will,⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷ In ^[g]Him we have redemptionthrough His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace ⁸ which He ^[h]lavished on ^[i]us. In all wisdom and insight ⁹ He ^[j]made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His^[k]kind intention which He purposed in Him¹⁰ with a view to an administration^[l]suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things ^[m]in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him ^11 [n]also we ^[o]have obtained an inheritance, having been predestinedaccording to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, ¹² to the end that we who were the first to hope in ^[p]Christ would be to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In ^[q]Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also ^[r]believed, you were sealed in ^[s]Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is ^[t]given as a pledge ofour inheritance, with a view to theredemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Saturday, September 20, 2014 - Revelation 19

PM Devotion
Exercise - Jogged 3 miles, Upperbody weights

Revelation 19

19 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; ² because Hisjudgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants ^[a]on her.” ³ And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” ⁴ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” ⁵ And a voice came from the throne, saying,

“Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.” ⁶ Then I heard something likethe voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying,

“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.

Marriage of the Lamb

⁷ Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His ^[b]bride has made herself ready.” ⁸ It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright andclean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the ^[c]saints.

⁹ Then he *said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he *said to me, “These are true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then I fell at his feet to worship him. But he *said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren whohold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

The Coming of Christ

¹¹ And I saw heaven opened, and behold, awhite horse, and He who sat on it is calledFaithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are manydiadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white andclean, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will ^[d]rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the ^[e]wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

¹⁷ Then I saw ^[f]an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly inmidheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of^[g]commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men,both free men and slaves, and small and great.”

¹⁹ And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

Doom of the Beast and False Prophet

²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs^[h]in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with^[i]brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, andall the birds were filled with their flesh.

Friday, September 19, 2014 - Rev 18 :9-24 (cont).

AM Devotion
Prayer

Excerise: Jogging
Lunch: Weights - upper body

Revelation 18:9-24Amplified Bible (AMP)

9 And the rulers and leaders of the earth who joined her in her immorality (idolatry) and luxuriated with her will weep and beat their breasts and lament over her when they see the smoke of her conflagration.

10 They will stand a long way off, in terror of her torment, and they will cry, Woe and alas, the great city, the mighty city, Babylon! In one single hour how your doom (judgment) has overtaken you!

11 And earth’s businessmen will weep and grieve over her because no one buys their freight (cargo) any more.

12 Their merchandise is of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet [stuffs]; all kinds of scented wood, all sorts of articles of ivory, all varieties of objects of costly woods, bronze, iron, and marble;

13 Of cinnamon, spices, incense, ointment and perfume, and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, fine flour and wheat; of cattle and sheep, horses and conveyances; and of slaves (the bodies) and souls of men!

14 The ripe fruits and delicacies for which your soul longed have gone from you, and all your luxuries and dainties, your elegance and splendor are lost to you, never again to be recovered or experienced!

15 The dealers who handled these articles, who grew wealthy through their business with her, will stand a long way off, in terror of her doom and torment, weeping and grieving aloud, and saying,

16 Alas, alas for the great city that was robed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, bedeckedand glittering with gold, with precious stones, and with pearls!

17 Because in one [single] hour all the vast wealth has been destroyed (wiped out). And all ship captains and pilots, navigators and all who live by seafaring, the crews and all who ply their trade on the sea, stood a long way off,

18 And exclaimed as they watched the smoke of her burning, What city could be compared to the great city!

19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and grieved, exclaiming, Woe andalas, for the great city, where all who had ships on the sea grew rich [through her extravagance] from her great wealth! In one single hour she has been destroyed and has become a desert!

20 Rejoice (celebrate) over her, O heaven! O saints (people of God) and apostles and prophets, because God has executed vengeance for you upon her!

21 Then a single powerful angel took up a boulder like a great millstone and flung it into the sea, crying, With such violence shall Babylon the great city be hurled down to destruction and shall never again be found.

22 And the sound of harpists and minstrels and flute players and trumpeters shall never again be heard in you, and no skilled artisan of any craft shall ever again be found in you, and the sound of the millstone shall never again be heard in you.

23 And never again shall the light of a lamp shine in you, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall never be heard in you again; for your businessmen were the great andprominent men of the earth, and by your magic spells and poisonous charm all nations were led astray (seduced and deluded).

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all those who have been slain (slaughtered) on earth.

Commentary:

18:9-10  The words alas, alas, may indicate that the destruction of Babylong is forcus of the third woe predicted in 8:13, which was suppose to come upon the "earth dwellers" If so, it would mean either [1] the "earth dwellers" and Babylon the great are the same entity , or [2] as a result of their stubborn lack of repentence before the Lord [9:20-21], the "earth dwellers" are eventually merged into the Babylonian world system.

18:11-14 The merchants of the earth grew wealty [v3] from their relationship with Babylon the great.  They weep and mourn at her demise because of their loss of business.  

The inventory is similar to the list in Ezekiel 27.  Souls of men is another word for slaves.  All these dainty and goodly things will disappear.

