Divine Sugar Sticks for November 2002

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Saturday, November 30, 2002

The Blessing of Jacob for His Son Joseph Carries the Promise of Nature’s Gifts for All the Offspring of God

“Blessed of JEHOVAH be his land,
“For the precious things of Heaven, for the dew,
“For the deep that coucheth beneath,
“For the precious things of the fruit of the sun,
“For the precious things of the growth of the moons, or months,
“For the precious things of the everlasting hills,
“For the precious things of the earth, and the fullness thereof, and the good will of Him that dwelt in the bush,” Duet 33:13-16.

Promises for the Natural World (Continued)

The Rainbow!

For nature, emerging from beneath her watery covering, there was the Divine Promise that never again would a flood destroy the earth.

The bow set in the cloud was to be the enduring remembrance-token. Circling the heavens with its belt of golden hues, it was to testify of God’s Promise, and appears as a lasting memorial of His covenant throughout all generations.

Since Noah’s day, different parts of the earth have experienced devastating floods but ever and anon the beautiful rainbow appears to remind sinful man that “God shall no more destroy all flesh.”

The rainbow is also a remembrance to Himself of His Gracious Promise, “I will look upon it that I may remember the everlasting covenant.”

Such a bow of Promise was also to be the pledge of the perpetuity of nature’s blessings.

“The Fountain of Jacob Shall be Opened Upon a Land of Corn and Wine, Also His Heavens Shall Drop Down Dew,” Deuteronomy 33:28

It is not wonderful how, with amazing regularity, God meets the needs of the millions on earth in succeeding generations?

True, there is poverty among plenty, and multitudes in some parts of the world live on the verge of starvation, while others have enough to spare.

But this is no break down of nature. It comes about through man’s unequal distribution of nature’s bounties.

The Storms and Winds May Rise and Rage But …

“He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still,” Psalm 107:23-30.

He also controls the skies and atmospheric conditions that can empty the clouds of rain, or permit drought.

There may be times when it seems as if part of the country we live in has too much rain, and the sigh escapes for a drier, sunnier climate.

It is no use to grumble and complain.
It is just as cheap and easy to rejoice.
When God sorts out the weather and sends the rain.
Why, rain’s my choice!

“They Joy Before Thee According to the Joy in Harvest,” Isaiah 9:3

The tragedy is that although the good seed is fed and watered by God’s almighty hand, and He sends the beneficial snow in winter, He gets little thanks from man.

The ever-recurring summers, autumns, winters, and springs, with all each season produces, are taken as a matter of course. The majority, blessed by nature, do not magnify the Lord, for all things bright and beautiful and good. God’s Promise of increasing supply is not recognized.

In the Bible there are various “promised harvests,” harvests both of joy and judgment. The natural world is made to illustrate the judicial realm.

As autumn comes around, and we have our harvest festival, does the same thing not bring with it the verification of the Promise given to Noah? And does our heart not gratefully sing to the Lord of the harvest?

“They Joy Before Thee According to the Joy in Harvest,” Isaiah 9:3

In this narrative, Isaiah uses the illustration from nature as a Promise of a “Divine Child,” as Israel’s only hope.

Knowing something of the harvest, the Lord Jesus Christ is to gather as a result of His victory over the forces of hell. We, too, joy before the Lord according to the joy of harvest!

As the former rejoices over His gathered crop, at the judgment seat, as laborers in the Lord’s vineyard, we likewise can know the joy of harvest. 1 Thes 2:19, 20.

Will you have sheaves to rejoice over at that harvest time?

Friday, November 29, 2002

Promises and the Natural World

In his appeal to the men of Athens, Paul, using as his text the altar inscription “to the unknown god,” declared that such a God was.

The heart -inspiring truth emphasized throughout the Bible is that God, as the Lord of nature and providence, promises an abundance of good things as the seasons, which He has determined, come and go,” Acts 17:26. The universe offers itself to view as earth, sky, and sea.

Promises in the Natural World

1. He is the Creator and Controller of the sea.
   

Thought for the Day!

6 6 6

6 6 6

Promises in the Natural World

2. He is the Creator and Controller of the sky.
   

Promises in the Natural World

3. He is the Creator and Controller of the earth – Part One
   

All the foregoing evidences of Divine ownership and sovereignty prove that as a servant is dependent upon his master, so is all of nature upon the Lord.

