Mystery # 1 : Jonah – Accept the Call (3 days in the Belly of a Great Fish)
Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days, and three nights.
Jonah, the prophet originated from Gathepher, which is 2 miles north east of Nazareth.
Sometime around the 8th Century BC. Jonah was told by the Lord God to go to Nineveh, a place that Jonah despised and in fact, he went as far as he could in the opposite direction. Nineveh, was the capital of the Assyrian Empire and God wanted Jonah to utter a warning that it’s destruction was imminent because of it’s wickedness against God. Jonah instead headed to Tarshish and hopped on a ship in Joppa, a ship heading to Tarshish, a place where Jonah thought he could get away from God and his calling for him to go to Nineveh.
Today on our MOB, we look at an incredible story about a man, a big great fish and God’s Amazing grace and redemption, as we learn what the sign of Jonah is really all about.
Jonah was supposed to have headed east to Nineveh but instead Jonah went as far West as he could and he indeed ended up on a ship going to Tarshish.
The men aboard the ship who did not possess faith in the one true Living God, Yahweh, instead cried out each to their own gods. Jonah remained asleep while the ship was being thrown around
and he was woken up by the shipmaster. The shipmaster seemed to somehow know that Jonah had a faith in another God or was so desperate for any help he could get at the time for he asked Jonah to petition his God on the behalf of the ship’s crew,
in order they could survive the storm. The men aboard the ship were sure someone aboard the ship had caused God to act out in wrath, so they decided to cast lots to find the “culprit”.
Sure enough, Jonah was selected. The men then asked Jonah why this is happening to them. They wanted to know more about Jonah what he does for a living, where he came from. Jonah told them he was a Hebrew, and he was God fearing. Jonah told the men he was fleeing from God, and the men abound the ship became very afraid. They asked Jonah what can they do to calm the storm.
Jonah told them to throw him overboard out into the sea and then the sea will go back to being calm once again. The ship’s crew tried to get the boat to land but they could not do that. The men then cried out to God to ask him and plead with him that they should not perish for the sake of Jonah. They also did not want to be found guilty for deciding to throw Jonah overboard. They threw Jonah overboard and the sea became calm instantaneously. The men on the boat feared God and offered a sacrifice to the Lord.
Now Jonah was in the water and was greeted by a great fish that the Lord had prepared just for him.
This giant fish which was most likely a whale, swallowed up Jonah whole and somehow supernaturally Jonah lived in the belly of the great fish for 3 days and 3 Nights. Jonah prayed to the Lord while in the fish’s belly.
He became thankful to the Lord for hearing his cry for help. It was then that Jonah admitted that the Lord was his salvation and his only hope. It was at that time on the Third day, that the Lord controlled the Great fish to spit Jonah out unto the dry land.
This time the Lord would once again ask Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach what he had originally requested of him, and this time Jonah would obey the Lord’s commandment.
The number 3 would come up once again, the first time it was Jonah in the belly of the fish, 3 days and 3 nights. Now Jonah would be traveling to Nineveh, which would be a 3 day Journey. Even the verse amazingly is a pair of three’s! Coincidence? , not with the Word of God, it’s not!
Scholars over time have been quick to point out that Jonah’s 3 days in the belly of the beast represents Christ’s death, burial and resurrection also in a 3 day span.
Just like Jonah who on the 3rd day returned out of the belly of the beast, the Lord came back to life, returning from the dead, with his new resurrected body.
In the following passage in Matthew 12:39-40 Jesus answered the Pharisees saying to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The Lord Yeshua also reminded the Pharisees that the men Jonah preached to in Nineveh repented after he preached to them, ow how much more should the Pharisees and this wicked generation repent, if one greater the Jonah and Solomon was here.
So the sign of Jonah encompasses the essence of the Gospel story of Christ’s earthly life especially his death, burial and resurrection.
Think of the situation that Lord Jesus Christ was in, he just delivered a demon out of man
and the Pharisees then falsely accused Jesus of being in league with Satan, and it was a trick of Satan giving him the power in the first place.
The Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign,
to which Yeshua called them a wicked and adulterous generation that was always looking for a sign.
What sign did the Lord give them?, none other then the sign of Jonah.
So we too can partake in God’s Victory by knowing that Jonah was up against all odds of survival and what did he do, he rejoiced. Speaking of rejoicing, remember when Paul was locked up in prison in a stockade no less, he still found in his heart cause for great rejoice. In fact Paul’s rejoicing completely confounded the Prison guards.
