Latest / Faith by annm2705 / 782. Bible Study: Jeremiah 23 (Jesus reigning during the Millennium Prophecy, and False prophets saying "Peace and Security")

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782. Bible Study: Jeremiah 23 (Jesus reigning during the Millennium Prophecy, and False prophets saying "Peace and Security") · Faith by annm2705

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Today we're going to read chapter 23 from the book of
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Jeremiah and as a reminder of why we do this according to
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Second Timothy chapter 3, verses 16 through 17, all Scripture is
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God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting,
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and training in righteousness so that the servant of God may be
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thoroughly equipped for every good work.
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We ask that God open our eyes as we read through this scripture.
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We ask this in Jesus name, Amen. This starts out with the title
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of the righteous branch. Woe to the shepherds who are
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destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture, declares
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the Lord. Therefore, this is what the
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Lord, the God of Israel says to the shepherds who tend my
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people. Because you have scattered my
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flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them,
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I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,
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declares the Lord. I myself will gather the remnant
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of my flock out of all the countries where I had driven
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them, and will bring them back to their pasture, where they
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will be fruitful and increase the number.
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I will place shepherds over them who will lead them, and they
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will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be
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missing, declares the Lord. So in this portion of the
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Scripture there is a coming judgement to the shepherds who
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are not leading, the shepherds of the leaders, and we'll read
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the question and answer from the study Bible.
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Who were destroying the sheep? Judah's leaders.
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With leadership comes responsibility.
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The Lord holds accountable those who have spiritual authority
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over the people of God. In this case, Jeremiah was
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talking about the priest, the false prophets, and the king.
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They all failed the people by leading them into idolatry,
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injustice, and unfaithfulness. So God is recognizing you have a
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lot of bad leaders and they're leading you astray, but He's
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also making them a promise that He is going to change it and
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He's going to, even though He is pronouncing this judgement where
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they're going to all go to Babylon.
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They're going to be they're going to go in exile to Babylon.
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He's telling them that there will be a return, a future
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return. And no longer will people be
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afraid or terrified nor any will be missing.
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Well, reading that, I can tell you right now, and we would all
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agree on this. That is not the way it is today
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in Jerusalem. People are not, they are not in
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a state of being unafraid or not terrified, nor will any be
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missing. But currently they're still
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hostages that are bodies of people who had been killed that
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are not in Israel. So these these points have not
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occurred yet. This is still in the future.
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Now here's where it starts to talk about Jesus.
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The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up
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for David a righteous branch, a king who will reign wisely and
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do what is just and right in the land.
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In his days, Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.
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This is the name by which he will be called the Lord, our
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righteous savior. So recently I heard somebody
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talking that was saying it was a person who is Jewish and was
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saying, was talking about Mashiac and saying that he
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wasn't going to be a savior. And I just remembered that
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because I recently heard that and I now I'm looking at what
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Jeremiah said and keep in mind what Jeremiah what when Jeremiah
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was written, and I'm going to go back to the timing of this.
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Jeremiah's ministry was in 526 to 585 BC.
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The book of Jeremiah was written in 585 to 580 BC.
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So about 600 years or so before Jesus was born, and this is in
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the Old Testament. So Jeremiah chapter 23, verses 5
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and 6 talk about Jesus and and we know that it's not now
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because Israel does not live in safety.
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It says that and it talks about salvation.
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The Lord, our righteous Savior and Jesus came from the line of
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David and there isn't a king currently in Israel.
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The the kings ended when Judah was exiled into Babylon.
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That's when all the kings ended. In fact, the Last King was, I'm
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going to go back to Zedekiah. So between Josiah, Jehoaz,
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Jehovah Kim, Jehovah Chin, and then Zedekiah, he was the last
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one. And then the fall of Jerusalem
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occurred as God prophesied that this was going to happen.
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It was because of their idolatry.
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Idolatry because they wouldn't repent any time God was sending
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people to to them. They just ignored them.
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They didn't listen to the prophets.