Promises in the Natural World

3. Creator and Controller of the earth – Part Two
   
   Nature is not her own governess. She does not follow her own will, but her Lord’s will. She does not express her own thoughts and purposes. For instance, the sun rises every day at the right moment. Who is the thinker? The sun? No, but God who created it, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator.
   
   The bee builds her comb according the severest principles of geometry. Who is the mathematician? The bee? No. But the Lord who created it.
   
   This nature has no thought, no will of her own. She is entirely under the control of her Lord. What a magnificent display of God’s dominion in His own world Job gives us. Read the absorbing incomparable description. Job 37-41.
   
   “Mother nature” doesn’t have a mother. Nature has a Creator.
   “The mother of God.” God doesn’t have a mother. Mary is the mother of the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, not of His Deity. Mary can’t produce Deity.
   

Question: How do You Decide Whom to Marry?

Answer by Alan, 10 years old.

“You have to find someone who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she will like it that you like sports, and she will keep the chips and the dip coming.”

Thursday, November 28, 2002

Thanksgiving Day 2002

There are some 34 things we receive at the point of salvation. If you begin to thank Him for them, by the time you finish, you will forget about fighting over who gets the drum sticks.

“I Was in Prison and Ye Came to Me,” Matthew 25:36

Civil prisons testify to the reality of sin.

Society demands them as a means of punishment for crime. All within our national prisons are there because they deserve to be there.

Modern prisons, especially in so-called democratic countries, are far removed from the cold barbarity once associated with them. Liberty is given to messengers of Christ to visit our prisons and influence the prisoners to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour.

What trophies of Grace have come from a prison cell. In His Olivet discourse, our Lord affirms that in caring for the needy, whether in or out of prison, we are actually ministering unto Him.

The first man to receive the crucified Saviour was a criminal, who was dying for his evil deeds.

“The Lord Despiseth Not His Prisoners,” Psalm 69:33

The Bible uses a prison in various ways.

But unto such the Promise was given that the Lord would not despise or leave them to rot unforgotten. He hears their sighs and has His own way of delivering them as Peter proved when his prison doors opened “of their own accord.”

“Turn Ye to the Strong Hold, Ye Prisoners of Hope,” Zechariah 9:12

Now here is a verse I am sure everyone is familiar with. It is taught oh so often from the pulpits of our churches. Right!

Here the narrative is directly related to the re-gathering of Israel and her re-establishment as a nation – not today.

The figure of speech is therefore most expressive.

Scattered as they are among the nations, the Jews are upheld amid much suffering by God’s promised deliverance. They believed that He would bring them to the strong hold of their own land, and render them a double blessing. For their tears, God would give them triumph. Glory was to compensate their grief.

As prisoners in many lands, i.e., Russia, the Jews still hope on.

The Saints of God are Likewise “Prisoners of Hope”

Their redeemed souls are within the prison of their body yearning for freedom. Fettered by the world and the flesh, they cannot serve the Lord as they should or would like.

But at Christ’s coming, however, they leap out of their bodily prison, leaving their chains behind.

If the “Prince of Peace” Himself is Not Recognized and Revered by War-Like Nations, How Can There be the Universal Peace That Millions Sigh For?

Visualize world peace – without the Prince of Peace??

How apt are the prophet’s words in more ways than one.

Wednesday, November 27, 2002

P.O.W. Promises

A pit, as a prison, was prevalent in the east. Usually prisoners were let down through a hole in a narrow pit, where they were confined at the pleasure of their tyrannical masters.

Isaiah makes it clear that no captive wants to die in such a prison.

P.O.W. Promises

What vile prisons countless multitudes were forced to suffer during World War II. German and Japanese prison camps, and Russian slave camps, were most cruel and inhumane and against all international agreement.

To the credit of America, we were more humane in our treatment of war prisoners.

In 1942, Rev. John Leonard Wilson, bishop of Singapore, was suspected of being a spy, imprisoned, and tortured by the secret police. In such painful and pitiable conditions, what was the bishop’s hope and of thousands like him who love the Lord? Why, the Divine Promises of Him who is never deaf to the sighing of the prisoner sustained them.

Describing the privations and threatened hunger of the prison, Isaiah gives us one of those blessed buts of the Bible.

P.O.W. Promises – “But”

A captive people like Israel never treated God’s Promises as if they were curiosities of a museum. When captives of the mighty rulers, the Words of the prophets were the source of comfort and hope in exile.