What a testimony Paul was to God’s Glory. We live our lives by the testimony just like Paul did, for the Lord God. He doesn’t need it from us, it’s more like an honor and privilege for us to be Yeshua’s Faithful servants, just like Jonah became. Even if you get swallowed up by a great fish, or something else (not that dramatic) rejoice, God has got you covered. He is in control.
So praise God in the storms of y our life but also praise him all the time. You can partake in the sign of Jonah, and even be a bit like Jonah,
as well if you believe with your whole heart and call upon the Lord for cleansing, with true repentance comes restoration and redemption beloved.
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Mystery # 2 : The Millennial Kingdom (The Reign of Messiah)
Micah 4:1 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.
Our MOB in this edition concerns the reign of Messiah Yeshua as we take a look at his millennial kingdom to come as depicted in Micah 4:1. Here we see a glorious picture of the reign of the Messiah. This ties this passage in Micah 4:1 to the Book of Revelation. Listen to this description from Revelation 20:6 which is written concerning the Millennial Kingdom of Christ the Lord. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a Thousand Years.
After that time V.7 goes on to say that after a thousand years have expired, Satan is loosed out of his prison for one final failed attempt at staging a rebellion along with Gog and Magog in a failed battle, that will end up with the devil being cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. So we know that that those who are resurrected (before the final judgment day- which is the 2nd and final resurrection for everyone on the Earth) will not experience the Second death which is the spiritual death of spending an eternity apart from God.
So Yeshua comes back to set up his Millennial Kingdom for the one thousand years, where he reigns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, on the Earth. After that time, the final Judgment Day takes place and then finally the New Heaven and the New Earth are created and the New Jerusalem descends from the Heavenlies.
We know from a prophetic standpoint of what the Prophet Micah is describing, particularly of the Lord ruling everywhere on the Earth has not happened as of yet. For the Lord has not returned (despite the appearance of many false Messiahs claiming to be Christ). So it is that the nations will come and go to the Holy Mountain of the Lord to worship God at his Holy Temple. We know this is a future time for scripture is clear in Micah 4:2 that the law shall go forth of Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. We would not see that happen today or from anytime in the past.
The Lord will judge both people as well as rebuke the nations that have rejected him. The important thing is true peace shall now come from the Prince of Peace and not the false peace that the Antichrist promises during The Great Tribulation. The Lord will turn their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not lift up a sword against one another, nor will war be an occurrence anymore.
Man will be at peace with one another because man will finally be at peace with God. Indeed the Lord is the only one who can bring true peace to the Earth as well as end all warfare amongst the nations. Yeshua, the Prince of Peace is the Peace giver. Peace he gives you, peace he leaves you.
Micah was speaking about the Lord Jesus Christ who will bring all of this to pass upon his return at his Second Coming. Micah goes on to describe the conditions at the end of the Great Tribulation as well as the Day of the Lord, which we have touched on, on a number of occasions.
Remember going back to the prophet Isaiah, God had given him the prophetic word that true peace would come once the Lord returned and the God of Jacob (Israel) would teach them his ways and they would walk in his paths (all of Micah 4:2,3 parallels Isaiah Ch. 2: v2-4.)
Isaiah had more prophetic messages about the Messiah Yeshua in Isaiah Ch.11, talking about the root of Jesse (the bloodline stemming back to David) and how in Isaiah 11:12, The Lord will set up an ensign (a standard, a sign, a signal) for the nations, and shall assemble all the outcasts of Israel and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the Earth.
So he will bring all the dispersed Jews back to the Promised Land, all the 12 Tribes of Judah will come back, the flock will return to the Good Shepherd. All the Gentiles as well, will also of course be included in the flock, as God is no respecter of persons. God informed the Prophet Micah (who received the Word from God) to let Zion and Jerusalem know just what his plans for them were. While some of the plans as we know call for the purging of Israel, God’s intentions for Israel and for all of us, is to restore us and cleanse us of our iniquity, in order to prepare us for presentation to the Father. Imagine, all of the flock of God, all gathered to worship Messiah Yeshua on the Holy Mountain of God one day.
What a glorious day that will be. A Thousand Year Reign of Christ, the Lord a mere snapshot, an appetizer to what life will be like in Heaven, with no more war or strive. God beckons man to come forward and enter the gates for the gate is wide (the invitation from the Lord) the path though is very narrow (the choice to turn from your sin and repent and submit your will to God) and many are called but few are chosen. The Lord is ready to break the chains of your enslavement to sin…forever, if you will let him.