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They only wanted to hear good things.
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They didn't want to hear judgment type things and that a
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coming judgment that if they didn't change their ways then
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disaster would basically come upon them.
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So they were bringing this disaster on.
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These are more like warnings from God.
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Just saying if you don't listen to me, there are disasters
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coming towards you and nobody would listen to him.
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So anyway, God in his mercy determined that it's not going
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to end this way with these rebellious people who don't
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listen to God and them just being destroying themselves,
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that he was going to send His Son to be the Savior for
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actually all mankind. So continuing in at verse 7.
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So then the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people
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will no longer say as surely as the Lord lives who brought the
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Israelites up out of Egypt, but they will say, as surely as the
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Lord lives who brought the descendants of Israel up out of
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the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had
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banished them, then they will live in their own land.
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So this is interesting too, because we know that God brought
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Israel out of Egypt, out of slavery in Egypt and brought
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them to the promised land of of Israel, but that's kind of more
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expanded than what they currently occupy.
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And and then he also is talking about something in the future.
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And to me, I think it's kind of interesting because he's talking
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about bringing people back from all the countries.
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I think Ezekiel also talks about this and he's talking about
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bringing them up out of the land of the north.
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So is there something, there's a couple different references that
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I've been picking up on in Bible prophecy that talks about Jesus
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freeing the people in the north. And I'm wondering if that is
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something that hasn't yet occurred because do you know
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right now they're, I'm not aware of people who are held captive
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in the north. And, and I just wonder these,
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this is just thoughts that come to mind because there's a couple
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different times where he talks about bringing them from the
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North. And anyway, we'll just have to
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wait and see on that one. So there is a question and
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answer about how is the Messiah linked to the restoration of
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Judah and Israel? We must be careful to
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distinguish between the first coming of Jesus Christ and His
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second coming, between Judah captivity and Babylon and the
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captivity of sin. The complete promise of
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restoration will be fulfilled only when Christ establishes His
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Kingdom on earth at the end of the age.
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More than a political nation. The people of God, all who
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believe in Christ, both Jew and non Jew will then be spiritually
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restored to the Lord spiritually and also physically.
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Because at prior to Jesus reigning on earth, those who
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believe in him, those who have prepared will be gathered to
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him, says gathered to him in the air and will be changed in an in
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the twinkling of an eye. I believe is and will receive
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immortal bodies at that point. So it's going to be interesting
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because there still will be mortal people during the
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Millennium. So there's going to be immortal
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and mortal people. Of course, Jesus is the immortal
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one, obviously, but he will be king over the earth for this
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time period, for this thousand years.
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That's in Bible prophecy. That's in the Book of
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Revelation. So continuing on with the book
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of Jeremiah, then he starts to talk about lying prophets.
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Chapter verse 9 concerning the prophets.
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My heart is broken within me, all my bones tremble.
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I am like a drunken man, like a strong man overcome by wine.
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Because of the Lord and His holy words, the land is full of
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adulterers. Because of the curse, the land
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lights parched and the pastures in the wilderness are withered.
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So here it also talks about, you know, the land is actually in a
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destructive phase or a phase of destruction.
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It's not producing things like it used to be because and it
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says be, you know, be the land is full of adulterers.
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So these are people that are worshipping a false God.
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They are not turned towards God and there are consequences.
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I tend to believe, as I've been reading Scripture, that
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sometimes when we rebel against God and we don't choose him,
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God. It does say in scripture that at
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a certain point God can turn us over.
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He can just give us what we want and it's not always going to be
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good because when he lets us have the evil that we seek, it
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leads to destruction. But the good thing about God is
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that He is very patient. He's merciful, He's forgiving,
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that if we wake up while we are in that rebellious state and we
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turn to Him, we can be assured of His welcoming of us and His
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forgiveness. But we should also greatly or
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have gratitude for the grace and the mercy and not abuse that
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because how would that be like if if you give somebody a gift
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and they trample on it, what do you think the response to that's
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going to be like, what would you do?
