Saturday, May 19, 2007

How much time?

Obviously, the Word of God speaks infinitely more excellently and loudly than I ever could in my little commentaries. I think these words are extremely relevant to today. I read these verses again today: I continue to be awestruck by them:

Zechariah 1 [NIV]:

14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 but I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they added to the calamity.’

16 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

17 “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’ ”

Four Horns and Four Craftsmen

18 Then I looked up—and there before me were four horns! 19 I asked the angel who was speaking to me, “What are these?”

He answered me, “These are the horns that scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem.”

20 Then the Lord showed me four craftsmen. 21 I asked, “What are these coming to do?”

He answered, “These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise his head, but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”

I like how the NLT version translates:

Zechariah 1: [New Living Translation]
14 Then the angel said to me, "Shout this message for all to hear: `This is what the Lord Almighty says: My love for Jerusalem and Mount Zion is passionate and strong. 15 But I am very angry with the other nations that enjoy peace and security. I was only a little angry with my people, but the nations punished them far beyond my intentions.
16 " `Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I have returned to show mercy to Jerusalem. My Temple will be rebuilt, says the Lord Almighty, and plans will be made for the reconstruction of Jerusalem. [fn3] ' 17 Say this also: `This is what the Lord Almighty says: The towns of Israel will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem as his own.' "

Four Horns and Four Blacksmiths
18 Then I looked up and saw four animal horns. 19 "What are these?" I asked the angel who was talking with me. He replied, "These horns represent the world powers that scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem."
20 Then the Lord showed me four blacksmiths. 21 "What are these men coming to do?" I asked.
The angel replied, "The blacksmiths have come to terrify the four horns that scattered and humbled Judah. They will throw them down and destroy them."

Pray for the salvation of the enemies of Israel, while there is still some time. God's wrath is coming.

That day of judgment will come, says the Sovereign Lord. Everything will happen just as I have declared it.
Ezekiel 39:8



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi endtime- I saw the Perry Stone video as well. Interesting that these 'flesh eating birds' have not been seen in Israel before, and now they have a local, on the Mts of Israel, of about 400. When he talked about the migratory routes, during the time of the Feasts, I got the shivers. Another player on the stage.

David Lowe, auther of Earthquake Resurrection, has joined the discussion on Joels Blog.You will note the comments from those who haven't read the book.De ja vu?

Congratulations on your promotion! The cream always rises to the top!

Jamie

Endtime said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Endtime said...

Hi Jamie,

Thanks for the congrat's. Your comments are going to go to my head -lol! The one bad thing about the promotion is that I probably won't have time to post as much as I'd like on this blog. We'll see how it goes. I am somewhat of an insomniac, often waking up at 3-4am. This has given me time to post in the wee hours of the morning, in the past.

Regarding the 400 birds - you know I didn't even catch Perry Stone saying that these birds have not been in northern Israel before-?? I was watching the video with my wife, and between the video, and our two kids (6&7 yo) coming in and out of the room, I totally missed the fact that the birds are NEW to northern Israel. You're very right - it brings shivers to your spine. This is so cool. I wish more people would recognize who is in control.

Regarding Lowe, I love his thirst for the Word. I look forward to finishing his book that I bought.