God was made to take the prey from the mighty, and through His servant, He promised to contend with those who ill-treated His own.

When war breaks loose upon the world, men, women, and children in conquered countries become prisoners and many languish and die. What a terrible blot on civilization was the brutal massacre of more than five million helpless Jews by Adolph Hitler. Cruel aggressors however, merit the judgment of Heaven. The humiliating end of Hitler and Mussolini fittingly illustrated the Divine condemnation.

The Romans Had a Singular Method of Fettering Their Prisoners

The one end of a long chain was fixed upon the right arm of the prisoner, and the other end was fastened to the left arm of the soldier.

Thus a prisoner was always attended and guarded, which occasioned one of the most pathetic and affecting strokes of true oratory ever displayed either in the Greek or Roman senate.

Can we not imagine how Paul would accompany his words with the parade and dangling of his chains? Yet his bonds were a blessing, for they gave the apostle great opportunities of winning his guards to the Lord.

We can really picture him claiming such a hope to his changing guard. Grace was his to fashion a pulpit out of his prison. That both Paul and Peter endured imprisonments yet received prison succor and deliverance is fully dealt with in the Bible.

“The King ... Changed His Prison Garments,” 2 Kings 25:29

The king of Babylon acted most graciously when he came to the release of Jehoiachin, his royal prisoner. Read the context. Verses 27–30 and note the handsome treatment Jehoiachin received and which continued all the days of his life.

How pleased he must have been when by the edict of Evilmerodach, he disgarded his prison garb and once again donned his royal attire and went forth to enjoy the promise of freedom.

His coarse clothes, symbol of captivity, were exchanged for gold and purple, symbols of royalty.

Does not this supply us with a picture of God’s matchless Grace?

Boy! I bet some preachers can go to town on this picture of the change that takes place in our clothing when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour.

Filthy rags to fine white linen!

Thought for the Day

If I knew you and you knew me,
And both of us could clearly see,
And with an inner light Divine,
The meaning of your soul and mine.

I am sure that we would differ less,
And clasp our hands in friendliness.
Our thoughts would mutually agree,
If I knew you and you knew me.

Tuesday, November 26, 2002

“No Weapon (That Means Even Nuclear Ones) That is Formed Against Thee Shall Prosper,” Isaiah 51:17

While this is a Promise directly related to restored Israel, like many other of her Promises, we can claim the life of it.

God is still able “to break the bow and cut the spear to sunder.”

Modern weapons of war are indeed fearful and diabolical, but the Lord knows how to bring them to naught. Often He rallies the forces of nature to combat the cruelty of men.

It was thus that the Lord used the snow against Napoleon and the miracle mists at Dunkirk.

“Shall Your Brethren Go to War and Shall Ye Sit Here?” Numbers 32:6

Whenever war breaks loose upon a nation, the vexing question of Christian participation inevitably arises.

Pacifists and conscientious objectors become conspicuous as they affirm their own unwillingness to take up arms against any man.

War is un-Christian, it is said, and diametrically opposed to the witness and the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In our so-called democracy, such individual conscience is tolerated and respected. Still the problem is, what should be the attitude of a Christian when war arises?

Is he like the children of God and the children of Reuben, to sit in comfort, while others go out to bleed and die?

A Christian, although a citizen of Heaven, is likewise a citizen of earth, must decide whether or not he has corresponding responsibilities and should be “in subjection to the powers that be.” Peter gives us clear instructions on this matter. Read 1 Pet 2:12-25.

You Cannot Enforce Christian Principles on a Non-Christian World.

They that take the sword must perish by the sword.

Some of the godliest men were soldiers, who fought and died for their country’s honor. To those, like general Fordon, the Promises of Divine succor were most precious.

Bravely do whatever the time demands,
Whether with pen or sword, and not to flinch.
This is the task that fits heroic hands,
So are Truth’s boundaries widened, inch by inch.

Monday, November 25, 2002

Promises for War and Terrorist Attacks

While the above and similar Promises do not guarantee immunity from the sorrows of war, they nevertheless imply that if we should be swept along by a current of war, we have a source of consolation and hope of which the godless are ignorant. Prov 3:24-26.

“He Shall Redeem Thee in War From the Power of the Sword,” Job 5:30

Through the ages the instruments of war have become more deadly, until misdirected ingenuity and science have succeeded in creating the most fearful implements of destruction ever known.

