First Chronicles 17-20

God’s message to me: I have written elsewhere that all the key prophecies have been fulfilled for the end times. One is still in question. Christ said that just before the rapture it would be as it was in the days of Noah. While the sinfulness of man is certainly at that stage this is not the first time that has been true. One point about Noah’s time that people don’t normally consider is the presence of 6 fingered, 6 toed giants descended from the Nephalim. The spirits of these giants were imprisoned after their bodies were killed but are connected to several biblical accounts of demon possession. While we may not see physical giants the alternative would be more possessed people making serious trouble and taking positions of authority through the use of supernatural power. While some suspect this is already happening, the giants of Noah’s time were not in the habit of concealing their power. They used it brazenly. This is something we don’t see yet.

Promises: God will establish you for His name’s sake. If you are working in His will and acting in a manner that promotes Him you will find success to come much more naturally. He wants the world to see examples of His people prospering because of Him. You are not condemned to poverty by your Christianity. In fact God wants to make the whole world know His power through your success. Give Him the glory for the things He has done and you will find He enjoys doing them even more.

Commands: Recognize your place in things. David felt it was wrong that he should have great palaces and homes while the Tabernacle of the Lord was a tent. God told him that is was not for him to build a house for the Lord and that his son would accomplish that goal. David made certain to dedicate great riches to that task so that his son would be able to build the temple quickly and grandly with little wasted time. He did not attempt to step outside God’s will and build the temple himself. He did give God the praise for all his successes recognizing that all of his talents and abilities were from God and that he could do nothing without Him.

Timeless principles: I can do all things through Christ but I am nothing without God who made me. I have been blessed with talents and worked hard to learn skills but without God I could do none of what I have accomplished. He gave me the intellect to learn, the judgment and endurance to work and to lead, the talent for music and the voice for teaching. I am proud of my achievements and thankful to God for the ability to achieve.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: Never forget where my abilities come from. Trust God to provide what I need to succeed and thank God for the abilities He gave that lead to every success.

more to learn for in-depth study: Giants are a bible theme rarely visited outside of the story of David and Goliath. Nephelim, Rephaim, Anakim, whatever name is given to refer to them they are of serious importance. Others have done in depth studies of the giants and I won’t try to pretend this brief comment covers the subject but you should learn from them. The Nephelim or fallen ones were angels sent to earth to teach man God’s ways. Having taken a human form these angels fell prey to temptation and took wives of the daughters of men. The result was the giants who were the mighty men of renown. These descendents of fallen angels had no place among men. They did not share the ability of man to find salvation in Christ. Many of the great destructions in the old testament were meant to wipe out this race. The flood, the genocide of some nations in the promised land, wars against the giants by the Edomites and other events mentioned not only in biblical history but the history of the world. Even the Native Americans tell stories of a race of red haired, pales skinned giants with 6 fingers per hand and 6 toes per foot. The practice of raising a hand in greeting is not just a Hollywood affectation. The natives of this land lived in fear of a 6 fingered race and the practice of raising a hand when greeting unknown people was to get a good look at how many fingers they had and to show they themselves had only 5.

tomorrow: First Chronicles 21-23

First Kings 8

God’s message to me: God’s plan is to have all the world turn to Him in love, worship, thanksgiving and to fulfill their needs. This has been His plan from the beginning. For this cause He did great works that the entire world would know Him and His Power and recognize that He is God.

Promises: God hears our prayers and responds. He is not contained so that he can dwell in a building. He is Omniscient, Omnipresent, and Omnipotent. He knows all, can do all and is everywhere at the same time. He may take actions to make his presence known in one particular place but He is everywhere, always listening and waiting for our prayer.

Commands: Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. This is not in the text you read today but it is a clear command repeated in the bible. This is the City in which God placed His name and in which he set the throne of His Kingdom and that of Israel. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem and understand that true peace can only come when it once again belongs completely to Israel and is the Capital of that nation. Until the Jews can enter the Temple Mount without fear of reprisal there will not be true peace in Jerusalem.

Timeless principles: Jehovah is not the God of any one people. He is King of kings, Lord of lords, Alpha and Omega, I AM, The Uncaused Cause, He is the one true God and Creator of the Universe. He placed his name in Jerusalem because it was there that He established the Throne of His Kingdom and the Seat of His Rulership over the earth. Even Solomon, at a time when few outside of Israel recognized The Lord, knew that He was the God of everything and that anyone in all the earth who turned to Him deserved His reply. Solomon knew that God had done all He had done in Israel in order that the world would know He Is Lord. He knew that all the great miracles and acts of God leading up to that day and beyond would be known, not only in the surrounding countries, as it already was, but throughout the world. That Gentiles of all nations would turn their hearts to the One True God.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: First, God is God to all people in all lands and desires that all come to him. It is true that many will never turn to Him and will be lost in their sin. This does not change that fact that God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to die for our sins. God did this so that all who Believe in Jesus and accept His gift of Salvation can be saved and come to Jehovah as their own God.

