Before you go out into the world, wash your face in the clear crystal of praise. Bury each yesterday in the fine linen and spices of thankfulness. Charles Spurgeon

"You Will Suffer"

A Call to Anguish -- David Wilkerson

A Powerful Warning from David Wilkerson

Be Thou my Vision - 8th Century Irish Hymm performed by Robin Mark

Rak Chazak! The Ancient War Cry

Feast of Dedication -- Teaching my little grandchildren the roots of our Christian Faith

Hanukkah
Words and Music by Marty Goetz
Make my life Your temple
L-rd at this season start
To pull down every idol I have raised up in my heart
Chorus
On this Hanukkah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You
Take my defiled altar
Come and cleanse and come repair
So every time I falter I can run to meet you there
Chorus
On this Hanukkah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You
Bridge
And with every candle on the menorah
That illuminates the night
Comes a prayer You’d kindle
In me, Yeshua, a desire for Your fire, for Your light
Make of my mortal body
A house worthy of Your Name
Rid me of what’s ungodly and every hidden thing of shame
Chorus
On this Hanukkah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You
Bridge
And with every candle on the menorah
That illuminates the night
Comes a prayer You’d kindle
In me, Messiah, a desire for Your fire, for Your light
Take my supply of oil
Not enough to burn long I fear
But, oh, how I pray I may one day say, “A great miracle happened here!”
Chorus
On this Hanukkah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You
My Yeshua I dedicate myself to You.

The Other Paraclete

Paraclete -- from the Greek word "Parakletos" meaning a strong person called in to help in time of trouble.

F.B. Meyer, in his book Love to the Uttermost, writes of the other Paraclete.  "There is no adequate translation for that word Paraclete.  It may be rendered Comforter, Helper, Advocate, Interpreter; but no one word suffices.  The Greek simply means one whom you call to your side, in a battle, or a law-court, to assist you by word or act.  Such a one is Christ; such a One is the Holy Spirit.  He is a definite Person whom you would call to, lean on and work with.  If a man were drowning, he would not call to the wandering breath of the wind; but to any person who might be on the bank.  The Spirit is One whom you can summon to your side..."

A Sevenfold Parallel Between the Advents of the Two Paracletes--

(1) Each was in the world before his specific advent.  Long before his incarnation the delights of the Son of God were with men.  In Angel-form, He visited their tents, spoke with them face to face, and fought on their behalf.  He trod the holy fields of Palestine with noiseless footfall that left no impress on the lightest sands, long before He learned to walk with baby-feet, or bore His cross up Calvary.

So with the Spirit.  He brooded over chaos, strove with men before the Deluge, moved holy men to write the Scriptures, foreshadowed the advent of Messiah, equipped prophets and kings for their special missions.  In restraining evil, urging to good, preparing the way for Christ, the Holy Spirit found abundant scope for his energies. But His influence was rather external than internal; savored rather gift than grace; and dealt more often with the few than with the many--with the great souls that reared themselves to heaven like Alpine summits touched with the fires of dawn, rather than with the generality of men, who dwelt in the valley of daily commonplace, enwrapt in the mists of ignorance and unbelief.  It was to be a special prerogative of this age that He sould be poured out on all flesh, so that sons and daughters should prophesy, while servants and handmaidens participated in His gracious influences.

(2) The advent of each was previously announced.

From the Fall, the coming of the great Deliverer was foretold in type and sign, in speech and act, in history and prophecy.  Indeed, as the time of the Incarnation drew nigh, as Milton tells us in his sublime ode on the Incarnation, surrounding nations had caught from the chosen people the spirit of expectancy, and the world was in feverish anticipation of the coming of its Redeemer.  He was the Desire of all Nations.  All the ages and all the family of man, accompanied Mary to Bethlehem, and worshipped with the Magi.

So with the Holy Spirit.  Joel distinctly foretold that in the last days of that dispensation, God would pour out  His Spirit; and His message is echoed by Isaiah, Zechariah, Ezekiel, and others; till Jesus came, more specifically and circumstantially led the thoughts of his disciples forward to the new age then dawning, which would be introduced and signalised by the coming and ministry of the Spirit.

(3) Each was manifested in a body.

The Lord Jesus in that which was prepared for Him by the Father, and born of a pure virgin.  We are told that He took on Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of man.  Similarly the Holy Spirit became, so to speak, incorporate in that mystical Body, the Church, of which Jesus is the Head.

