Earthquakes
When God was manifesting Himself unto Elijah, to redirect the prophet’s thinking, there was a great and strong wind, and after the wind an earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, 1 Kings 19:11-12.
Isaiah 29:6–“Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.”A great earthquake occurred two years before the prophecy of Amos (Amos 1:1). The Israelites fled from before this great earthquake, Zechariah 14:5.
When Christ gave up the ghost on Calvary’s cross, “the earth did quake” (Matthew 27:51), and at the account of His resurrection, “And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon it.”
“And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.” (Acts 16:26)This affected Paul and Silas’s release from the prison at Philippi.
After the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), during the Great Tribulation on earth: “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; …and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” Revelation 6:12a, 14b.
Again: “And the angel took the censor, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.” Revelation 8:5.
Later: “And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand.” (Revelation 11:13) and again, Revelation 11:19f–“…an earthquake…”
With the greatest earthquake ever, that will change the geological landscape, “…and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.” Revelation 16:18-20.
Christ prophesied that in the last days: “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:7-8.
SHARING
A Voice From Hell
“Oh, why am I here in this place of unrest
When others have entered the land of the blest?
God’s way of salvation was preached unto men;
I heard it and heard it, again and again.
Why did I not listen and turn from my sin
And open my heart and let Jesus come in?
For vain earthly pleasures my soul did I sell–
The way I had chosen has brought me to hell.
I wish I were dreaming, but ah, it is true.
The way to be saved I had heard and I knew;
My time on the earth, oh, so quickly fled by,
How little I thought of the day I would die.
When God’s Holy Spirit was pleading with me,
I hardened my heart and I turned from His plea.
The way that was sinful, the path that was wide,
I chose and I walked till the time that I died.
Eternally now, I must dwell in this place.
If I from my memory could but erase
The thoughts of my past which are haunting me so.
Oh, where is a refuge to which I can go?
This torture and suff’ring, how long can I stand?
For Satan and devils this only was planned.
God’s refuge is Jesus, the One that I spurned;
He offered salvation, but from Him I turned.
My brothers and sisters I wish I could warn.
Far better ‘twould be if I had not been born.
The price I must pay is too horrid to tell–
My life without God led directly to Hell.”
Oh, soul without Christ, will these words be your cry?
God’s Word so declares it that all men must die.
From hell and its terrors, Oh, flee while you may!
So, come to the Saviour; He’ll save you today!
–Oscar C. Eliason
SHARINGWhat Saith The Scriptures?
How serious is sin in God’s sight?
“For all that do such things, and all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto the Lord thy God.” Deuteronomy 25:16
“The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.” Psalm 11:5
Thus we see that sin is hateful to God.
SIN SEPARATES FROM GOD
“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Psalm 66:18
“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:1-2
WOE TO THOSE WHO DOWNPLAY SIN AND THOSE LIVING IN SIN
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.” Isaiah 5:20
“Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life.” Ezekiel 13:22
“Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?” Malachi 2:17
WOE TO THOSE WHO APPROVE OF THE DISREGARDING OF GOD’S LAWS
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17,19
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 7:21
“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20
SHARINGIn His Hands
In 1 Kings 19:7-8, Elijah had reached the point where he couldn’t go on. He had withstood the famine. He had remained unconquered in spite of Ahab’s drag net to destroy him. He had challenged all the false prophets and saw their defeat. He had shown Israel the mighty power of God. But now he senses a weakness that is swallowing him up.
So, as Elijah is in the process of giving in and up, he requests for himself that he might die. (But rather than grant that request, God later took him to heaven in a glorious chariot.) God sent his angel to minister to Elijah, because the journey was too great for him. But consider, Elijah’s journey had always been too great for any man. God had been the One sustaining Elijah all along. So as God supplied for Elijah again, he was sustained, “…in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights.”
We have not a High Priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He understands, and was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. And, “…He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him…” (Hebrews 7:25)
Elijah came to Horeb, the mount of God, by the strength of the Lord’s sustenance. There, God commissioned him with very important tasks, that would result in God accomplishing His dealings with those situations over which Elijah had no control, (1 Kings 19:15-18).
Thus, the overriding factor for Elijah to respect and wait upon was, “God is in control.” All the times that Elijah had been on top of the issues and seemingly invincible, was really only because of God’s power enabling him. However, in the good times, apparently Elijah had come to feel that he was in the position of having control, and when events took a different turn, the realization that he wasn’t able to control anything himself, caused him to crash.
When we find ourselves crying out in despair due to things taking a turn for the worse beyond our ability to do anything about it, this doesn’t mean God is not in control. It only means we have lost our sense of confidence that we are in control. But the truth is, we never were in control, as without God, we could do nothing.
God help us to renew our faith, not by seeking for a renewed confidence of self control, but in the truth that only God is in control, and may the Lord be with us, as we wait upon Him.
SHARINGBeware of Changing
“My son, fear thou the Lord and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change.” Proverbs 24:21
“For I am the Lord, I change not” Malachi 3:6a
The truth changes not–God’s Word stands forever. God changes not: everything about God, His person, His kingdom, His plan, and His purpose are eternal. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God’s people are to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered. God forbids the changing of His Word. God commands His people not to change, nor to meddle with those who are given to change.
Yet man is given over to change. Churches are constantly changing, using the excuse that the world of the Bible is not our world, and we must change to be relevant to our world. The changed ‘Bibles’ are the top sellers, and that which religious leaders laud. The religious consensus is that Biblical morality and order is outdated, and that we must change from those repressive orders, unto what is deemed politically correct by the world. The popular doctrine of the day is that the principles taught in “all scripture” are no longer relevant in this age of grace.
While every message from heaven has always been and continues to be, “change not,” man continues to embrace the spirit that says, “God wants you to change.”
Change is the contradictory action against the truth which never changes. It is the manifestation of that which is inconsistent with the truth. Change is due to an agenda different from seeking the will and way of God that changes not. Change is the substituting of man’s way for God’s way. Change is the disregard for the authority of God’s unchanging way as the standard of judgment.
Man continues to praise those who are given to change, while holding those in contempt who stand against change. The only way man can hope to gain by change, is if God were to change. SELAH!
SHARING