Second, Jerusalem is the place where God placed His name. It is the place He chose to be the Capital of Israel and, when He returns, the capital of his Earthly kingdom. Jerusalem should not be divided. Jerusalem should be the capital of Israel. Jerusalem does belong to the Jews. The temple mount is the place where God put his name and it is the rightful place of the Temple of God built first by Solomon, and rebuilt several times since and will be built again. The Dome of the Rock has no place there. The Al Aqusa Mosque is in Mecca, you need only look at maps of that region, ask those who have been there or ask someone there if you visit and they can show you to and into the Al Aqusa Mosque. The Dome of the Rock is not the true Al Aqusa Mosque and no one ever tried to claim it was until Israel became a nation and they needed an excuse to try and remove God’s chosen people from the City of Jerusalem which they always knew was the Capital of the Jews and the place where God placed his name.

more to learn for in-depth study: As with the Tabernacle of Meeting the sign that the Temple of God was accepted by God was His presence. As soon as the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies The cloud, which had led the Israelites through the wilderness, filled the temple and it shown with the Glory of God so that the Priests could not minister inside the temple. This had been the way that God would dwell in the Tabernacle of Meeting as the Israelites traveled to the Promised land. When He entered the Tabernacle in this way Moses could go to the door of the Tabernacle to speak with Him.

tomorrow: First Kings 9-11

First Kings 5-7

God’s message to me: Honor God. The construction and decoration of the temple show a great deal of glory and honor being given to God. It should be understood that we are dealing with the King of kings when we decide how we will honor our Lord. We, as Christians, are given the honor of being granted an Audience with the Creator and Ruler of the universe any time we desire one through prayer. All to often we take this for granted and treat it far to lightly and casually. It isn’t necessary to dress up for church every time but how would you dress if you knew the President of the United States was going to be there? It isn’t required that we clean and polish everything to perfection but how would you like your church to look if Jesus Christ were going to preach this Sunday?

Promises: God doesn’t ask for things He doesn’t provide. David obtained the treasures used to decorate the temple during his conquest of the enemies that came against him and Israel. Solomon obtained the materials from allies who gladly sold them out of friendship with both David and Solomon.

Commands: Honor God as God wishes to be honored. The design of the Tabernacle and the Temple were both divinely inspired. Remember what happened to the sons of Aaron when they offered incense outside of the boundaries of the ceremonies commanded by God. God expects nothing less and nothing more than that we fulfill his commands. Doing less is wrong. Going beyond is wrong.

The most humble mission can be used more mightily than the most beautiful cathedral but each should reflect the best we are able to give to our God.

Timeless principles: Churches are all different and some have more resources than others. Taking into account the resources available to your congregation, who’s house is nicer, yours or Gods? The people of Israel built the Tabernacle of Meeting and the Temple of God out of the best and most costly materials available. They Layered everything they could in gold and decorated with gemstones. For those things that needed more durability they used bronze which is similar in color and easily polished to great beauty. How do you honor God’s house?

How can I apply what I’ve learned: God is the King of kings and Lord of lords. It makes no sense to give Him anything but the best. Not only was the temple layered in Gold and the furnishings made from the best woods and metals, the best artisans were brought in to create the items so that they would be artistically and architecturally the best.

more to learn for in-depth study: It’s been a while since I did an in depth study of end times prophecy so I can’t remember the verse reference to back this. Egypt and Lebanon will turn to God and join with Israel against the Anti-Christ in the Tribulation. These two nations were allies of Israel under Solomon as well. Lebanon had a mostly Christian population with a large Jewish component and a minority Muslim group which was not militant prior to the nations takeover by Hezbollah and Hamas. The Muslims who took over the country were Shiite Iranians and the large Muslim contingent in Lebanon today is Iranian and not Lebanese. Since the Peace treaty with Egypt Israel has had little or no state sponsored trouble from that nation. While they are hardly swayed to side with Israel at this time, they are becoming less of a threat. It isn’t difficult to see the work of prophecy in the news.

480 years after the Israelites left Egypt, Solomon has been on the throne 4 years, it is the second month of the year and The Temple of God, sometimes called the temple of Solomon begins to be built. As we have dated things before this we can see that the Temple began to be built about 3148 years after the creation of the earth. It took 7 years to build it so that it would have been finished in about the year 3155 after creation.

I can’t find my notes and book on the Tabernacle of meeting right now but I’ll try to give you a comparison later. The temple was 90 feet long 30 feet wide and 45 feet high. The vestibule extended another 15 feet in front. It is interesting to note the details but I will only comment on 3.

The stones used to build it were finished at the quarry so that there would be no sound of hammers in the temple while it was being built. They would have to be transported carefully to ensure no damage after finishing and they would have to be carefully measured and accurately constructed in order to fit perfectly together when they arrived. The interior walls were covered in wood so that no stone was visible from inside the temple. Like the Tabernacle, furnishings were made of wood and covered in gold. While fine wood was used to make the walls and decorations they did not show within the temple. Every surface including the floors, ceilings, walls, doors and door frames were covered in gold.

When people talk about the lost treasure of Israel it has to do with this temple. The Temple itself, along with all that was in it was worth a fortune. King David made certain that there was treasure set aside for the construction of this richly appointed building. In fact there was much more than enough. Solomon, in turn, built the temple and added to the treasure so that, if something were to happen, there would be enough to rebuild it. This treasure was hidden well and portions used several times in the history of Israel then replaced, sometimes quickly and other times not for many decades. This secure treasure has been maintained throughout history and is believed to still be stored where it always has been. The Ark of the Covenant is believed to also be there.

Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of several theories on where the Ark is now but the important thing to note is that no sacrifices were continued at the Temple or the Tabernacle unless the Ark was there. The blood of the sacrifice had to go to the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant and so the sacrifice at the temple would not make sense without it. The end times prophecies tell us that sacrifices will have returned before the tribulation begins. This tells us we can look for the return of the Ark of the Covenant as one of the last things to occur before the Rapture. On the other hand, it is not marked as a sign of the Rapture so it may happen after the Rapture. The bible is unclear on the time table but the Rapture occurs a short time before the tribulation begins. This could be hours, days, months or potentially years. Given the rapid timetable of those times I expect it would be less than a year and the resulting mayhem that will occur when every Born Again Christian suddenly disappears will be a great opening for the anti-Christ who is described as a powerful world leader. Political power and popularity is most easily gained in time of crises. Note how many politicians have said things like “never waste a crisis” since the recession began.

tomorrow: First Kings 8