But Job’s Promise declares that God is able to preserve both man and family in time of war.

True, Christians perish as well as non-Christians when battles rage, but for the Christians who perish by the way, there is the consolation that warring forces are “not able to kill the real you, the soul.” Matt 10:28.

Bombs only deliver the believer from the sordidness of earth. For them, sudden death is sudden glory. Some of the early martyrs would kiss the flames encircling them, seeing they only hastened their entrance into Heaven.

“Fear Not For They That be with Us Are More Than They That be with Them,” 2 Kings 6:16

The young man who was disturbed by the overwhelming host with horses and chariots surrounding Samaria, had to be reminded by Elisha that there were mightier invisible hosts acting as the city’s bodyguards.

Do we believe that greater is He that is for us than any arrayed against us?

Sunday, November 24, 2002

Psalm 2, “He That Sits in the Heavens Laughs.”

Shakespeare expressed the sentiment “that time’s glory is to calm contending kings.”

Time, however, is not calming contentious kings. What bitter contention characterizes the meeting of the rulers of nations today. How utterly godless some of these rulers are.

But He who sits in the Heavens, laughs. And He can afford to laugh for His day is coming. When it does, all will bow before Him and recognize His supremacy as the World Emperor.

If only those who have the destinies of nations in their hands would presently acknowledge God’s sovereignty, and make the patriotic prayer of Daniel, Prime Minister of Babylon, their own cry.

Our Attitude Toward the Kings and Rulers of the Earth, Whether They Are Godly or Ungodly, is Clearly Defined in Scripture

1. We are not to speak evil of them. Job 34:18, 2 Pet 2:10.
2. Pay necessary tribute to them. Matt 22:21, Rom 13:6, 7.
3. Not despise, but honor them. Rom 13:7, 1 Pet 2:17, Jude 8.
4. Fear and reverence them. Prov 21:21, 1 Sam 24:8, 1 Kings 1:23, 31.
5. Respect their Divine ordination. Rom 13:2.
6. And obey them. Rom 13:1, 3, 1 Pet 2:13.
   

“Submit Yourselves to the King as Supreme,” 1 Peter 2:13

When Peter wrote this, he was addressing the slaves of Caesar, to whom the Lord Jesus Christ said everything had to be rendered which were His.

Whether we believe in the Divine right of kings or not, the fact remains that it is the will of God that the citizens of a country must be subject to decrees its ruler makes.

In lands governed by atheistic, Communist rulers it may be hard for the saints in such countries to obey the apostolic exhortation to pray for them, 1 Tim 2:1, 2.

Can prayer avail against those who abuse their authority when they endeavor to destroy all that is of the Christian faith? How can those under Communism lead quiet and peaceful lives in all godliness and honesty?

Believers in Russia and China may feel it useless to concentrate prayer effort upon their godless rulers, interceding for their recognition of Divine wisdom in all their deliberations. But pray they must.

Is not the God they pray to, the Lord God omnipotent, with power to set up or depose earthly rulers? Prayerfully they can await the coming of His peaceful kingdom.

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane.
But the body of Christ constant will remain.
The gates of hell can never against that body prevail.
We have Christ’s own Promise and that cannot fail.

“Wars and Rumours of Wars TiIl I Come”

We now come to examine a few Promises related to war, which will not be abolished until the “Prince of Peace” takes over the government of the earth.

Ever since humanity was divided into nations, there appeared kings, princes, and rulers, and there have been feuds and conflicts between them, resulting in terrible bloodshed.

Monarchs and wars have been, and still are, synonymous. What holocausts of destruction the world has experienced!

Millions have looked up to Heaven through their blinding tears and cried, “O, God, why do men make wars?”

Our Lord declared that until the Gentile age has run its course,

But the bright Promise is:

Summit Conferences for Rulers to Meet and Plan for Peace

The U.N. in New York was conceived along with the “League of Nations” before it, to banish war from the earth. But yet since its inception, we have had nothing but a succession of wars and the rape of nations like Hungary, and Tibet by larger, power-hungry nations.

Certainly we should pray for statesmen as they explore the avenues of peace, but with our Bibles open before us, we know that any respite from war will only be temporary.

The prerogative of world peace belongs to the Lord Who is coming “to break the bow asunder.”

