Perseverance of the Saints
By
Daron Alleman
“The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?” --Jeremiah 17:9
One tragic consequence of man’s fall into sin has been his propensity to forget God. The danger to forget our Maker becomes even more acute after God has blessed us with His grace. Many times the language of our hearts is “My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth (Deut. 8:17).” But God graciously brings the sinner back to reality saying, “But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth (Deut. 8:18).” Perhaps mans tendency to forget Gods grace is found in the fact that we only see true grace in God and His Word. Discussing modern day man in his book The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination Loraine Boettner states, “In fact, a system of salvation by grace is so utterly at variance with his every-day experience, in which he sees every thing and person treated according to works and merits, that he has great difficulty in bringing himself to believe that it can be true. He wishes to earn his salvation, though certainly he expects very high wages for very sorry work.” Having swallowed the lie that our salvation in some way depends upon us it becomes a short step to the lie that the power to live, and maintain the Christian life, depends upon us. Having been derailed the crash becomes inevitable. The beginning symptoms of our apostasy are our joy-less and prayer-less lives, our lack of love for God and one another, and our avoidance of God and his Holy Word. This only makes sense as we have been alienated from the only source of holy living power, that being Gods Holy Spirit, and we have become self reliant. But again God graciously brings the sinner back to reality saying in Galatians 3:3, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Historically the Arminian and Calvinist have answered that question two different ways;
Arminianism
5. Falling from Grace
Those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, etc. All Arminians have not been agreed on this point; some have held that believers are eternally secure in Christ – that once a sinner is regenerated, he can never be lost.
Calvinism
5. Perseverance of the Saints
All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit, are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God, and thus persevere to the end.
As we have seen in previous articles of this T.U.L.I.P series it is God alone who initiates our salvation. Therefore, it only makes sense that He alone is the one who enables us to finish what He has started. Like a master builder God always finishes what He starts! What sayeth the Scriptures?
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:23 – 24
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” – John 10:27 – 30
So brothers and sisters in Christ, I will see you in heaven, where we will eternally praise our gracious Lord Jesus Christ for all He alone has accomplished in our lives! To Him alone be the glory. Amen!
Irresistible Grace
By
Daron Alleman
How can a sinful man be right with a Holy God? That is the most important question we will ever ask. God’s justice demands perfection from His creation. Therefore all men are in a very precarious situation since in Adam all men have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God. The only answer to man’s dilemma is the Cross of Christ. That is the Glory of the Cross, for in the Cross alone God’s justice and grace are perfectly manifested. Grace is God’s unmerited favor which he freely gives to sinful man just as he wills. Sinful man does not deserve grace, and he cannot earn it. Grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense, and that grace is not cheap as it cost the Son of God his precious blood.
Everyone experiences God’s Grace in a general sense. God causes his sun to shine on both the righteous and the wicked. The good news of the Gospel is daily being preached throughout the world. This is a general call and everyone without exception is invited to repent, to confess their sin, and to come to the Cross of Christ which is man’s only hope for salvation. Unfortunately this general and outward call is resisted and falls upon deaf ears. As it is written; no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Co 2:9).
And so it is that God must extend a special inward call if any of Adam’s fallen race is to inherit salvation. The reformers spoke of this special call as irresistible grace or the effectual call. The Greek word ekklesia, usually translated “church” comes from ek (“out of”) and kalein (“to call or summon”). Thus it came to refer in the NT to those who are called out from the unsaved to form a group of believers. Romans 8:29 says, “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren”. Some interpret the word foreknew as God looking down the corridors of time and seeing who will choose Him, so God then chooses them and calls them to salvation. There are several theological and textual reasons why this is not true. Suffice it for me to say here that one of those reasons is that it makes God a victim of sinful man’s choice. It makes man sovereign. In Isaiah 46:9-10 we read, “For I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’.” God’s good purpose in the effectual call is to bring the individual who receives that call to salvation and glorification. God is no victim and He is never frustrated by anything, much less by man or his so called free will. The salvation of the elect is so certain that the Apostle Paul, when describing the order of salvation, uses verbs in the past tense. Romans 8:30 says, “and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified”. From God’s perspective the called are already justified and glorified. When God extends an effectual call the individual who receives that call will always be saved and glorified. Jesus spoke of this effectual call when he said, “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (Jn 6:37). He then goes on to say, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day” (Jn. 6:44). The Greek word for draw in this verse is the word elko. Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament defines it to mean to compel by irresistible superiority. The word is translated drag in James 2:6 when he says, “Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts”? The same word is used in Acts 16:19 which says, “But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities”. It would seem that the “draw” that Jesus speaks of is more than a gentle nudge. James does not say, “Do not the rich oppress you and woo you into the courts”?