Will you hear the Lord knocking at your door today? He stands there waiting for you to answer.
He promises to come into your heart and be with you forever, even unto the end of the World. Jesus will come back at a time when none of us know not and like a thief in the night. He will catch people unawares when he returns. The only ones not surprised, will be the ones looking for his glorious return.
Will that be you beloved?
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Mystery # 3: The Star of Bethlehem :The Messanic Promise of Redemption for Mankind
We begin our MOB on this edition, with the following scripture from Micah 5:2, But thou Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little, among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
The smitten judge of Israel mentioned in the verse previous to our feature passage, is the Messiah Yeshua. 700 years later after the Book of Micah was written, it was still recognized as a Messianic prophecy concerning Yeshua. In fact the chief priests and scribes quoted it to Herod. We turn to Matthew ch.2 verses 2-6. Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem looking for the one that they heard was the King of the Jews.
They had seen his star in the East and had come to worship him. King Herod, the King of Jerusalem
at the time got wind of this and out of fear of his own throne being in jeopardy and asked the wise men where the Lord Jesus Christ was born.
It was at that time in V.5 of Matthew ch.2. We read, And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea for thus it is written by the Prophet And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Herod then sent them off telling them that he wanted them to find the Christ Child and then get back to him with his whereabouts so that he could worship the Lord as well ( of course a bold face lie as he wanted to kill the Christ child).
This is indeed a messianic prophetic promise from God the Father about his Begotten Son. This passage of Micah 5:2 is not the only time it played a role in Yeshua’s life. For later in Jesus’s life, some of his enemies attempted to use Micah 5:2 to prove that he was not the Messiah because they knew his hometown was Nazareth in Galilee.
Of course we knew he was raised in Nazareth, but was born in Bethlehem, so how much of a Nazarene did it make him? Not much of one accept for the fact his hair might have been longer than someone born in the southern portion of Israel. Still look at how this topic created great division among the people at the time. In John 7:41 and V. 42 we read, Others said, This is the Christ, But some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
The most important part of this passage however is not where Jesus came from on Earth, but where he came from originally period. We know that Jesus is not really from Nazareth, he is from everlasting, he is ancient of days, an eternal being, the Son of God.
This was the toughest part of the prophecy that the Jews could not comprehend. The Jews indeed could not comprehend who Jesus was and is. Matthew 23:41, While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, “What think ye of Christ? What Son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him, Lord how is he his son.”
How indeed.
They had blinders on, they couldn’t see and many in Israel still cannot see spiritual truths at this very time. That day will change, the people of Israel will one day look at the one they demanded to be killed and they will mourn as one who has lost their only child. For the truth will be made known to them, the Messiah was there right in front of them the whole time, and it began right there in Bethlehem with the birth of the Messiah, Yeshua Ha’Mashiach.
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Mystery # 4: The Mistress of Witchcrafts: Woe to Nineveh, Woe to the World!
On this edition of MOB, we take a look at the Prophet Nahum who prophesied in the time between the Assyrian captivity and 661 BC. So let us start with our feature passage and go from there.
Nahum 3:4 Because of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
So it was, so great was the Lord’s Anger directed towards the City of Nineveh (yes this is the same place that Jonah was trying so hard to run from, only to meet God’s Judgement head on in the way of a Great Big Fish). Perhaps Jonah recognized and feared for his life in the violent and bloody city that was Nineveh, because he was aware that the idea of preaching to them God’s coming judgment may have not seemed like all that smart of an idea for a man who lacked faith in God at the time. As we soon will see Nineveh is “no walk in the park” when it comes to a destination to preach God’s Word.
In fact Nineveh was a burden to the Lord God. The reason why God cared as much as he did about cities like Nineveh that turned their back on him, is that God is a jealous God and yet he is slow to anger, he is long suffering. So Nahum, the Elkoshite had a Vision of the Lord concerning his anger with Nineveh. The irony here is that Nahum’s name means “comfort /consultation” and yet the very small Book of Nahum deals with nothing but the destruction of Nineveh. So it was that God let Nahum know that on no unspoken terms, Nineveh would fall.