The recurring “personal pronoun” in the Promise of the psalmist must not be lost sight of.

“He... He... He.” The abolition of war and the complete destruction of the munitions of war, await the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth.

Meanwhile, our attitude should be that of supreme confidence in the realization of the Promise of ultimate Divine sovereignty.

If God Should Permit Another War in Our Lifetime, There Are Promises We Can Cling to if Wardrums Should Beat Again

Yes, there are many that we can hide in our souls.

A wonderful feature of “war Promises” given thousands of years ago is that they have brought consolation and strength to the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ caught up in the horrors of war in succeeding ages.

Such Promises, all kinds of Promises, are inexhaustible. With passing generations they seem to hold a deeper meaning and greater truth.

During World War II, many Old Testament Promises seemed to be as fresh courage amid the sacrifice and carnage of war.

Do you have a list of war Promises in case of another “terrorist attack?”

Keep in touch. I will list them for you. Put them on your refrigerator. You might also want to check out two of our publications –  Promises for Warfare and Promises for Prisoners of War.

Saturday, November 23, 2002

God, Who is Able to Reprove Kings (1 Chronicles 16:21) is the Avowed Enemy of Covetousness in Any Shape or Form

God gave us kings in His wrath, and if He did, it is because of covetousness. Israel’s first king was given thus in wrath.

Israel Coveted All the Glitter and Glory, Pomp and Pride of Gentile Kings and Demanded of Samuel ...

“Make us a king to judge us like all the nations,” 1 Sam 8:5, 10:19.

Thus the people rejected theocracy for monarchy, with dire results as their future history proves. The avarice and pride of rulers have deeply stained the earth with the blood of millions.

Divine Rules for Rulers to Obey with Promise of Divine Favor if God is Honored in National Life Are Scattered Throughout the Bible

Monarchs and rulers must fear God and rule in the fear of God.

These words were among the last spoken by King David, whose reign was an honored one. While guilty of a dark sin marring his royal influence in the nation, David was just and sought to rule in the fear of God. The bent of his life was Godward. This illustrious king left a Promise for all those willing to rule as unto God.

How different civilization would have been if only kings had kept David’s precept and Promise in mind.

Rulers Are Exhorted to Promote the Interest of Divine Institutions

Rulers should maintain the cause of the poor and the oppressed.

Judgment Must Never be Perverted

All matters relating to subjects must be fully investigated.

There Are Warnings for Rulers Against All Kinds of Evil

The foregoing injunctions prove that the influence of a ruler’s reign depends upon his morals.

Often when a ruler’s ways are corrupt and his judgments warped, national life becomes the mirror of his own life.

The Witness of History, Biblical and Secular, Shows That When Kings Are Godly and Wise, and Pledge Allegiance to the King of Kings, Then Their Reign is Most Beneficial to Their Subjects

Not only so, but “promised blessings” are for those who reign in truth and righteousness.

1. If only all sovereigns and potentates “could have Grace poured into their lips,” Psa 46.
   
2. And “favor of the wise,” Prov 14:35.
   
3. And “honor for the diligent,” Prov 22:20.
   
4. That “keep the Divine law,” 1 Kings 2:3.
   
5. “That study the Scriptures,” Deut 17:19.
   
6. “And serve the Lord Jesus Christ,” Psa 2:10-12.

How enriched their lives would be.

The Tragedy is That Throughout the Centuries so Many of the Kings of the Earth Have Set Themselves and the Rulers Have Taken Counsel Together Against the Lord, Psalm 2:2

And Divine restraints have been disregarded.

The language employed by the psalmist describes a deliberate and planned hostility to God on the part of the earthly rulers. They are unified in their determination to abolish all restraints.

Then the rage and rejection depicted carry a prophetic significance.

Before the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this earth as the “King of kings,” earth rulers will be cemented into a godless confederacy. Their every action will be against God. But the Promise is that His King, His beloved Son, will take unto Himself His power and reign.

Thought for the Day!

There has never been a one world ruler and there never will be until the Lord Jesus Christ returns and rules.

Simply because, if there is a one world ruler, Satan can influence him and destroy the whole world.

Likewise, this new “Homeland Security” program is anti-Biblical, because you are doing the same thing – having one ruler over many departments, which gives Satan an advantage. Better to have many departments and many heads because Satan can’t be at two places at once.