18:17-19  The next group to lament over Babylon is all whose business has to do with all the sea, who had become rich through her trade.  On alas, alas, see note at verses 9-10.

18:20  In stark contrast to the self-centered mourning of the sinful accomplices [v3] of Babylon the great [vv 9-19], the martyrs in heaven are urged to rejoice because God has judged Babylon because of their shed blood [6:9-11; 17:6]  Among the martyrs by this time were the apostle James [Acts 12:2] as well as Paul and Peter according to credible extrabiblical tradition.

18:21 On mighty angel, see note at 10:1  A great millstone could weight several tons.

The Destruction of Jerusalem

The Babylonian Captivity with Map

 

The Destruction of Jerusalem

Overview of Nebuchadnezzar's Campaign Against Jerusalem

Revival came during the reign of Hezekiah but it was immediately swept aside by his son Manasseh, who was Judah's most wicked and longest ruling king. The nation never fully recovered from the effects of this evil king. Manasseh's son Amon continued in his father's depravity, but he soon was murdered. His successor Josiah (about 640-609 B.C.) restored traditional covenant religion, which was based on the Book of the Law newly discovered in a Temple storeroom (2 Chr. 34:14). Many did not follow Josiah's example, however, and the prophet Zephaniah foretold disaster for the nation. By 610 B.C. the Assyrian Empire had collapsed under Babylonian attacks, and Babylon prepared to march against Egypt, which had been helping the Assyrians. Against Jeremiah's advice, Josiah intervened and was killed at Megiddo.

After Josiah there was no hope for Judah, the last 3 kings were all evil. The Babylonians swept down upon Jerusalem in 597 B.C. and captured it. A second attack led to Jerusalem's second defeat in 586 B.C. Captives from both campaigns were taken to Babylonia to mark the captivity of the Southern Kingdom.

The Final Invasion

Around 605 B.C. Nineveh and Assyria had fallen. It was just Egypt and Babylon who were seeking world supremacy. The young brilliant new king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, went out and defeated the Egyptians at Carchemish. He marched on to Judah, during Jehoiakim's reign, and took thousands of Hebrews back to Babylon (including Daniel, who became one of the greatest prophets). Nebuchadnezzar made two more attacks when he heard of rebellion in Judah. Each time he took captives (including Ezekiel the prophet). Only a remnant of the weakest, poorest, and least threatening Jews remained. King Nebuchadnezzar set up a puppet king (Zedekiah) of David's line to sit on the throne of Judah and made him swear an oath of allegiance (2 Chr 36:10-12).

Zedekiah was as faithless as the rest of the evil kings of Judah. He then rebelled and allied with other enemies. When Nebuchadnezzar heard he came back for the last time (586 B.C.) to reduce Jerusalem to rubble and send the Temple up in flames. Zedekiah was forced to witness the slaughter of his sons, then his eyes were put out, and he himself was carried off to Babylon. The Kingdom was over and the "times of the gentiles" had begun.

2 Kin 24:13-14 "And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land."

See Timeline of Events

Map of the Deportation of Judah

2 Kings 24:20 "For because of the anger of the LORD this happened in Jerusalem and Judah, that He finally cast them out from His presence"

In  the Book of II Kings we read of the deportation of the Jews from their land to the land of Babylon, and then the Book ends 37 years later with the account of Jehoiachin who was blinded and in captivity in Babylon. After 30 years of imprisonment, Evil-merodach ascended the throne of Babylon and at the beginning of his rule he chose to honor the Judean prisoner Jehoiachin. The Jewish king was given appropriate garments and an income and made a member of the court of Babylon, with other deposed kings. This was no doubt a comforting sign to the Jewish captives who were still in the "land of bondage."

In all actuality it was the Lord who had given favor to Jehoiachin, and it was the Lord that had allowed the promised Seed (Messiah) to pass through the loins of Jehoiachin as Matthew states:

Matt 1:11-16

11 Josiah begot Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.

13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.

14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.

15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.

16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

God was faithful to His promises that they would remain in the land of Babylon for seventy years, and the "Son of David" would still come to bring salvation to the world.

Even in bitter captivity there was hope for God’s people, the promises were being fulfilled and the Scriptures continued to be written:

Ps 137:1-6

1 By the rivers of Babylon, There we sat down, yea, we wept When we remembered Zion.

2 We hung our harps Upon the willows in the midst of it.

3 For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, Saying, "Sing us one of the songs of Zion!"

4 How shall we sing the LORD's song In a foreign land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, Let my right hand forget its skill!

6 If I do not remember you, Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth -- If I do not exalt Jerusalem Above my chief joy.

Introduction

Overview

The Destruction of Jerusalem

The Deportation of Judah

Seventy Years

Treatment of the Jews in Babylon

Benefits of the Babylonian Captivity

Archaeology and the Babylonian Captivity

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Timeline of Events

Scriptures

Conclusion

Places of the Exile

Babylon

Tel Abib

Susa

Ecbatana

Persepolis

Pasargadae