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I mean, God, we can't compare ourselves or how God reacts to
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how we react, obviously, because we're sinful and he is not.
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But just think about what that would feel like.
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You give somebody a beautiful gift like grace, like bringing
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people into your Kingdom, that's going to be absolutely perfect,
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unbroken, no crying, no tears, no nothing.
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I mean, like this is going to be like a beautiful place, space
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that God has planned from the beginning.
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And you give that opportunity to someone and they kind of trample
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on it and stay in sin like that. That only leads that leads to
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judgement because people, I, I know today that people just so
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greatly abuse the grace they believe that they have.
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And there's no denying that God does give grace and God does
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forgive people, but he doesn't forgive people so that you could
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we can stay in our sin when he when we, when there is
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forgiveness, then we receive the Holy Spirit and then we are in
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Christ. So our life begins to change.
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There's a transformation in our life.
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And if that's not occurring, then there there is some concern
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with that because it just says if we keep on sinning, that all
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we could expect is judgement from that.
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And it says no one who is in Christ keeps on sinning because
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the Holy Spirit's working in that person.
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And the Holy Spirit is the one who assist us and change us and
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makes us more like, you know, starts to purify us, I guess, in
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some ways to turn US away from sin and to give us new desires
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and make us more in alignment, in friendship with God.
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So going back to Scripture, it says the prophets follow an evil
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course and use their power unjustly.
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Both prophet and priest are godless.
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Even in my temple I find their wickedness declares the Lord.
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That's another thing. We can't always assume that
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somebody who is a leader in a church, in a synagogue, wherever
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they may be, that they are truly representing the Lord because
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there may be some, but it's, it's spiritual discernment
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that's really important to have. And the only way that you have
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spiritual discernment is from God.
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It's a gift of the Spirit, a gift of the Holy Spirit.
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So you must be born again and the Bible helps us the word of
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God helps us to spiritually discern things.
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Galatians chapter 5 verse 22 gives us the fruit of the spirit
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and what worldly people like or are like or Fleck fleshly people
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is what is what is called. So there's qualities or
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characteristics of people that are described in Galatians
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chapter 5 and that if you apply that to and observe people's
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actions, you can see what spiritual condition a person is
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if the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to those sorts of things.
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So anyway, these these prophets and leaders doesn't mean just
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because they have words like this doesn't mean that they are
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honest or that they are hearing from God and God is not happy
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about this. So therefore their path will
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become slippery. They will be banished to
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darkness and there they will fall.
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I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished,
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declares the Lord. So God has a time.
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He's, he's so kind in that he actually delays his wrath,
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delays his judgement with the hope that each person, even
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these lying prophets, lying priests, the ones who are doing
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wrong, that they can have the opportunity, they can have the
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time. That's the one thing we don't
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get back. It's time.
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And we only have so much time here on earth and God has
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appointed times for everything. So it's, it's a very important
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decision to turn to God and to actually have God as Lord over
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our life, which means God rules our life.
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Like we listen to what God, we obey what God says and we we
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accept his commands because we don't know how much time we
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have. Only God knows that and he, you
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know, he says here, if we, if we remain in that condition, if, if
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somebody's a lying price or a lying prophet in the year they
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are punished when God determines that he's going to bring
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judgment on them. If, you know, if they delayed it
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too long and they didn't repent, then all they can expect is
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judgment. Among the prophets of Samaria, I
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always think it's helpful when we have ancient names in the
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Bible to see, well, where are those places today?
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So among the prophets of Samaria, that's where they get
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the word Samaritan from that area.
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That area is currently the West Bank.
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And I guess some people call it Palestine.
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So this is that area that's being discussed among the
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prophets of Samaria. I saw this repulsive thing.
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They prophesied by Baal and LED my people Israel astray.
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So that's interesting. These prophets are getting
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information from Baal. Baal is this other little G God
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that people worshipped back then.
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And and there's actually if you look up pictures or images of
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Bale, you will actually see that there are some like recent
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events that have sculptures or images like Bale in them.