Friday, November 22, 2002

“There is No King Saved by the Multitude of an Host, a Mighty Man (or Monarch) is Not Delivered by His great Strength ... He is Our Help and Our Shield,” Psalm 33:16, 20

David, warrior and writer, knew what he was talking about, for although he became a great king, he was yet severely punished for numbering his soldiers, indicating thereby that the deliverance from his enemies was wholly dependent upon a host of brave soldiers.

But He has not promised to be on the side of big battalions.

National security is not the outcome of strong fighting forces, or the possession of the most deadly weapons.

No king is immune from defeat and disaster because of what he has, whether much or little. National prosperity and peace are ordained by the Lord.

“Woe to Them That Go Down to Egypt for Help and Stay Upon Horses, and Trust in Chariots, Because They Are Many, and in Horsemen Because They Are Strong, But They Look Not Unto the Holy One of Israel, Neither Seek the Lord,” Isaiah 31:1

King Hezekiah received the Promise of deliverance from the overwhelming forces of Assyria because he recognized his utter inability to do anything apart from God. And in the end, God did it all.

Hezekiah had not to raise a finger in his defense. The Assyrian host of 185,000 were slain by the “Angel of the Lord,” the Lord Jesus Christ, Isa 36, 37.

Thought for the Day!

If you will seek the Lord, He will reward you. God is a Rewarder!

“Hezekiah Prayed Before the Lord and Said, O Lord God of Israel, Which Dwelleth Between the Cherubim, Thou Art God, Even Thou Alone, All of the Kingdoms of the Earth, Thou Hast Made Heaven and Earth ...

“The Lord said, I will defend this city. To save it, for Mine own sake, and for My servant David’s sake. And it came to pass that night, that the Angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred four score and five thousand, and when Hezekiah rose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses,” 2 Kings 19:14-19, 34, 35.

A firm, unmistakable faith in God and the recognition of Him in every phase of national life, then is the strongest and most impregnable defense any nation can have – including “Home Security.”

Home Security

Except the Lord build the home security, they that build it, build it in vain!

Further God Has Promised That Kings Can Prolong Their Reign if Covetousness is Hated

Abolish justice and what are kingdoms but robberies.

Sacrificing all justice and honor, kings, lustful for more power and possessions, build up kingdoms of robbery.

Thursday, November 21, 2002

Gathering Together What the Bible Says About Kings, Rulers, Presidents, and the Divine Promises and Precepts Concerning Them

These facts stand out for all modern and future rulers to observe.

One. God overrules in their choice.

From the human point of view, heredity and elections appear to decide who is to rule and reign. But God is always in the shadows overruling in the affairs of nations and men.

References to the context where the above verses are found indicates promise of success if the omnipotent God is recognized, and threat of defeat if He is disposed.

Nebuchadnezzar – One of the Mightiest of Kings – Had to be Reminded that God is Omnipotent When it Comes to the Rise and Fall of Sovereigns

When we read that God sets up the basest of men to reign and attaches a Promise of Divine favor to the beneficent reign, we are to understand that He permits them to be chosen.

Without doubt, Adolph Hitler, the paper hanger, was one of the basest men, a child of hell, and yet God permitted him to reach his position of supreme power from which he cast the world into its most devastating war.

Faith rests in confidence on the Promise that God possesses infinite wisdom and therefore knows what he is about.

Rulers May Appear to Rule, But God Overrules

When the time comes for any cruel, godless ruler to be deposed, God will crush him even as he did Hitler. All rulers are dependent upon His sovereignty.

God Rules in the Kingdom of Men

Before thy breath like blazing flux,
Man and his marvels pass away.
And changing empires wane and wax,
Are founded, flourish, and decay.

Redeem thine hours, thy space is brief,
While in thy gates the sand grains shiver.
And measureless thy joy or grief,
When time and thou shalt part for ever.

Often Kings Exercise Their Power Arbitrarily and Have to be Reminded That Any Promise of a Prosperous Reign Depended Upon Their Endeavor to Emulate Divine Justice and Righteousness in Rule

Before There Was Any Expressed Desire on Israel’s Part for a King Such as the Surrounding Nations Possessed, God Gave Moses a “Profile” of the Kind of King He Was Willing to Bless

Then comes the Divine Promise of blessing:

Rulers Were Also Counseled to Remember That the Success of Their Rule Depended Not Upon Their Own Powers or Strength, But Solely Upon the Lord

Promises were attached to the full recognition of Him as the Source of all prosperity and to the determination of the rulers to serve Him and also those they governed.

