Equipping
God's Saints (Followers of Christ) through the Prophecies of the
End Times …
In
our prior lessons we learned about Abraham and his special calling.
We learned about the Promised Land and the Promised Seed and that
covenant is still in place today. We also found that God especially
chose Mount Moriah which is now the Temple Mount, to place His Name
there forever.
Now,
we will witness the destruction of the first Temple and learn of
Israel's first exile, the 70 years foretold by the Prophet, Jeremiah.
We will also witness the supernatural events that enabled the
building of the second Temple. Finally we will learn about the
destruction of the second Temple and the beginning of the second
exile.
Let's
go to Solomon's prayer. Solomon finished the beautiful temple on the
Temple Mount on Mount Moriah. He prays this dedictatorial prayer to
the Lord in 1 Kings chapter 8, stating:
“If
your people are scattered throughout the world because of their
disobedience and their rebellion, because of their idolatry, God, I
am asking you today, if in their captivity, if in their exile, they
repent and turn their face to this place, I'm asking you to hear
their prayer and to gather them again.”
After
Solomon finished this wonderful prayer, it's time to offer the
sacrifice. The sacrifice is placed on the altar and the scripture
tells us that fire supernaturally came down from heaven and consumed
the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord
filled the house so much that the priest could not even minister and
the children of Israel, when they saw the fire fall and they saw the
glory of the Lord, they put their foreheads to the pavement. They
bowed and they worshipped and they magnified God.
This
was something that the nation of Israel has never forgotten. Even to
this day as they are thinking of building their third Temple, they
believe when they dedicate it that the Glory of God will again come
and the fire of God will again fall as a sign of God's approval on
what they have done.
So
this caused the Temple Mount and the Temple to be the center of
Jewish life. The heart and the soul of the Jewish Nation and the
center of their worship unto the Lord.
God
warned Israel way back then about what would happen if they were
disobedient. He said to them in 1 Kings 9:6-7:
“But
if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and
will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before
you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
Then
will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and
this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my
sight; and Israel shall be proverb and a byword among all people.”
God
said this is what's going to happen to you if you fail to walk with
me, love me and to worship me.
Why
does God drive Israel into exile?
Remember,
there is the first Temple era, then the first Exile. The second
Temple. The second Exile. The second exile today is over and we're in
the third temple era.
It's
important for us to know how God thinks. They were driven into exile
because they forsook the Lord. 1 Kings 9:8-9 says:
“And
at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be
astonished, and shall hiss, and they shall say, Why hath the Lord
done thus unto this land, and to this house?
And
they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who
brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken
hold upon other gods and have worshipped them, and served them:
therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil.”
They've
gone; they've worshiped other gods. This shows how God dealt with
Israel through time. Now we will move from the First Temple Era.
We
know that Solomon completed the building of the first Temple in 968
BC and it stoood for the next 400 years. At the end of this time
period called the First Temple Era, Israel was in a horrible state of
backsliding and finally God said, “I can't take it anymore. I'm
going to drive this people out. I'm going to drive them into exile.
I'm going to take them to the bottom until they can get all of this
junk they've accumulated in their heart. Until they, somehow, can be
driven to a place of repentance.”
And
God sent this Prophet by the name of Jeremiah. His prophecy was that
the King of Babylon was going to come. God was going to send him. He
would invade the land at Israel and the children of Israel would be
carried away into captivity for 70 years.
Coming
up we are going to meet the great Prophet Daniel. We will see how the
prophecies he foretold came to pass and we will recount his adventure
in the lions den.
As
we know EVERY prophecy in the Bible will be fulfilled. You need to
understand this concept because we are living in the end times right
now. If you are not ready, you need to evaluate your standing with
Almight God. Time is running out!
Resources:
The anointing of the Holy Spirit and God Almighty, who I am
accountable to. I have prayed diligently and am led to follow and
support the teachings of Pastor Irvin Baxter from Endtime Ministries
and his teachings of Understanding the End Times. I encourage you to
visit his website at endtime.com.
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