God's Final Word Is Hope

One of the things I've noticed while reading through the prophets is that they seldom end where they begin.

They begin with sin.

They warn of judgment.

They call God's people to repentance.

But somewhere in the message, almost unexpectedly, hope appears.

Isaiah repeatedly declares God's judgment, yet he also reminds us:

"For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."

That phrase has caused me to stop and think. While it speaks of God's continuing dealings with Israel, it also reminds us that God was not finished with His people. He kept reaching out. He kept sending prophets. He kept calling them back.

Jeremiah follows a similar pattern.

In one chapter he pleads:

"Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths... and walk therein."

The people answer,

"We will not walk therein."

Then Jeremiah explains why. He contrasts lifeless idols with the living God who causes the vapor to rise, sends the rain, flashes the lightning, and brings forth the wind. The Creator is still calling His people to Himself.

The prophets never softened the consequences of sin. Judgment was real, and eventually Babylon came just as Jeremiah said it would.

Yet judgment was never God's final purpose.

Even Jeremiah, who watched Jerusalem fall, wrote of a coming restoration and a New Covenant for Israel in their Earthly Kingdom to come.

Then I thought about Paul's letters.

He follows much the same pattern.

Romans begins by exposing the guilt of the whole world.

Then comes the wonderful turning point:

"But now..."

Ephesians begins with mankind dead in trespasses and sins.

Then Paul writes:

"But God, who is rich in mercy..."

Again and again, Scripture refuses to leave us in despair.

God tells us the truth about our condition, but He also reveals His provision.

Perhaps that's one of the great themes of the Bible.

God's warnings are real.

His holiness is real.

His judgment is real.

But His mercy and Grace are also real.

His final purpose is being saved ( 1 Corinthians 1:18) from the second death (Revelation 21:8.)

As I read the prophets, I'm reminded that they are not simply books of doom. They are books of hope.

They teach us that God's warnings are acts of mercy, giving people opportunity to return before judgment falls.

And for believers today, our hope rests in the finished work of Christ.

The prophets looked ahead to God's faithfulness.

We look back to the cross and ahead to His promises still to come.

The darkness is real, but so is the dawn.

God's final word is hope. Hope in the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) a grace gift to us through our faith in the finished work of Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:8.)

While the World Waits for Jerusalem's Peace

 Turn on the news any day of the week, and it doesn't take long to realize that the world is searching for peace.

Wars, political unrest, economic uncertainty, and conflict seem to touch every corner of the globe. Jerusalem, in particular, has remained at the center of world attention for thousands of years. The psalmist wrote:

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem..." (Psalm 122:6)

Yet the prophet Zechariah looked ahead to a time when Jerusalem would become "a burdensome stone for all people" (Zechariah 12:3). The city that represents God's promises will also become the focal point of worldwide conflict before God's plan for the end reaches its fulfillment.

As believers, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem because God has not forgotten His promises.

But while we wait for that future day, there is another peace available today.

Paul wrote to believers:

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6–7)

Notice what Paul does not say. He does not promise that the world will become peaceful. He does not promise that governments will solve man kind's problems or that every conflict will end during this present age.

Instead, he points believers to something the world cannot manufacture—the peace of God.

The headlines may bring anxiety, but God's peace guards the believer's heart.

The future peace of Jerusalem belongs to God's hands

The present peace of the believer belongs to God's grace.

Those are not contradictory truths. They are truths for different times.

One day, the Prince of Peace will reign, and Jerusalem will know lasting peace under her rightful King.

Until that day, believers can experience the peace of God in the midst of a restless world.

The world may be filled with turmoil, but our hearts do not have to be.

Perhaps that's why Paul wrote from prison, not from a palace, when he spoke of the peace of God. His circumstances were anything but peaceful, yet his confidence rested in Christ rather than in the condition of the world.

As you watch the events around you unfold, remember this: while the world longs for peace, the believer already knows the One who gives it.

The Prophet and the Canyon: What the Old Testament Prophets Could Not See

I once saw a powerful drawing that has stayed with me for many years.

It showed an Old Testament prophet standing on the edge of a vast, deep canyon. He was staring intently across to the other side — much like a person standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon, looking at the breathtaking view opposite him.

On that far side, the prophet saw clearly the glorious scene God had revealed to him in prophecy: the Messiah reigning in Jerusalem, Israel fully restored as a nation, the earth filled with peace and righteousness, and the Kingdom age in all its splendor.

What the prophet could not see was the massive canyon a deep chasm that separated where he stood from the glorious future he was beholding.

That hidden canyon represents the Mystery — this present Age of Grace, the Church which is the Body of Christ. It was a truth that God kept secret from the Old Testament prophets.