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And it's a lot with within music and entertainment that you will
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see these things. And again, this is just
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spiritual discernment to see these things.
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I don't know why anyone you know, they are, they are copying
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this because you can see the resemblance of what Bale looks
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like. So it is intentionally done.
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So you have to ask why? Is it to upset people?
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Is it for shock value or is there something truly spiritual
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underlying it? It's just, I don't have the
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answer to that, but it's concerning to me because it
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seems like, you know, this is some godly, not godly like in a
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good sense, but something they thought was a God, which I think
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is evil. It's either a fallen Angel or an
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evil spiritual entity, but it leads people astray and people
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worship it. And I think that's still
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happening today. As much as we may think that
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doesn't happen today, I do believe it is.
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And when you, if you are aware of it, you will see it.
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And so it's, it's kind of concerning, you know, is, is
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Satan behind it? Is, is it, you know, just is it
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a fallen Angel? Is it a, an evil spirit?
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I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, it's something
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deceptive and it leaves people astray.
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And apparently it says these people prophesied by Baal.
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So there's some information and I've thought about this before
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too, about like, how can evil give prophecy?
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And then you know what if it's true?
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And, and there's an easy answer for that because we know that
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the evil ones are not omnipresent, are omnipotent.
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I can't say it now. Omnipotent, like God is, like
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God is present everywhere and he is all knowing.
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The evil ones are not that. They are in certain locales and
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they don't know everything. It's only God who knows
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everything. So how can they give prophecy to
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someone and that be true? Well, here's the easy way to do
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it. You tell something to to someone
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about a future event that an evil thing could make happen,
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like a an evil spirit could can influence people.
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It can cause things to happen. So maybe say like it says, you
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know, like of a sickness is coming.
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Well, something evil could cause a sickness for someone.
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It could do. There's a lot of different
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things. It could, it could cause, you
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know, a disaster to happen somewhere.
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So there are things that could be prophesied.
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And then here's another thing, because it, this is usually
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talking about that, it's saying things that are what people want
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to hear. So people don't really want to
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hear about destruction and things.
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So for example, peace, it's it's telling people they will have
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peace. And this is exactly what
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happened to the people in, in Judah.
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These false prophets were telling them you're you're not
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going to have anything come against you.
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You know, God protects you, you'll have peace, you'll have
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peace and all of this peace. And so today I think about that
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because everybody is so excited, or I don't know if everybody is,
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but and there's this, you know, peace agreement, the Abraham
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Accords that started in 2020. And more and more nations are
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signing on to it. And more and more people are
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seeking and wanting peace because war is terrible.
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No one wants war. And so it's a good thing that
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everybody wants peace, and everybody is expecting that
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there's going to be peace. But in Bible prophecy, it tells
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us when they say peace and safety, then comes sudden
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destruction. And because this is such a
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national thing, and it is, you know, so many nations are
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involved in it. And because it's centralized in
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the Middle East, and because Israel's a part of it, that's
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why it concerned me that this could be prophecy unfolding.
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When people are saying that there's all this peace that
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we're getting, all these people, these nations to agree to peace,
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I'm concerned that the next prophetic fulfillment will be
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sudden destruction. And not to live in fear, because
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we don't. But here's the urgency of it.
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People need to repent because you don't know if that's coming.
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You may think we're going to be in a time of peaceful
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coexistence with all people because of these things, that
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everybody's tired of war and everybody wants this peace.
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But some act deceptively in order to get people thinking
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they are in peace so that they can take away that peace and
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destroy. And that's that's found in Bible
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prophecy. And it's all about Israel.
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And like I said, because this is all focused on the Middle East,
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it it's something that I think people should be alerted to.
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And how do you prepare for that? You prepare for that by being
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right with God, by taking a look at your life.
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And are you living the way God wants us to live?
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Are you living holy? Is God Lord over your life?