Addressing the Australian Parliament at Melbourne in Feb. 1951, Queen Elizabeth II said,

“It is my resolve under God that I shall not only rule, but serve. That is not only the tradition of my family, it describes, I believe, the modern character of the British crown.”

What a different history of the nations would have been written if only all crowned heads from early monarchial times had, under God, served Him and those they governed.

Wednesday, November 20, 2002

“The Nations Shall Walk by its Light and the Kings of the Earth Bring Their Glory to it,” Revelation 21:24

At last, the sovereign rule of the Lord Jesus Christ is acknowledged. The seat of His government is in the midst of the city. And millennial kings and nations, then basking in the bright light of the ever-glorious city, gladly render their homage to Him who will then reign without a rival.

Meanwhile the Promise of Gentile salvation is being realized. In this present dispensation of Grace, there are no distinctions or exclusions whatever.

God does not segregate mankind into Jews and Gentiles, Catholics and Protestants. All are sinners in His sight, and can only be saved upon the acceptance of His terms. His design in this age is to gather out a people for His name – a people, or church, composed of only regenerate Jews and Gentiles. Thus all the Promises of salvation are related to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, whether heathen or civilized, Jew or Gentile, Catholic or Protestant, there is no difference as to nationality or religion, for “We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God,” Rom 3:23.

As Gentiles Outnumber the Jews by Millions, Naturally There are More Gentiles Than Jews Being Brought into the True Church, the Body of Christ

It is wrong, however, to refer to the church as “the Gentile bride of Christ,” seeing this mystic body is composed of both Jew and Gentile as Paul teaches.

One solemn obligation as Grace continues to reign is to obey the Saviour’s commission to preach the Gospel “to every creature.”

We are to go out into the world in which there are countless millions still in spiritual darkness and beseech them to be reconciled to Him “Who would have all men to be saved.”

There Are Other Aspects of Gentile History in Which Promises of Good or Evil Are Associated …

And which we cannot afford to neglect in our study of the international realm.

From ancient times when mankind was divided up into nations, there have been kings, rulers, and presidents. Melchisedec is the first one in the Bible to be mentioned as a king, Gen 14:18.

The tragedy is that from the beginning of national life, there has been a constant record of devastating wars involving both Jews and Gentiles, the later being more conspicuously warlike than the former. Ambition and covetousness have resulted in horrible wars and captivities with their inevitable harvest of desolation, anguish, and sorrow for multitudes of innocent people.

The apostle James leaves us no doubt as to the root-cause of the clash among rulers.

This is why there will always be wars and rumors of war until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to this earth.

Tuesday, November 19, 2002

With the Great and Glorious Promise God Gave to Abraham That He Would be the Father of a New Nation, Genesis 12:1-3, …

The human race became separated into two sections. With Abraham commenced the Jewish race. The rest of mankind became the Gentile race.

Promises for both are scattered through the portions of Scripture from Gen 12 to the book of Daniel.

Such an exclusion of the nations through the choice of Israel did not mean that God was going to turn the Gentiles adrift. His sole purpose of separating them was that through the Jews, whom He raised up to magnify His name, He might ultimately include all in His great purpose of Grace.

Exclusion meant inclusion.

The Time of “Gentile Domination” is a Period Reaching From Nebuchadnezzar Right Over Until the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Earth, as the Rightful Lord and King

It was about 606 B.C. that God permitted world power to pass into the hands of Nebuchadnzzsar, Jer 27:5-7, 39:7.

Is it not somewhat striking that almost the same language is used of the commencement of Gentile monarchy, as of its consummation?

How Crowded with Promises the Period is Between These Two World Dominions is!

There are Promises made to Babylon’s monarch; Promises regarding Jewish dispersion, re-establishment in their own land; Promises concerning succeeding empires; Promises related to the coming of God’s King and of His universal sway when He reigns from shore to shore. Isa 63:1-6.

At present we are living “in the times of the Gentiles,” meaning that the nations of the world are Gentile in nature and government, with the exception of Israel.

The Gentile age will end, however, with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth as He Himself taught in Matt 24:14.