On the Day of Pentecost, the hundred and twenty who were gathered in the upper room, and who up to that time had no corporate existence, were suddenly constituted a Church, the habitation and home of the Divine Spirit.  What the human body of Jesus was to the second person of the Holy Trinity, that the infant Church was to the third; though it did not represent the whole body, since we must add to those gathered in the upper room many more in heaven and on earth, who by virtue of their union with the risen Christ...which is His body, the fulness of him who filleth all in all.

(4)  Each was named before his advent.

"Thou shalt call his name Emmanuel."  "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."  Thus was the Lord Jesus designated to loving hearts before his birth.

So also with the Holy Spirit.  The last discourses of Jesus are full of appellatives, each setting forth some new phase of the Holy Spirit's ministry; some freshly-cut facet of His character.  The Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit; the Paraclete; the the Spirit of Conviction--such are the names by which He was to be known.

(5) Each was dependent on each other.

Our Lord said distinctly, "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do;" and He said of the Holy Spirit, using the same preposition, "He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak."

What a conception is here!  It is as though the Holy Spirit were ever listening to the Divine colloquy and communion between the Father and the Son, and communicating to receptive hearts disclosures of the secrets of the Deity.  The things which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, God hath revealed unto us by His Spirit; "for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

(6) Each received witness.

The Father bore witness to His Son on three occassions.  On the first, at his baptism, He said,"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;" on the second, when the three apostles were with Him on the Mount, and He received from the Father glory and honor; and on the third, when the inquiry of the Greeks reminded Him of his approaching death, and the voice from heaven assured Him that glory would accrue to the Father through his falling into the ground to die.

So in regard to the Holy Spirit.  Seven times from the Throne the ascended Lord summons those that have ears to hear what the Spirit saith to the churches; as though to emphasize the urgent importance of his message, and the neccessity of giving it our most earnest heed, lest we should drift past it.

(7).  The presence of each is guaranteed during the present age.

"I am with you," saith the Lord, and they were among the closing words of his posthumous ministry, "all the days, even unto the end of the age," and here it is foretold that the  Comforter would abide during the age, for so the phrase might more accurately be rendered.

This is specifically the age of the Holy Spirit.  He may be grieved, ignored, and rejected; but He will not cease his blessed ministry to the bride, till the Bridegroom comes to claim her for Himself...

The work of the Holy Spirit in and through us is conditioned by certain great laws, which call for our definite and accurate obedience. Not an emotion, nor on hysteric appeals, not on excitement, but on obedience, does the power of God's Spirit pass into human hearts and lives.  Therefore, let us walk in his gracious influences, which will bear us on their bosom ever nearer to our Lord.  Oh, to glorify Him; to know and love Him; to become passionately eager that all hearts should enthrone Him regardless of the personal cost it may involve!  Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now and shall be forevermore.  Amen.

The Seasons Change

A cool September morning on Long Lake...feeling like Autumn. The view from my living room window. All's grace.

"By the breath of God frost is given: and the breath of waters is straightened." Job 37:10

Joy Unspeakable

Psalms 148:1 to 150:6. The last three Psalms are a triad of wondrous praise, ascending from praise to higher praise until it becomes "joy unspeakable and full of glory"—exultation which knows no bounds. The joy overflows the soul, and spreads throughout the universe; every creature is magnetized by it, and drawn into the chorus. Heaven is full of praise, the earth is full of praise, praises rise from under the earth, "everything that hath breath" joins in the rapture. God is encompassed by a loving, praising creation. Man, the last in creation, but the first in song, knows not how to contain himself. He dances, he sings, he commands all the heavens, with all their angels, to help him, "beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl" must do likewise, even "dragons" must not be silent, and "all deeps" must yield contributions. He presses even dead things into his service, timbrels, trumpets, harps, organs, cymbals, high sounding cymbals, if by any means, and by all means, he may give utterance to his love and joy.—John Pulsford.

"And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and a reed in his right hand...and they spit upon him and took the reed and smote him on the head" (Matthew 27:29-30).

Why a crown of thorns? I can understand the scarlet robe, the hyssop. They were used in the Red Heifer Sacrifice (Numbers 19). Jesus said the He did not come to destroy the law and prophets but to fulfill them. He said not one jot or tittle would pass away until all was fulfilled. He fulfilled completely the Red Heifer Sacrifice. But, why the crown of thorns?

The book of Genesis gives us the answer. "...cursed is the ground for thy sake...thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee..." (Genesis 3:17-18). Jesus wore a crown of thorns to take the curse from the ground. He bore the curse for us.