Arminianism
4. The Holy Spirit Can Be Resisted
The Spirit calls inwardly all those who are called outwardly by the gospel invitation; He does all that He can to bring every sinner to salvation. But inasmuch as man is free, he can successfully resist the Spirit’s call. The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes; faith (which is man’s contribution) precedes and makes possible the new birth. Thus, man’s free will limits the Spirit in the application of Christ’s saving work. The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ those who allow Him to have His way with them. Until the sinner responds, the Spirit cannot give life. God’s grace, therefore, is not invincible; it can be, and often is, resisted and thwarted by man.
Calvinism
4. The Efficacious or Irresistible Call
In addition to the outward general call to salvation, which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The external call (which is made to all without distinction) can be, and often is, rejected. However, the internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call, the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying salvation by man’s will, nor is He dependent upon man’s cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God’s grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended.
This brings me to a common objection to irresistible grace. Some say that it drags people into the Kingdom of God who have no desire to be there, and leaves out individuals who otherwise would desire to come. When the Scriptures speak of man’s condition apart from Christ it always is in terms like Genesis 6:5 which says, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”. Left to himself the unredeemed man loves darkness and is content to forever remain there for fear that the light will expose his evil deeds (Jn. 3:19-20). The Bible proclaims that sinful man alone is responsible for his sin and willful refusal to come to Christ. Augustine described the human race as “a mass of sin”. It is out of this mass that God calls his church to the praise of His glorious grace. The effectual call of God operates with in the human heart by the Holy Spirit so as not to violate it, but to free it so that it is truly free (Jn. 8:36) causing it to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Psalm 110:3 says, “Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power”.
Before the foundation of the world the Father predestined certain individuals to inherit salvation (Eph 1:4-6). The Son died on the Cross to purchase their salvation with his blood (Eph 1:7-12). The Holy Spirit then applies that salvation to every one of the elect (Eph 1:13-14). This effectual call is illustrated everywhere both in the OT and the NT. God speaks of this in Ezekiel 36:26-27 saying, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules”. In Acts 13:48 we read, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed”. In Acts 16:14 we read of Lydia’s conversion with these words, “The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul”. I cannot resist (no pun intended) to quote Titus 3:5 which says, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit”.
So Magic Valley Bible Church Rejoice! God is faithful and “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:6).
Limited Atonement
By
Daron Alleman
If God is so loving why does He not save everybody? We know from Scripture that God does not save everybody. Certainly few would argue that Judas Iscariot was saved. In my previous article on Unconditional Election we discussed how God “calls out” the church, and “picks out” those whom He chooses to save. In the article prior to that on Total Depravity we got a glimpse of what God is choosing from. Romans 3:10 – 18 gives a fuller description of man’s condition.
10as it is written,
"THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE."
13"THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,"
"THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS";
14"WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS";
15"THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD,
16DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
17AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN."
18"THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."
In the light of such texts as these the real question is not, “why doesn’t God save everybody?” The real question is, “why does God save anybody?” The answer is that God picks out certain individuals for salvation for His own Glory and purposes (Eph 1:5 – 6). Here is a better question from Genesis 18:25, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
So as Forest Gump would say, “that is all I got to say about that”, for that is all God has said about that. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29).”
Next question, so who believes in a limited atonement? The answer is everybody. It must be pointed out that Arminians and Calvinists believe in a limited atonement. In their book The Five Points of Calvinism Steele, Thomas, and Quinn point this out saying;
The Arminians also place a limitation on the atoning work of Christ, but one of a much different nature. They hold that Christ’s saving work was designed to make possible the salvation of all men on the condition that they believe, but that Christ’s death in itself did not actually secure or guarantee salvation for anyone. Since not all men will be saved as the result of Christ’s redeeming work, a limitation must be admitted. Either the atonement was limited in that it was designed to secure salvation for certain sinners, but not for others, or it was limited in that it was not intended to secure salvation for any, but was designed only to make it possible for God to pardon sinners on the condition that they believe. In other words, one must limit its design either in extent (it was not intended for all) or in effectiveness (it did not secure salvation for any). As Loraine Boettner so aptly observes, for the Calvinist, the atonement “is like a narrow bridge which goes all the way across the stream; for the Arminian it is like a great wide bridge that goes only half-way across”. Here is a comparison of each view.