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Have you surrendered to him? Have you said, God, I want you
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to guide my life every day. I want you to direct me on the
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right path. That's, that's what I mean by
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surrender. If we ask for forgiveness for
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our past sins and present sins, whatever and God will forgive
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and when we are sincere about that, he will give us the Holy
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Spirit. Jesus will give us the Holy
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Spirit and, and the Holy Spirit will be with us and help us
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throughout anything we need. And this is the important part
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right now, not to focus on other negativity things, but but to
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focus on the positive part of it that God will be with us that
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when we repent, he, he protects people.
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He always has a remnant whenever things go wrong, there's always
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a remnant of people, those who are truly surrendered to him,
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not just by words, but in their, their heart.
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Like it says, you know, he's not after the people who are
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circumcised, but the ones whose hearts are circumcised.
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Do we truly love him? Have we made him the priority in
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our life? Are we surrendered to him?
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That's what God is looking for. So I think that is the most
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important thing that we can do in preparation right now is to
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get close to God and change our ways to turn away from the
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things that God says don't do these things and and live the
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way God wants us to live. Then we have No Fear.
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When we have when we have Christ in us, when we have the Spirit
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of God in us, we have nothing to fear.
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So it's talking more about the the false prophets and it says
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they commit adultery and live a lie.
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They strengthen the hands of evil doers so that not one of
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them turns from their wickedness.
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They are all like Sodom to me. The people of Jerusalem are like
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Gomorrah. Therefore, this is what the Lord
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Almighty says concerning the prophets.
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I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water because
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from the prophets of Jerusalem, ungodliness has spread
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throughout the land. So I also wondered sometimes,
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often the Bible repeats itself and sometimes there is a like a
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foreshadowing or an example of a future prophecy when it unfolds.
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And when I read this about drinking poisoned water, of
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course, that could happen at any point.
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That water could become poisoned for a variety of reasons.
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But it's interesting that if, if, if Jeremiah is going between
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prophesying future events, which actually I guess they all are,
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but like immediate future events or future like in we were
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talking about Jesus and the millennial reign in 1000 year
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reign when he returns. So that was already in this
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part. Now is, is Jeremiah talking
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about an immediate fulfillment to the prophets or is he talking
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about something that will come in the future?
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Because if he is talking about something that comes in the
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future at the end of the age and he's talking about poisoned
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water, we can find that in the Book of Revelation chapter 8.
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And it's when the third Angel sounded his trumpet, and a great
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star blazing like a torch fell from the sky on 1/3 of the
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rivers and on the springs of water.
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The name of the star is Wormwood. 1/3 of the waters
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turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had
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become bitter. So a you know, this could be a,
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a dual fulfillment, it could be a foreshadowing of a future
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event, but this is what the Lord said concerning the prophets
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continuing on, this is what the Lord Almighty says, do not
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listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you.
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They fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their
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own minds, not from the mouth of God.
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They keep saying to those who despise me, the Lord says you
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will have peace. So this is where I was talking
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about the peace and the peace and the peace that keeps being
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brought up in our world today. In fact, I think just yesterday
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or maybe today there was another country that signed on the
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Abrahamic Accords. So the Lord says you will have
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peace. And to all who follow the
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stubbornness of their hearts, they say no harm will come to
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you. But which of them has stood in
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the counsel of the Lord to see or hear His word?
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Who has listened and heard His word?
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See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind
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swirling down on the heads of the wicked.
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The anger of the Lord will not turn back until He fully
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accomplishes the purposes of his heart.
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So then it continues. In days to come, you will
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understand it clearly. So I'm wondering, are these the
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days to come or did it? You know, when the prophecy is
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fulfilled, then people will say, wow, this is what Jeremiah
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talked about. I did not send these prophets,
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yet they have run with their message.
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I did not speak to them, yet they have, yet they have
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prophesied. But if they had stood in My
31:41
counsel, they would have proclaimed My words to My people
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and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their
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evil deeds. So again, it seems like true
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prophets of God are talking about repentance, turning away
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from sin and turning towards Lord the Lord and having the
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Lord guide our lives. Having being submitted to God,
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putting God as the number one priority in our life and asking
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God to guide every day. That's, that's a turning of a
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turning around of what we'd normally would do.