Joshua and Passover

On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses all the days of his life (Joshua 4:14).
And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho...And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month even in the plains of Jericho (Joshua 5:10).

The first thing Joshua did when the children of Israel crossed Jordan into the land of promise was prepare the Passover meal. All the people of the nation of Israel came to a table spread in the presence of their enemies. "He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

The first meal the Israelites ate in the Promised land was Passover. The first meal we will eat in the land God has promised will be the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, the Passover. At His last Passover on earth, Jesus told His disciples, " But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until I drink it with you in my Father's Kingdom." (Matthew 26:29.

"For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us..." (I Corinthians 5:7).

With a Loud Voice

The book of Matthew tells us that Jesus was beaten so badly he was barely recognizable. Nearing death, Jesus did an amazing thing. Most people who are so near dying can hardly whisper, not Jesus! "Jesus when he had cried again with a LOUD VOICE, yielded up the ghost." (Matthew 27:50). Was God blowing the trumpet over the sacrifice?

A Beautiful Hanukkah Season

Yeshua, our Messiah, celebrated Hanukkah. "And it was at Jerusalem, the feast of dedication and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the Temple in Solomon's Porch (John 10:22-23)." He was there to celebrate Hanukkah, to light the lights to commemorate the great miracle of the oil.
We are the Temple of the Lord. Jesus pours in the Oil of the Holy Spirit and lights it with His fire. It will never run out. Now we can say, "A great miracle happened here!" Thank you Lord, for the fire, the light and the oil.

A Light to Lighten the Gentiles

For thou wilt light my candle;

The Lord will enlighten my darkness (Psalm 18:28).

Lord, You are the fragrant beauty of my life

My sister, Patti's "Christ in the Manger" in full bloom.
This one is mine. It took days for it to open fully. It is called a night-blooming cereus cactus. Our grandmother gave it to our mother over fifty years ago. We all took cuttings from it. What a story behind this scraggly, brown in spots looking plant! When the weather begins to cool, from the side of the plant a little bud forms. At first, it is hard to tell if it will be another leaf forming or the bud of the most beautiful flower in the world.
Our mother told us it was the story of Christ's birth. Look deep into this mysterious flower.




God writes His story in Nature!

The cereus catus, with it long slender, scraggly leaves is not an exceptionally pretty plant. Neither was Jesus. "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground, and He hath no form or comeliness, and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him (Isaiah 53:2)."

This plant can take years to produce its first bloom. The Messiah was promised to Adam and Eve. "But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law (Galatians 4:4)."

The bloom only opens late in the night, usually after midnight. "The people that walked in darkness, have seen a great light, they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death upon them hath the light shined (Isaiah 9:2)."

When the bloom begins to open, the most wonderful fragrance spreads out to fill the night air. "...Christ also hath loved us, and given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor (Ephesians 5:1)."

Watch the progression of the bloom.

She has adorned herself in white velvety softness as she cradles the newborn babe. Slowly, she pulls the soft folds of the swaddling clothes back for all the world to see the star, the cradle, the little one's face. But, O, the fragrance of His presence fills the night sky and draws shepherds and the hearts of those who have longed for this beautiful bloom. "And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger...(Luke 2:7)."
"Now, lettest Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation...(Luke 2:29)."

Thou Art Worthy!

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things

and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)

For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground


I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine offspring.

And thy shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses (Isaiah 44:3-4).

When Dust Sings

I read the words this morning, Isaiah 26:16. Trembling hands struggle to hold the Book. Who can hold words like these?

Dust rises and sings? How can it be? Can we see in these Words the Rapture of the Church....Arise my beloved and come away......The Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout.....the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we who remain shall be caught up together......Come away My Beloved.

Laminin

Gifts from a Sweet Friend

My grandson, Dylan, brought the mail in and laid it on the coffee table. When I found it a little later in the afternoon, I squealed. It was from my sweet friend, Sharon at Sit with Me Awhile.
What great gifts! I won her giveaway on her blog. I'm listening to the music now. It is wonderful. Thank you Sharon for the book, the CDs, the pin, the candles, the gel and for the precious note. If you visit her blog
Sit with Me Awhile, you will be blessed.

Sprinkled by the Blood of Jesus Christ

It is not the season for Passover, which occurs in the spring, but it is always the season for the "sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 1:2). "...in the day of salvation have I succoured (rescued) thee; behold, now, is the accepted time; behold, now, is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:2)."
I Peter 1:2, is one of my favorite scriptures. Peter reminds us we are the elect of God according to His foreknowledge, sanctified and sprinkled. Being sanctified means to be set apart for God's purpose, but what does being sprinkled mean?