Christ is the “Stone” (Dan 2:45, Isa 28:16) Cut Out of the Mountains Without Hands

Signifying His Divine origin, Who will appear in power and glory to end the Gentile reign in judgment. Isa 63:1-6, Dan 11:35, Zech 12:1-9.

Christ’s Return to Earth is an Event, Personal and Corporeal, and Not a Mere Process

When He appears, He will consummate and destroy the present (Gentile) political world system (Dan 2:34, 35 with Rev 19:11), and after this judgment (Matt 25:31-46), produce worldwide Gentile conversion and participation in the blessings of the kingdom. Isa 2:2-4, 11:10, 60:3; Zech 8:3, 20:23, 14:16-21. Then the Promise of Gabriel will be realized to the full.

Paul Declared That the Lord Jesus Christ Came to “Confirm the Promises Made Unto the Fathers,” Romans 15:8

He came, labored, and died in confirmation of many of those Promises, all of which He confirmed, but all of which have not been fulfilled.

Those relating to the future of His church, of Israel, and of the Gentile world await fulfillment.

Among the mysteries of the New Heaven and New Earth, this is set before us; that besides the glorified church there shall still be dwelling on the renewed earth, nations organized under kings and saved by means of the heavenly city.

Christ is waiting with long patience,
For His crowning day,
For that kingdom which shall never
Pass away.

And till every tribe and nation
Bow before His throne,
He expecteth loyal service
From His own.

He expecteth, but He heareth
Still the bitter cry,
From earth’s millions, “Come and help us
“For we die.”

Monday, November 18, 2002

Promise to Noah

To Noah, through whom God repeopled the earth again after the terrible destruction of the flood, many Promises were given.

There was the Promise of an established covenant.

There was the Promise of freedom from a further curse.

There was the Promise of enlargement through Japheth

The development of government, science, and art through the centuries is the indisputable fulfillment of such a Japhetic Promise.

There Was the Promise of Shem’s Peculiar Relation to JEHOVAH

From this point on, attention is focused upon the line of Shem, from whom sprang Abraham, the Hebrew race, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

There Was the Promise of Ham’s Inferior and Servile Posterity

In these days when we are witnessing the upsurge of nationalism among the Hamitic races, it would seem as if they are determined to reverse the Divine edict.

Sunday, November 17, 2002

The Way of the Gentiles

This prohibition did not mean that the Gentiles were denied participation in the Promise of the Gospel. While on earth, our Lord recognized the priority of Israel.

It was necessary for His disciples to learn how to show His compassion for the lost sheep of the house of Israel before they could enter into yearnings after the “sheep that were not of this fold.”

The salvation of the Gentiles is enshrined in many an Old Testament Promise, Isa 40:5.

The Times of the Gentiles

We have the Promise that the Gentile age, with all its warring activities, is to cease.

Gentile monarchy commenced with Judah’s servitude under Nebuchadnezzar, to whom was Divinely delegated a world empire.

The Promise is that Gentile world rule will be destroyed when the Lord Jesus Christ returns in glory and fashions the kingdoms of this world into His own world kingdom, Rev 11:15. Then, His kingdom is to stretch from shore to shore.

The Fullness of the Gentiles

This phrase is to be distinguished from the previous one, “the times of the Gentiles.” Here we have the Promise of salvation for the Gentiles.

Since Pentecost, the Lord Jesus Christ has been gathering in “other sheep,” John 10:16. Now, the world at large is the object of God’s redeeming love, John 3:16.

The Will of the Gentiles

The “will” here represents the “life” of the Gentiles; or “the manner of the Gentiles,” Gal 2:14; or “the vanities of the Gentiles,” Jer 14:22.

Such phrases represent the ungodly lives and ways of Gentile unbelievers. Choice must be made between “the will of God” and the “will of the Gentiles,” 1 Pet 4:1, 3.

Peter outlines many Promises of blessing for those who choose the sweet will of God.

Promises of deliverance from the guilt and government of sin in the lives of all Gentiles willing to change their mind about the Lord Jesus Christ and accept the Saviour of the world, are resident in a few interesting designations. For instance, God is described as, “the God of the Gentiles.”

The God of the Gentiles

As “the God of all flesh,” Jer 14:22, He cannot be guilty of partiality. What a blessed Promise this is for Gentile sinners throughout the world.

This God of love waits to be their God.

“As the King of the nations,” God’s outpouring power is described. Jer 10:7, Psa 113:4.

A Light to Lighten the Gentiles