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We'd just live our, our life. We'd live in the world.
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And you know, maybe God fits in there somewhere for a lot of
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people, or maybe he doesn't even fit in at all.
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But the way it should be is that we were created by God and to be
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in a relationship with him and and we will worship him.
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And if he's not our priority, I don't think we're doing that.
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So prioritizing God is an important first step in our life
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of repentance and letting God guide us rather than us
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following our hearts, which Jeremiah said our hearts are
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deceitful. Am I only a God nearby, declares
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the Lord, and not a God far away who can hide in secret places so
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that I cannot see them, declares the Lord.
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Do not I fill heaven and earth, declares the Lord.
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I have heard what the prophets say.
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Who prophets I lie in lies in my name.
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They say I had a dream, I had a dream.
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How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying
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prophets who prophecy the delusions of their own minds?
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They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people
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forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through
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Baal worship. Isn't that interesting too?
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And I actually was. I'm reading this.
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I didn't even have this in mind until just now when I'm reading
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this. But oh gosh, these people, I
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have heard a lot of people dreaming, lucid dreaming.
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That's what I was that just came to mind was lucid dreaming and
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that seems to have some demonic or evil spiritual interactions
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with it. And and again, is that modern
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day bail type worship because it says that will make people
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forget my name. You know, it's it's our minds
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that the enemy of God is after in changing our minds, changing
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our minds to evil. And God wants us to be the way
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he created us to be. And so it is a battle in our
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minds. But it's I think it's
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interesting that this statement says they think the dreams they
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tell one another will make my people forget my name.
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So it looks like there's a purpose behind it, to forget
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God's name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through
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Bale worship. So when they started worshipping
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Bale, apparently they forgot about the true God.
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And as a reminder, Elijah had a confrontation with, I think it
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was a few 100 maybe prophets of Baal.
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And they had, if you want to call it like a test or a
35:30
showdown and actually Elijah, because he had the power of God,
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he won hands down. So the profits of bail were
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trying to, they were getting trying to get a fire lit without
35:47
doing it themselves. And the bail profits couldn't
35:51
get the fire lit. And then Elijah, on the other
35:54
hand, doused the whole, all the wood and everything with water
35:59
so much that it was like I I just like an overabundance of
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water. And then he called on God to
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light the fire after it had been doused with water.
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So this is defying natural occurrences.
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And and then he had the, the largest, you know, fire that I
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mean, not even just the largest, but the only fire that was lit.
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And so then all these Bale prophets who were worshipping
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this, they realize, you know, they had they were worshipping
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something that had no power and they were mistaken.
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So anyway, it's just this Bale entity has been throughout
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history in the Bible here. And again, like I said, just
36:45
look up the picture of it and see if you recall any current
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events in our world that look anything like that.
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So let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let
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the one who has my word speak it faithfully.
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For what has straw to do with grain declares the Lord.
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Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord and like a
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hammer that breaks a rock into pieces.
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So it says like God is a consuming fire and it says like
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the cornerstone will, you know, it's the the rock from the
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corner that breaks that will crush everything.
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And that's referring to Jesus. But it's also like a hammer that
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breaks a rock into pieces. When we read Scripture, the word
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of God does kind of break us down because we start to see how
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we were against God, how we were rebellious to God.
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And we start seeing those things that we may not have realized or
37:50
we may have. And but it becomes very apparent
37:53
when you read the word of God. So a lot of people don't like to
37:57
read the word of God because it's convicting.
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And convicting is very much different from condemning.
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Condemning means, you know, sending to hell or convicting
38:08
means like you're guilty. And so the guilty stuff, we
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don't like to feel guilty, but the good thing about feeling
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guilty is that we can do something about it.
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We can ask for forgiveness, surrender it to God, ask God for
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help with it, and then that feeling of guilt is taken away
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from us. Like there is this freedom and
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this peace that God gives when someone turns it over to God and
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let's God deal with it. Like truly surrenders.