How can an ancient Israelite ritual of sprinkling the blood be relevant to us today? We must remember Jesus' words about the Law that was given to Moses. Jesus said, "Think not that I have come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily, I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-18)."

Jesus had to fulfill all the Law, to become our Kinsman Redeemer, to become our ransom. How did He fulfill the law of the "Sprinkling of the blood?"

When God instituted Passover, the children of Israel had to take a lamb without spot or blemish and sacrifice it. They had to dip a bunch of hyssop in the basin of blood from the lamb and strike the lintel and the two sideposts of their dwelling. When the death angel passed over all the houses with the blood sprinkled on it, no one died.

Only three times in the Bible was the blood of animals ever sprinkled on people.

(1) The giving of the Covenant
"And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people and said, 'Behold the blood of the Covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words (Exodus 24:8)."

(2) The ordination of the Priesthood -- calling Aaron and his sons from the Tribe of Levi
"And thou shalt take the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron and upon his garments, and upon his sons and upon the garments of his sons with him; and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons' garments with him (Exodus 29:21)."

(3) When a person was cured of Leprosy
"And he shall sprinkle (the blood) upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean...(Leviticus 14:14:7).'

Only three times .... Now look what Jesus did!


(1) He sprinkled us with His own blood upon our hearts and
Gave a New Covenant
"In that He saith, A New Covenant, He hath made the first old (Hebrews 8:13)."

(2) He sprinkled us with His own blood and made us to be a Priesthood of believers
"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light (I Peter 2:9)"

(3) He sprinkled us with His own blood and healed us of leprosy
Leprosy, in the Scriptures, is a picture of sin. He has cleansed us from all unrighteousness.
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (II Corinthians 5:21)."

Each one of these is ours by Christ's finished work on the cross. Praise the Lord!

To the Jew First ------- A Look into Romans

The book of Romans is fascinating. We learn much about the whole Bible when we get an understanding of this epistle. My prayer today is, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law (Psalm 119:18)."

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. (Romans 11:25)."

What is the "fullness of the Gentiles?" What does that mean? The Greek word for fullness is plhvrwma or pleroma. It means abundance or completeness. For years when I read this scripture, I thought it meant a set number. When the last Gentile made up the saved, then all Israel would be saved. The word pleroma or fullness has to do with that which is brought to completion. The fullness Paul is speaking of is the fullness in the Spirit, the full regenerate life to which we are called as followers of Christ. "And He gave some, apostles, and some, prophets, and some evangelists, and some, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...(Ephesians 4:11-13)." The fullness of the Gentiles is not numeric. If it were, we would not need to witness to the Jews. We would just wait until the last Gentile was saved.

As we take all of Romans in consideration and rightly divide the Word of Truth, we see the reason God would wait until the fullness of the Gentiles was complete before all Israel would be saved.

We must remember the blindness that shrouds Israel now, is only partial. God always has a remnant of His own. "Even so then, at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace (Romans 11:5)." There is a remnant now, of Jews that follow Jesus. The remnant is growing quickly, as Jews from all over the world are accepting their Messiah, Yeshua.

Why was salvation offered to the Gentiles? Romans 11:11, "I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy."

One of the reasons we Gentiles have been offered the gift of salvation is to make the Jews jealous. Now I ask, how can we make the Jews jealous? At this time, Jews are not jealous of the Church. The Church today, is a far cry from the first century Church. We have allowed the traditions of men to dull our light to the Jews. Yeshua (Jesus) said, "Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered and many such like things do ye (Mark 7:13)." Our children know more about Santa and the Easter bunny than they know about our blessed Passover Lamb or the Light of the World, Yeshua.

How can we, as the Church, make the Jews jealous? We need to teach ourselves and our children our Jewish roots. As the wonderful chosen people of God, the Jews, see us waving their flag, lighting their Menorah, breaking their Matza, wearing their Tallit, blowing their shofar, they will become jealous and curious. As we pray for them and love them, God will bring His remnant in and the Church will reach her fullness. Then all of Israel shall be saved.

"And one shall say unto Him, 'What are these wounds in thine hands?' Then He will answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. ( Zechariah 13:6).'

Rejoice my brothers and sisters!
HEAVEN IS COMING TO EARTH!
IT'S ABOUT TIME!