God shows Nahum a vision where there is war and chaos on the streets of Nineveh, there will be a great shaking (the fir trees shall be terribly shaken –perhaps a massive earthquake?). Nineveh will be laid to waste; all her precious gold and silver will be confiscated, leaving as Ch.2 V.10 says she is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness. Here is a depiction of pain and destruction especially in the verses to follow about the lion and the chaos to follow. We finally come to the 3rd chapter where the Lord talks about the actual sins of Nineveh referring to it as the bloody city that is full of lies and robberies. There will be many slain in Nineveh, because of all the violence, with no end to the corpses of the dead; in fact, it will be so great that one will not be able to not stumble upon all the corpses of the dead.
We come back to our featured verse in Nahum 3:4. We find that because the people of Nineveh had become whores and have become like a harlot when it comes to the affairs of God (such as a mistress of witchcraft –which is as the sin of rebellion scripture lets us know). Nineveh has spread it’s unholy virus across the land and it has affected families and nations alike.
God will cast abominable filth upon them. Many will run away from the destruction when they behold what God has done to Nineveh and how he has laid it to waste. So God’s Judgment is upon Nineveh, the bloody and wicked city. Can we not ask ourselves, are then not just as wicked cities on our planet today?
Of course people seeking good and righteousness dwell in just about every city in the World. But unless we forget it took Abraham’s pleading with God over and over again, concerning Sodom and Gomorrah to save Lot and his family from God’s certain wrath. For God was going to destroy these cities of sin wholesale. But for the sake of a few, found to still find God’s Favor, the rest were put to death.
We do not write this to scare anyone, we write this to make all aware, God is not to be put to the test; he is not to be provoked. Unrepentive sin and especially those who play the harlot and worship the dark arts and the occult will face God’s Wrath.
Unless of course there is repentance for sin of all sorts including abortion, pornography, sexual wickedness and perversion as well as all manner of violence and immoral corruption.
So we say ‘Woe to Nineveh, Woe to the World.” For God has promised that unless he cuts short the days for the elect’s sake, no lives would be spared.
It would be total extinction come the Day of the Lord. So this really is not about Nineveh as much as it is, a lesson learned or not learned. As we should know all too well this plays a major role in whether history will repeat itself again.
Do not forget the Whore of Babylon riding on the Beast, she is the Mother of all Harlots and consequently God will deal very strict judgment upon her. Listen to the words of John the Revelator as he describes the vision the Lord gave him in Revelation 17:3. And upon her forehead was the name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Now remember one of the Seven Angels (who had the seven vials that were being poured out on the Earth as a form of judgement) told John that this was part of the Judgment of God and that included the appearance of the Great Whore that all the Kings and Presidents had committed spiritual fornication with. In fact all the people of the planet (all as in most) have been drunk with the wine of her fornication. The Jezebel Spirit is alive and well today. This Whore of Babylon has seduced the World with her lies and deception in her being worshipped and not God. In Revelation 17:3 we see this woman sitting upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. In her hand is a cup filled with all the abomination and filthiness of her fornication. Now we are not going to get into a comprehensive discussion of whom the Whore of Babylon is and what comprises Mystery Babylon on this edition of MOB, for we will save that for when we do a complete review of The Book of Revelation.
We know this harlot has seduced most of the Earth or at least a great deal of it with the lies of Satan and a false religion which is an abomination to the Living God. We know this woman is drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs of Jesus. We then get the hints from the angel of the identity of this woman. The woman is a city, a great city that reigns over the Kings of the Earth. Just like Nineveh fell, so too will Babylon the Great fall as well. We now see the picture clearly of what God finds to be an abomination, that is witchcraft, which is like unto the sin of rebellion against God. God cannot stand what witches and warlocks, Satanists, druids and pagans, and cultists (with their ungodly rituals and worship in the high places) are doing.
These high places like Stonehenge
as well as other locations around the World are being revisited by the worshipers of the dark arts including places where human sacrifice has taken place.
All of this is timed with the return of the Nephilim (the children and offspring of the fallen Angels) is upon us.
They will come these so called chosen ones of Satan to wage war on God’s Saints and when Jesus comes again, on Jesus as well.
The account in The Book of Revelation is a future event that clearly shows just why God destroyed Nineveh in the first place. Just as God destroyed Nineveh, he shall also set a course of action to purge the World from such wickedness. Pray to count yourself worthy to escape what is coming, the swift judgement from the Almighty in the time of Jacob’s Trouble, The Great Tribulation.