The prophets saw Israel’s suffering and judgment… and then their eyes jumped straight across to Israel’s future glory in the Kingdom. They never saw the “canyon” of this present dispensation of grace that would come in between.

This simple drawing beautifully illustrates one of the most important principles in rightly dividing the Word of Truth: the difference between prophecy and the mystery.

In the coming posts in this series, we will look at:

• Why God hid this mystery
• What the prophets actually saw (and what they didn’t)
• How the Apostle Paul was given the revelation of this mystery
• What all of this means for us today

• First Coming
  • Isaiah 53
• Second Coming
  • Zechariah 14
• Millennium
  • Isaiah 11

in the valley:

• Ephesians 3:2–9
• Colossians 1:26

 

What If Hosea 5:15 Looks Beyond Assyria?

Bible prophecy often has a near fulfillment and a future fulfillment. Sometimes a prophet speaks to events in his own generation, yet his words seem to reach far beyond his own day.

Hosea 5 is one of those chapters that makes me stop and ask, What if?

The historical setting is clear. Ephraim turns to Assyria instead of turning to the Lord.

"Then went Ephraim to the Assyrian..." (Hosea 5:13)

History records that Assyria became the very instrument God used to judge the Northern Kingdom.

But then we read these remarkable words:

"I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early." (Hosea 5:15)

That little word "till" catches my attention.

Could Hosea be describing more than the Assyrian captivity? Could this verse also cast its shadow forward to a future day when Israel, after a time of great affliction, finally turns back to the Lord?

The next chapter begins with an invitation:

"Come, and let us return unto the LORD..." (Hosea 6:1)

Is that simply the prophet's call to his own generation? Or is it also a glimpse of Israel's future national repentance?

Other passages come to mind.

Jesus said:

"Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." (Matthew 23:39)

Paul wrote that "all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26), and Zechariah spoke of a day when Israel would look upon the One whom they pierced (Zechariah 12:10).

I'm not writing this to be dogmatic. Rather, I'm inviting you to read Hosea again with these passages in mind.

What if Hosea 5 has both a historical fulfillment in Assyria and a prophetic horizon that reaches all the way to Israel's future restoration?

Sometimes the prophets speak like someone looking at distant mountain peaks. The nearer mountain is easy to identify. Beyond it, another peak rises on the horizon. From the prophet's viewpoint they appear close together, though centuries may separate them.

As you read Hosea, ask yourself: Is chapter 5 describing only the events of the eighth century B.C., or is the Spirit also pointing us toward a future day when Israel will once again seek the face of her Messiah?

I encourage you to search the Scriptures like the Bereans and see where the text leads.

Jerusalem Will Never Be The Same

 

Can Freedom Survive without Faith? | Os Guinness | Revolution

The Weaver's Tapestry

One of the most beautiful illustrations I have heard for Romans 8:28 is that of a tapestry.

It is only an illustration—not a doctrine—but it helps us picture something that Paul teaches.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

When most people admire a tapestry, they see the finished side.

The colors blend together.

The pattern is beautiful.

Every thread seems to be exactly where it belongs.

But turn the tapestry around.

The back tells a different story.

Loose threads.

Knots.

Colors crossing in every direction.

There appears to be no order at all.

Suppose, however, that you were not merely looking at the back of the tapestry.

Suppose you were part of it.

You feel the needle pierce the fabric.

The thread is pulled tight.

The needle disappears only to emerge somewhere else.

You cannot see what the Weaver sees.

All you know is that it hurts.

Many of us have experienced seasons like that.

A job is lost.

A loved one dies.

A relationship is broken.

A dream fades away.

We ask the same question:

"What is God doing?"

The truth is that we usually see only the back side of God's work.

Joseph certainly did.

From the pit...

...to slavery...

...to prison...

...there was little that appeared to make sense.

Yet years later Joseph could say:

"Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good."

His brothers saw betrayal.

Joseph eventually saw the finished pattern.

The disciples stood at the cross believing everything had come to an end.

From their viewpoint, the tapestry appeared ruined.

Three days later they discovered that what looked like defeat had become the greatest victory in history.

Romans 8:28 does not say that all things are good.

Some things are unquestionably painful.

Some are the result of sin.

Some are the result of living in a fallen world.

But it does say that God is able to work all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

The tapestry reminds us that we are not the weaver.

We do not see the completed design.

We see only today's thread.

Today's stitch.

Today's pain.

Faith trusts the Weaver even when it cannot yet see the picture.

One day, perhaps in this life or perhaps in the next, we may finally understand why certain threads crossed our path.

Until then we walk by faith, not by sight.

The back of the tapestry may look confusing.

But the Weaver has never lost sight of the pattern.