Some Shoutin' Music

Listen to Paul Wilbur. You'll be on your feet dancing!

Jerusalem of Gold

I love the music of Maurice Sklar. He is one my my favorite violinist. His music brings tears.

Lion of the Tribe of Judah

"...a lion...is strongest among beasts and turneth not away for any...(Proverbs 30:30)."


Why is Christ compared to the Lion?

In Genesis 49, we read Jacob's prophecy of Jesus in these words: "Judah, thou art him whom thy brethren shall praise; thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his donkey's colt unto the choice vine: he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: his eyes shall be red with wine and his teeth white with milk (Genesis 49:6-12)."

Jesus grew up like a small lion or whelp, with little power, until He became an old lion when He became a man. The lion couches, to enjoy peace and rest. Even in the midst of His greatest turmoil, Jesus rested in the perfect will of God. He prayed in the garden, "Not my will, but thine be done."

People have made the mistake of thinking that the love and compassion of Jesus were a sign of weakness. But, consider this, Jesus was beaten, bruised and hurt so badly, He could barely breathe. When an ordinary man is dying, he can barely whisper, but Jesus, when He took His last dying breath, shouted for all to hear. "Jesus, when He cried again with a LOUD VOICE, yielded up the ghost (Matthew 27:50)." Was He blowing the trumpet over the sacrifice? I think the great Lion of the Tribe of Judah roared over the sacrifice.

"The Lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord hath spoken, who can but prophecy (Amos 3:8)."

Such beauty in the prophecy of Jacob of Old. Scriptures tell us that Christ washes His clothes in the blood of grapes and His teeth are white with milk. Wine and milk, where have we seen these two drinks together before?
"Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye buy and eat; yea come buy wine and milk without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1)."

We are all invited to come. Whoever can be picked out of the hedges and highways. The only qualification is to come thirsty. No need to bring money. Jesus has already paid the price with "His own blood."

Come to the water of life. You will find healing here. Come to Jesus those who are thirsty and those who are heavy laden find rest in the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

For God Will Save Zion (Psalm 69:35)

"tziyon yoshia elohim ki"

In Hebrew, we would read this from right to left. So it says, starting with ki (for) elohim, (God) yoshia (will save) tziyon (Zion). Zion is a poetic form of the word Jerusalem and occurs over 160 times in scriptures.

(Letters and prayers crammed into the Wailing Wall at Jerusalem)

Why are Christians so captivated by Jerusalem?

"Friends how can we forget Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22)? Is she not our mother (Galatians 4:26)? Are we not her citizens, indeed her exiles in this age? Doesn't Zion represent our eschatological future -- our home in olam haba (the world to come)? Indeed, even the Heavens and Earth will be called Jerusalem--Zion in her perfection (Revelation 21). We are instructed to 'pray for the peace of Jerusalem' (Psalm 122:6), but we are further told to 'badger' the Lord until He makes Zion a praise of the Earth (Isaiah 62:7)."
~ John J. Parsons ~
The Levitt Letter

"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night; ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give Him no rest, till He establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth (Isaiah 62:6-7)."

May Your rightful place on David's Throne in Jerusalem come quickly, Lord Jesus!

They Shall Be My People

"...Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness (Zechariah 8:7)."
Ezekiel33graphics.com

117 Words

One hundred seventeen words that changed the face of the Middle East.



In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon hands us a golden key to understanding prophecy. He tells us, "The thing that hath been it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun (Ecclestiastes 1:9)." In the light of this scripture, the old adage, "History repeats itself," rings true.

The words of Nehemiah read, "Moreover, I said unto the king, if it please the king let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come to Judah. And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me (Nehemiah 2:7-8)." King Cyrus signed a decree to allow the children of Israel to return to the land God had given then.

Now read the Balfour Declaration. Papers were signed to allow the children of Israel to return to the land God had given them. God reveals future things through things that happened in the past. He foreshadows them.

"That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath been; and God requireth that which is past (Ecclestiastes 3:15)."

Fulfilling Prophecy

Soon we will study Cyrus' Decree in Nehemiah and the relationship between Britain's Prime Minister Arthur Balfour and Chaim Weizmann, a Zionist scientist who later became Israel's Prime Minister. Is there a parallel? Cyrus signed the decree to let the Jews return to their homeland. Balfour signed a declaration that allowed the Jews to return to their homeland. Weizmann and Balfour changed the course of history which resulted in the rebirth of the nation of Israel.

Chaim Weizmann


Arthur Balfour