Arminianism
3. Universal Redemption or General Atonement
Christ’s redeeming work made it possible for everyone to be saved, but did not actually secure the salvation of anyone. Although Christ died for all men and for every man, only those who believe in Him are saved. His death enabled God to pardon sinners on the condition that they believe, but it did not actually put away anyone’s sins. Christ’s redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it.
Calvinism
3. Particular Redemption or Limited Atonement
Christ’s redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was a substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christ’s redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation, including faith, which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, thereby guaranteeing their salvation.
According to John 6:59 Jesus said these things as He taught in the synagogue in Capernaum saying words like this;
“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out (John 6:37).”
“This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day (John 6:39).”
I will leave you to exegete those words and discern God’s meaning. Will any for whom Christ died perish? I think not.
This concludes my Blog about our Israel Trip. I hoped you enjoyed the journey! As we depart Jerusalem I want to conclude with the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 122. Enjoy.
Psalm 122
Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
1I was glad when they said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the LORD."
2Our feet are standing
Within your gates, O Jerusalem,
3Jerusalem, that is built
As a city that is compact together;
4To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD--
An ordinance for Israel--
To give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5For there thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May they prosper who love you.
7"May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces."
8For the sake of my brothers and my friends,
I will now say, "May peace be within you."
9For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.
And all God’s People said………Amen!
Today was our last full day in Israel. Tomorrow we again cross the Jordanian border and head for home. Our day began with a walk on the Temple Mount. Then we went to the Burnt House Museum which documents the Second Temples destruction in 70 A.D. We then took a drive to a lookout from which we could view the city of Bethlehem. There we read the Christmas Story from Luke 2:1 – 20 and sang Hark the Herald Angels Sing. There were rolling hills between Bethlehem and our vantage point called the Shepherds Field. So this song seemed most appropriate. Here is a picture of our location. Take a look at the prominent hill in the background. That is a natural hill in the Bethlehem country side, right?
Wrong! That is actually a man made Tel constructed by King Herod called the Herodium. It was constructed as one of Herod’s fortresses, and we were told today that it is the sight where they buried Herod. Another song we sang contained the line, “kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there is something about the name Jesus.” Indeed there is! His is an eternal kingdom that can never pass away.
Today was bright and sunny! We departed for the Old City of David. Then we walked down the Kidron Valley to the Pool of Silom. From there it was off to Caiaphas house where Peter heard the rooster crow three times, just as Jesus said it would. After lunch we spent some time in the Garden of Gethsemane where we prayed, and recalled the agony of Jesus as he sweat drops of blood in this place. From there we went to the Garden Tomb and viewed Golgotha. We made our way to what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus. Mark 16:5 – 6 tell us what the women saw when they entered the tomb. There we read, “Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, ‘Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him’.” As I entered the tomb there was a main area to the left. I glanced to the right, which is where the dead body of Jesus would have been laid. I didn’t see an Angel, but what I did see was a billion times better. I saw an empty tomb. As I turned to follow my Father-in-Law out of the tomb my wife suggested I take this picture. Happy Easter everybody! God Bless =D
We woke up this morning in Jerusalem to a downpour. We made our way through the wind and the rain to the Lion Gate of the Old City of Jerusalem. Our first stop was the Pool of Bethesda, and then it was on to Saint Ann Church. There we sang some hymns. The acoustics in this church were beyond words. Next it was on to the Antonio Fortress, and then up the Via De La Rosa which is the street where Jesus carried the cross. After lunch we took a walk through the Rabbi’s Tunnel. This is an underground tunnel running along the western wall. As you can see it is best to be small and skinny for this adventure. God Bless =)
Today we visited Engedi which sits on the western side of the northern end of the Dead Sea. This was one of David’s strongholds. In 1 Samuel 24:1 we read, “Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, saying, ‘Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi’. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.” Visiting this place it is easy to see why David would have chosen this location to hide from Saul. The mountains and cliff faces are enormous. There are many caves and clefts in the rock. Engedi also has lots of water. We took time today to stop by the water and read 1 Samuel 24. Have a look and you will see what I mean.