Revelation Ch.19 v.2 reads For true and righteous are his judgments for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornications, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
Woe to Nineveh, Woe to the World.
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Mystery # 5 : Zephaniah : The Day of the LORD.
Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
Zephaniah, the Prophet, prophesied during the reign of King Josiah. Zephaniah wrote often about the Day of the Lord as we see in the featured scripture passage above, in this edition of MOB. The Lord wanted to let Zephaniah know that he needed to warn the people that God’s Anger was coming and the Day of the Lord was near. The Day of the Lord has been addressed a number of times in the MOB series. It’s a time when the Lord is going to intervene in the affairs of man and is a key eschatological event in the prophetic Word of God.
To signify Jerusalem’s impending doom, Zephaniah uses the terms “at hand” or “near”. God’s ultimate intervention in the affairs of his people happens during the Day of the Lord.
In Zephaniah 1:7 we read Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the lord is at hand: for the lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his Guests. This of course is addressing Yeshua’s atoning work on the cross as the sacrificed Lamb of God. This is the day of the Lord’s Sacrifice; it is the same day that God will punish those who are violent and deceitful.
Those that have become complacent or lukewarm, neither hot or cold for the Lord, the Lord will punish them and their possessions, even their houses will be laid to waste and left desolate. The sin they are charged with is the sin of disbelief and a lack of faith.
This is a day of the trumpet or the shofar as the ram’s horn is called in Hebrew. The Lord promises to bring great distress upon man, they shall walk around like blind men. Zephaniah gets quite graphic in V.17 stating, Their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Nothing will deliver those sentenced by God to face his wrath and judgement including attempts at “bribing” gold and silver. God’s Jealousy will devour the whole land with his wrath. God has promised a speedy riddance of all those he will judge. Even Israel’s neighbors will be doomed to face God’s Judgment.
Zephaniah is told by the Lord to tell the people to repent before it’s too late, before God pours out his judgement upon all the Earth and not just Israel.
In Zephaniah 3: 11, we read The LORD will be terrible unto them for he will famish all the gods of the earth: and men shall worship him, everyone from his place, even all the isles of the heathen. So all those false gods will be laid asunder and destroyed once and for all, men will repent of their idolatry and worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Jerusalem will be saved and a remnant will survive God’s Purging.
Despite how dark, Zephaniah’s warning of the Day of the Lord is (and how God will gather the nations of the Earth in order to pull out his righteous indignation upon them), God will ultimately bring peace and joy back to the land of Israel and the entire World, for Jesus is the Light of the World and all hope is found within him. Once the people’s transgressions have been purged from the Lord there will peace in the land. There will be a remnant in existence, a remnant that will rejoice and rest in God’s eternal love and sing with joy of God’s plan of redemption. The land and it’s people will be fully restored and God will bless his World (that he, the Father God created) once again during the Millennial reign of Christ.
God promises to gather you and make you a name and a praise among all people of the Earth, when he turns back your captivity before your eyes saith the Lord. God promises even after the darkness of the Day of Lord should provide comfort to the believer.
Despite a World once full of darkness turmoil and persecution, God promises that he will never leave us or forsake us. God reminds us that we can overcome and be overcomers as he has overcome the World once and for all. Remember beloved John 10:29 reminds us that no man can pluck you out of my Father’s hands.
So despite the Day of the Lord coming and it will come soon enough, know that God will restore the land of Israel and the rest of the Earth, soon after, for great is his Glory and his great Mercy and Supplication. God is a righteous God and consequently he cannot allow sin and transgression to thrive in the World that he has created. The Earth and it’s inhabitants need to be purged from corruption and sin and it will come on the Day of the Lord.
Are you ready beloved?
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Mystery # 6 : All Israel will be Saved
Zephaniah 3:16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack, The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy: he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. We just had read about the Prophet Zephaniah warning Israel and the World about the DAY of the LORD in our last MOB.
In Zephaniah 3:13, the Word of the Lord was revealed to the Prophet Zephaniah concerning that there will be a remnant of Israel. 
Going back to the day’s of Elijah the prophet and the 7000 Israelites who never bowed their knee to the false god Baal, nor had kissed him. The remnant are the righteous ones living in Jerusalem to this very day. The remnant also includes those who would return to the Holy Land after the Babylonian exile and the Jews that accepted Jesus as their Messiah.
Our feature passage Zephaniah 3:16 -17 describes the blessings of God’s Presence, God’s Power and God’s Protection of his chosen people.
