PURIFYING PLAGUE

“And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths” (Zech. 14:12 NKJV).

Our verse speaks of a time of judgment after the battle of Armageddon. The Lord Jesus Christ will return to rule from Jerusalem and will deal with those evil people who fought against Jerusalem and against God. When folks fight against God and His way, it is never a pretty picture. Three specifics of judgment are given: they involve the skin, sight, and speech.

Skin – “Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet.” The withering judgment of God will consume those who oppose the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, folks are arrogant in their hostility to God and His ways today. But God is not mocked. When it is all said and done, the bodies of the belligerents will be consumed in judgment by the Almighty. Opposing and fighting against God it is a losing game. Folks do not like to hear this message of judgment. However, opposing God will be met with appropriate judgment.

Sight – “Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets.” The eyes of the wicked are filled with lust and greed. But when Holiness rules, evil sights will no longer be tolerated, and eyes filled with evil will not be able to behold the glorious light of Divine holiness. Eternal damnation is darkness. There will be no sight in hell.

Speech – “Their tongue shall dissolve in their mouth.” Tongues that have blasphemed God and have been filled with profanity will be destroyed. There will be no foul speech when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to rule. Our society so is filled with filthy speech today that it seems as if earplugs are needed when one goes into public. However, when the Lord Jesus Christ reigns, evil tongues will be destroyed. Only tongues that will praise God will exist.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“The life of true holiness is rooted in the soil of awed adoration!”

James Innell Packer (1926 – 2020)

English-born Canadian Evangelical Theologian and Author

Word Study

Turned aside (eschew)

In Rom. 3:12 we read, “They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one!” (NKJV).

Turned aside (eschew) is the Greek word ekklínō (ἐκκλίνω =ek-klee'-no). It is made up of two words: “ek” which means out, and “klínō” which means incline, bend, turn aside or away. Thus, the word means to lean in the wrong direction, to bend out of the regular line, to bend away. In classical Greek ekklínō meant to bend away. In the Septuagint, ekklínō refers to turning aside from a road while traveling. It was also used figuratively of turning away from God. In the New Testament, ekklínō was used figuratively to mean turning aside from seeking God, avoiding troublemakers (Rom. 16:17), and in 1 Peter 3:11 Christians are commanded to “turn away from evil and do good.”

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet” (Psalm 118:6 KJV).

Did You Know…

Noah is the first person reported to be drunk in Scripture, as per the ninth chapter of Genesis. According to Scripture, he became a farmer and after planting a vineyard, he became drunk when he consumed wine (Gen. 9:20-21).

Bible Quiz

What special quality as demonstrated by certain Old Testament figures is spoken of in Chapter 11 of Hebrews?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to the Book of Proverbs, what will bite you and poison you like a snake? Too much wine (Prov. 23:29-32).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“FIRSTBORN”

"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren!” (Rom. 8:29 NKJV).

1. Meaning – FIRSTBORN speaks of the Lord Jesus as the pre-eminent One as the model and exemplar.

2. Insights – “Firstborn” does not mean first created but rather rank or preeminence. This is the same term that is used for Israel being a preeminent nation, not the first nation God made (Ex. 4:22), and for David, the preeminent king compared to all others, not the first king who ever lived (Ps 89:27). The idea here is that the resurrected and glorified Lord Jesus Christ will become the Head of a new race of humanity purified from all contact with sin and prepared to live eternally in His presence (cf. 1 Cor. 15:42-49). As the “Firstborn” He is in the highest position among others (cf. Col. 1:18).

Did You Know – Christian History

John Hyde was born November 9, 1865, in Carrollton, Illinois. He was an American missionary who preached in the Punjab, India.

Hyde’s family were praying people. His father was a Presbyterian minister who faithfully proclaimed the Gospel message and called for the Lord to thrust out laborers into his harvest. He prayed this prayer not only in the pulpit but also in the home around the family altar. Consequently, an indelible impression was made on young Hyde as he learned to pray expecting results.

Hyde graduated from Carthage College with high honors and was immediately elected to a position on the faculty. However, he had a divine call to the regions beyond, so he resigned his faculty position and entered the Presbyterian Seminary in Chicago. He graduated in the spring of 1892 and sailed for India the following October. Aboard ship, he opened a letter from a friend who wrote that he would pray until Hyde was filled with the Holy Spirit. Angrily Hyde crumpled the letter and hurled it aside. He had yielded his heart to the Lord, gotten his degree, studied Indian languages and was obediently on his way to a life work. How dare his friend suggest he lacked the Spirit? But when he cooled down, he realized that his friend was right. He pleaded for the power of the Holy Spirit.

His ministry of prayer in India during the next twenty years was so well known that the natives referred to him as “the man who never sleeps.” Also, he was called the “Apostle of Prayer,” but more familiarly he was known as “Praying Hyde.” Hyde was all these and more, for deep in India he sought the Lord, and the strength of meeting his Master face to face prepared him for missionary service. Often, he spent thirty days and nights in prayer and many times was on his knees in deep intercession for thirty-six hours at a time. His work among the villages was so successful that for years he led four to ten people a day to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hyde was instrumental in establishing the annual Sialkot Conferences, from which thousands of missionaries and native workers returned to their stations with new power for the work of reaching India with the Gospel. Hyde’s life of sacrifice, humility, love for souls and deep spirituality, as well as his example in the ministry of intercession, inspired many to follow his example in their own lives and ministries. He died February 17, 1912. His last words were: “Shout the victory of Jesus Christ.”

A Little Humor

The topic for the Sunday class was palindromes, words or sentences that are the same when read forward and backward. The class was asked the question “What is the first thing Adam said to Eve?” Instead of the expected the answer “Madam, I’m Adam,” one student had a better reply: “Wow.”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“When God saves us, our sins are forgiven and forgotten forever!”