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That is, that weight is lifted off of a person.
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OK, back to scripture. Therefore, declares the Lord, I
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am against the prophets who steal from one another.
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Words supposedly from me. Yes, declares the Lord.
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I am against the prophets who wage their own tongues and yet
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declare the Lord. Declares indeed I am against
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those who prophecy false dreams, declares the Lord.
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They tell them and lead my people astray with their
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reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them.
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They do not benefit these people in the least.
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It declares the Lord. That's another thing that I
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think is probably a good measure of what if somebody tells you
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your tells you their dream and believe it's from God?
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Does it benefit people? Like what is the benefit is in
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it? Is it a good thing for the
39:41
people to know that? Why would God speak that?
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So those are all questions to ask when someone says that they
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dreamt something. When these people are a prophet
39:52
or a priest, ask you what is the message from the Lord?
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Say to them what message? I will forsake you, declares the
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Lord. If a prophet or a priest or
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anyone else claims this is a message from the Lord, I will
40:06
punish them and their household. I wonder if that applies today
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too, because I do. You can find people online who
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will say I got this message from the Lord.
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And that's pretty, I think everybody needs to be very
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hesitant and saying that they got this message from the Lord
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because of what this says here. If a prophet or a priest or
40:30
anyone else claims this is a message from the Lord, I will
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punish them and their household. So that's kind of a, you know,
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anyone who knows Scripture, you're not going to be pretty,
40:44
you're not going to be very quick to say this is a message
40:46
from the Lord because if it isn't, you're going to be
40:50
punished. And your household, this is what
40:54
each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israel
40:57
Israelites. What is the Lord's answer or
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what has the Lord spoken? But you must not mention a
41:06
message from the Lord again, because each one's word becomes
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their own message. So you distort the words of the
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living God, the Lord Almighty our God.
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This is what you keep saying to a prophet.
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What is the Lord's answer to you or what has the Lord spoken
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although you claim quote this is a message from the Lord.
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This is what the Lord says you use the words this is a message
41:37
from the Lord. Even though I told you, you must
41:39
not claim this is a message from the Lord boy that is repeated
41:45
quite a bit when God repeats things he really wants to
41:47
emphasize. I don't think many people should
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really be using this is a message from the Lord unless
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you're reading scripture. And because way you could bring
41:58
on punishment and to not only you but your household too.
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Therefore I will surely forget you and cast you out of my
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presence along with the city I gave you and your ancestors.
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I will bring on you everlasting disgrace, everlasting shame that
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will not be forgotten. So that's the end of chapter 23
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and I will just read through the questions and answers and then
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we will wrap this one up. So who were these prophets and
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what were they doing? These false prophets and godless
42:35
priests were in a position to be spiritual leaders, but had
42:38
actually corrupted the people by introducing idolatry and living
42:43
immoral lives. Though the spiritual depravity
42:48
of the leaders of the Northern Kingdom was well known, Jeremiah
42:52
was astonished that Judah would go the same way.
42:56
Most likely, they engaged in immoral practices of Pagan
43:01
worship, including temple prostitution and human
43:05
sacrifice. Some think the people of Judah
43:09
mixed paganism with the worship of God, setting up a repulsive
43:14
hybrid that lasted until Judah fell to the Babylonians.
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Weren't the prophets on God's side?
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Prophets were supposed to speak only the words of the Lord.
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As such, they guided the people towards righteousness.
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But the false prophets referenced in these verses
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created their own messages, usually words that were positive
43:39
for the nation and words that the people wanted to hear.
43:43
They did this in order to receive financial benefit.
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We can probably certainly see some of those today too.
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What wickedness had the prophets and priests brought into the
43:55
temple during the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh?
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Worshipping the Lord was compromised when idols, altars
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and ashira poles were set up in the temple.