God promised he will restore the land of Israel unto their land.
All those that prosecuted Israel will be punished. The ultimate fulfillment of God’s Blessings will happen during the Millennial reign of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach.
God will bring joy and peace to the land and undo all affliction, God will save Israel and gather her up. God’s Plan to restore Jerusalem will be in full effect.
Despite Israel and the World’s one time transgressions, God seeks to purge and restore his creation unto himself, for all of eternity.
God will restore you as well if he hasn’t already beloved. If you choose this day, whom you shall serve, the God of all truth and the God of all Eternity, Yahweh or the temporary god of this world, Satan.
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Mystery # 7: The Heavens Tremble (God will shake the Heavens, the Earth and all Nations)
Haggai 2: 6, 7 For thus saith the LORD of hosts: Yet once, it is a little while , and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land: And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
Haggai the Prophet
ministered in 520 BC during the time of the Babylonian King Darius.
Haggai was born before Solomon’s Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C. And as such Haggai urged God’s People to be obedient to God and rebuild his Holy Temple.
Both Haggai and our next prophet of study (Zechariah) were raised up by God to promote a sense of revival among the people of Israel. So it was, Haggai wanted the people of the Lord to know (by the Word of the Lord) that God’s Glory would once again fill the temple. The Lord is referred to as the Lord of Hosts (the Lord of armies – celestial armies of God) in our feature passage in our MOB in this edition. God purposefully chose that title of Lord of Hosts in order to provide comfort to Israel at a time when the people of Israel felt they were tiny and powerless because of the oppression Persia placed against them.
Haggai wanted to remind the people that God was nearer to them than they thought and that God’s Presence and his Spirit was in their midst which was established by the original covenant at Mount Sinai, when the people of Israel became God’s People. Haggai 2: 5 reads According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so my Spirit remaneth among you: fear ye not. When God speaks of shaking the Heavens, the Earth and all Nations, he is referring in eschatological terms, to a reference to worldwide judgement.
God will indeed shake all nations, not just Israel, but the entire Earth, even all of Heaven. God will pour out his judgment in the Earth and that will indeed literally include Earthquakes, but the word shake has a much deeper meaning here. The Hebrew word is Ra’ash which means to “undulate, to be agitated” as in tremble. This includes both physical manifestations of the Earth actually trembling but also God’s Judgment. Haggai wants the people to know of God’s awesome power. But as we will soon see, what is beautiful here is what comes next after God’s Judgment in V.9 of Haggai we read that I will give peace saith the Lord of Hosts.
We have already examined on numerous occasions what God will do with Israel and how he will purge her and all nations as well of their sin and unrighteousness. We know of the coming Day of the Lord. God wanted to remind Israel & the World of the consequences of not obeying him. Haggai 2:17, I smote you with blasting and with mildew and with hail in all the labors of your hands: yet ye turned not to me, saith the LORD. God says again in V.21, Speak to Zerubbabel governor of Judah saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth.
How does God intend to do that? We are given a hint in V.22, And I will overflow the throne of Kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them: and the horses and their riders shall come down, everyone by the sword of his brother.
Zerubbabel was a descendant of David and in the Kingdom lineage of the Messiah. So God through Haggai let it be known that Jaconiah would be removed from his throne, until the Messiah came, protecting the lineage of David and the root of Jesse. God would use war and the battling of nations against nations as part of his means to shake up the Earth, but what of the Heavens? What would God do there? We know God will cast out Satan once and for all and all of his fallen angels for they had chosen rebellion against God and no longer had a place in God’s Kingdom. A portion of the Lord’s Prayer says Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. We know from Matthew 18:18 that what we bind on Earth is bound in Heaven and what we loose on earth, we loose in Heaven.
So there is our connection the Earth & Heaven – two places both created by God have symmetry in their design and plans by God. He is consistent with both Heaven and Earth going through similar circumstances. Why all this one might ask? What is God’s ultimate plan? Haggai 2:23 states, In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, will I take thee O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a signet : for I have chosen thee, saith the LORD of hosts. Shealtiel means I have asked of God, a petition if you will. And what is this request?
Why did God make sure Zerubbabel was chosen? We already answered these questions and that was because he was of the lineage of David and God wanted that to be the chosen lineage that Messiah Yeshua’s earthly blood would flow from.
God maintains prophecy through his living, prophetic word once again. God is the same, yesterday and today, tomorrow and forever.