Just two weeks ago I was teaching this chapter to our 4th – 6th grade Sunday School class. Saul picked one of these caves in Engedi to, shall we say, see a man about a horse. David and his men are hiding in the cave. The men tell David this is his opportunity to kill Saul and make the kingdom of Israel his. David cuts off a piece of Saul’s robe and orders his men not to harm Saul. Although the circumstances seem to indicate God was giving Saul into David’s hands, David sees it differently, and refuses to raise his hand against the Lords anointed. David calls after Saul after he leaves the cave saying, “May the Lord judge between you and me, and may the Lord avenge me against you; but my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancient says, ‘Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness’; but my hand shall not be against you.” And Saul’s end did come on Mount Gilboa. We passed this Mount yesterday on our way to the Dead Sea. It is about a half hour drive past Beth-shan. Here is a picture of Beth-shan and a description of how Sauls life ended. David’s faith in God to provide him the kingdom in His own time, and in His own way, is remarkable. Enjoy and God Bless =)
It came about on the next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his weapons in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men rose and walked all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. –1 Samuel 31:8-13
Ever see what happens to a person when they try to swim in the Dead Sea? You float like a bobber!!
A highlight for today was visiting the traditional site for the Mount of Beatitudes. This is where it is thought Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount. This is the first sermon Jesus preached, and it is the greatest sermon ever. As we gazed upon this setting –
It was easy to hear Jesus saying;
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Tomorrow we drive south to the Dead Sea for a one night stay before we enter Jerusalem. We all plan to take a dip and see how well we float. God Bless =)
Our adventure today took us an hour north of the Sea of Galilee to an area known as the Golan Heights. Our hotel in Tiberias sits right on the shore of the Sea of Galilee which is 685 feet below sea level. We made the hour long drive to Tel Dan which sits approximately at 3500 feet above sea level. It is a pretty steep climb in a short amount of time, thus the name Golan Heights. When we arrived at Dan we made our entrance through the ancient Israelite Gate. We made our way through the site of this ancient city to an area know as the High Place. There we saw an alter for sacrifice and the Bema Seat sitting just above it. God’s Word tells us this city was infamous for its idolatry. When King Solomon died the kingdom of Israel split into two nations. The two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin fell under the leadership of Rehoboam. King Jeroboam took control of the remaining ten northern tribes. To solidify his kingdom he prevented his people from offering sacrifices in Jerusalem, and created worship places of his own. In 1 Kings 12:28 – 30 we read, “So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.’ He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.” Dan sits at the very northern tip of Israel, and as I have already pointed out, it is a fairly steep climb to get there. It would have been easier to make the down hill trip to Jerusalem, but idolatrous Jeroboam was having none of that. He demanded worship be done his way to sustain his temporary personal kingdom. That is never a good idea. Better to worship God His way, in the way He prescribes, for the glory of His eternal kingdom!
After viewing the High Place we continued down the path to view an ancient gate known as the Canaanite Gate. See the photo that is above. This gate was found under the remains of Jeroboam’s Dan. It dates from the time of Abraham, and the doorway is an arch that is one of the oldest known arches discovered in the world. The gate is about 5000 years old! From Dan we headed west to the very northern tip of the Golan Heights and peered across the border into Syria. You can clearly see the border line. Just across the border line is a bombed out city that is now abandoned. Further into Syria you can see the new city the Syrians are now forced to inhabit. We then headed south back to the Sea of Galilee for a boat ride. The wind kicked up while we were eating lunch on the shore, and the water became very choppy with white caps in very little time. It brought back memories of Jesus and the disciples crossing this lake in a boat when we read in Mark 4:37, “And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.” Jesus is not too concerned as he remains fast asleep in the boat. But the disciples were freaking out, and said, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing.” We see the power of Jesus response in verse 39, “And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Hush, be still.’ And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.” By the time we were pulling back into the harbor the wind had died down for us also, and the water had become much calmer. We made our way to a traditional baptismal site on the Jordan River in perfect weather. There several members of our party were baptized. Some of them were baptized for the very first time. Others just wanted to reconfirm their love for the Lord and experience baptism in the Jordan River. Thanks be to God for another glorious day in the Promise Land. God Bless =)
Today we finally set foot on Israeli soil. What a beautiful country! We crossed the Allenby Bridge located just north of the Dead Sea around 10 am this morning. By 11:00 am we were through the security check point and driving north on the west side of the Jordan River toward Mount Gilboa. After passing Mount Gilboa we turned west and came to Megiddo. After lunch our guide wisked us away and took us to Caesarea. There we walked around a theater located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea and visited the Roman Aqueducts. From there we drove north and came to Mount Carmel. Upon this Mount we read the history in 1 Kings 18:20 – 46 of Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal, and how God rained down fire upon Elijah’s very wet sacrifice. The view from this mountain is breath taking, and you can see all of the Valley of Armaggedon. Have a look!