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Ahaz had the king priest Uriah build an altar patterned after a
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Pagan altar in Damascus. He replaced the bronze bulls
44:14
that held the sea, the large metal washing pool, with a stone
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base, even though dressed or cut stone defiled the temple
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according to Exodus 20, verse 25.
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How did these liars ever get to be prophets?
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Many of Judah's spiritual leaders had accommodated Pagan
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practices and justified their own actions by telling lies.
44:40
Over time they subverted God's true purposes and became false
44:45
prophets and godless priests. Were the false prophets
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deliberately deceptive? Their messages consisted of what
44:53
people wanted to hear, vain hopes of peace rather than what
44:58
the Lord announced would happen. An agreeable prophecy could
45:03
bring financial gain. The false prophets message were
45:06
the result of deliberate deception, lies, and self
45:11
delusions. Since they spoke from their own
45:14
minds, not from the mouth of the Lord, their words had no genuine
45:19
authority. How did a prophet stand in the
45:22
counsel of the Lord? In Amos chapter 3, verse 7, the
45:25
Hebrew word for counsel is translated plan, meaning the
45:30
purposes God has promised to disclose to His chosen servants.
45:36
Referencing Jeremiah 23 verse 20, the false prophets had not
45:40
stood before the throne of God in prayer and worship waiting
45:44
for His Word. They had not heard His
45:47
pronouncement. Instead, they created their own
45:50
prophecies to please the crowds. Events quickly confirmed
45:55
Jeremiah's authentic prophecy, for Babylon soon crushed Judah
46:00
and its people, who were full of false hopes of security, peace
46:06
and security. We're hearing a lot of that
46:08
today. I think that's kind of a warning
46:11
sign. How much prophecy did Jeremiah
46:14
understand? Did Jeremiah know he was
46:16
prophesying about the Messiah? Jeremiah was pointing to a
46:20
future day, to a coming king similar to David, who would
46:24
fulfill all God's covenant promises.
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Jeremiah must have recognized that this coming king would be
46:30
someone extraordinary. He may even have connected these
46:35
promises with this prophecies of a new covenant.
46:39
But it's also possible that his view is limited, allowing him
46:44
only to see them as they applied to the physical renewal of
46:47
Israel. There is little doubt, however,
46:50
that Jeremiah could see a coming day when a righteous branch
46:54
would grow from Davidde family tree.
46:57
The branch would stand in stark contrast to all the wicked and
47:01
depraved branches are the earlier kings that Judah had so
47:05
miserably failed the people. Jeremiah also knew that the name
47:09
of this righteous branch would be the Lord our righteous
47:13
Savior. Although Jeremiah may have
47:16
viewed this phrase simply as the name of a man, Zedekiah, for
47:21
example, Judas king during part of Jeremiah's ministry, meant
47:25
The Lord is my righteousness. Still, Jeremiah probably saw
47:30
here at least a hint of the beautiful doctrine of
47:34
justification. It is not our good works or our
47:39
merit that makes us right with God, but the fact that Jesus is
47:44
our righteousness. And that's found in First
47:47
Corinthians chapter one, verse 30.
47:52
Where does God live? In the ancient Near East, people
47:55
believed that the gods in the Little G gods occupied various
48:01
realms of nature and were confined to specific lands.
48:06
However, God says that he is not limited by location.
48:11
He is both imminent, a God nearby, and transcendent, a God
48:16
far away. He is both omniscient and
48:19
omnipresent. There is nothing in the created
48:23
world that escapes his notice. Why were people so easily LED
48:29
astray by nature? People like to hear positive
48:32
messages, so it's not surprising that the people of Judah were
48:36
swayed by false prophets who told them what they wanted to
48:39
hear. The apostle Paul described such
48:42
prophets as those who say what their itching ears want to hear.
48:48
And that's the end of chapter 23.
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So we basically were told about a future Messiah savior that
48:57
would be coming and reigning as king.
49:01
And we were told about lying prophets who say good things,
49:05
but they're not really hearing from God and to be aware from
49:09
aware of them. So that's concludes chapter 23.
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Hope you come back for the next chapter.