“And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs; for they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his cloths, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.”) And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called Har-Megedon.”
There is an Israeli Air Force Base located in this valley. You can see two prominent air strips shaped like a V. The two airstrips each point toward a prominent Mount which I am sure are loaded with biblical history, but I still have to do my homework on what that might be, as I was busy snapping photos and not paying enough attention to my guide. As you can see this is indeed a very fertile and beautiful valley. It is here that the war to end all wars will be fought. Tonight we sleep in Tiberias, and I am looking forward to waking up and viewing the Sea of Galilee from the balcony of our hotel room. We will head further north tomorrow toward the Golan Heights. God Bless =)
The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God concerning Edom -- We have heard a report from the Lord, And an envoy has been sent among the nations saying, "Arise and let us go against her for battle" -- Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You are greatly despised. The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, You who live in the clefts of the rock, In the loftiness of your dwelling place, Who say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to earth?" "Though you build high like the eagle, Though you set your nest among the stars, From there I will bring you down", declares the Lord. --Obadiah 1:1 - 4
Day two of our Israel Trip found us at Petra. We boarded our bus for the three hour drive south, and our guide Feras gave us some history of this area. The Old Testament gives historical detail of this area being controlled by the Moabites and the Edomites. The Edomites were the decendents of Esau, and God pronounced judgement against them in Obadiah 1:1 - 4. Petra is a great area to build structures in the cliffs, and today we saw lots of those! The tour begins with a mile walk through a narrow canyon that at times narrows to about ten feet. Towering cliff faces extend to the sky on either side of you. Eventually you come to a opening and are confronted with a massive structure carved into the rock called "The Treasury". It was called that because people once thought it contained great treasure. Feras our guide pointed out that they have since discovered that the structure was simply a tomb all along. The godess Isis sits atop the structure, with six massive pillars. The structure was completed in 50 B.C. but no one seems to know how with primitive tools anyone could do that! There are more structures in the cliffs than I first imagined. Petra seemed to me a wonderful place to hide for awhile. We wandered that wilderness until our feet gave out. Mary Ann, her Dad Lyle, and her Mom Barbara eventually found themselves atop two camels. I continued to wander on foot and shoot the photos. As I walked I was conscious of the fact that this area is no longer inhabited by any Edomites. Perhaps that is the result of God's judgement in the verse we read earlier. Tomorrow we cross the border to Israel. We plan to see Megiddo, Caesarea, Mount Carmel, and a traditional Baptismal Site on the Jordan River. In fact we have a few people who want to be baptized in the Jordan River, and that is how we plan to end the day. Although I did not meet any Edomites today, I fully intend to meet some Israelites tomorrow. This is due to the fact that our great God always keeps His Word. If our great God is anything, He is faithful. God Bless =)
We have safely arrived in Amman Jordan. I am sure many of us looked like deer looking into headlights as we tumbled off the Delta Airbus. We were immediately greeted by a guide who took us to our bus. On the half hour drive from the airport to our hotel our guide introduced himself. His name is Feras, which he told us we could remember by the words Fear Us. "That is how his name sounds in English", he said. I must admit I was a little afraid. Not because of our guide, but because of the reality that I was not in Kansas anymore. Our guide was very kind and filled us in on some of this nations history as we buzzed down the interstate. Amman Jordan is a nation of approximately 6 million people. 95% of them are Muslim. Specifically, they are the Sunni Muslim's. The remaining 5% are Christians of every kind of denomination. Jordan of course gets its name from the Jordan River which means "going down". Feras described the nation of Jordan as the intersection between the surrounding nations which have historically been in conflict. To the North is Syria, to the East is Iraq, to the South is Egypt, and to the West is Israel. The drive into Amman was beautiful. Periodically we would pass a grove of olive trees. There were people with tables set up on the interstate selling fruit and vegetables. The interstate was just like ours back home, but was a little rough. It was as if it had not been worked on for a few years. Amman is the capital city of Jordan, and as we approached the city I was struck by its size. It is a formidable city with a population of about 1.5 million. There is massive construction, and all the buildings are white and made of stone. Our hotel The Regency Palace is also very beautiful. All the comforts of home, and our dinner was excellent. After dinner we had a time of fellowship and prayer. Tomorrow we take the three hour drive to Petra. We asked our guide Feras if he would be our guide tomorrow. He simply responded with the word En - Shalla. Apparently that means Lord Willing in their Muslim language. I am very much looking forward to seeing what we will discover there while you all in the states are sleeping =) God Bless.